pre-departure orientation

Hello friends and family interested in life from my “large one bedroom to share downtown next to St Anne Church.” I leave next Wednesday and good words to describe how I’m feeling are: super psyched. I’ve dubbed today technology day. I spent most of last night packing socks into a straw hat—though I think, in the end, the straw hat isn’t going to make it across the necessity line—and I spent the morning walking around downtown Stillwater with Liza and Suzie. Then I spent time getting rid of emails (if I don’t have easy access to internet the good intentions of the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army are going to suffocate my inbox), setting up the webcam and skype, loading photos off of my camera, making this blog… I imagine you’re getting bored. I hope future posts will be much more interesting than this preparation drab.

My flight leaves Wednesday afternoon, I’ll arrive in Montpellier Thursday mid-morning (France is +7 hours), start orientation Thursday afternoon, and by Monday my classes at the Instuit and my internship starts—my classes at Paul Valery are postponed until February because a few striking students have effectively blocked all entrances to the school, their fall semester is running late so they’ll have to start their spring semester late as well. French institutions really need to develop their nonexistent PR departments…


Here are some FYI points:

My address in France is:

Abbie Defiel
C/o Mme Marcou
1, rue du Petit Scel,
34000 Montpellier
Here is the website for a photographer in Montpellier (I hope to provide you with my own photographs later, but for now Vincent will do), notice the pictures of St. Anne Church: http://www.vincent-formica.com/montpellier.htm

Hmm… anything else… I’m not sure, I’ll have to check my checklists that keep growing longer as more checks get checked.

A bientôt chers amis, next post will be from France!