"Il est temps de vivre la vie que tu t'es imaginée!"

I am beyond excited that it's practically time for me to head to France, though I am also entirely shocked at how quickly my summer in Chicago has passed by. I feel like, aside from a few exceptions, I've been able to spend plenty of time with most of the people I intended to at the start of summer. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to visit my Indiana friends before I left, but that will be the first thing I do when I get back next June. Leaving behind the people I care about is not easy, but I am so happy that I have succeeded at my goal of returning to live in France for a bit longer... before I have to be a real adult and settle into a Chicago more permanently!

Luckily, the most important part of my preparations is done-- getting a visa! While I am thankful that I have it, I have to say the process was somewhat frustrating. The paperwork was not complicated, however, going to the French consulate in Chicago is where things hit a bump.
The consulate only books 10 minute appointments and they were running behind, so I didn't get in right away, not a big deal. Once I finally got called up, the young woman was very unpleasant from the get go, but her attitude worsened when I explained that I had a flight booked to leave June 7th, despite the fact that my contract for TAPIF was ending on April 30th.  When she asked why, I explained that I was hoping to travel a bit more and was looking to wrap up the time I had with the family I would be living with. Immediately, she told me it was illegal to do what I was doing and that there is no way I could work with this family while with the TAPIF program.

Calmly, I explained that this opportunity had been given to me BY the TAPIF program and that I had done my research and it would be covered under my temporary work visa-- why she didn't already know this, I am not sure. She then explained that there was no way she could extend my time there past May 19th because I was arriving earlier than my contract began, as my program instructed. (Sidenote, I later found this to be untrue, because another person in my program is arriving before I am in September and her visa is set to expire in mid-June). I immediately panicked because my ticket was already booked for June 7th and I didn't want to be forced to stay in France illegally, so I quickly began researching and found a wonderful little loophole-- the Schengen Area.

The Schengen Territory is all countries that are blue! As of 2014.

My loophole is pretty simple. A while back, many of the European countries agreed to removing border control so that people with European passports could travel from country to country as we do from state to state. In order for me to stay in France until June 7th, I would have to leave the Schengen Area and get an exit stamp on or before the expiration date of my visa and come back when I wanted to and receive an entry stamp. Basically, this resets my time there by showing that I am no longer trying to stay there on my visa, but have returned on my tourist passport for a maximum of 90 days. The only difficulty is-- the Schengen Area is actually quite large; if I don't leave the blue area of the map, I haven't exited it. Now, I am trying to look on the bright side of this complication-- being forced to travel somewhere outside of the zone. There could be worse things, right?

This leads me to more than a few options. I could terrify my parents and go to Russia or somewhere in Africa... but more than likely I'll play it safe. Those options include: Ireland, England, Scotland, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia and Albania. At the moment, I'm hoping I'll be able to work out Ireland, Scotland, England and/or Croatia as a birthday present to myself-- since I have TWO weeks off right over my 25th birthday.

Since receiving my visa, other preparations have continued and have proven to be surprisingly costly with lots of last minute shopping. I'm the kind of person that when I find a brand of something I like, let's say toothpaste, I stick with it. Well, for the most part, I won't be able to find my same favorite products in France. So in order to stick with my favorites, I've had to stockpile months worth of toothpaste, deodorant, eyeliner, and mascara. It may seem silly, and I probably looked ridiculous checking out, but it's better than buying mediocre deodorant and toothpaste while there.

The Little America Backpack

In addition to the everyday basics and my Canon Rebel SL1, I decided it was time for a good traveling backpack and I stumbled upon one I really liked on, wait for it... Pinterest. Yep, it really can come in handy! It's from the Herschel Supply Company, which I had never heard of but I am definitely already impressed with the quality.  It also has an ever appropriate name:  The Little America Backpack. With a built in spot for my laptop and lots of handy hidden pockets, I think it will be perfect for short trips around Europe.

As a really last minute financial maneuver, advised by my good friend Janie, I applied and got accepted for a Chase Sapphire credit card. I'm weirdly excited about it because there are NO transaction fees, a smart chip so I can use it all over Europe, and all sorts of rewards opportunities and discounts for traveling-- which I will definitely take advantage of. A credit card with no more co-signers? Hello, adulthood! Well, kind of, I'm still in transition.

...Okay, I promise I am done inadvertently advertising all these products, but I have to say I am pretty thrilled with my little travel investments.

In terms of staying in contact with all the people I'd like to-- it's going to be EASY! I will be taking my iPhone with me, which is wonderful because I can turn off my data and still send and receive iMessages through WIFI whenever with no extra cost to anyone. This means that I will also still be available to FaceTime and Skype and I will be posting regular updates and photos to this blog, Facebook, and Snapchat-- so there's no reason I can't stay in contact with all of you. If you'd like to write a real letter to me or would like me to send you a postcard every so often-- PLEASE get in touch with me and send me your mailing address and I can pass along mine!

I am truly thankful for all the support I have received along the way of making this dream come true! I am looking forward to sharing my experiences with you all and hope you enjoy reading about them. I'll end with one of my favorite quotes:

"It is time to live the life you've imagined."

What I am nervous for: 

• Driving a manual car-- despite my best attempts, I have yet to find any practice here in the States. While many people know how to drive and could teach me, most don't have a manual car anymore, which, I can't blame them. Fun fact: rental car businesses don't even have manual cars as an option!
• Making French friends-- this is a notoriously difficult task and I got really lucky to meet some wonderful French friends the last time I was abroad. 
• Collaborating/Socializing with other Teachers-- also a noted difficulty from previous TA's. Many have experienced that the teachers view them as more of a nuissance and are sometimes not very helpful. Here's to hoping I make a good impression straight away

What I am most excited for: 

• FRENCH! I finally get to experience life in French again. I am going to do my very best to keep my usage of English as minimal as possible and really make it a goal to come out 100% fluent. 
• EASY TRAVEL! How amazing is it that I will be able to hop on a train and visit a new country? Switzerland, Italy, Belgium-- you're all on my list! Among others, of course.
• TEACHING! This is such a unique experience to help my teaching career. I get to work with the age group I intend to work with in the future AND live in France. C'est magnifique!
• CREPES! BAGUETTES! CROISSANTS! All fresh whenever I could possibly want them. Plus, eating a baguette, cheese, and wine is a legitimate lunch, which is great in my book. 
• AU PAIR! I get to live with a wonderful family and experience a very authentic way of life with two of the most adorable toddlers. I have a good feeling that this will be one of my favorite parts of this experience. 
• LESS STRESS! The French way of lifestyle is wonderfully fulfilling yet they find a way to balance life out and rarely did I find it stressful. Working may be another story, but I think they have it figured out!