we are family!

as i am writing this my palms are sweaty, i have a slight headache, and my chest is tight. this can only mean two things: either i am leaving for france in one week, or i am having an asthma attack. i am going to assume/hope it is the former and not the latter. today's date is august 24 meaning in 7 days (aka one week aka a very short period of time) i will be leaving my beloved mapso and flying 3,731 miles to france. waiting for my departure makes time seem to fly and stand still simultaneously. it seems like just yesterday i was telling my mom i wanted to study abroad. it is almost unbelievable that i will really be leaving my friends and family in such a short time. i am a super duper emotional person but to my surprise (and the surprise of many others) i haven't cried yet. i think that is mainly because this is such a new experience for me that i just cant imagine how much i am going to miss my friends and fam.

however, on a more exciting note..... (drum roll) I GOT MY HOST FAMILY!!!! (cue music, drop streamers, release the doves, choir of angels begins to sing, the whole shebang) a lot of you know that i have been anxiously waiting for my host family for the past couple of months and i could not be more delighted. they live in bretange and enjoy everything from swimming to skiing. from what i have seen their house is so cute and there are so many things to do near them. i have two younger sisters and a host dog named lenny! hopefully i will be able to set up a skype sesh with them before i leave. either way i am so excited to meet them!

lastly, i would like to give some shoutouts. theres only one short week before i leave dirty jerz. i will be leaving my school, my home, and all the people i've met so far but i will be taking a lot with me. all the lessons and laughs yall have given me will go in my suitcase just like my clothes. there is no way i would be ready to go on this adventure if it wasn't for yall. first i'd like to shoutout all my kent place girls, especially the class of 2018. you lady dragons have taught me so much in and out of the classroom. in the past ten years i have learned something from each and every one of you. you have seen me cry in the lounges and have definitely heard my laugh from any part of campus. i will miss you so much but i promise to skype in at least once! next i'd like to shoutout codey (check out his blog! https://aforeignerinfrance.wordpress.com/) for being my first AFS friend and also for being super cool. and lastly i'd like to thank my mom and dad for always pushing me in the right direction and never giving up on me. im going to miss yall so much but know i will have a piece of you no matter where i go.

love yall to france and back,

anj