Bye, Bye, Bye (Bye, Bye)!

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Today is my last full day with my Gournay host family. To enjoy it to its fullest, Nadine took Ariel and me to the beach in Fort Mahon, were we spent all day swimming, being attacked by giant waves, and walking around. It was amazing, and I'm so glad we went. The weather was perfect and the water wasn't nearly as freezing as the water in Dieppe, so I greatly appreciated that. I'm still sandy from the sand sculpture that Ariel made on my back, but I loved every second of being at the beach. Especially since I didn't get a chance to go to the beach this summer, it felt so great to finally be back in the sand and salty waves of the ocean.

Also, this morning, I went to Ariel's house before the beach where she and I were interviewed by a reporter for the newspaper! Talk about a stressful way to start off your morning. It went really well though, and I felt like I was able to effectively communicate everything I wanted to say (which is a truly great feeling). So after the interview, we left for Fort Mahon (about an hour and a half car ride) where we spent the rest of our day.

So, now I'm just hanging out until dinner is ready. I can't believe I'm about to do the whole awkward "meeting your host family" thing again. I feel like I just got here, but at the same time, like I've been here forever and I'm ready to move on. Also, when I think about it, I can't believe I haven't started school yet. I mean, it's the middle of September and I just spent my day at the beach in Normandie. It's awesome, but also bizarre when I think about it. I wonder what getting back into school will be like. For once, I'm actually really looking forward to it.

Today was also weird because it was September 11th, and it meant nothing to France. Though I never really payed much attention to the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center while I was living in the United Sates, I was at least used to hearing about it on the news, or seeing a rejuvenated patriotism in my neighbors, manifested in the sudden appearance of American flags decorating lawns and houses. It was truly bizarre to have the entire day pass, and not hear a single word about New York, the United States, or terrorism. I don't consider myself to be particularly patriotic (I'd rather be a citizen of the world than of one country), but my distance from the United States on this day made me feel a certain connection with America that I don't often feel.

So anyway, I'm moving out of the country tomorrow and back into the city. I can't even begin to express my excitement at being able to live in a city like Rouen for 3 months! I will truly miss Nadine when I leave though. I can't put into words how kind and generous she has been to me. While we were driving in the car together yesterday on our way to her mother's house, she really opened up to me and told me some amazing and horrible things about her life. Stories about abuse, depression, love, and independence. Nadine is truly an amazing woman, and I am so lucky to have met her.

Well, it's shower time! I'm so sandy! I hope my next house has internet, because my new campus doesn't. Yay France!

Love, Josie