I will be attending college classes at Azurlingua in Nice, France for the first two weeks of my stay. It looks like an amazing place and I can't wait to see it in person! I will be living with a host family who lives not far from the Azurlingua campus. I think it will be a great opportunity to practice speaking French since I'll be living with a French family, instead of staying in a dorm with other English speakers (like I did for my 1997 Study Abroad with the University of Utah).
Yesterday I officially started the packing process for my trip. My goal is to pack as much stuff as I can in only ONE backpack. Those of you who know me or know anything about my vanity rituals for getting ready everyday will know what a challenge this is going to be for me. I want to look nice while I'm there, of course, but I doubt I'll be able to fit all my crap (blow dryer, curling iron, flattening iron, etc.) in my backpack. Plus I don't even know if the voltage of these items will be compatible with the electrical wiring in France. And the last thing I want to do is burn down my host families house because I was blow drying my hair. That would definitely suck.
In addition to vanity packing issues, there's the dilemma of deciding exactly what clothing to pack. I've been referring regularly to Rick Steves Europe website and travel blog. He's an expert in packing light and only packing the things you absolutely, positively need. I printed up the packing list he suggested and took it to the REI Sale yesterday and walked out feeling sick to my stomach after paying nearly $400 for "necessities". Why do "necessities" have to be so damn expensive? I'm doing this trip on a poor woman's budget so paying that much before I've even left the country was a little disheartening. All I can hope is that I use these things so much while I'm there that I praise REI daily for helping me prepare for this wonderful adventure I'm fortunate enough to be participating in.
Over the next three weeks I'll be fine-tuning my packing list, wrapping up the school year, and getting everything ready to go. I will try to not bore you with all the nitty-gritty details of these events so I can ensure you'll not lose interest in reading my blog while I'm actually out adventuring through France
Thanks again for reading!
