3 Week Count Down

Yay! It's my birthday, and so far it's off to a great start. We heart birthdays at Yahoo!, so I got balloons (something I still love to this day) and a really pretty card. Lots of birthday wishes from friends; thank you Auntie Carolyn and Uncle Roger for the card in the mail.

Time has been going by so fast, and I can't believe I'll be on a plane in less than a month. I spent last weekend up in Murphys with good friends from the pool: Jenny and Kathryn. We had a very relaxing weekend and spent some quality time floating on rafts at lake Alpine. I really love those girls. Jenny cooked her amazing Tuna with papaya, garlic, and cilantro salsa. I'm trying to get my fill of cilantro as it is difficult to get in France. Who would have thought. What am I going to do without Mexican food?!

There have been some times lately where I've felt overwhelmed. I'm bummed that I don't get the normal big carry-on bag. That will definately set me back a bit in terms of packing, but I'm sure I'll make do. I still don't have any idea where I'll live or stay my first night for that matter. I'm waiting (patiently. haha) for a response from my school. I'll call them next week if I don't hear back before then. Laurent and Christine (family friends who live in France) have been so helpful getting me set up with a bank account and helping to translate my birth certificate. Everyone says not to worry, but that's just hard. I really appreciate their help, and it's nice to know someone not too too far away. I've been chatting with some other assistants, and so far everyone seems fun, interesting, and nice. We'll all automatically have something in common. I also got back in touch with one of my best friends from when we lived in Marseille, Juliette. She lived on the floor above us and will be finishing up medschool this fall. We've started emailing a little bit. It's fun to hear from her, and I'll make every effort to visit her. I'd love to go back to Marseille anyways, and now I'll have the added b0nus of getting to see her.

It seems as though everyone is traveling! My Mom's friend Vickie's daughter will be traveling extensively for 3 months with 2 girlfriends. Two of the Wisconsin girls from Costa Rica will be living in Honduras (in different parts; both working), and I just got an email today from Allyson (a friend from USF) who's settling in Buenos Aires. I have to admit, I'm a bit jealous. As much as I'm looking forward to France, there is a part of me that is just so interested and fascinated with South America. I'd have to say, of all places, Argentina is somewhere I would love to visit or live at some point. Plus, I'm finally feeilng comfortable and confident with my Spanish (at this point it's way better than my French), so I'm worried that I'll loose some of it. It's definately a goal of mine to make friends with a Spanish and/or Italian assistant.

I'm going out in Palo Alto with friends to celebrate. It should be a fun and wild night. It may end up being one of the last times I see a lot of people, and it will be the first time Jenny, Tania, Kathryn and I are all together! We're all busy ladies, and it's just been hard to make that happen this summer. I'll finish off my day doing one of my favorite things- being at the barn with Pokey.

Love to you all, Elizabeth