Dispatch: from Normandy

I've arrived in the family where I will be an au pair for the month of August. They live in Villers sur mer, a little beach town right next to Deauville and Trouville, where apparently there's an American film festival coming up in September. I've been here less than 24 hours, but I can already tell that things are going to go well. They are relaxed and fun and the little boy, Matyas, is an adventurous handful! They live on a farm in the country, (the grandparents live right next door), and there are horses and chickens! The mom works for a sailing club, so it looks like I'm going to get to go sailing after all (being on Lake Geneva I was sooo tempted to look up sailing lessons; now I'm glad I didn't)! I'm excited to discover this region, which is already completely different from the south (the cute houses, the weather, the accent). France is incredibly diverse (there's more to it than Paris, you know), but there are some universal truths: wine, cheese, baguettes, dressing well and talking softly (I'm always getting shushed, but maybe that would happen no matter what country I'm in).

Everything happens for a reason. At first I was bummed when I was 'let go' from that first family I au pair-ed for, but now I'm so glad. I got to go to Geneva, where I found the grad school I'm going to go to! The Graduate Institute of International Studies...I just have to live some more fabulous life first! I got to re-connect with old friends (Whitney, Steve, Sarah, Xuan), and make new ones. Life is an adventure, I'm learning, and I'm working hard on going with whatever's thrown at me! I've been impressing myself lately: I am a competent traveler! Yesterday I had slightly less than an hour to get through the Paris metro system from the Gare de Lyon to the Gare St. Lazare and I did it, with time to spare to grab a sandwich. I can stay at a hostel by myself and make friends, or spend days alone in unfamiliar cities and have an amazing time! The second to last night I was in Geneva I found live music by the lake, where I drank some delicious caipirinhas, kept creepy guys at bay by approaching Model UN kids and asking them to pretend to be my friend (a Russian, a Lebanese, and an Uzbekistani!), rocked out to the DJ in the rain, and got home safe and sound. I'm amazing! Never cease to be amazed by the world and oneself.