Avant le Voyage

Hello everyone! This is my very first post of my very first blog, so bear with me as I try and figure this whole blogging thing out!I decided to start a blog because I am about to leave (6 days from now ahh!) to go study in Paris for a semester! I am getting more and more excited and nervous all at the same time.

So why hop the ocean and leave everyone for 3 whole months? That's a question I have been asking myself a lot lately lol. But really, I started taking French freshman year of high school and found out that I really enjoyed it, so I took all 6 of the French classes my high school offered and even one more at UAH. So I guess that's when my obsession with all things French really started to take root. If you've ever been to my apartment/room/dorm it's kind of hard to miss! So yes I admit it! I am a French nerd. I was even the French Club President in high school lol.

So with all of this French knowledge I gained in high school, I didn't want to just let that go when I went to college, but I also knew that I didn't want to teach French, so I decided I wanted to combine French with business, and the technology part(MIS = where business meets technology) fell in place after I got going in the Computer Based Honors Program. So yes some people look at me funny when I tell them I am a MIS and French major, but it seems to really capture all sides of me, so I'm happy with it!

So with all this French studying I have done these past 6 years, I've never been in a situation where I've really HAD to use it (except for once at Cracker Barrel when a bus full of French speakers from Africa came in!). So that's why I decided to take the plunge and sign up for a semester abroad. So I could finally put my studies to use, and also to hopefully learn how to go beyond the textbook and really learn to communicate and have every day interactions in French. Plus, I needed the study abroad for the International Honors Program, plus it's knocking out a bunch of classes I need for my French major. So win win win all around!

That was my thinking months ago when I signed up, but now that it's actually here I'm realizing that it's going to be a little more difficult than I imagined. I hadn't thought of the full implication of what it would be like leaving my family, friends, and school to go off to a country where I know absolutely no one. Also, since signing up, I have found me a truly wonderful guy that for some reason puts up with all my crazy, so that definitely makes leaving all the more harder!

That's the nervous part, but the other half of me is sooo pumped! I mean finally I am going to get to go see all the monuments and chateaux and art( I still remember that scary Impressionism test from high school) that I have studied all these years! And I am also really excited for some French food!! As you probably know, I really love to bake! Cooking is ok, but baking for others is really where I find joy. I'm hoping, if every thing works out, that I am going to get to go take a couple mini classes at Le Cordon Bleu (aka the most famous culinary school in the world!) while I am there! They have all sorts of classes on main dishes and sauces, but I am shooting for the baking one of course, as well as one on Julia Child. Just as a preface, food and especially desserts will probably be a reoccurring feature of this blog :)

I leave for Paris on Saturday and would definitely appreciate your prayers as I have never flown alone before!  Thank you for deciding to follow me as I embark on this journey of a life time.

Callie Smith