It's a Great day to be alive

Today I went to Chicago to get my visa. I was nervous of course but everything went smoothly. I had all of my papers in order. My Auntie Kika helped me fill out my application in French and my dad helped me with the rest of the documents. I handed my documents to a lady behind a desk area and I went back in an hour and picked up my passport with my brand new French visa. When I get to France within a week I have to get something called a carte de sejour, which replaces this visa... or something? Sarah and LB took me to Chicago it's tradition for us to go every year, it is also Sarah's 21st, the trip was just another reminder of how grown up we all are.
Either way things are in order for my trip! I leave in one week. Alex got to London which is exciting and he is going to meet me in Strasbourg in two weeks, I can't wait!

Also I got my LSAT score back today *drum roll* 168, YES!

Today was a fantastic day!

The beginning of goodbye

I heard from the family I will be staying with in France and they finally got the papers for my visa! As soon as I get them I have to go to to French Consulate in Chicago and get them approved. Up until this point the thought of me going overseas for a year and leaving college life for good has just been something that I have enjoyed thinking about but the reality of it all is just beginning to hit.
My boyfriend leaves for London and then Italy after that, tonight was the last night I get to see him for a while. Hopefully he will be visiting me in Strasbourg soon. My friends Kristen and Justin threw a surprise going away party for Alex and everything is just snowballing.
It feels like things are spiraling into something I can't seem to stop. I don't just mean going to France. I am saying goodbye to my undergraduate years. Even though I will still be taking courses online it won't be the same and I won't ever be coming back to Iowa for class. The next time I am back in the states will be for Kristen and Justin's wedding and after my year in France I will have law school. I am growing up *sigh* it feels good to know that I can make decisions for my life based purely off of how I envision my life to be. It is scary to know that the responsibilities will keep growing.
I am anxious right now about saying goodbye.

Getting Ready

I finished my last final this morning! I am done taking classes on campus at the University of Iowa. It feels good. In roughly two and half weeks I will leave for Strasbourg, France to begin my adventure as an au pair. The family I will be living with is originally from Greece. Their jobs took them to Strasbourg, where they currently live with their two daughters.
My job will be to watch the girls speak English with them, help with homework, take them to their activities, etc. The two girls are the same age as two of my little sisters which will be nice because that means there will be no diapers, they have a very good grasp of English already because all of their other au pairs spoke English as well, they will be able to help me with my nonexistent French.
I guess I should answer a lot of the common questions I have been getting:
1. Why do I want to be an au pair?
I first found out about au pairs through my dad during my freshman year of college. We had been discussing my being restless and wanting to travel. Since then I have played around with the idea. I almost became an au pair for a family in Switzerland, and by almost I mean I had bought the ticket and had my visa. But things fell through, probably for the best. I have always loved to travel and as the daughter of a "self-declared" Francophile it's really no surprise that my first trip overseas was with my best friends to France. I fell in love, how typical! I would like to experience French culture first hand, I would love to learn the language, and I really enjoy being around children, so hopefully being an au pair will be perfect for me.
2. Why are you going to France if you don't speak French?
Well I love France....and I really wish I knew French. I am very nervous about not knowing the language. I will be taking French courses, it's required by French law for au pairs. I will keep you updated on that whole situation.
3. What is the living situation going to be like?
The family lives in an apartment and in the top floor of the apartment buildings are studios. They own one of the studios and that's where I will be staying. It's just one room but it will be my own space where I can relax when I need to by myself. I will have a key to their apartment and I will be able to go down there whenever to watch t.v. eat my meals, etc.
4. Are you nervous?
I think that just in general I am nervous about the whole experience. I know a lot of people go overseas as an au pair and expect something totally different than what they end up getting. I have been trying to be realistic with my expectations of the job, the family, the culture shock. Whenever I travel I always get very nervous right before and worry about whether or not I am making the right decision but I have yet to regret a trip *knock on wood*. Also my visa still hasn't arrived haha go figure,thank you French bureaucracy. My flight leaves in two and a hald weeks, hopefully I will be on it.
5. Will you get homesick?
Before my trips I always think that there is no way I will be homesick. I love to travel, I like airports (except for the Miami one where mice were scampering around), wandering around makes me happy, I enjoy my being alone. Then almost immediately after I leave I get dreadfully homesick. I constantly think oh wow mom would like this, dad told me about this, the kids would die if they saw this, and with such a huge family it wears on me. So yes I know I will be homesick, there's no avoiding it I suppose.

Hopefully I get my visa soon!