Not only was my body aching with exhaustion, my mind was overwhelmed with worry for the many things I still needed to get done. I was happy to receive my certificate, but sad to have to say bye, or more like see you later, to so many wonderful people.

I’ll certainly miss the first 20 minutes of every lesson when Lore, our professor, would struggle to wake us up by asking “Qu’avez vous fait de votre soirée hier?”. I will forever cherish all the breaks and the coffee and occasional croissant chocolat from the shop next door that would refuel me for the second half of class. More than anything I will miss the wonderful people I met.. Maria Juliana, from Cali, Colombia, Isla from Scottland, Elena from Greece and Germany, Amaury from Belgium, Masahiro from Tokyo Japan, Ana from Vienna, Austria, and Laura from Germany,.

For those of you who do not know me too well: I have never been interested in cooking nor have I ever forced myself to learn to cook.

Luckily, by the time my last week in Montpellier arrived, my friends Richard and Chris came to the rescue and cooked some tasty pasta dinners two days in a row. I really enjoyed watching them and even felt a tiny interest in cooking spark deep inside me. Sandwiches, paninis, and kebabs can only keep me afloat for so long.

Beautiful little town. Old…er people everywhere. Some Spanish, some French. Luscious and peaceful gardens. Creepy owner of sandwich/kebab/Panini station across from the station who used “tu” instead of “vous” AND called Richard a gentleman for paying for me… after I gave Richard the money to pay with. Getting lost in the narrow streets. Pretending to play human chess with Chris. Vivid flowers blooming everywhere. An enjoyable morning before class at 15:50.

My second Friday night in Montpellier was planed out much better than my first. At 9PM I was going to meet a few friends at Place de la Comedie to walk over to Les Estivales and enjoy a nice night in the city. However, as I was getting ready to head out, I received a skype call from my mom. I picked up without hesitation. To my surprise she was at my tio Andres’ house where most of the family was gathered to celebrate my aunt’s birthday. Enjoy some of the screen shots I managed to sneak in ;)

P.S. I texted my friends and ended up meeting them at Les Estivales almost at 11PM. It turned out to be an enjoyable night even though, for me, it started a bit later than expected. 

I have gone to do major grocery shopping twice. Living alone and on a budget has taught me that there is a good cook deep within me. I just never really had the drive to explore my abilities. Thank you France for teaching me yet another lesson.

Posted a week and one day later. Just imagine I posted this last Sunday and enjoy! 

Well I have arrived! I am currently sitting in Montpellier’s airport awaiting the next scheduled shuttle Navette. I will take that shuttle to somewhere where I switch to the blue tram in order to arrive at la gare, the train station.  From there I will have to take a taxi to Residense Clemenceau, my new home!

Let me explain how the last few days have been. On Thursday I purchased some much-needed luggage. On Wednesday I visited a few stores with my friend Ruben. After about 5 hours we picked the bags that I would probably purchase the next day and he very cleverly hid them in strategic locations at TJMaxx. TJMaxx had a different idea though. When I arrived the following day, the whole luggage section had been reorganized. Ruben’s hard work had been ruined over night. I was able to find the two bags we had picked, but I left them in the luggage section as I browsed other parts of the stores waiting for my dad to arrive. When my dad finally got there and I began to look for the bags. I found them… in a lady’s shopping cart! Sticking to my life philosophies that everything happens for a reason, I decided that there had to be a reason I could not buy those bags and that instead I should look for other ones. After all there was a much larger selection than the day before. At last I picked two Dockers bags, one carry on and one of the biggest size. My dad paid and I took them home.

On Friday I woke up at 6AM to drive my dad to work. After I dropped him off it was non-stop. Library to pick up books, high school to pick up transcripts, a few friends and mentors houses to pick up last minute donations, my sister’s school to pick up her report card, CVS for toiletries, even a stop downtown to exchange my newly acquired donations. I was exhausted by the end of the day. I decided to go to bed and wake up extremely early to do laundry and pack. I should have known better. I never wake up with an alarm and Saturday was no different. It was not until 7:30AM when my mom woke me up that the packing began. After a few loads of laundry and lots of strategic folding, I was packed and ready to go! My mom and I made a few stops to buy last minute things.

I had lunch near the airport with my mom and dad. I figured it a latin café was best since I most likely would not find legitimate Cuban food in France. After a wonderful lunch I was off to the airport. My flight was flawless. I even had a window seat and the seat on my other side empty. Air France was wonderful in regards to food and after two naps, Never Say Never in English and another film en Français I had arrived in Paris!

Charles du Gale was quite the airport. Large glass panels lined the terminal and I was able to sneak my first true glances of France. All I could do was take deep breaths to soak it all in and remind myself that it was not a dream… I had made it here. Security and immigration lines were ridiculously long, but I managed. I even spoke Français suelment (only French) to all the officials I encountered. After a while I boarded my plane to Montpellier and after what seemed like the blink of an eye I landed in beautiful city I will call home for the next three weeks.