That answer would be no.
An excellent example would be the one piece of homework I'll have to do this entire year that has been staring at me for the last four months, the paper with the directions having not moved from it's hiding place in my drawer since December. Yes, Rotary, I am a motivated, hard-working, goody-two-shoes kind of a girl. It's due tomorrow. Hey, you try thinking up a short story telling the world of French-speaking Rotarians what you think about luck. That's what I thought.
With my youngest host sister gone off to a violin lesson and then a friend's house for the night, and the oldest trying to make up for the 9 hours of studying time she lost yesterday when Casey came over, the house is pretty quiet for the moment.
I suppose I should start by telling my one or two readers that I've changed families, if you don't already know. I don't keep track of these things. After a rather interesting settling in period, I'm starting to feel like I've lived here my entire life. Though I would never have picked that armoire, or the bed, or the desk, or anything in by bedroom, really, so I couldn't have lived here my entire life. I have much better taste than its' previous occupant. Though you can't expect much more from a teenaged boy, so forcément I would be a better interior designer.
I don't feel like giving you a detailed account of every day I've missed like I did in the last episode, since I get the feeling that would take several years, not simply due to the fact that I'd have to look up what happened in my journal and photo albums and everything, but I imagine that my pitiful audience might start a riot and burn down my blog page. That could be slightly unpleasant. On their part.
I did notice a post from the lovely Kate O'Brien the other day, which I found particularly inspiring. It's only fair to do her honor by recreating it here, changing a few essential elements to make it refer to me, of course.
It was as follows:
THE NEXT TIME SOMEONE SPEAKS TO ME IN ENGLISH CAUSE THEY THINK I CANT UNDERSTAND FRENCH AFTER LIVING HERE FOR 6 1/2 MONTHS I AM EITHER GOING TO RIP THEIR HEAD OFF OR BURN DOWN WHATEVER BUILDING I HAPPEN TO BE IN.
I feel she's summed up just about what I've been thinking myself.
And along that same, enlightened line, I should mention that I see more of my French friends than my exchange student friends, and that my exchange student friends have changed ranks. I don't feel like I need their support anymore like I did at the beginning, and now I can choose the people that I really want to be around, rather than just the most convenient. I know that sounds terrible, but after really getting to know people like Karla and Lisa-Ann, I don't feel like I need the friendship of certain others. There are people that will read this that know who I'm talking about. Others will be clueless. It's better that way.
I don't think I'll update this again, and if there's anyone that actually reads or checks regularly for updates, I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to go directly to me. My life here in France has become so routine that I don't feel the need to tell anyone about it besides my very best friends or the people that directly ask me questions. It's natural for me here. Any link to the States and my life there seems dull and worn out to me, and it's time to throw them out and start over. When I come home, I'll still have the same great friends I always did, but I'm not the same person. I have a life here, and that's the one that's real for me. Europe is what's real for me. The imaginary people I thought I knew once upon a time are truly the stuff of a Disney cartoon. There's no way to go back, and frankly, I don't want to.
