Going, going....gone. Kind of.

And, that is all. Summertime, vacation, break, time off. It's all about to end. Well, kind of. Classes begin tomorrow. Yes, that is correct. They start tomorrow, October 4th, 2010. I absolutely cannot complain whatsoever. I had a full five months of hanging, playing and enjoying life. Now I have to get back into school mode. But again, I feel like I should be saying school*, because I'm in southern France, in a warm, Mediterranean climate. In my 14 days here, we've had one day with a lot of clouds and an hour of rain. This is like California, but way better. I have loads of traveling at my fingertips for dirt cheap. What I'm doing can safely be written, Barry Bonds style, like this: school*.

Now, some thoughts, which I'm sure are fascinating to everyone who reads this.

One. The first week here was torturously slow, with no friends and no way to meet them because I had no classes and few to no connections. Now, a week later, I realize that I'm going to need a time-turner, Harry Potter style, to enjoy these next three and half, four months. Yes, I did just say that. There are just too many things to do, too many people to see and too many places to go to say, "oh yes, time will go by slowly and I'll feel like I was here a long time." Sorry, but it's just not going to happen. Last night, a friend I worked with this summer came and visited me for the night. It made me realize just how much I want to pack into this semester when we started planning another meeting. Before I know it, rather than swimming in the Mediterranean, I'll be sledding in snow covered wheat fields. A good thing? I can't really say.

Two. The world is tiny. Not only is there another Montanan in my school, but she's also in some of my classes. And, we know a lot of the same people. We had the privilege of bonding over our excitement of watching "Come Find Us", a Montana ski movie. New friend.

Three. Europeans love the weirdest American TV shows. How they ever got turned onto "Will and Grace" is beyond me, because all I've ever seen are the reruns and they're not that good. Also popular: Californication (never heard of it), all reality shows (Bachelor(ette), Survivor, Big Brother etc) and then older shows like Friends and that genre. I try to understand, but can't quite get my head around it. Just saying.

Fourth and final thought. Europe is made for small people. For example. I have walked through multiple doorways too short me. Every bed I've slept on, from hostel to homestay, has been far too short. Forced to sleep diagonally, when I change positions at night, I slide my pillow to the other side of the bed and move to the other diagonal. It's super great. Bathrooms are all tiny. I hit my head on the light in our kitchen AT LEAST twice a day. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. One thing I will appreciate about coming home is that, once again, I will fit comfortably into most things.

Now, some pictures!

The port city of Marseille. Beautiful eh?
Cliff overlooking Cassis, on the coast. The 'Mistral' was blowing, a strong wind from the north. My hair flows in the wind beautifully.
More of Marseille.

My friend Jan. We went for a hike. Circled the mountain rather than climbed it. Those logs were the most elevation he gained all day.