In 3 days, I’ll be crossing the Atlantic to break language barriers with French teenagers and go by the name of one of my favorite citrus fruits. In other words, I’m spending the next two months in France at American Village, a summer camp for French children designed to help them improve their English and learn more about American culture. Everyone who works at the camp has to choose a nickname for themselves, and I chose Clementine after Kate Winslet’s character in Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind and, naturally, the fruit.
I’ve always been a shameless travel addict. I’m from rural Maine, so for the first 20 years of my life my experiences of the ‘real world’ were rather limited. I spent last fall studying abroad at the American University in Bulgaria for four months and loved it. I thought that once I did a little traveling I’d be happy to stay put for a while, but I couldn’t have been more wrong — traveling just made me want to travel more!
I found out about American Village while in Bulgaria. A friend of mine, also from Maine, told me about her experiences working there and it sounded like an opportunity I couldn’t afford to pass up. Spend the summer designing fun lesson plans for French kids and planning hiking and kayaking trips with them? Sign me up! I was placed in northern France, at the site in La Mazure, Normandy. It’s 7.5 acres of land set on the water, only 15 miles from the famous Mont St. Michel!
So it’s all come down to the next few days. I’ve been counting down to next Monday for as long as I can remember, and now it’s finally here. I have made my big shopping trip for last minute essentials, let my bank know I’ll be in France so they don’t think my debit card was stolen, set my cell phone to military time to get myself used to it and brushed up on my less than stellar Français.
All that’s left to do now is pack and say my goodbyes. I’ve gotten into the habit of saying “see you later” instead of goodbye — goodbyes are much too difficult. I have a bad habit of being a packrat, but with the help of having all my books in Kindle form and my mom over my shoulder asking me if I really need six pairs of shoes for 2 months, I should be all set. I can’t wait to meet a few of the other girls who are catching the same train to the site and of course, spend a night in Paris, the city of love! See you on the other side.
For now, follow my travels at Kay Away, my travel blog!