stateside.

Hello, all! I decided that the best way to keep in touch with people would be to just keep a blog about my adventures abroad. I'm pretty sure you (or I?) can have it set up such that it'll send you emails, if that's easier. But until you (or I) figure that out, you can come here to read it. I've just returned from the bookstore with a French phrasebook/dictionary, some headphones (mine died a long time ago, and the ones I got after that didn't take long to disappear), a pocket posh logic book for when the crosswords get too frustrating, and a new address book. It has owls on it! (:

The best way to reach me while I'm in France will probably be via Skype. You can download it free. It's basically... a phone in your computer. You can use it to "call" other Skype users when they (and you, of course) are online; you can also do voicechat if you have a webcam. My Skype account set so that people who aren't in my contacts list can't call me, but if you shoot me an email, I'll send you my skype username. I think you can also try searching for me, and I'll accept your friend request (if I like you enough!) I kinda hate using AIM, so if you'd like to chat via text, Gmail's chat is the best way to do that.

France is 6 hours ahead of the US (EST). That means that when you get home from work around 6, it'll be midnight where I am, and I might be sleepy. Or I might not. We'll see! It also means that when you are up early for work at 6am, I'm eating lunch. I don't know my class schedule yet (I'm taking beginning French), but I think I'll probably be around between 8pm and 11pm-ish... that's 2 in the afternoon to 5 in the evening, home-time.

Most of my pictures will be on facebook, but I'll post some here, too.

I think that's all? I also really appreciate mail, if you feel so inclined to send me a letter. When I get an address, I'll let you know via email.

Tomorrow, I pack. Yikes! Laundry time...

Last thing, guys: stop saying it wrong. It doesn't rhyme with Don. It rhymes with something in between pan and Ken, because French accents are difficult. My French friend Philippe says so, the people from the program say so, and this website says so. So, there. (: