Study Abroad

Hello, long-forsaken readers (should any of you still exist). In the next few weeks, I will be resurrecting this blog in order to chronicle my year in Poitiers. I leave Houston on September 1, stop briefly in Dallas (because that makes a great deal of sense) and arrive in Paris at Charles de Gaulle on the morning of September 2. At that point, I will meet up with a fellow intrepid study abroad student and take the train to Poitiers, arriving at approximately 16h10 (that's 4:10 p.m. to Americans), at which time I will hopefully be met by one or more of my host family (who, by the way, sound amazing). Orientation commences at 10h on September 4, so I will have a day to adjust to the time difference, unpack and hopefully explore the city a bit. I will be living here:

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with Brenda Marshall and Bruno Jorigné, as well as several of their children (including a daughter my age). I am enrolled in the Université de Poitiers, and will be taking classes in French language, literature, history and culture, as well as some math, if I can manage it.

I'm generally very excited, although I still have a longish list of things to do before I leave and there seem to be a daunting number of things to accomplish in my first week there (not to mention a daunting amount of money to be spent in doing them). I will try to post regularly, but I make no promises as hopefully I will be busy. Also, I may or may not write my posts in French once I get there, but if I do I'll be sure to run them through Google Translate for your amusement and (limited) comprehension.

As a final note, my mailing address in Poitiers will be:

Hallie Gammon
Chez Mme Marshall
2 allée des Aubépines
86550 Mignaloux-Beauvoir Poitiers
France

À bientôt!