A Vow I'm Already Regretting

The Assistant Forum for all of us kids going to France to teach is addictive. I spend hours at a time, combing through some posts that are very useful (packing suggestions, ideas for budgeting, info about my town) and diligently reading posts about what kind of car insurance we should get if we have a car in France (I won't) or which banking system is best in Southern France (which is not where I'm living), or lesson plans for elementary school kids (I'm teaching high schoolers).  I probably will never need to use most of the information I'm learning through the forum, but it's a nice way to soothe some of my nerves and feel like I'm being productive in my preparations.

HOWEVER, this bad thing happened.  Someone started a post about the blogs of other assistants, and there are currently 27 posts on the topic -- and I am doing my darndest to read all of them.  I know this is the last thing I have time for, and it's one of the least productive things I could be doing, but still- click click click I go, scrolling through every post.  There's something extraordinarily comforting about experiencing exactly what I'm going through but from a different perspective.  Everyone else seems to have realized that they, too, have too much stuff to fit into 2 suitcases, and they're all struggling to say goodbye to family and friends and significant others.  I'm not alone in worrying about which bank to choose, what my housing will be like, or if I'll have friends.  And I'm definitely not the only person who's incredibly excited. 

Here's where the subject of my post comes in.  I've traditionally been a pretty terrible blogger.  I get really excited about the idea of capturing my thoughts and experiences, but I also loose steam after a while and the time between posts becomes longer and longer.  BUT (but!) here's what's different this time: I am going to post on here before I let myself look at other people's blogs each day.  Every time.  This year is sure to be such a huge experience in more ways than I can even imagine and I want to have a record of that.  So, that's the deal. 

In other news, I leave two weeks from today.  What?!?  I spent all day running errands, picking up things I need to bring with me (like Big Red gum, which isn't available in France and will be a lovely treat for my kiddies if they do well in a lesson, or as a prize for an activity) and getting some clothing staples.  I splurged hardcore yesterday on a pair of shoes online.  But they're real good; they are black, waterproof boots and the customer ratings were all phenomenal.  And they had them in my size.  Great news all around, except for the cost which is justifiable, according to my roommates, since they are clearly an investment and they will make me like the rain more (I hope).

I've already got my visa back from the Chicago consulate.  It was an incredibly easy process -- Kudos to the fine workers there.  And I've begun looking into banks; looks like I'll be able to use my Busey Bank card for no extra charge in the ATMs, and then I'll set up a bank account in France once I arrive.  I haven't made many more decisions than that, other than that I'll be using BNP (the national bank in France) or Société Générale, which as a great rewards program.  Also, I'm going to use a pay-as-you-go phone that turns out to be significantly cheaper than getting a plan.  I'll just have to get used to using my phone in a very different way.

Allllrighty, on to some other blogs.  For any new people coming across this blog from the assistant's forum, Hello!  It's been a pleasure reading all of your blogs -- thank goodness we're all in this together, eh?