A la prochaine...

I'm completely mystified that my experience in France has so quickly come and gone. I squeezed in every opportunity to spend time with my friends in their final days in France, and we had some of our most fun there - in Rambouillet, in Paris, enjoying every minute.

After my friends left, I spent my last two weeks on my own and with the family. I did the last of my shopping, packing, and errands, visited my favorite cafe and workers, and watched over the kids a lot. As the kids had just begun summer vacation, I had them all day every day for my last week in the Paris area, and we, too, had some of our most fun times together. I took them to my favorite park for a picnic, went to see the Hannah Montana movie with the girl and her best friend (which was actually a fun movie to watch and get some teasers of Tennessee), played several board games, watched Mary Poppins with both kids, and just had a great time with them before we all left for vacation in Avignon.

We went to Avignon to meet the family's Franco-American friends and experience the city's theater festival. The American family is also bilingual and has an English-speaking au pair from South Africa. The few days I spent in Avignon with them were relaxing, fun, and full of plays and pooltime. I had a great time with all of the kids and the other au pair, the hotel was an absolutely gorgeous stone dwelling, and the theater festival was a truly unique experience. I left after Bastille Day to drive to Marseille and begin my voyage home. My departure was surreal, and when I finally reached the Knoxville airport and saw my family waiting for me, I felt like my adventures in France had been a vivid dream. In ways, I felt as though I'd never left, but France will always stay with me. I know I learned and grew so much over my year abroad, and I would do it over again. I am so fortunate to have had such an amazing experience in my young adult life, and I can only hope that I continue to capture more incredible opportunities and learning experiences. I want the most I can get out of life!

Thank you to all of my friends and family who have supported me or contributed to my experience in France! I thank my French family and friends along with loved ones back home, and I appreciate you all following my blog with such dedication. I'm so happy to have shared my experience with you :)

After wearing holes into three pairs of shoes, losing the heel of a boot, an earring, an earring back, an ipod, various buttons, experiencing a bracelet casualty, 3 umbrella casualties, a fist-sized bruise from falling out of bed, a scraped knee from a bike encounter, and a hole in new jeans from said scraped knee (among many other mishaps and wounds)...

That's a wrap! A la prochaine, Paris!