France

  Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Thursday, October 6, 2005

And soon I won't have to throw parties as an excuse to post pics on the pod...

I decided on Sunday that Operation France is in full effect.

It's been between, well, lots of places, but Spain, Egypt, Isreal and France were all contenders for my next country of residence.

Spain is the only one with much rhyme or reason, but maybe that's exactly why it got the boot.

Plus, I've never moved anywhere that I'd already been before. Why start now?

Isreal and the Middle East in general are still kinda screaming my name...India too, to be fair, but possibly they just aren't next.

Egypt, I guess, has the whole contacts (in international development!) living there, always wanted to go thing working in its favour, but am I really walking out of the house in any outfit that even has a hint of happening? I've heard what is acceptable to wear, and while I embrace culture, and like to respect and assimilate somewhat when I live elsewhere, I also embrace wearing next to nothing, especially in hot climates.

I dunno. It just arrived in my brain. France.

Now my friend, whom Em and I conveniently nicknamed France in earlier installments, tried to convince me of this last year, as I was hmming and hawing over where to live then. Even if WWF hadn't offered me my dream job, France the country wasn't even close to being in the running.

My how things change, although I'll admit, France the person, that the seed was planted when you informed my of the working-holiday visa available to young Canadians. I've barely started my Polish citizen application - read: I've lost the very first thing that I need to start, and even if I hadn't, I don't know where Polish citizenship will get me in the rest of Europe by next year, and so France works nicely.

What will I do, one might ask - this lifestyle doesn't just pay for itself, as I'm painfully aware. Well, not take a TESL course, for one. I think that's out of pure defiance so that I won't have a simple, easy fall-back for employment.

And where in France? I'm enjoying the idea of the South. But truly, I haven't even got the slightest idea yet. I barely know what any of the towns/cities are named, or where they're located. Perfect.

France, huh? I've never even really wanted to visit. Although, Colombia was pretty low on my priority list not long before I arrived there.

So I bought books on CD today. Step one.

Nothing drove me more mental than meeting Frenchies when travelling - I am from a bilingual country but can only manage conversation in one of the languages, while Europeans are wandering around switching it all up between 5-7 languages.

My Spanish is better than my French. Like, way better - and that's not saying much. I hate that. And don't even talk to me about my regular visits to Quebec.

Plus, it's within my grasp, I just know it. Even though I can't string together much more than "may I please go to the bathroom," and my accent sounds like it just walked out of the butcher's shop, sometimes the French word comes to mind before the Spanish, even still. Sometimes I think simple thoughts in French. Sometimes I understand what they say on French radio (yes, this nerdball often listens to radio she doesn't understand, just to get excited when she can pick out a few words :)

And so it begins.

I mean, it's at least a year away, most likely, so nothing carved in stone yet. Sure, you can quote me, since it's right here in writing, but I have certainly changed my mind before. Of course, I've also certainly followed through on pretty much anything I've truly put my mind to, so...

France? Porquoi pas?

And maybe that's the best reason for it.