Last-minute craziness.
Today Madame Camus gave me a little mug as a going-away present. She calls it a souvenir "of France and of Marie-France" (her first name). This afternoon Heather and I walked to Leclerc so I could buy a new suitcase; my old one broke on the way here. I managed to withstand the temptation of the McDonald's in the Leclerc parking lot by reminding myself that 1) I had a goat cheese pizza waiting for me for dinner, 2) I'll probably go to the McDonald's in Charles de Gaulle Airport on Monday before I leave, and 3) in a few days, I'll be back in the United States and going to McDonald's won't be a big deal anymore.
Today I had the most awkward encounter with a student ever. It's almost too painful to write about, but here goes. The student sees me in the hall and asks what we would be doing next week. I tell him that next week I'll be back in the United States. He feels obligated to tell me goodbye, and it's important to note here that in France, you usually kiss someone when you tell them goodbye. Or when you tell them hello. There are a few teachers at the lycée who have felt obligated to kiss me whenever they see me (and that is one thing I will not miss), simply because it's normal and it's what they do for every teacher here. It's never stopped feeling uncomfortable to me, and the minute I see this student lean toward me one fraction of an inch, I take a big step back and offer my hand for a handshake, explaining that this is the way people say hello and goodbye in the United States. Did I mention this student is about 16 and looks vaguely like Adam?
Sara is sitting next to me right now, translating a list of words into Chinese. I just asked her if she was studying her French, but no, she's studying German. She's so damn diligent, I always feel lazy next to her. I've changed my journal icons again, but I'm not sure how long I'll stick with these; I think my new default icon is pretty boring. Tomorrow I’m concentrating all my efforts on packing and running the last few errands.