One Month, Two Months.

Well, I have been in Grenoble for a little over a month now. As that means, I have a little less than two months left in France. As the days grow closer, and March is now in swing, I wonder if I have done everything I've wanted here. Have I accomplished what I came here for? What did I come here for? Meanwhile, I prepare myself for my Osaka, Japan application. Will I learn everything I want to while I am there as well? What kind of experiences did I have here that I want in Japan? Do I finally feel like I understand French culture?

I have so many questions for myself at this point in time. I've spent five months here, speaking French, eating French food, watching French television ... et cetera. I know that at this point I am definitely over my initial culture shock and have accepted this foreign culture. Some things are still a little weird and different, but that is all right. For the most part, speaking with Americans has become somewhat foreign to me now. While I read American news, Alaskan news, listen to what people have to say on Facebook ... I am out of the loop. When I return home, what will it be like? I've read a thing or two (and heard a thing or two) about reverse culture shock. I am not terribly worried about it, but I wonder from time to time.

Of course, as my departure nears, I fret about packing. I have simply bought too much stuff here. Coming from Angers to Grenoble was a nightmare. I had two suitcases filled to the brim, a backpack filled, a bigger sac/purse filled, a small bag filled, and a small purse filled. I only have two arms. I must begin to start sending things home in boxes, but unfortunately it is so expensive and I am super broke. So I am a little flustered over that, though I try not to think too hard about it. At least I have learned my lesson (though, Japan will be much easier since I will land in my designated city and go straight home instead of having to take a train to Paris ... blahblahblah). I can't bring myself to toss too much. I have kept a lot of newspapers, which definitely take up a lot of room, surprisingly. Though, some newspapers I have kept for specific reasons (the War on Mali, December 21 Apocalypse, American elections, and more).

I will be keeping this blog post short since I am mostly in a contemplative state of mind at this point. It has been a long time since I've made a blog post so thought I may as well, at least, write something small.