Ah!
Yes, that's how I chose to greet you all. :D It's how I've been reacting a lot lately. Whenever someone asks me how I'm feeling, I go, "ah!" It's officially mid-August. I officially move out of home on the last day of this month. So, there's about 2 weeks before I bid adieu to the United States. Ah!
On Friday, I went to New York City. I love the city, it's where I was born. I was raised in an urban city, across the Hudson River from NYC. Naturally, I'll take any reason to just go and spend a day there. That being why I decided to pick up my visa at the French consulate rather than having it mailed. The whole experience at the consulate was......an experience....to put it nicely. I ranted about it to a number of people, but I won't include it here to save time and space. Feel free to ask about it, if anyone really wants to know how it went.
With my visa, I have a full green-light to travel now. The picture came out horrible, as always. There's one thing that does greatly concern me, though. It's valid only until July 2nd. I stay a week longer than that. The lady at the consulate told me I'd have to try to extend it at a prefecture in France as there was nothing they could have done, apparently. Her use of "try" and the fact that I believe I'm the only AFSer whose visa expires earlier than the stay worries me... As of now, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
After the consulate, I went exploring NYC, at one point taking a nice promenade through Central Park. Wherever I went to in New York, I'd hunt down anyone who spoke French and either eavesdrop or start a conversation with them (for practise, and because whenever I mention my exchange, the French usually end up being more excited about it than me!) There was this one family who I sat next to on a bench. They noticed my iPad and were pretty fascinated by it. The woman asked me a few questions in her rough English. I responded in French. Her next few questions were still in English, until she understood I wouldn't give up responding in French. So she continued with her questions, and I responded to them, whilst demonstrating the features of an iPad, all in French. Eventually, we just then decided to talk to one another. I told her that I was born in the city and live across the river from it. She related that her family and herself were in NYC as tourists, on holidays from France as their first visit to the U.S. I asked her from which part of France she lives. She replied it was by Lille in the North. Instantly, I jumped at the response and told her how I was going to live close to there. Right away, she became excited and asked more questions, to which I gladly responded. By the end of the whole conversation, she had provided me with her name, email, phone number, address, and work info to contact her during my stay in France. She and her husband invited me to their place and even offered me to take me to Belgium to a city they said is amazing. In all honesty, I thought the whole ordeal was pure luck and kind of surreal. Not only did I get to practise my French, I had gotten invited to do things! I had to process it all after they left. Hopefully, I do get the chance to run into them when I'm in France.
Switching scenes, remember how I mentioned in previous posts how I found great potential in the French-bound-only AFSer Facebook group? Also how I was looking forward for the friendships to be made between exchange students as a result of said interaction? It's happening! Thanks to Katie, I met 1/3 of all other France-bound AFSers from all around the world. Some time ago, Gabe and I thought it'd be a great idea for the France-bound AFSers to have a group-video chat so we'd get to know each other before we meet in-person. After the France country call, Jackson organised the group-video chatting using Google+'s Hangout feature, that allows 10 people to video-conference simultaneously. Truth be told, it was a hit and we've had several more since then. So far, the people I've "hungout" with besides Gabe and Jackson have been: Elise, Kevin, Allyssa, Nathaniel, and Kenny. It's great because with how we are, one would think we've known each other for some time. Even outside the hangouts, I learnt that Elise and I actually share a lot of the same views. Getting to know each other before the gateway orientation in NYC on the 31st where we meet for the first time in-person will definitely make everything less awkward and just more fun and better in general!
The checklist. AFS really should provide one for future AFSers. There's quite a lot to remember and juggle that it's hard to keep track of it all. I'm more than sure that on the week of the 31st, I'll be messaging a number of people to try and compare and assure I haven't forgotten anything.
Hoping that all works out as I have no clue when my next post's going to be.
-Gello
Hey! It's funny both our most recent posts are about NYC! Your anecdote about the french lady you met is SO crazy. That's amazing that you talked to her, sounds like you're more confident with your french than me! Congratulations with the visa! The expiration date deal is strange but I'm sure you'll figure it out.
ReplyDeleteI remember you wrote somewhere that you're bringing an iphone and I was wondering how you're going about that? Will you unlock it, or pay for roaming fees? (I'm debating the whole phone issue for myself, so any response is helpful!)
Yeah, I had already carried a couple conversations with native French speakers before, but never did I meet one who lives that close to where I'll be, even inviting me over and offering a tour! I really hope the visa won't be too much of an issue.
ReplyDeleteApple sells unlocked iPhones that work with any authorised carrier worldwide. However, mine wasn't one of those when I bought it; so I had to manually jailbreak it and then unlock it from there. I asked my host mom about phone plans for iPhone in France, but the main issue that arose was that they were all either offered with contracts, or gave very little value for an extremely high price without one. Whatever I do choose, if anything, I'll just get a SIM card with a simple talk/text plan without a contract. I'm also bringing my iPad which I can get data there, without a contract, for only 8 euros a month. I have an app that allows me to call/text for free, so long as I have data. (Planning on using it as extra back-up phone.)
I'll find a way to pass on this message to you in case you don't read this. I also noticed that non-members can now comment on your blog, so expect to hear from me!