T-minus 10 days!

Dear friends,

As you all know, I am heading to France in just 10 short days (eek!) to spend 7 months as an English Teaching Assistant in 4 different primary schools in Nevers, France. Nevers, a town of about 40,000, is located in the Burgundy (Bourgogne, en français) region of France, about 2 hours south of Paris by train. For those who are interested, you can learn more about Nevers (and see pictures!) at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevers or, for those of you who speak French, at http://www.ville-nevers.fr/.

I am VERY excited to start this amazing adventure, but it would be a lie to say I’m not a teensy bit nervous at the same time! I’m actually moving to a country that’s famous for its inefficient bureaucracy – case in point, I start work at the beginning of October, but it’s quite possible that I won’t receive my first paycheck until the END of November!

On the upside, the French get a TON of vacation time. My contract is for 7 months (I only work 12 hours each week) and I get SEVEN WEEKS of paid vacation. Seriously.

I’m planning on living at a “foyer” once I get to Nevers – it’s basically an apartment complex just for students and “jeunes travailleurs” (young workers), so everyone living there will be under 30. Hopefully it’ll be a good way to meet some people; I’ve heard good things about it from a girl who lived there last year while doing the same assistantship I’m doing.

Obviously, I won’t be using my American phone while I’m in France, so I won’t receive any calls or texts to my number after September 17. I do, however, have a French phone already for those who just HAVE to talk to me – email me if you want the number and I will certainly send it your way. I can also always be reached by email or skype (which is free! My user name is gkeenan09). That being said, I’m not sure what my internet access situation will be in Nevers, especially when I first arrive, so it might take me a while to respond to emails, etc., but I’m NOT ignoring you!

For those of you who are still in the Franklin/Nashville/Middle Tennessee area, I would love to see you before I leave! For all who are reading this, thanks for your support, and PLEASE keep in touch!

PS. The blog title is kind of a play on the name of the James Bond movie and the name of the town...