Speaking French in Central Florida

I am spending this summer working as a research assistant in the department of Anthropology here at Rollins, working on a project studying French slang usage from a linguistic perspective. I would prefer not to get into too much detail here on the project because we are still in the early stages of the work, but it is an ethnography, so our main source of information is one-on-one interviews with native French speakers living in the central Florida area. So far I have met with three French people living near by, and I must say that it has been amazing, and it is helping me become even more excited about leaving for France. All three of these people have been absolutely fantastic. They are more than glad to talk to us about our project, but even more glad to speak with me, because I am a student of their language, getting ready to move to their homeland. They have been easy to talk to (all in French, of course) and it has been a really positive reinforcement for me as I prepare to move to a country where I will have to use this language 24/7. I am feeling incredibly confident in my linguistic capabilities, and my ability to communicate in French. I am so glad to have this job this summer, because it is unexpectedly preparing me for my trip abroad. I am also learning a lot about French culture through these interviews, which will certainly help very much while I am over there.

And yes, I have finally applied for my visa. It was a difficult process, but I submitted all of the forms and mailed my payment. I have about another week and a half until I will hear back from the embassy. I'm sure that it is all fine, however I am still nervous that I did something wrong. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see.

I am also anxiously awaiting the arrival of more information about my departure and arrival. I really want to know where I will be living. That is really the most pressing thing I want to know. I have no idea when I will be finding this information out either. It could be tomorrow, or it could be the last week in August, which is obviously very frustrating. I also want to know about my classes, but I know that I won't know about these until I arrive in September. Apparently we need to take a placement exam during orientation. Slightly annoying yes, but how hard could it be?

Anyway, I'm sitting here in the Olin Library avoiding real work, and I think it would be in my best interest to get back to that. Or, take a nap...