The Great TAPiF Adventure, Episode 1: The Pre-Departure Preparatory Post

A preface:

If you've talked to me much at all in oh, let's say the past 11 months or so, you've probably heard something or other about my upcoming participation in the Teaching Assistant Program in France (or TAPiF, for short). I stumbled upon the program's website last October while researching grad school options, and started applying almost right away. Everything was submitted and ready by the January deadline, and on April 4th I finally got my official acceptance to teach English within the academie of Grenoble. June brought me my official assignment- two middle schools in Saint-Julien-en-Genevois, a suburb of Geneva situated right along the French/Swiss border in the region of Haute-Savoie. Now it's September, and I'm counting down the hours to take-off Sunday night. Suffice it to say, it's already been a bit of a journey.

I never thought much about creating a blog. I always thought it would be too self-indulgent, or that the regular on-goings of my little life didn't merit dedicatory postings. But enough of my friends, family, former coworkers, etc. have asked me to keep them posted on my first post-grad foray into the real world that this seemed like a good way to document my 7-ish months abroad.

And so, without further ado:

Karlan Louise's Great TAPiF Adventure!

Episode 1: The pre-departure Preparatory Post

I started packing today. After months of visualizing my checklist and stocking up on American items like makeup that cost significantly less than their French counterparts, my fancy new spinner luggage (thanks again for a wonderful grad present, Mom and Dad!) is reaching capacity. And just like getting ready for any other move, the more I pack up, the more my room resembles ground zero. Dad practically did a double-take when he saw the carnage that was my childhood bedroom (now his at-home office), although Mom had to admit that she wasn't so surprised. It looks like putting away everything I won't be taking with me- both in my room and those things still packed away in the back seat of my car- will be more challenging and time-consuming than getting packed up to go. This is exactly why I decided to get an early start.

With my journey to France starting so soon (70 hours, and counting!), everybody has the exact same question for me: "Are you excited?" And honestly, I don't know. I guess I'd describe my feelings as numbness, punctuated by the occasional mad adrenaline rush or fit of panic. The fact that this has been a long time coming, that I'll be in France for the second time in as many years, that this time I won't just be living out of a suitcase, and that five years of college didn't answer the big question of what to do with myself in the long-run, all put me in a state of denial. And as much as I want to return to the France I love so well, I'm not looking forward to those first few weeks of orientations, jet lag, paperwork, appointments, and generally getting settled in. At least I finally have an affordable, partly furnished (whatever that means!) apartment lined up for myself (Thank you so much, Arthur Rimbaud Middle School!) and contact info for some of the members in the Geneva 1st Ward in case of an emergency. Now I just have to enjoy my last couple days in Washington before I fly out!

Speaking of, some of you may be wondering how I'm handling the thought of careening through the air in a metal death box for hours upon hours. I can be pretty vocal about my dislike of flying, and unlike last summer's direct-from-Seattle flight, this trip across the Atlantic will be a bit longer and more complicated. My ever-generous grandparents used their frequent flier miles to get me to/from Geneva, which is the closest airport to S-J-en-G. While a direct flight to Paris is quite doable, Geneva's airport is less easily accessible. I'll leave Seattle at 9:00pm on Sunday the 23rd, then arrive in Atlanta at 5-something in the morning, hang out for 12-ish hours, then onto Paris, where I'll hop on another plane to Geneva, and the time zone shift will have me landing at 1:00pm on the 25th. I'm still not sure how I'll handle all this, but I have a few books I've been meaning to read, and it'll give me plenty of time to start adjusting my body to France time. I'm just praying for everything to be on-time, and for a good in-flight movie or two.

That concludes my first-ever blog post! I'll play around with backgrounds and such later and find something I really like. In the meantime, I need to scurry off to bed so I can wake up early to go "Do the Puyallup" with my mom. 

À bientôt!

-Karlan Louise