Tuesday was my last day in Roanna and on Thursday morning at 6:00AM I boarded a plane to take me back to the states. I thought I would take a moment and reflect on my time in France. (Thanks to the other PIRE participant for inspiring this blog format)

Things that surprised me:

When people arrive at work everybody shakes hands (men) or does the check kissing thing (women)

Daylight from 6AM to 10PM (gotta love mountains at northern latitudes)

Everybody has a dog

How many bakeries there are in a town of 20k

The density of the town

The fact all the stores close at 7:00pm and are closed Sundays

How nice everyone was

How easy it was to get by without any French

The lack of any AC

How many smokers there are over here

 

Things I am going to miss:

All the wonderful bakeries

The food specifically the chocolate and bread

 The ability to walk everywhere

 

Things I left behind:

A wonderful community at Gamr7

A quant little apartment

1 well used oscillating fan

About 50 pounds I walked off

Things I am taking with me:

A wonderful set of new experiences

A confidence I can go anywhere and do anything

A new set of professional contacts

4 pounds of chocolate in my luggage