There's no combination of words I could put on the back of a postcard....

....that could explain how awesome today has been. I'm so content, and it's wonderful. I've had a hard couple of days, feeling like I was really far away from home and being afraid of slipping into the normal monotony of school where I get so focused on what needs to be done that I leave no room for spontaneity or flexibility...and therefore missing out on basically my entire reason for being here (which I don't really know what that is, but it's definitely not that). I might be missing one or two fun things (slash...a lot) at Wooster, but there's always going to be more, and I know that I have all of that to go back to. And sure, maybe I'm SUPER EXCITED to go back...but that shouldn't mean that I should focus on that the whole time and not on how amazing it is that I fricken live in France for the time being. 'There's no time like the present,' right? bah, cliches are the best.

That's why I'm so thankful for days like today, which really prove that point. Last Thursday = awful, because I don't have class from 9:30 - 5:30 which gave me lots of time to do nothing and mope (plus it was pouring rain and freezing which was just not ok because finding entertainment indoors has proved to be fairly difficult). But today I realized that I'm in France - and it's just dumb to be sad.

So after Hannah, Molly and Mac and I had a lovely cup of coffee, and then we had birthday cake for all the September birthday people in IES, I decided to walk home and on the way, explore all of the things that I keep passing on the bus/tram finally. So walked along the Loire for a while, and then went and explored the Japanese garden on an island in the river, and then walked through a park and it was just lovely. And I felt so so so content - the kind of happy where you just feel awesome and gorgeous and like everything is right in the world. More importantly, I felt like I was at home. I've had the feeling before - freshman year at Woo I would get it a lot while walking to class, listening to an excellent song on my iPod (RIP) and appreciating how absolutely gorgeous the campus is. And I get it when I'm in SL on a break, and hanging out with everyone...or even just driving around town thinking about good memories and all that. I get it sometimes when I'm with Andrew too (sorry for being corny) but that's why he's so great, is because he makes me feel just content. It's such a good feeling, and I really can't express what it really is, or where it comes from. I just know that it's a good sign.

So tonight, I have Phonetics class at the fac (university campus) which is amazing, and then my neighbor, Jake's host mom invited me over for dinner. Which will be lovely. Then tomorrow, I think we're going to go scavenging for ground beef (which might be impossible) and try and grill hamburgers which we miss so much, and then Mt. Saint Michel (Diagon Alley) on Saturday! Prepare yourselves for an onslaught of pictures....just warning you!) Which means all the fabulousness is just going to continue!