California, here we come!

I can’t believe it’s already June. We’ve arrived in Bordeaux for the month (more on that later) and when we first moved to France, this point all seemed so incredibly far away. Now May has come and gone and it was quite the month. Most of it was spent with post-Bordeaux plans up in the air. For anyone that knows me, they know I hate not having a plan. I like to know what’s up ahead and what I can do to be best prepared for it. I’ll roll with change, but I like the ability to plan a lot more.

So when we found out that Dave’s second year of school didn’t start until January, leaving us with July-December open, we debated on finding a place to start his thesis, or finding a job (or both) and where all this was going to take place but that was a mystery that hinged on responses from professors, potential employers, consulates… (Sidebar: it has taken some serious getting used to when it comes to European response times. The slowed pace is not limited to 2-hour lunch breaks. It creeps over into response times too, making it difficult for this fast-paced American to plan. And, well, see above for thoughts on being able to plan. Argh.) Basically, July forward was one giant question mark.

Until now. Finally, we are celebrating June’s arrival with a plan!

Dave has accepted a harvest position back HOME! I’m so excited, I can almost taste the Mexican food that awaits me.

He’ll be starting mid-August, through at least October and possibly into November, which means we get to have a good, long stay in the States and be there through the holidays.

I have to admit, I’m ready for a break. I miss my family and my friends. And general things, like being able to make small talk with people. Or not starting to panic-sweat because the lady at the grocery store check out line has told me that it’s now my job to tell anyone who comes up behind me that her lane is closed after me (this usually results in me mumbling “désolé” and pointing to her “ferme” sign). Not speaking French is exhausting and while I still think my decision to focus on learning Italian is smarter in the long run, it doesn’t make life easier now. Plus, I hear the US is having really warm temperatures and I’m sitting in a sweatshirt in June in France. (We would have to pick the coldest spring in recent memory to come here. Le sigh.)

I think Dave is excited too; he knows that the position will be different from his previous post, but I think he’s missed getting his hands dirty at a winery (literally), so this will be a nice “break” for him too. And, 12+ hour days seem much more tolerable when there is a check waiting for you at the end of every two weeks— the good grades just aren’t the same 🙂 )

So there it is. Our plan. I literally feel lighter; not just because of the outcome, but because said plan exists. We’ll finish up Bordeaux at the end of June, rent a car to travel to some of the other French wine regions we’ve been wanting to see, and ultimately wind up in Nice to meet Dave’s parents for our vacation to Italy for the month of July. Then homeward-bound to enjoy the smell of harvest in Napa Valley.

I love it.

4 comments on “California, here we come!

  1. You are here – horray!! You brought the sunshine with you!! So happy! I’ll message you my number and we can set up a time to meet. PS – plans are definitely a great thing! I too am the planner and the linguistics person in the family- lucky for us – we can enjoy being a bit more settled in right now…but I’m sure I’ll come up with a plan soon! Talk with you soon!

  2. so hopefully we will see each other in august!? andrea and i leave back to italy aug 13th 🙂

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