I am starting this entry on the train because it is 7 in the morning, and even after a sleepless night, I am not sleepy, and after over a month without too much time to reflect, I have a lot on my mind.

I am truly sad about leaving Nancy. Whenever I mention this to anyone, they remind me that I am going to live at the beach and that I will be with my boyfriend, and of course I am ecstatic about all of this, but it doesn't mean that I am not upset about leaving a city that finally feels like home and the wonderful friends I have here (or there? I am pulling away from the city as we speak).

My intention for my last month in Nancy was to do everything cool in the city I hadn't done yet, like go to the aquarium and to do everything I really loved and knew one last time like the art museum and the Musé de l'Ecole de Nancy. To spend as much time at all of the cool outdoor cafes as possible. To picnic in the Parc de la Pepinière, to wander around Place Stan and the Vieille Ville. As it was, I was working over full time and did not have time to do all of these things.

After work, my primary stress came from getting my healthcare stuff taken care of. Last year I didn't fool with healthcare much, since I didn't really understand how it worked, but health care stuff accumulates, and this year I was determined to take advantage of the health care system which I have read is ranked the first in the world. I needed physical therapy for my ankle, new glasses/contacts, a trip to the dentist, etc. So I got a mutuelle and tried make sure I was signed up for government
healthcare that (in theory!) every worker in France has. So between work and all the doctor visits, I spent my time harassing the CPAM—the general healthcare office to make sure that I was signed up for healthcare. After the first two months they lost my dossier, then I talked to someone who seemed like he knew what he was talking about, and then after another month with no result, I went back last week only to discover that it wasn't the CPAM that was supposed to take care of my dossier, but in fact, the MGEN—healthcare for people who work in public education. So I spent months and months going back to this office, while no one informed me that I wasn't even in the right place. When they told me that, I had the bizarrest sense of both anger and relief. Anger that no one had told me, and relief maybe another office would be more efficient, would finally help me get this taken care of. So I ventured out to the city where the office was located, and the woman was helpful, and I think that I am finally going to get this worked out, although it still may take a while.

Anyway, all that is not to say that I haven't had any time for fun...after forcing my friends to celebrate my birthday for a month in January/February, it was only fair to give Kat a month of celebrations—so this included many picnics and some fun nights on the town. And as a grand finale Annika, Kat, and I went to Paris, where we stayed with Sarah. It was only 24 hours in the City of Lights, but we made the most of it—went out on the town (karaoke...I don't think those Parisians will forget our rendition of several Whitney Houston songs any time soon), shopped along the Champs Elysee, and saw the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Grand Palais, which was awesome.

Leaving France has been strange, rather anticlimactic—especially compared to last year when I had to say goodbye to all of my friends at once and leave Carlos there in Metz. I mean, I wasn't expecting fireworks, or the entire nation to go into a state of mourning, but I didn't have the opportunity to say a real goodbye to a lot of my friends and coworkers, and the goodbyes I did goodbyes were staggered. My internet and phone were cut off a little earlier than expected (this might have been a blessing—would I have accomplished everything those last days if I had had the internet to distract me?), but it also left me without contact with anyone (with the exception of Kat who was still in town and dropped by a few times) so my last days were just me alone in my apartment scrubbing and packing. So my departure was quiet (with the exception of the sound of me dragging my enormous suitcase down three flights of stairs at six this morning—sorry neighbors!)

In a few hours I will arrive in Mainz for a couple days with Zee and Nik, where I have to figure out how to reduce some of this weight in my suitcase before I get on my flight to Almeria on Wednesday. I can't wait to get to Spain so I can finally relax!