Arrived in France

I am happy to say that my journey from MS to France turned out just fine. It did take a while (longer than I would have liked), but I am so glad to be here.

Even though I've been excited about returning to France, I've also been nervous over the last few weeks. Last time that I came, I felt extremely overwhelmed during the first couple weeks. I thought that this would probably be the case this time as well, and I was not looking forward to that time of transition.

However, this time I feel unexpectedly comfortable being here. It seems perfectly normal to walk around Valence. I really do love France. It is hard to find the words to explain exactly what it is about this place. If I tried, I would only end up with the cliches that don't truly show how this place is.

I have only been here for two days, so there may still be awkward transitioning time later, but I don't think that it will be on the same level as last time.

It also probably helps that the contact person for my area is absolutely amazing, and she's incredibly nice. I am lucky to have her. The paperwork here is a nightmare (this is normal for France), but she has done a lot of work to have everything under control. I just do what she tells me to do.

My French does still need some work. I am certainly not as good at speaking French as when I left France last time. It will come back with time though. Even though I don't speak as well as I did before, I feel more comfortable speaking with people. Before I hated knowing that I was making mistakes. Now, I don't care as much. Yes, I make plenty of mistakes, but I know that as long as I keep trying, the mistakes will happen less and less often.

I think one of the things that I've learned since the last time I was in France is that I don't have to be perfect all the time. And, it's a relief not to always try to be.

Pictures of Valence and of my apartment will come soon.

I've had some time to explore. I found the grocery store and other important shops, but, I'm also having  difficulties with jetlag.

All that I can think about it how long I have left until it's an acceptable hour to go to sleep. I might be able to make it a few more hours.

6 pm is a perfectly normal time to go to sleep, right?