Travel Day

As I sit here in the Philadelphia airport waiting for my layover to come to an end, I can’t help but reflect on the past week. First of all, it has gone by quicker than any other. It honestly feels like the past 7 days have been swept up together in one cyclone of preparation. On Thursday, I got my host family “information”, which included a street address and a phone number. No name or family members, nothing else. I wasn’t going to call because the idea of talking on the phone to a stranger in a foreign country (whom I know absolutely nothing about) was pretty daunting. I was just planning on winging it and talking to them when I arrive.

However, after much convincing from my mother and a few friends, I decided to call. The husband picked up on the first ring with a cheerful “Allo?” just like they do on the tapes we listened to in French class. We talked in French for a while about me and my life in America, then he asked me if I had any questions for him. He totally wasn’t ready for what I was about to ask. While I meant to ask him if he has a wife, I actually asked him if he has a husband. After an awkward “uhhh…”, I realized what I had said wrong and corrected myself. He was very kind about my mistake and patiently said “yes I am the husband and I have a wife”. He mentioned that they have four children: an 18 year old son, a 16 year old daughter, a 13 year old son, and a 10 year old daughter. He said something in English, and then I asked if he spoke English. He said, “I speak a bit of English, but I am not as good as my wife, I will let you talk to her”. His wife answered with a very excited “Bonjour!” and kept telling me that she and the rest of the family were excited to meet me. We talked for a couple of minutes then I let them get back to whatever they were doing before. They were both very friendly and I can’t wait to meet them in person.

This past week has also been filled with “see you laters” (not goodbyes, as my friend Dayna reminded me), and I can honestly say I’ve never felt more loved and cared for. I send a heartfelt thank-you to my friends and family for all of the thoughtful calls, dinners, texts, cards, gifts, facebook messages, and faces-on-sticks (confused about that last one? See the Anna’s Journey tab at the top of this page and it should explain things). I am truly so blessed to be surrounded by such magnificent people who reciprocate my love tenfold.

I will be sure to write an update once I arrive. Until then, I will hopefully sleep my way through the plane ride to Paris.

Affecteusement,

Katie