I got my visa!

So I haven't left for France yet but I figured I'd give you all some basic info to start things off. I finally got my visa today. (6 days before is not bad...) I have wanted to be fluent in French for as long as I can remember. When I was six, my family moved from Vancouver, Canada to California. I remember going back to visit relatives every year and always being envious of my cousin who went to a French immersion school. Those schools are few and far between in the States. Whenever I visit Vancouver, I can always tell I’m home when I see the signs in both English and in French saying, “Welcome to Canada! Bienvenue à Canada!” My family has always been supportive but very few people outside of them understand my passion for French. Graduation is looming and I wonder what I’m going to do with my life afterwards. Sometimes I can’t picture myself living in Canada or the U.S. and wonder if France might be the right fit for me.
I already use French phrases in my everyday life and often think of things in French terms before I think of the English word. I’ve even taught my friends a few simple phrases such as “je ne sais pas” (Jenna goes "pa!") and “parce que c'est un jour de fete.” I've taken 5 years of French total. I would say that I can carry on a simple conversation. Not too fast though. ;) C'est tres rapide! Even when they're speaking English... I'm sure after a few weeks I'll catch up. What I really can't wait for is to dream in French. Tres jolie!
So about the program in France. It's through CIEE and it's held in Rennes. (for those of you that don't speak French, you don't pronounce the "s" at the end) Rennes is a relatively big town. 200,000 people with 60,000 of them being college students. The university we're partnering up with is the Universite of Haute Bretagne. The beginning of the program starts out in Paris (where else right?) I'm really glad that I get to see Paris but I didn't want to spend the whole semester there, despite it housing Disneyland Paris. ;) The program includes a homestay. This was the most important part for me. I really wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to be around American students the whole time so I could work on my fluency. Also, I think it's a great experience to be able to become a part of a French family and really live as one of them. We're going to have trips to the castles of the Loire Valley and Normandy and the beach... It's going to be AWESOME!!!
Well hopefully my posts will become more interesting once I leave the country. For now, I must get back to packing. Je n'attends pas visiter France! A bientot!