So I've been back in the States for about a month now and it's been pretty fantastic, though I do still miss France a bit. Things have gotten a bit complicated re: finding a job since my previous employer (from last summer) mislead me about having a job waiting for me and then basically left me out to dry.
In other news, I just got back from a few days in Tallahassee with my mom. We had gone down primarily to look for apartments. I was also able to meet with a couple of the French professors and a bunch of the French grad students. I'm really quite pleased with my choice of grad school -- all the people seem to be extremely friendly and helpful. Plus, Tallahassee is BEAUTIFUL.
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| View of the capital building from "the parkway" |
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| That fountain? Totally a certified swimming pool (all the fountains on campus are) |
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| Beautiful Lake Ella |
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| The building I'll be working in |
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| The front of the visitor's center/football stadium |
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| Inside the football stadium |
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| FSU is one of 2 universities that have a collegiate circus. |
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| I'm in love with all these trees and spanish moss |
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| Landis green |
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| Mom and I at Bj's Brewhouse for dinner |
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| Up close on the capital building |
Mom and I took 2 days to run around looking at apartments, and then on Friday morning, I was able to sign a lease. I'm really happy with the apartment -- it's small (haha, it's almost 3x the size of my French studio), but it's got a nice open kitchen with tons of counter space and a walk-in closet. AND it's about a 5 minute walk from campus and the campus/bus. I couldn't be happier, really. I'll be moving in at the end of July.
Friday night, we went to see The Fault In Our Stars with one of the MA students. (It was so fantastic. I recommend. I very highly recommend.) On Saturday, we took the advice of one of the recent graduates and went to Wakulla Springs State Park and took a riverboat cruise where we saw some alligators, manatees, and tons of birds. It was so beautiful and so worth it. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my good camera, so all my pictures were taken on my phone. I think I'm going to try to make a ritual out of going on the little tour because I just thought it was incredible to be so close to manatees.
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| MANATEE |
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| More manatees |
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| There's an alligator face in there somewhere |
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| Play "Spot the alligator tail" |
Sunday, mom's spidey sense helped us get home -- she suggested going to the airport early and just waiting there instead of walking around the mall. We did, and found out that our flight was delayed because of storms, but they were able to get us on an earlier flight. It worked out perfectly.
So now I'm home, still job hunting, trying to figure out moving companies, and starting to pack up my life to move once again. Until next time, DFTBA.
