Final Reflection

I honestly don't know how to do this reflection, as I've done, experienced, and accomplished so much this semester. There's really no way to sum it all up sufficiently or succinctly. I loved France so much, and I'm so sad that it's all over. Being home is bittersweet. Continuing from my midpoint reflection, I'll be writing in lists in an attempt to capture it all and to anticipate questions I'll be asked. Thank you to everyone who's been a loyal reader of my blog! Feel free to ask questions in the comments, by email, by text (my phone number works again), or in person.

Things I've Accomplished

• Successfully traveling by myself and learning to plan trips

• Visiting the majority of Lyon's sights and attractions

• Seeing half of the regions in France

• Achieving good grades and some great grades by French standards

• Reading three plays, a handful of poems, and two books in French

• Completing eight puzzles

• Earning a C1 DUEF (Diplôme Universitaire d'Études Françaises) certificate (as of yet unconfirmed but very likely)

• Gaining self-confidence and independence

• Learning to budget

Things I Miss About France

• Hearing and speaking French regularly

• The quality of the food and ingredients

• My friends

• The public transportation

• Lyon as a big city and all the things to do there

• Spring and flowers

Things I Don't Miss About France

• Not having a dishwasher

• Not having a dryer

• The class structure and lack of well-explained expectations for assignments and exams

• Hand-held shower heads

Places I've Visited

• Lyon, France

• Strasbourg, France

• Colmar, France

• Kehl, Germany

• Annecy, France

• La Clusaz, France

• Paris, France

• Le Mont-Saint-Michel, France

• Geneva, Switzerland

• Beaujolais region, France

• Marseille, France

• Avignon, France

• Roussillon, France

• Milan, Italy

• Monterosso, Cinque Terre, Italy

• Florence, Italy

• Rome, Italy

• Venice, Italy

• Pau, France

• Pérouges, France

Will I return to France?

Of course! I'll certainly return on vacation whenever possible; I'd love to see more of the south of France and visit Paris for a longer period of time. I don't know how feasible it would be to live in France permanently. I've put a lot of time and effort into pursuing a publishing career, which is what I would still like to do. Getting a job in the same field in France would require a much higher level of language proficiency than I currently have. The easiest way to do it would be to attend a masters program in either French or translation on a student visa, attain a job search visa, find a job, get a work visa, and pursue permanent residency from there. Since that seems like a lot, I intend to get on my feet in publishing here, then see where I end up. Working in subsidiary or translation rights within publishing might be a good way to use my language skills without necessarily going through the hassle of working in French publishing.