On Thurdsay and Friday before I left, I went into the field. I had to fight a bunch of plants and take samples in the rain. I saw Carole and her husband Chris and then I headed back to
Dijon on Friday night. I spent most of Saturday freaking out about all of my stuff and filtering samples. It was a pretty nice day and I made sure to go on one more run with Katie before I left for the States and she left for internship. On Sunday, Carmela and her family had me over for lunch along with their family friend, Phillipe and his two kids. It was cool because these are people who have been so nice to me since I have arrived and they all speak both English and French so they have been extra amazing when I've really needed help. I also gave Carmela's daughter, who is obsessed with the movie "Sweenie Todd", a t-shirt and hat that Maresa got for free from work. Now, I think I will always be a good memory for her. We spent the rest of the day wandering around their village and relaxing in Carmela's house. That night, we returned to Dijon and I gave away a bunch of my furniture to all of the kids. It felt good to finally get rid of some things. I should have started giving away/selling things sooner but I guess it is just in my nature to do things last minute. I had dinner at my friend Corinne's and then hung out with friends for the rest of the night. For Bastille Day or the 14th juillet we had a big picnic at the "fontain de jouvence" (I think that is how you spell it). It's a really cool park right outside of Dijon. It was kind of like my going away party/Bastille Day celebration. Most of my friends from the University came and it was a beautiful and really fun day. I spent the rest of that day working and then sorting out my apartment. My friend Aurelie came over and helped me soooo much. It was incredible. She just made me put everything in a box and like that, my apartment was being prepared for actually leaving.
After Bastille Day, I really had only 2 days to move out and head home. It was definitely a whirlwind and I don't even remember half of it. I can say that saying goodbye to everyone was hard and that I hope that I'll be seeing most people pretty soon. I got a really nice Burgundian cookbook with a little message from all of my friends at the University in it! It was a crazy few week following a crazy few months and an amazing year! I can't believe that last year is over; I think I'm still in shock. But I'm sure the years to come will be just as interesting, but never compare to my year in France.
