It’s one of those days outside where your mind flashes forward to summer vacation. It’s a sunny, 50-degree afternoon in February in Boston, which is about as rare as me being productive on a Saturday. It almost always doesn’t happen. But that is something I hope to change this summer.
Now you must think I’m crazy – if I can’t be productive during the school year, how (and why on earth would I want to) be productive over the summer, on a Saturday of all days? But being productive at school and being productive on a summer abroad are two entirely different things, and it is one of the many reasons why I’m so incredibly excited for my six weeks abroad to start my summer.
First, a bit about my plans. I am traveling with Tufts University to the gorgeous town of Talloires, France, which is situated close to Lake Annecy and close to the Swiss border. Talloires is an hour from Geneva and three from Paris; it is also twenty minutes from the city of Annecy, which is known as the “Venice of France.” Talloires is decidedly quieter and more pastoral than Paris, and while I never would have anticipated favoring that arrangement, I find myself clamoring to get to Boston Logan and wedge myself into an uncomfortable seat for a long night of travel. I am finally ready to face the fact that my language skills are imperfect, though I fancy myself still fluent in French. I am excited to learn about environmental economics and policy in a setting beautiful enough to make people doubt global warming. And, most of all, I find myself ready to explore, to check items off of the large bucket list that has been filling up since December.
The List
1. Explore Geneva multiple times on my own, as it is a city with great personal significance to me.
2. Independence. I have always pretended to be an independent college student, but my naïveté leaves much to be desired on that front. Getting into Boston more is a perennial resolution, but invariably it gets put on the backburner in favor of burning the midnight oil. I only have six weeks in Talloires, so taking time for some excursions, beyond what is included as part of the program, must be a priority.
3. Learn some form of skiing! Talloires is quite close to the beach at Annecy and to the Alps, so there is no excuse not to learn to ski or to water-ski, neither of which I have done before.
4. Master the art of eating (and perhaps cooking) like a French person – large lunches with small, late-evening dinners. I sense that the large lunches won’t be a problem, but eating late may be more of a challenge. (And, if I can learn to make crepes or croissants while I’m there, that would be a plus! ;))
5. Be able to benefit my host family in some way, and be able to adequately thank them for opening up their home to me for six weeks. I want to learn as much as I can from them, but hopefully there is a benefit to someone other than myself.
Those are just some of the items on my bucket list. I’m sure that the list will grow quite a bit in the three months until I move into my new home. If you have any suggestions for things to add to the list, or things to make sure to see in Geneva, Annecy, Lyon, or surrounding cities, please comment.