And with that, the 2022 season comes to an end

If you do nothing else, please just reach my little shout-out section at then end. Otherwise, please, read on and enjoy.

I'm gonna try to keep this as short-and-sweet as possible but keep in mind that I talk a lotttttt so I'm not sure our definitions for that term line up.

My year kicked off with receiving my au pair visa in San Diego then heading off to Chicago so I could see Hannah one last time before my move. From there, I flew to Bordeaux where I met my host family. My birthday happened a little over a week after my arrival and my host mom and her coworkers surprised me with gifts and a sushi dinner which I appreciated so much. I learned I prefer snowboarding over skiing after doing the latter for the first time.

Not much of not happened in February. I met Kathryn face-to-face in Paris after taking an online French course together. I finally worked up the courage to try to sort out a gym membership in town and quickly discovered the manager spoke English. I got to dog-sit for one of my host mom's coworkers.

March was a bit more memorable, I don't even have to look at my photos to aid my memory. I started off the month by letting T pick a goldfish as a prize at a fair (his mom was not v happy about that lmao, its still alive 9 months later though!!). My memory that sticks out in my mind though happened in the Pyrenees. As I was trying on my ski boots, aka before I even started skiing (!!!) I freaking ripped my pants. Luck for me, that morning, after going back and forth about if they were really necessary, I decided on wearing leggings underneath my pants. So the whole day I had to endure them being visible through the split in my pants. The most positive part of that experience was that my time in the gym had paid off I guess. The month ended with me dog-sitting again which carried over into the start of April.

At the start of the month I planned my summer vacation with Courtney. Honestly, I don't even fully remember how the trip came to be, I think she just texted saying she was going to go to take a trip to Europe and then somehow we planned a vacation. Our trip this summer was the first time we had seen each other in six years! And when we met each other six years ago it was just to spend two weeks together hiking the Alps with other Navy teens. Shortly after that my friend from Germany, that I met in Milan, came to visit me. We spent a few days together before she had to head back to Munich but she was my first visitor in my house which was exciting for me.

May was when my friendship with Laura, the only other au pair in Mimizan, picked up (spoiler alert: she moved in September). Summer weather also officially started in Mimizan so I started doing more outside. Finally got my carte vitale (health insurance card). Dog-sat good ol' Sid (literally picture Sid from Ice Age as a whippet) again. Fell off my skateboard and survived, nbd.

At the beginning of June, Kathryn finally came to visit me! We had a fun night out and then proceeded to get to worst.sunburn.ever. (pretty used to sunburns since I'm a redhead but I hope to never experience that much pain ever again, I got pink-eye-ish symptoms from it, worst week of my life). Shortly after, I went to Paris to visit Kathryn again. I somehow planned perfect enough to get to experience one of the hottest weekends in Paris all summer so I made sure to go to museums and other places that had AC. After getting back, I started my official countdown to the start of my vacation.

The start of July meant that Courtney was coming and then a few days after we would set off on our trip. I picked her up from the train station and then we experienced an authentic summer tourist experience in Mimizan. The day of our flight to Amsterdam, there was a strike with the train workers (one thing about France is you have to always expect them) but luckily one of my friends in town was able to drive us to the airport. I spent two weeks traveling Amsterdam, Vienna, Prague, and Croatia before heading back home. After getting back I only had to work for a few weeks before leaving for vacation again, this time with my host family.

August (wooooooo, getting close to the end) alternated between working and vacationing.I went to Corsica and Sardinia with my host family, came back, worked for a few days, then left to go to Lisbon. I also tried to order monthly contacts from the optometry store here with no luck.

September was full of me soaking up the last of summer nights and spending as much time as possible before Anthony and Sylvain moved. There was also a 24-hour period where I watched Spiderman: New Generation three times. One of my closest friends also go engaged at the start of the month and I was asked to be a part of the bridal party! I met a new friend in a neighboring town, got to reconnect with an old friend from high school, and go to a free concert.

October had me saying goodbye to my new friend already (she was only interning for a few weeks) but before she left, she introduced me to a new arrival in the area. The month also held my first volleyball practice and French lesson with a new tutor, and, of course, my trip to Scotland and Ireland.

November was another month with dog-sitting Sid. It was also the month I finally caved and bought myself some candles for my house. I also finally visited the doctor here for the first time (and it was way more stressful than I would've preferred.)

Finally, December. First, I got to meet a new friend in Mimizan (that will be here until April, cause for celebration!!) I also realized I'm so close to being able to touch my knee to my nose without bending my leg (my flexibility has come so far) Hosted a new acquaintance/potential friend and learned that one encounter was plenty for us, at least in my own space. And finally, I had my appointment to renew my visa here in France!

I think I was able to summarize fairly well! Simply, I'm thankful for all the friends (new and old) that have been a part of my life in 2022. I've had some highs and lows, usually correlating to my menstrual cycle, but overall I'm happy with how my year went. I get to wake up everyday (except for the first few of January) knowing I live in France, I have the ability to choose who I keep in touch with (toxic trait, or maybe a result of being a military kid, but I def don't put any effort into messaging someone if I feel it's a waste of my time)

Some thoughts to close out this post:

• to Courtney, so much to say, but mostly, I'm so happy we reconnected

• to Kathryn, thanks for listening to my millions of Whatsapp audio messages

• To Alison, thanks for keeping in touch even with your busy med school schedule and for being my first subscriber!

• To Anthony and Sylvain, I miss you both and also I think I'm slowly killing your fern....sorry (but the tree is fine!!)

• To Hannah, sorry for slacking on messaging, always sending love your way though

• To Taylor, thanks for growing up with me

• To Bryan, thanks for showing me how cool your job is (and letting me benefit from the ticket perk!)

• To Laura, thanks for spending your few months in Mimizan with me

• to everyone I met this year in my travels, thanks for being a part of some great memories

• to myself, good job for not always buying stuff off of Vinted

• to everyone who has read my blog, or just this post, thank you!

• to the complete outfit I left in Lisbon, I'm sorry and I still think about you..