A City by any Other Name

I got a package from Paris in the mail today. That's always exciting, of course, but when I opened this one, I just saw another "congratulations" from the commision d'echanges franco-americains and a bunch of forms to fill out. Sure, I got to find out my pay for the year and transportation reimbursements, but nothing too interesting, right?

Wrong.

As I was looking over the papers one final time, I realized that I had overlooked one important line: "Institution of Affiliation in France: Lycée Aristide Maillol, Perpignan." Perpignan?! That's the city I was hoping for! It's the city in SOUTHERN FRANCE!!!!! No Paris for me! Yippeeeeeeee!!!

Let me tell you a bit about Perpignan (pronounced "Pair-peen-yon"...kind of): not only is it in southern France, it's along the Mediterranean, and close to Andorra and Spain. I'll actually be (much) closer to Barcelona than I will be to Paris. Because of that, Perpignan has retained much of its Catalan culture (and language), so there are Spanish and Catalan festivals throughout the year.

There are about 120,000 people living in Perpignan proper; about 300,000 in the metropolitan area (thanks to Wikipedia for that convenient information). And, because I'm sure you're wondering about the weather (like I was!), it stays sunny most of the year in Perpignan, with some light rain and moderate winds from the Pyrenees in the winter.

I am excited to go Google the Lycée Aristide Maillol (high school) after I finish this post!! Of course, I will tell more about the school and the city as I get more information. For now, this is really exciting! I know where I will be next year!


http://www.bnbfinder.com/innImages/myperpignan_com_Perpignan_France_18201.jpg

(Copy + Paste the link above for a pretty picture of Perpignan; if you want to see where Perpignan is on the map, it is on the farthest southern point on the map below. As you can see, it is no where close to Poitiers, where I lived three years ago.)

The "Congratulations!" Letter

Although I've never had a "formal" blog of my own before (unless MySpace counts), I am excited to begin this one. This is meant to serve as a space where family, friends, and (I hope) future Fulbrighters will be able to track my adventures in France from beginning to end. What I noticed when I first went to France was that I wanted as much information about the process I was going through and where I was going -- but I simply could not find it! This blog, I hope, will partially answer those questions for similarly-curious minds.

And thus the blog begins...

I found out on February 1st that I was being considered for a Fulbright, and that I would hear before mid-May. Most people, the notice told me, would hear in April. And so I waited. And waited. And waited.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love France, but they're slow. There's just no getting around that. So when mid-May passed, and I still hadn't heard from them, that's when I started to get worried. Then I got The Big Envelope (it's a good sign when you get that one; when I applied two years ago, I got the little envelope with the rejection letter...sad day), which began:

"Dear Miss Gallup, on behalf of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, I am pleased to congratulate you on your selection for a Fulbright award to France..."

My roommates were there, and I'm sure they remember how loud I screamed after I saw that. Of course, I was excited!

But, like everything French, there are still many unknowns. For instance, I have no idea where I will be placed! And I have no idea when I find that out. Past Fulbrighters have been placed in the Parisian suburbs (gross!), in Paris proper (gross, but slightly less gross), and Perpignan (in southern France -- oh please, oh please, send me there!!!). Of course, I have been researching the cities like mad, but I still don't know if the Fulbright Commission chooses my location, or if I have any say in where I am placed.

Also, I have a REALLY long medical form to fill out in the next two weeks. I have to have a super-comprehensive medical exam. Seriously, why do I have to be checked for sickle cell anemia? I guess I'll know how healthy I am after all these tests!

That's a long entry to begin with. When I write, I'm long-winded -- be prepared for that. I'll keep you updated as soon as I can. I look forward to keeping in touch with you this way.

SG.