Sunday, February 8, 2009

A Friendly Visit

Emily is here! For those who don't know, we have been friends since we were fifteen, and she is the Diana Barry-style "kindred spirit" to my Anne Shirley, except she is considerably fiestier and I have never gotten her drunk on currant wine. She's been in Menton, near the Italian border, since mid-September and this weekend she came to visit!

It's been so fun having her here--Friday we had dinner with my host family, and somehow an hour turned into five. Catherine looooves her, and wants her to come when we go to St. Tropez in the spring. Hurrah!

On the other hand, we had dinner last night with some of my friends from the program, and it was a little rough. It's always a bit of a harrowing experience trying to mix friend groups, but last night was really...not fun. No one asked her any questions, and it drove me nuts. Also, since Emily is doing a direct enrollment program, she's used to being around people from around the world, and after five months she's very aware of cultural norms here in France...needless to say, all my friends came off as being painfully American.

I was warned before I came that there would be ups and downs, and I think I'm in the midst of a downturn. As much fun as I have with my friends here, it's really hard to really get to know anyone when you're always in a large group. There's no chance for one-on-one, and you end up having all these relationships which are lots of fun but don't necessarily dip below the surface. I miss being around people who really know me.