Parlez-vous français?

On the bus on the way to work this morning, I overheard some people speaking French. They spoke slowly enough so that when I could hear them, I understood what they were saying. Their speech had all of the idioms and expressions I had come to recognize and appreciate while studying abroad in Nantes in the fall of 2006. As I listened to them speak, I started to think of my host family in Nantes, and the similar snippets of conversation I'd overhear on the bus there, on my way to classes. I realized it has been four years this fall since I was in France, and I miss it - the people, the language, the food - I need to find a way to go back! Upon my arrival at work, I emailed my host mother Brigitte and said as much. I remember roaming around Nantes with Molly, discovering new crepe places, ordering food and not being *quite* sure if we said what we meant, and ordering pizza over the phone and being so excited when we actually received what we ordered, watching American television dubbed in French and being amused at the difference in voices, and discovering what French université is like for les etudiants français.

I need to start saving up for a trip to Europe!

Job Contemplations

One thing I've learned about myself at my current job and past jobs is that I thrive when I have a variety of responsibilities. The more diverse my job description, the happier I am. I've also learned that I actually enjoy speaking with clients on the phone, and feeling like (a) I'm able and qualified to help them, and (b) they value and appreciate what I have to say. Accidentally getting into the consulting field has turned out to be a possible career path. I like doing research when I know it will help a client complete a particular project, especially when I have the opportunity to discuss it with them and maybe even witness or participate in a grant proposal as a result.

I've always hated sort of useless busy work, that's repetitive, and that isn't valued. So, being able to do work that real people out there see and use is pretty amazing.

L'Shanah Tovah 5771

I realized it's been exactly a (Jewish) year since I last updated this. And I also felt bad for having neglected it for a year...considering a ton has happened since this time a year ago.

Rosh Hashanah is coming up this Thursday and Friday, and will be observed by some synagogue attendance followed by disgusting (and delicious) amounts of food consumption. My parents are almost done with all of the food preparations, and I look forward to a feast of kreplach, challah, matzoh ball soup, apples and honey, brisket...other food I'm usually too full for by the time I see it, and desserts including honey cake, apple cake, and chocolate cookies, for which I find room in my stomach to eat every year.

A year ago around this time, I worked as a paralegal coding asbestos litigation documents in Rockville, MD, commuting from Arlington, VA and back. In January 2010, I left that position for a different job. Today, I work as a Grants Associate for a grants consulting firm in Washington, DC, and live in DC near Chinatown. Last year...well, I kind of hated my job, and wasn't very happy with my life overall. This year, I love my job, and my life, and my apartment. My new job has a great, flexible working environment, supportive coworkers who don't spend their days under head phones, and an atmosphere that enables me to make whatever I want of my position. This past summer was the most fun I've had over the summer possibly ever - I traveled often, saw a lot of people and places, and had comparable numbers of people visiting me.

As the sky turns bluer and the mornings are almost cool, I look forward to fall, a season of pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin bread, college football, crisp, cool air, beautiful fall foliage, and numerous other things. With the help (or distraction?) of all of that, I'll be studying for and eventually taking the GRE, and continuing the process of applying to grad schools.