This is very exciting! Antibes seems really lovely with great French Riveira weather, lots of yachts in the ports, outdoor markets, etc. Plus Picasso lived in the area for a time, so there's a strong art influence, and lots of other English speaking ex-pats wind up in Antibes at some point so there are English and Australian bars in case I need to hear my own language (sort of).
Right now I'm just gathering paperwork for my visa appointment in DC on Sept 3 and doing housing research. It looks like my best bets for finding housing will be either through an online agency (which charges one month's rent as a finder's fee) or through an individual real estate agent another teaching assistant sent me the information for. I've already heard back from the real estate agent, who is very nice and patient with me, saying she has a studio available when I need it. Hopefully her rates aren't as high as the online agency's because I think I would prefer to work with her than an automated system.
I'm going to try to get my own place in Antibes, even though it will be very small, because I'm pretty sure I've outgrown the whole "roommate" thing. I could probably handle sharing a large apartment with one or two other people during this time, but if I CAN get my own place I will. my max rent I could possibly pay would be 500 euro per month, which is going to be difficult to find but I'm up for the challenge. Also, Leigh is contemplating coming to France for an extended period of time, so we would want our own place rather than having roommates. Not only have we been spoiled by living just the two of us for over 4 years now, but I think my hypothetical roommates would be pretty pissed off if my spouse was just chilling in our apartment for 2 or 3 months. Anyway, I'm hoping as time passes a few affordable places will pop up that I can take once I get there and see them in person.
The bar exam is 11 days away! I'm equally horrified and excited. Horrified, obviously, because I'm not sure that I'm ready. Excited because I'm ready to start living again rather than just sitting in my room or the library pouring over books. I'm ready to visit my family in Washington, earn some money, and look forward to my future rather than dreading it. I keep telling myself that it's not the end of the world if I don't pass the first time, but that will be a difficult sentiment to remember if Oct 29 comes around and my name isn't listed on the website.
Yesterday I went to the public library to study and had my own table in the study area and NOBODY was around for about an hour. Then people started to file in, which is OK as long as they are quiet. One young guy was wearing too much cheap cologne, which was annoying, but he was quiet so I dealt with it. Then a little girl came and sat at my table. She was quiet too, until her sister came up to her and started rattling off the new Spanish phrases she had learned that day. I finally had to scold an 8 year old saying (sternly), "could you please be quiet?" She apologized and both girls ran off to find their parents. I tried to be polite but felt guilty immediately. When I was her age if someone scolded me like that I probably would have started crying because I was really sensitive to being reprimanded. I hope I didn't make her feel too badly.
Anyway, yesterday I studied Alaska Property and it went so-so. I still don't know A LOT of nuances of that subject, BUT when I took the multistate property practice quiz I got 22 correct when we only had to get 16 correct, so that was a nice way to end a long day of frustrating studying. Today it's the same deal with a different subject and will continue to be like this until the end. I'm about at my wit's end with this whole process, I just hope I can stay sane and mentally organized until July 30!
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