2 months later ....

Well, I've been so shell shocked by my defense and my new life that it took three months to get back around to writing a blog.
Many of the corny things people say about Paris are true, at least at certain times, but the personality of the city and the culture of the people are really much much more appealing than I had expected.
My acculturation improves rapidly in tandem with my absorption of the language. I say absorption, because so far it has been impossible to find a beginner's French class in Paris which is not 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. I managed to study enough on my own to get into an intermediate class which meets only 2 hours, one evening per week, starting tonight.

Halloween was not really a holiday here, although I saw some people dressed up and I know some kids took advantage of the opportunity for free candy. All Saint's Day is a public holiday, though, and I got to have dinner with my host family and take a walk to enjoy the beautifal fall weather-- it'squite warm for this time of year.

It's finished, and just beginning

I successfully defended my dissertation on Thursday, without messing up too much. Honestly, I think a lot of people liked my talk and I appreciated all the complements. The high school teachers who were here for the summer were especially nice, probably because they understand how hard it is to get up in front of people and talk. My family was there supporting me, and my friends Ting and Irene came in from pretty far away (Ting made it a surprise), and I got some beautiful flowers, and everybody wanted me to succeed, which made the day really good. My only real disappointment was that more professors didn't show up. But, I plan on talking to the ones who I think might be pretty interested in some of the things I talked about. After a weekend of good sleep, I think I am leaving the experience with a lot of confidence, which is nice. I'm ready to tackle my French lessons again!

Preparations

My departure for France is scheduled for September 2, which is less than one month away. I have waited a long time to finally defend my thesis so I can go, but I'm no more ready than I was a year ago. I have no visa, I still don't speak French, and I'm still trying to write my thesis!
Fortunately, I'm beginning to increase my store of ideas for my postdoc project, and I'm really looking forward to it, rather than fearing the unknown.
Even though I'd prefer to spend time preparing for my move, I have to put blinders on and focus on the thesis in front of me.