I am sitting in at the airport waiting for my flight to Toulouse. I started the blog in anticipation of today. I am beginning the real next chapter as I am heading for Toulouse for two months. I am very excited about the prospect of living in France for the next two months with the view that starting in 2025, I will be semi-permanently living in France. This is the real test! If I can survive and thrive over the next months then I know the decision to try the adventure of living in France was the right one.

Some general thoughts, I am excited by the idea and am looking forward to the experience and embracing the new challenges and adventures. On the flip side, I know there will be times of loneliness and home sickness. I have a fear that my French will not be good enough to converse when needed to but the only way to get better is to be immersed in the language and take the risk of trying to speak and fumble around but make it through the bumbling.

The last couple of weeks have taught me how immersed in community I am in Alexandria. I guess I should have realized but all the great experiences and well wishes I have had over my final weeks has brought it home. I am going to miss my running community, my wine community, my old friends and all those who have enriched my life over my time in Alexandria. I realize how blessed I am!

I hope I can build a tenth of the community that I have by embracing life in Toulouse. I have already found a running group and that will definitely help me ease into my new life. I am excited about exploring the wine bars and wine stores in Toulouse.

Again, I realize how fortunate I am to embrace this chapter and the new adventures in life.

I will be adding to this with the best and worst of my experiences as I explore the next chapter. Boring post picture as the experiences start with me having a glass of champagne in the lounge at the airport!