Things continue to come together at the house! We have a couch, a futon, and a coffee table for the living room, a dining table and chairs, and TONS of kitchen implements. Mom and Dad's trip up here was a screaming success; they helped me get all of my furniture in and get my room put together and we got a lot done in general. I'm waiting on another movie poster to arrive to further decorate my bedroom, and I need to get a few frames for some artwork, but then I will be totally set up! Kate and I have been working hard together as well to get things to the point of being "homey" throughout the house, and we're making fantastic progress. Now, we just have to set up the internet (it's a technical mess so far) and get the other two girls moved in at the end of the week.

Yesterday, I was able to meet with Anne Marie and Andre (the 'host parents' from Nantes!!) for coffee and lunch! It was so wonderful to see them while they're in Seattle visiting Anne Marie's daughter. Her daughter was so nice about setting up a lunch date for me with them. That whole family is so sweet. Of course, it was also lovely to be able to speak French for two hours and know that my French skills haven't totally abated! Meeting up with Anne Marie and Andre definitely perked up my week quite a bit.

Three weeks from today, the China adventure begins... :-) Things are coming together with classes for the fall. I should be all set within a week or two here so that I can peace out for two weeks, not miss a horrible amount of class work, and still be taking enough credits to be able to work on campus. It's crazy to keep all this work/school/new house/life & leisure stuff organized, but all is well.