Git 'Er Dun.

Classes have ended for the 2011 and won't recommence until January 3rd, so now is my chance to plow through and focus my energy on applying for graduate school programs and looking for summer work for next year. I have found three schools with strong programs in International Education that don't require the GRE (thanks for the advice, Kristi!): NYU, University of San Francisco, and St. Thomas University. My number one from the list is NYU because they have the best resources for international programs, but I would be happy with any of them!

They definitely each have major pros and cons. I have friends living in NYC right now and that school has the strongest program, but man it is expensive to sustain yourself in New York. Pro for SFU is that my lovely sister is living in the Bay Area right now, and it would be great to be near to her...but again--very expensive place to live. St. Thomas is near my family and friends in MN, and they have a great general education program, but I'm not sure how strong their "Masters in International Leadership" is (it sorta sounds like a load of hooey).

But! Those are my options for now. The plan is to try to renew my contract in France and be accepted to graduate school. If both happen for me, I will defer school for a year to come back to France for the 2012-2013 school year. Fingers crossed!

In other news, my conveyer belt of visitors has begun. Yesterday morning, my friend Tyler (who is a flight attendant for Delta) flew out to say "Hi" for a couple of days. He is able to fly quite cheaply, which is good news for me! Unfortunately for him, he is my visitor guinea pig--hopefully things will go much smoother as the other start to arrive.

So that's basically it, for the time being. Personal statements, looking for people to write letters of recommendation, and showing people around Nice. Not a terrible way to spend winter vacation.


A plus!

Ann