Update

Happy Bastille Day! That being said, the goddamn French consulate has yet to give me any kind of word regarding my visa, and the issue is now pushing from being an irritation to being a genuine concern. I do not relish the idea of going to France on a travel visa and at the end of 90 days - instead of 150 - having to figure out how I'm going to stay in the country. Many people are working on my behalf, including the U of M people, people at Mac, and myself, but CampusFrance is naturally closed today, and has been unresponsive in the interim. Bugger all. This also means I have to reschedule my consulate visit from this Friday to a date dangerously close to my departure. If by Wednesday I have not heard anything, I will quite simply reapply - nevermind the fees - and hope for greater expediency. Maybe if I think good thoughts about Nicolas Sarkozy...

On the bright side, I found out my host family placement this last Thursday. I will be living with Monsieur and Madame Mittifiot de Belair, at Impasse Treillet, Montpellier 34000 - which is an old house in the center of the city without a garden (this point was specifically included). Mme is 54 and a piano teacher, and M is 55 and on the executive staff of a bank. They have three children of indeterminate ages, but given the ages of their parents, I would assume them to be around my age. M & Mme enjoy tennis, music and going to the cinema. I shall be sending them a letter soon, and shall keep y'all posted on the correspondence with my host family.

Additionally, I have been watching the BBC series Planet Earth. It is extremely spectacular. I have always been a fan of the natural world, but that's more akin to being a die-hard follower of the Cinncinnati Reds - the point of this analogy being that not everyone is one. Planet Earth is so moving in its presentation that anyone watching it becomes like a Red Sox fan in 2006 - excited and invigorated by the spectacle. And now I'm done ever mixing baseball and David Attenborough. My favorite part of the series so far have been - and in no particular order:

1 - Giant mountain of bat guano
2 - Great White Shark eating seals
3 - The Snow Leopards of the Karakorum Mountains
4 - Penguins
5 - The diaries at the end that help you to understand how goddamn hard it is to film what has been filmed in this series.

Next I shall include my second Duluth travelogue.

Robo-Buddhism is the way to go.