Inaugural Post

Good afternoon, people!

Welcome to my travelblog and notepad for the next several months - this is about my looming journey to France to teach English at a high school near Laval.

Here's what I hope you're asking: "Geez, Matt, it's a good thing you waited until now to start a blog, because blogs that don't have a specific subject are boooring." Yes, I agree, Dear Reader, which is why I hope this one won't turn out that way. I intend for this little spot on the web to showcase a few specific things:

1) My own exploration and discovery - what am I learning about myself, about people, about life? What do I miss? What do I do in my spare time? Was my weekend in Austria a good time?

2) Culture-shock! What's up with the French? Are they really rude? Polly Platt has written a book called French or Foe? which aims to help folks like me get acclimated to the different culture. She argues that the French are meticulous and suspicious but warm and wholly personable underneath. The U.S. House of Representatives cafeteria says "Freedom Toast". We'll see who wins.

By the way, I will be conducting a beret count. I will try to make The Great Beret Count a front-page item on this blog, because I'm sure it's the sort of thing you will want to count. Obsessively.

3) Pictures! I recently bought a Canon Powershot A80 - it's a decent point-and-shoot digital camera that syncs nicely with iPhoto. I want to have a Picture of the Day section. I hope you see both my daily life and my development as a photographer.

So that's the beginning. Right now I'm still getting myself ready to go, but, God willing, everything will turn out fine. Leave a comment, if you like!

Matt