I love real mail. So, if you are so inclined, you can send letters to:

Brianne Carpenter
c/o The School for International Training
BP 441
Dschang, Cameroon

It will arrive (hopefully!) within 2-4 weeks.

Just in case you were wondering where Cameroon is.

Appropriatly, I am going to begin this blog with a mini French lesson.

trois-three
bisou(s)-a kiss placed on the cheek as a friendly greeting

Trois bisous. That's one for each cheek and an extra.

So everytime you type in the address or click on the little blue hyperlink, think of it as my little warm greeting to you.

In lieue of a droning, overwhelming mass email, I have decided to post my adventures, thoughts, pictures, and misadventures online. Bear with me as my reasons may aquire an info-mercial-like aroma, but....you can check up on me whenever you'd like!

it's much more colorful (polka-dots, brown font, etc)

it won't clog your email account with large picture files

and I promise that it will not take the form of an excruciatingly
long prose account of a week's worth of train rides and meals

In toto, this format will be easier for me to update, and it enables me to be creative (which is, perhaps, my favorite thing-at least it's in the running- along with ice cream, the eddie bauer "just too marvelous jazz cd", and the smell of the james brandis oil painting art studio in saugatuck.)


So, here's the timeline:
I will be in Holland frantically working (my three jobs) until August 20.
From August 20 until September 3, I will be in Midland with my family taking care of last
minute details and packing....somehow for the entire year.
My flight for Cameroon leaves the morning of September 3. I will meet up with the 14 other
student participants at the airport in New York. We will travel as a group from
New York to Paris, and from Paris to Douala, Cameroon.
The semester in Cameroon will involve extensive group travel, including stays in both rural
villages and urban cities....more on this to come.
I will leave Cameroon on December 18, fly to Paris, and train to Germany where I will spend
the holidays with my (German) friend Verena and her family.
My semester in Nantes begins in early January and continues through late May, which leaves
about a month for my family to visit, etc.
I will return to the US on July 2, 2007.



Please post comments, questions, ponderings... throughout the semester as I will cherish hearing from you.
And, yes, I am unbelievably excited!

bisous,
Brianne