19 days till takeoff!

Guess what? I don't need a visa. I'm only going for 88 days and the requirement is over 90 days. My advisor told me that I should apply for one, so I obediently did all the paperwork (and handed over a lot of $$) and was actually physically turned away at the French consulate. Literally handed over my huge stack of paperwork and was told by the lady behind the desk that DUH I was only going for 88 days and so I didn't need one. And she wasn't going to give me one - no way pal. Needless to say this is a little frustrating. But I now have a translated copy of my birth certificate in case I ever, you know, need it. I also found out about my roommate and my apartment! I'm living on rue St. Jacques in a one-bedroom apartment above Cafe Universel, a JAZZ CLUB with live music until 2am 6 days a week. I honestly couldn't have picked a better spot. This shall truly be an adventure :) My roommate's name is Tenny and, lo and behold, she just graduated from Gunn High! Rather ironic that my roommate in Paris lives about 10 minutes away. She's going into her freshman year in college, so that means she'll be spending her first semester abroad and then starting classes at Berkeley after she gets back. I'm so excited to meet her, hopefully we can get together before we leave!