As my time here draws to close I am getting very excited thinking about Clara and I's time in Phoenix and everything that we are going to do. From what Clara has said, I believe that she may be nervous about leaving her family for three whole weeks but she seems very excited about coming to Phoenix. One of the things that I think is really cool here is that in my bedroom there is a photo from an exhibition where a French photographer from Grenoble was invited to photograph Phoenix and he took a photo of the Bethany Home and 7th Street intersection. When I told Clara that we would most definitely be driving through that area she seemed really excited and it helped me understand how much the little things about Phoenix excite her just as the little things here, while seemingly mundane to Clara, were amazing to me. When I asked Clara what she wanted to do she said go to Target and Walmart which, considering my Mom and I go to Target every couple of days, should be fairly easy. Personally, I am very excited to introduce Clara to my friends and just to take her around some of my normal life routines. Additionally, Clara is very excited to try a big American breakfast and I am extremely excited about that too considering that I love to make breakfast so it is a win-win. Clara and I have already decided that given that she might be jet lagged on her first morning I'll just get us donuts or something easy but on her second day I'm going all out and cooking everything I can think of (pancakes, waffles, french toast, bacon, etc.) I have tried to prepare Clara for how hot it will be when she arrives but I don't think anyone can fully grasp how hot it is in Phoenix in July unless you are in Phoenix, I tried to help by encouraging her to bring lots of shorts and dresses but I don't know if there is much I can do outside of that. Based on encouragement from Ashlyn, one of the ambassadors from last year, Clara is bringing sweaters to wear inside considering that there is not a lot of A/C in Grenoble and sometimes the girls from Grenoble can get cold when just laying around the house with A/C. Clara already knows some of my family's plans, like going to San Diego, so she is very excited for that but besides that we are still holding out a couple surprises. Clara and I have worked out that sometimes I will need to take an hour or two to go study for SAT prep and she said it was fine she would just bring a lot of books so I feel better knowing that we have worked out what seems like most of the possible problems. Overall while I miss my family and am kind of ready to go home, I will deeply miss Grenoble.
Au Revoir,
Emma!