Family takes 'Tour de France'

As the weather becomes more and more bearable (even, dare I say, likable), my life in France is becoming more fulfilling and busy. Opportunities such as municipal band concerts, as well as jazz concerts and a trip to England with my host Rotary Club are upcoming, so my time during the weekend is quickly filling up.

I am finally becoming used to the French lifestyle to the point of almost forgetting the American way of life. But in two months, reverse culture shock will hit me. I will come full circle with my exchange designations (before I left for France I was an "out-bound," in France I'm considered an "in-bound," and upon my return, I'll be a "re-bound").

I've dealt with culture shock before, but the reverse culture shock takes two or three weeks to have a significant effect. I think that I'm more apprehensive about coming home than I was before I left last August -- but that won't stop me from coming home!

Family matters

My family and I were able to plan a vacation around my two-week spring vacation. I must admit I wasn't sure what they would think of me after not seeing me for eight months. I suppose some self-doubt or paranoia set in and blocked my ability to think straight or rationally about this.

All doubts and misgivings were quickly dropped at the customs gate in the Paris airport. After all this time, they were amazingly similar as when I left them, which was extremely comforting to me, although they told me that my physical appearance had changed to the point they didn't recognize me at first. I thought I had kept all of those cheese and wine pounds off! (Just kidding.) Maybe it was the increase in head and facial hair that did it ... probably so.

Acting as translator/son/ brother, I helped my family navigate our way through our own "Tour de France" that would make Lance Armstrong jealous. We saw a lot of the usual tourist sites: Versailles, the chateaux of the Loire Valley, Mont St. Michel at sunset, the Normandy beaches and, of course, Paris. I even have the distinct privilege to say that I hit my head on both the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe! Not many people can say that.

Having my family here was like having a little bit of home brought to me in France. It will definitely make these last two months a little more bearable and hopefully stave off the malady of homesickness from striking.

Merci pour me lisez.

A la prochaine.

Dane Lincoln of Cape Girardeau is studying in France as part of a Rotary International exchange program.