It started seven years ago…the beginning

Feb 2, 2012 by cafebebemama

Life as I know it? It started seven years ago! I left the United States on 31 January, 2005 to begin a study-abroad term in Caen, France. You see, I was back at University in my hometown to complete a 2nd degree to become a French teacher. One of the requirements for the degree was to spend a semester (3 months) abroad in an exchange programme. My University was “twinned” with the University of Caen in Normandy, France. I packed up far too many things in 2 massive suitcases and 2 massive carry-ons and flew across an ocean to begin my adventure.

I had begun talking to my now-husband Mark in November of the previous year. I had been good friends with his twin sister when she and her family were based in the same town as me. When I told her about my study abroad programme she insisted that I give her my contact details so she could pass them on to her brother. He lived in England and as I was going to be in France, she figured that having a person to know on this side of the pond would be useful. I believe that she secretly knew that we would make a match made in heaven. Clever clogs!

I gave Julie my details and that’s the last I thought about it! Little did I know, Mark was sitting, an ocean away, trying to build up the courage to ring a woman he’d never spoken to before. Then, he lost the card that I had written my details down on! A few months went by. Mark decided to get rid of the 3-piece suite in his lounge. When he moved one of the couches, the card with my details on it appeared as if by magic. (Perhaps he should have cleaned more often??) Eventually he rang me. He got my mobile answering service:

Uh, hello, this is Mark Joyce, Julie’s brother, from England. I’ll try to ring you back another time. Cheers!

That was it! But imagine little old me, a simple gal in Wisconsin, USA, picking up messages off my mobile and hearing an English voice and wondering who the heck it was and OH MY GOD…how do you dial international??? Eventually Mark and I managed to connect through the phone wires. We talked for over an hour that first time and while I was training my ear to understand his accent, Mark was making a real impression on my heart. Those first steps toward each other happened through the phone lines and emails. Well, I say emails but really ME emailing HIM as Mark isn’t very fond of email or the internet.

We eventually made plans to meet. I was leaving the US on 31 January to arrive in France on 1 February. I decided, in my own pea brain, that if this was going to develop into something, I wanted to meet Mark in person sooner rather than later. I made arrangements to fly from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris via easy Jet to Luton Airport in England on Friday 4 February, 2005. This required me to take a 2 hour train ride from Caen to Paris, a 45-minute plane ride from Paris to Luton and spend the weekend with a man I had never met! Oh and through poor planning, I realised that I needed to change my flight on the Sunday from Luton back to Paris which required me to pay 99€ on the spot for the luxury. I tell you what…it was worth it.

I’m going to share with you, over the course of a few days this week, some exerpts from my journal at the time. I decided to chart my path with paper and pen way back then…blogging wasn’t quite at the forefront of my plans then. I read back through those entries and can still laugh out loud at some of the experiences I had. I was such a different woman then and had no clue how much my life would change all thanks to a note card with some letters and numbers on it.

Tune in tomorrow to read about my first few days in France and my nervous anticipation for my weekend in England.