One at a time.

So many untold stories and I have only been in France for a week.
I guess I'll start at the beginning and try to catch myself up with subsequent blog posts over the next few days.
First things first: We arrived. And we waited.

The trip began at 4:30 a.m. at Portland International Airport (PDX and, if you didn't know, the 'X' is for 'international.' And there's a reason the code for Sea-Tac International Airport is SEA. Anyway, that was our conversation on the way to the airport...) and Alyssa and I were a little scared that our first flight was a on a propeller plane, but we ultimately arrived at Charles de Gaulle (CDG, which doesn't follow the 'X' pattern either, and I don't know why, because there's no dirty word spelled by CDX. I don't know) at 8:30 a.m. Paris time, which is 9 hours ahead of Seattle time.
Alyssa and I found Dr. Davis and the group without trouble, but it quickly found us: The three vans we had reserved to transport us from CDG to our farm in NW France didn't exist. So we waited. And waited. Gradually, they were able to rent us 6 vehicles. We left the airport at 2 p.m. Then, we made the mistake of following a GPS navigation system for directions, which led us straight into the heart of downtown Paris in rush hour traffic...and European drivers don't drive like Seattle drivers, friends. Imagine the worst driver you know, then multiply him or her by a thousand. Then put him or her on a motorcycle. That's how it was. Getting out of Paris took 2 hours.
But the driving trouble didn't end there! No, no, no ;) The 7 hour drive to our farm didn't end until 1 a.m., when we finally arrived. All in all, Alyssa and I were traveling for almost 40 hours. I have seen the worst that travel has to offer and emerged victorious.

Check back later for a post on the last week - a more detailed update about life in France, and my experience so far. I wish I could write to all of you individually, but hopefully keeping in touch via blog is good enough.