Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Marseille France, Here We Come!

Friday night, Chris received an email from the French embassy stating that he has received the Château Briand fellowship. I called him on my way home from the office, and he said "You need to stop and pick something up on the way home." I thought he meant dinner, but then he said "Stop by a bookstore and pick up a French language book. We are going to France!"


I couldn't believe it! We were waiting to hear about the Fulbright in April, and hadn't even thought about the possibility of Chris receiving this prestigious award. He was told by his mentor that it was a long shot...so we put it in the back of our minds. Now he finds out that he was 1 in 15 people to receive this grant!


We are waiting for the information packet to let us know more about the details. So far, we are pretty sure that it will require Chris to live in France for 9 months, beginning this Fall. Of course, I'm going with him! We would most likely be living in Marseille, France. He would have that time to work on his dissertation using the archives there.


We are both excited and nervous about this adventure. I'm sure it will be an amazing experience, but there are a lot of things to take care of before we go. It's also weird to think that I will be giving up my career here in NYC. Maybe I will write a book while in France, or study aromatherapy. Or maybe just get pregnant and relax on the beach (just kidding Mom). :)


The next step is to wait for the info packet and go from there.

6 comments:

ZW said...

Congratulations, Becks!

I do expect, however, that this site will be updated more frequently than the Electronic Eremite.

Sulayne said...

Wow! That's so exciting! Congratulations to you both!! I look forward to reading your blog ... it's a great way to stay connected with friends and family.

Jacob said...

Congratulations Chris!
Felicitations Kat!

I agree with Zach. More updates.

Also, I expect people to be pricing flights at Orbitz.

Joscelynn said...

Beaucoups congratulations! Is that tacky to say? Oh well. I guess you'll have to teach me a thing or two about refined taste when you're finished wining and dining on the continent.

Mr. Beck said...

Félicitations à tous les deux vous. Ce n'est pas une surprise que les gènes futés de notre famille produisent ce genre de fruit. J'espère que vous nous retournerez quelques pommes de terre frites authentiques.

Avatus said...

Grats Doc! Have to feel pretty good about the embassy funding your work...

Vanessa and I are already beginning preliminary planning, contingent on finalization of your award and arrangements! =D

Sounds a little like a Chevy Chase movie... :D National Lampoon's French Academic Invasion: Unrated. And we all look forward to hearing more on this as the days roll on!

BIG CONGRATULATIONS!!!

- Frank III