Summer 2010

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What a good life I have! I was able to raise a significant chunk of money this summer to come to France to research the creation of new regional health agencies. Thanks to hard work and the support/generosity of many people, I have been very successful in securing interviews with very influential and well-positioned people. I am focusing my study on three specific regions: Bretagne (Brittany, with Rennes as the capital), Ile-de-France (the Paris region), and Midi-Pyerenees (in the southwest, with Toulouse as the capital). We arrived in France a little over a week ago, beginning our trip in Paris where I did a number of interviews, and then in Bretagne where we have been based out of L'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sante Publique in Rennes. Yesterday was a full day in which I took the train to the departments of Finistere and Morbihan and did interviews in Quimper and Vannes. Sarah and Olivia met up with me in Vannes and we got to tour the city and have dinner together. Olivia is convinced that every plane, train, or bus she rides is hers ("no, my train!"), so I felt lucky that she would share and let me ride with her.

What a Relief

I thought it would be a lot of fun to be in France during the world cup. Unfortuntaley, the French campaign turned out to be a complete disaster, and it looked as though the US might not make it through. Almost literaly at the very last moment, a Landon Donovan goal kept things alive. This feels like justice after the two goals that were wrongfully disallowed against the US, either of which would have made the difference between being eliminated or not. Thank goodness none of that matters anymore. The amazing thing is that the US won the group and avoided a match with Germany and then a possible match with Argentina. Instead they have Ghana and the winner of South Korea and Uruguay. No team is easy, but I feel like the semis are a real possibility.

I didn't get to see the whole game because I was touring the beautiful towns of Quimper and Vannes in western Bretagne (I know, poor me), but I did see part of it from the street while looking into a restaurant and had some fun conversations with people doing the same as me.