Salut les mecs!

I'll be visiting my favorite place in the world this Summer to see some family and friends for a few weeks, but otherwise I don't have any real plans (it's a bit late to get started I know, I wasn't sure until just recently that this was going to happen. Unfortunately it's too late for any study abroad programs tied to my school).

If anyone could share ideas and recommendations on what I could do while I'm over there, that'd be awesome! It can be anywhere and anything in France. That's the limitation, it has to be in France.

I haven't bought tickets yet but it looks like I'm going to be in France to the entire summer (May 30th - August 30th). I'd really appreciate any help!

ME:

• I'm not picky at all, I like all sorts of stuff. To name a few: cooking, basketball, any water sport (especially kayaking & scuba diving!), history, biking, hiking, meeting people, nightlife, art, exploring, eating, socializing, camping, language, volunteering, gardening, driving, music (I'm a drummer), working odd jobs, comedy, culture, geology (studying this in school), entrepreneurship, science, nutrition, rock climbing, traveling...

• I think it'd be AWESOME to do some sort of cooking apprenticeship, something I'm going to look into after this. I LOVE to cook. Besides a couple of day classes, the ones that I've found have been pretty prohibitively expensive.

• I've thought long and hard about exploring all by myself, but I don't know how comfortable I'd be doing that. My folks definitely wouldn't be too excited about it either. If I had a good friend though... /r/solotravel & /r/travel have been great confidence boosters! Life starts out of your comfort zone yadda yadda yadda :)

• Something like this (quotes underneath) would be perfect, but I can't find any more info on the "EIL" program outside of one based in Ireland. Found it, 18 and under only. Does anyone know of any other programs like this?

I'm doing an EIL trip this summer with other students from around America. We'll be starting out in Paris during the beginning of the trip for an orientation. Then I believe we'll have a homestay in Annecy with a host family for a couple weeks. Then for 2 weeks, we'll be biking through Brittany, on a Tour de Bretagne, and through the French countryside.

There will be plenty of activities during this trip too. We'll be kayaking, sailing to the Bréhat islands, and I'll also be learning how to make traditional crêpes! I'm excited!

• I'm 21, half french (moms side) and I actually have a French passport but I think it's expired. I can speak and read the language proficiently, spelling on the other hand (hence why this post isn't in French)...

• I've got enough money saved up to cover most of my bases as long as I spend it wisely. I think my budget is currently about $5000 for 3 months.

• I'd be open to a Summer job, but I've been told that that's extremely difficult to come by.

I think that about covers it. I'd love to hear any ideas, no matter how crazy and out there! And feel free to write back in French.

Thanks!

Edit 1: If anyone wants to visit Austin, TX for the summer I'm looking to sublease my place from May - August ($300 / month, house, central location, native roommates). PM me for more info.

Edit 2: I'll be flying into Paris in late May and then spending time with family for a few weeks in Chauny and Saint-Quentin. After that I can go just about anywhere a train can take me. If there are any programs that start in may my time is pretty flexible.

Edit 3: So I found some really good stuff...

• /r/wwoof - World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, "an organization that places volunteers on farms all around the world where they work in exchange for room and board". Here's the one for France: http://www.wwoof.fr/ ... and a couple of other similar websites (no subreddits) http://www.workaway.info/ & http://www.helpx.net/

• /r/travel - EXTREMELY HELPFUL! Read the FAQ! /r/solotravel is a great resource as well.