In 2004, at the age of 54, I retired from my job as a business-systems analyst. The work had been all-consuming, with continuing education a constant necessity, and I had little opportunity for travel. I often felt there must be something more to life.
I settled on a 10-acre piece of land (with a pond and barn) in southern Illinois, near Carbondale in the Shawnee National Forest. Looking for a way to keep my mind and spirit active, I enrolled in a French class. There, a professor urged me to study French in France, as part of a program offered by a group of Illinois schools.
In August 2006, I found myself in a one-month class at the University of Burgundy in Dijon.
