Bastille Day By Sammi Lin
I unfortunately only found out about the volunteer check-in time being an hour earlier than our assignment time the night before the event, which caused a slight panic the night before. Nevertheless, I was able to wake up early on Sunday, June 15th to head to the FIAF or French Institute building for the second year in a row. After really enjoying myself at the FIAF educational/kids booth at the 2017 Bastille Day celebration, I was determined to help out again this year. After checking in (in which the FIAF employee who was checking us in recognized me from last year!) and getting my green wristband (which I put on way too tightly) and T-shirt that deceptively said “Parlez moi français” on the back (as the only French I can say is Je M'appelle, Enchanté, and the numbers 1 to 5), I sat in the lobby reading the The Tortoise and the Hare in Spanish while wishing I could read French until my coordinator, Claire, arrived. Once she arrived, she walked with me to the restaurant, Amali, where the Press and Sponsors VIP lounge was to be held. I helped move around the tables in the main floor until another volunteer (and our lovely project captain!) Sidney arrived. We once again had to wait as the manager of the restaurant, Sarah, hadn’t arrived yet, and we needed her permission to further arrange the restaurant. While waiting, some employees of Président Cheese as well as a bread company came into the restaurant to start setting up their respective products. 24