My week at school before vacation was pretty hectic. Wednesday I made about 100 cookies or more, half were chocolatechip and the other half were sugar, for my English class on Thursday. Thursday I presented in English how my school in America functions. Everyone loved my cookies and a few students said they were taking the plane back home with me. My classmates who were a little cold at first are now really accepting of me and talk to me a lot more. Friday night Paige came home with me to celebrate Christmas North American style. We watched Elf and ate some candy. Saturday morning Paige, Ayan, and I set out on our mission to find the elusive KFC which was rumored to be somewhere on the outskirts of Grenoble. Paige and I got to Grenoble about 3 hours before Ayan so we ate some McDonald's and shopped. When Ayan got to Grenoble Paige and I had already visited the information center where they told us how to find KFC and which bus to take. We took a tram and bus to get there. When we got there we ordered a huge bucket of chicken and I ordered a corn on the cob. It was absolutely delicious. Saturday night Paige stayed at my house again and she made a pizza in the shape of a heart.
Monday morning we got in the car and drove down to Grandma's. Grandma lives in the south of France in the ville called Orange. It was really pretty there and it was a little bit warmer than our home in St. Vincent. The south of France is flatter and they have sun rises and sunsets there. Seeing the sunset made me a little bit sad because I started to think of Kansas. Grandma was really nice and our first night at Grandma's we ate hagas because Olivier brought it back for Scotland. He also brought back cheddar cheese. They don't have cheddar in France so I was really happy he brought some. Monday we went to Avignon to see the city and the bridge there. We also went to the Christmas Market there and I rode on a Carosel. Wednesday we went to the French foreign legion because all of the soldiers had worked to create nativity scenes. They were all war related and it was kinda weird. We had a big family dinner where we ate duck and foie gras. After dinner we went to church. When mass was finished we came home and exchanged gifts. Olivier got me a really cool shirt from Scotland. Grandma got me a cicada that makes noise when you open its box. Anne and Gilles got me a cookbook and my aunt and uncle got me a recipe organizer and a book of idioms. I had a really good Christmas.
We left Grandma's house on the 26th and spent the night at home. The morning of the 27th we parted for Paris. We left the house at 5:15. We went to a big family reunion for Gilles' side of the family. The 28th we met up with some friends of Gilles, had Pizza Hut, and went to the Louvre. At the Louvre I wanted to see the tableau where Napoleon crowns his wife and Olivier wanted to see the Egyptian artifacts. It was fun going to the Louvre with Olivier because he knew quite a bit about the paintings and told me interesting things. After the Louvre we went to a cafe. When we finished our drinks we set out to find the Bateau Mouche. The Bateau Mouche is a famous boat ride down the river Seine. Paris was really gorgeous at night. I like the trip a lot. On Monday we went to a theater. When we got there I noticed how small it was and prayed it wasn't the kind of theater that requested the audience's participation. The play was by Moliere and was called ------- . The main actor was an old man who was a miser. He ended up kissing me twice. It was pretty funny. That afternoon we went to Notre Dame and then to Anne's brother's house where we ate oyster, smoked salmon, and quiche. It was pretty good and I had never had oyster before. On the 30th we went to the catacombs and shopped. We then took the train back to St. Vincent.
I have had a pretty good vacation so far and still have about 5 days left of it.
A la prochaine
Gros bisouxXx
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
My week
School this week was more tiring than usual. I think this is due to the fact that I can understand more so now I try harder to pay attention, this also means that I have to start doing all of my homework. Monday I had a test for Physics. I studied for it, but I am not sure I did too well. I had to draw a submarine that sent out to help signals and calculate the length of time it took for the signals to reach both the surface of the water and the bottom of the ocean. I also drew the little mermaid and flounder next to the submarine; I hope the teacher likes them and does not give me a bad grade. Physics is really hard. I have never had it before, so learning it in french is making it at least 20 times more difficult. At least now when I don't understand I have the vocabulary to specifically ask for help. I don't just say je ne comprends pas. I can tell the teacher what I am having problems with.
Tuesday my economics teacher asked me to make an exposee about america. I can either choose school or the economic system. I am already making an exposee about school for English class so soon I will start working on explaining the American economic system. I think that will be somewhat difficult, but I am up for the challenge. I really like my economics teacher. Whenever he talks about America in his class he includes me into the discussion. He jokes around with me too, I don't always understand though. My spanish teacher is an absolute witch. She read all the grades outloud (grades in France are based on a scale from 1-20). I had a five. Which is fine with me because I am not here to learn spanish. After she read my grade, in front of the whole class, she started chastising me. She was saying that I knew the verbs very well, but I didn't study. It really embarrassed me and made me feel awful. I don't think she would like it very much if she were in my position. Spanish is difficult and she always compares spanish to french and I do not know enough french yet to make the connection.
Wednesday was my half day of school. I had biology, physics, and geography. After school I had lunch with my friend Mariska and we got on the bus for Cross Country. We went with our school to Grenoble. We talked the whole way there. I'm really glad we did too. She is really interesting and shy. I ran 3 miles in the cold and ran with out stopping. I was nowhere near 1st place, but I was happy to have finished.
Thursday my class and I got to go to the movies. We watched some film about the french soldiers in Algeria. It was really good and I could understand, but I was tired from running the day before so I fell asleep and missed the ending. I brought topsy's popcorn with me to the theater and shared with my friends. I'm not sure who, but someone sent me a huge tin of Topsy's. Whoever it was THANK YOU!
Friday I had class until 12, came home slept, cleaned my room, and went to aikido. My teacher told me he can tell I understand better. Everything is going a lot more smoothly..
Anyways, that was my week...
Bisous
Au revoir
Tuesday my economics teacher asked me to make an exposee about america. I can either choose school or the economic system. I am already making an exposee about school for English class so soon I will start working on explaining the American economic system. I think that will be somewhat difficult, but I am up for the challenge. I really like my economics teacher. Whenever he talks about America in his class he includes me into the discussion. He jokes around with me too, I don't always understand though. My spanish teacher is an absolute witch. She read all the grades outloud (grades in France are based on a scale from 1-20). I had a five. Which is fine with me because I am not here to learn spanish. After she read my grade, in front of the whole class, she started chastising me. She was saying that I knew the verbs very well, but I didn't study. It really embarrassed me and made me feel awful. I don't think she would like it very much if she were in my position. Spanish is difficult and she always compares spanish to french and I do not know enough french yet to make the connection.
Wednesday was my half day of school. I had biology, physics, and geography. After school I had lunch with my friend Mariska and we got on the bus for Cross Country. We went with our school to Grenoble. We talked the whole way there. I'm really glad we did too. She is really interesting and shy. I ran 3 miles in the cold and ran with out stopping. I was nowhere near 1st place, but I was happy to have finished.
Thursday my class and I got to go to the movies. We watched some film about the french soldiers in Algeria. It was really good and I could understand, but I was tired from running the day before so I fell asleep and missed the ending. I brought topsy's popcorn with me to the theater and shared with my friends. I'm not sure who, but someone sent me a huge tin of Topsy's. Whoever it was THANK YOU!
Friday I had class until 12, came home slept, cleaned my room, and went to aikido. My teacher told me he can tell I understand better. Everything is going a lot more smoothly..
Anyways, that was my week...
Bisous
Au revoir
Sunday, November 30, 2008
The Most Awesome Thanksgiving Ever!!
I have lived in America all my life and I have never had a better Thanksgiving then the one I had in France this year. My friend David went to America last year and he absolutely loves the states. Sometime last month David asked me what I was going to do for Thanksgiving. I said something along the lines of I am not really sure and then very excitedly he suggested that I cook Thanksgiving. I agreed to cook if he came to help, so Friday night David came over around seven and we went with my host mother to go and buy ingredients. We got back to my house and started eating dinner. Ayan showed up in the middle of dinner and started eating with us too. After dinner we began to cook. I believe we started with the carrot cake, but we cooked so many things that I am not sure. While the carrot cake was baking we made the Strawberry jello Salad. They don't have Jello in France, but luckily I had 2 packs of cherry jello saved in my room. The Strawberry Jello Salad recipe reads as follows, disolve jello in boiling water mix pineapple and bananas, refrigerate one half of mix until congealed, add sour cream and other have of mix and cool overnight. Well I messed up and add the sourcream to the jello and what not before refrigerating, it didnt congeal in the fridge so we put in a special kind of gelatin mix and stuck them in the freezer 3 hours before our meal. The taste was fine so everyone liked it and wanted more. After the jello salad was in the fridge we started making the corn bread. I forgot to write cornmeal on the list of grocceries but it was ok because luckily my host mother had some. The cornbread came out great too and everyone ate it and wanted the recipe. We took a break after the cornbread was made. Ayan and I watched Pride and Prejudice a bit while David and my host dad played a game. After our break we started making the stuffing. Which also came out great. I never liked stuffing back home, but the stuffing we made here had so much flavor and was the perfect texture. It was really awesome. Our turkey weighed close to 10 kilos which is over 20 pounds. My host dad calculated that it would take more than 6 hours to cook so Friday night David and I seasoned the bird and rinsed it. David was so funny he wanted to remove its insides. At one point during our cooking session Ayan and I discovered a lemon with mold on the side. I told David I would give him 1 American dollar if he licked the mold. He did. When he licked it all this green powder came off the side and flew into the air. David almost vomitted, or so he said. It was so funny, I was busting up laughing. We didnt go to sleep until about 2 30 that night.
The next morning I got up at six. I soaked to cheesecloths in butter then draped them over the turkey. I put the turkey in the oven and did some dishes while I waited for my host mother to wake up. When Anne got up we basted the bird with the butter that had collected at the bottom of the pan. We put tin foil over the top of the turkey and she let me go back to sleep for a bit. When I got up the next time I took a shower and changed for the day. When I came down stairs Ayan and Anne had started the apple sauce. Next David and I prepared the salad while Ayan was in the shower. Then Gilles and I went to the store to purchase some of the things we had forgotten yesterday.. When we got home Ayan and Anne were making the mashed potatoes.. Oh yeah we had to do so much improvising it is ridiculous. We litterally made butter milk and cream cheese. France does NOT have the same grocery stores as the US there is a LOT less selection of products and a LOT less variety. Gaspard came over around 11 to help us bake the cheese cake and pumpkin pie. We started setting up tables just a little bit before the doorbell rang and the first group of guests started showing up. Everyone commented on how good the house smelled. We set up two huge tables in the living room. We had place for all of the 17 of us. It was so awesome. Once Zoe and Jade showed up we started eating the salad. Shortly after that the turkey was finished. We put the pumpkin pie and Cheese cake in the oven and quickly cooked the green beans and corn. After we had finished the meal and were waiting for desert we went around the table and everyone said what they were thankful for, however, I dont think the others really understood what to do because everyone ended up thanking me and telling me the food was great. That made me embarrassed. I said I was thankful to be in france and was thankful everyone came. We then ate desert. All in all we had turkey, stuffing, corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, apple sauce, salad, jello salad, carrot cake, pumpkin pie, and cheese cake for thanksgiving.
After the meal we were getting ready to go out and play football. I was asking my friend if Florent if he was ready to lose and he looked down at me and asked me the same. I said "Je ne crois pas" with a real attitude and we both started laughing. We tossed around the football a while then came inside. We all talked as our guests slowly left. Zoe and Jade spent the night and we were up until midnight talking. I was very physically exhausted, but very happy. Thanksgiving was a real sucess.
The next morning I got up at six. I soaked to cheesecloths in butter then draped them over the turkey. I put the turkey in the oven and did some dishes while I waited for my host mother to wake up. When Anne got up we basted the bird with the butter that had collected at the bottom of the pan. We put tin foil over the top of the turkey and she let me go back to sleep for a bit. When I got up the next time I took a shower and changed for the day. When I came down stairs Ayan and Anne had started the apple sauce. Next David and I prepared the salad while Ayan was in the shower. Then Gilles and I went to the store to purchase some of the things we had forgotten yesterday.. When we got home Ayan and Anne were making the mashed potatoes.. Oh yeah we had to do so much improvising it is ridiculous. We litterally made butter milk and cream cheese. France does NOT have the same grocery stores as the US there is a LOT less selection of products and a LOT less variety. Gaspard came over around 11 to help us bake the cheese cake and pumpkin pie. We started setting up tables just a little bit before the doorbell rang and the first group of guests started showing up. Everyone commented on how good the house smelled. We set up two huge tables in the living room. We had place for all of the 17 of us. It was so awesome. Once Zoe and Jade showed up we started eating the salad. Shortly after that the turkey was finished. We put the pumpkin pie and Cheese cake in the oven and quickly cooked the green beans and corn. After we had finished the meal and were waiting for desert we went around the table and everyone said what they were thankful for, however, I dont think the others really understood what to do because everyone ended up thanking me and telling me the food was great. That made me embarrassed. I said I was thankful to be in france and was thankful everyone came. We then ate desert. All in all we had turkey, stuffing, corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, apple sauce, salad, jello salad, carrot cake, pumpkin pie, and cheese cake for thanksgiving.
After the meal we were getting ready to go out and play football. I was asking my friend if Florent if he was ready to lose and he looked down at me and asked me the same. I said "Je ne crois pas" with a real attitude and we both started laughing. We tossed around the football a while then came inside. We all talked as our guests slowly left. Zoe and Jade spent the night and we were up until midnight talking. I was very physically exhausted, but very happy. Thanksgiving was a real sucess.
Toussaint Vacation
So this blog post is long over due, In France there are four main school vacations. The first is for Tousaint and you have a little over a week away from school, the next is for noel and you have another week of no school, the third is in Febuary for Winter for a week, the fourth is in Spring for a week and then you have Summer vacation for 2 months. Toussaint or in English All Saints Day occured Saturday the 25 and lasted until the 5 of November.
I went with my host family to their second home in Auvergne. We had a really great time there. Anne and I read Les Fourberries de Scapin by Moliere. She helped me understand what was going on because Moliere is the equivalent to Shakespear. Reading with Anne helped my pronunciation A LOT. Anne and I did lots of mother daughter stuff like watching girlie movies and cooking. We walked to the next village to buy things for dinner one day and she introduced me to the butcher. From what I was told the butcher hates everyone and is somewhat rude, but she was really nice to me and wanted to know how much meat we eat in the states and what kinds. It made me laugh a bit. It made sense to me why a butcher would love an American.
Something really bizare happened while I was in Auvergne. I was relaxing in our home about to take a nap when I heard a knock on the door. I got up and it was a little boy. I invited him in and he asked me if I wanted to play in the snow with him. I said yes and put on my coat and gloves. We went outside and he yelled out snowball fight. I of course was ok with that because I love snowball fights. We started throwing snowballs at eachother and he kept getting closer and closer to me so I kept backing up and eventually he tried to tackle me. I grabbed him by his shoulders and swung him down to the ground. I started running to another yard because ours was scarce with snow. He started rolling a huge snow ball. I kept rolling little ones and throwing them at him. He was kinda fat and he couldnt really keep up with me so I ran way down the street. On his way to me he kept rolling this big snow ball. When he got to the spot where I was at I could see that the snowball was the size of a snowman's head. There was no way I was going to let him hit me with that, so I cut through the yards of some people and eventually when I ran past him he threw the ball and he missed and it smashed a little bit on the ground. He picked it up and I knocked it out of his hands and we ran down the street again to my yard and continued playing. The kid was so weird, he kept asking me if I was afraid of him and things like that and I kept telling him no then asking if he was afraid of a me. We were hiding behind bushes, so he ran up and I threw my snowball, he kept running and tried to smash the snowball on my head. I didn't let him so he took my gloves then tried smashing another snow ball on me. I told him to give me back my gloves or I would quit playing. He kept saying no so I went and tried to take my gloves. He tried to smash a snowball on me and I pushed his arm away and told him to give me my gloves again. He tried to smash another snowball and this time when I pushed his hand away he grabbed my hair. He said he wouldnt let go I yelled at him in French to let me go, that didnt work so I yelled in English. I am quite pleased that I didn't swear. Eventually he let my hair go, I quit and told him to give me my gloves, he still wouldnt do it, he kept acting like he was going to throw them onto the roof. I was mad beyond belief. I told him I was going inside. He gave me my gloves and I said Merci Au revoir and shut the door. His name was Maxime and Gilles started calling him SuperMaxime. I told Anne and Gilles and Gilles told him to be nicer with the girls. Maxime came back the next day and we played soccer. It was pretty funny that he came back.
One day Gilles and I went searching for a tree to plant. We found it but when we came home we also had icecream and candy. The look on my host mother's face was hilarious. She hadn't seen the tree and I am sure she assumed we had only bought candy.
The last two days of our stay in Auvergne there was a lot of rain so Sunday, before we left the village I heard a siren and I started to kinda panic. I asked my family if there was a tornado and they laughed. (There are no tornados in France). I asked them what the siren was for and the told me flooding. On our way back there were bridges that had been destroyed by flooding. We had to take an alternate route back home. Monday I went to my friend Jade's with Zoe. Their neighbor wanted to meet me because I am American. That was a little bit weird, but I understand and I think it is good to be curious about other cultures. I came home late Tuesday evening and relaxed Wednesday. I started school Thursday.
I went with my host family to their second home in Auvergne. We had a really great time there. Anne and I read Les Fourberries de Scapin by Moliere. She helped me understand what was going on because Moliere is the equivalent to Shakespear. Reading with Anne helped my pronunciation A LOT. Anne and I did lots of mother daughter stuff like watching girlie movies and cooking. We walked to the next village to buy things for dinner one day and she introduced me to the butcher. From what I was told the butcher hates everyone and is somewhat rude, but she was really nice to me and wanted to know how much meat we eat in the states and what kinds. It made me laugh a bit. It made sense to me why a butcher would love an American.
Something really bizare happened while I was in Auvergne. I was relaxing in our home about to take a nap when I heard a knock on the door. I got up and it was a little boy. I invited him in and he asked me if I wanted to play in the snow with him. I said yes and put on my coat and gloves. We went outside and he yelled out snowball fight. I of course was ok with that because I love snowball fights. We started throwing snowballs at eachother and he kept getting closer and closer to me so I kept backing up and eventually he tried to tackle me. I grabbed him by his shoulders and swung him down to the ground. I started running to another yard because ours was scarce with snow. He started rolling a huge snow ball. I kept rolling little ones and throwing them at him. He was kinda fat and he couldnt really keep up with me so I ran way down the street. On his way to me he kept rolling this big snow ball. When he got to the spot where I was at I could see that the snowball was the size of a snowman's head. There was no way I was going to let him hit me with that, so I cut through the yards of some people and eventually when I ran past him he threw the ball and he missed and it smashed a little bit on the ground. He picked it up and I knocked it out of his hands and we ran down the street again to my yard and continued playing. The kid was so weird, he kept asking me if I was afraid of him and things like that and I kept telling him no then asking if he was afraid of a me. We were hiding behind bushes, so he ran up and I threw my snowball, he kept running and tried to smash the snowball on my head. I didn't let him so he took my gloves then tried smashing another snow ball on me. I told him to give me back my gloves or I would quit playing. He kept saying no so I went and tried to take my gloves. He tried to smash a snowball on me and I pushed his arm away and told him to give me my gloves again. He tried to smash another snowball and this time when I pushed his hand away he grabbed my hair. He said he wouldnt let go I yelled at him in French to let me go, that didnt work so I yelled in English. I am quite pleased that I didn't swear. Eventually he let my hair go, I quit and told him to give me my gloves, he still wouldnt do it, he kept acting like he was going to throw them onto the roof. I was mad beyond belief. I told him I was going inside. He gave me my gloves and I said Merci Au revoir and shut the door. His name was Maxime and Gilles started calling him SuperMaxime. I told Anne and Gilles and Gilles told him to be nicer with the girls. Maxime came back the next day and we played soccer. It was pretty funny that he came back.
One day Gilles and I went searching for a tree to plant. We found it but when we came home we also had icecream and candy. The look on my host mother's face was hilarious. She hadn't seen the tree and I am sure she assumed we had only bought candy.
The last two days of our stay in Auvergne there was a lot of rain so Sunday, before we left the village I heard a siren and I started to kinda panic. I asked my family if there was a tornado and they laughed. (There are no tornados in France). I asked them what the siren was for and the told me flooding. On our way back there were bridges that had been destroyed by flooding. We had to take an alternate route back home. Monday I went to my friend Jade's with Zoe. Their neighbor wanted to meet me because I am American. That was a little bit weird, but I understand and I think it is good to be curious about other cultures. I came home late Tuesday evening and relaxed Wednesday. I started school Thursday.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Halloween/ Election
Today has been my all time favorite day at school. Since I am american and since we celebrate Halloween my english teacher gave me the whole class period to talk about halloween and bring a few things for the students. I made two chocolate cakes (from scratch and they were delicous) I decorated one cake like a jack 'o' lantern and the other one like a spider web. The web came out really cool looking. I even made the frosting from scratch. I brought tons of candy and a few toys for today and had an absolute blast passing them out. I made my classmates say trick or treat if they wanted candy so they said it quite often.
There are other reasons for my day being so great.. Since we had to eat last today my friends and I went to a supermarket and bought sausage, pain, water, and pringles. It was so much fun. I really really love my french friends. After lunch we had english class so we got to eat cake and I got to talk about halloween traditions.. I even taught my class the rude song we sing when we are little for halloween.{Trick or Treat, Smell my feet, Give me something good to eat, If you don't, I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear} It was so funny to hear them sing. I wish I had had my camera today.
The final reason today was my best today of school is because I was supposed to have the last two hours of the day filled with math and the prof didn't show. In France they don't have subs, so I didnt have class.
Tuesday for my class of Economics my prof had me explain the differences between Obama and McCain. I worked for a good portion of the day Saturday and Monday night I translated everything into french with the help of my host family and my dictionary. I am really glad I got informed about this year's election.
I made one mistake with my exposee, I pronounced the word abaisser improperly and I actually used a really bad word that is similar to the F word. It was really funny. I looked down at the paper and saw the word and in my head i thought Oh No! I know I am going to say this wrong, so I wrote the word on the board and asked them how to say it and I STILL pronounced it wrong, however, now I can say the word perfectly..
A lot of my classmates have told me that I am speaking better now. I think they are proud of me. I feel like the baby of the classroom and they are all helping me grow up a bit. I feel love for my classmates, it's really nice.. That is all for now.. I am going to the mountains for a week so I will write sometime after that.. Au Revoir
There are other reasons for my day being so great.. Since we had to eat last today my friends and I went to a supermarket and bought sausage, pain, water, and pringles. It was so much fun. I really really love my french friends. After lunch we had english class so we got to eat cake and I got to talk about halloween traditions.. I even taught my class the rude song we sing when we are little for halloween.{Trick or Treat, Smell my feet, Give me something good to eat, If you don't, I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear} It was so funny to hear them sing. I wish I had had my camera today.
The final reason today was my best today of school is because I was supposed to have the last two hours of the day filled with math and the prof didn't show. In France they don't have subs, so I didnt have class.
Tuesday for my class of Economics my prof had me explain the differences between Obama and McCain. I worked for a good portion of the day Saturday and Monday night I translated everything into french with the help of my host family and my dictionary. I am really glad I got informed about this year's election.
I made one mistake with my exposee, I pronounced the word abaisser improperly and I actually used a really bad word that is similar to the F word. It was really funny. I looked down at the paper and saw the word and in my head i thought Oh No! I know I am going to say this wrong, so I wrote the word on the board and asked them how to say it and I STILL pronounced it wrong, however, now I can say the word perfectly..
A lot of my classmates have told me that I am speaking better now. I think they are proud of me. I feel like the baby of the classroom and they are all helping me grow up a bit. I feel love for my classmates, it's really nice.. That is all for now.. I am going to the mountains for a week so I will write sometime after that.. Au Revoir
Friday, October 3, 2008
Coupi car/ Chez Charlotte/ Annacy/Plans for this weekend
Ok So it has been quite a while since I have posted a blog and I intend on finishing and posting one today... Two weekends ago on the outskirts of my village was a huge parachuting competition. I went with my friends Charlotte, Lucille, Celine, and Lorie. I had tons of fun. We all brought food and had a huge pique-nique with lots of sweets. I tried churros for the first time, which are delicious, and had cotton candy.
After the coupi-car and the LONG bike ride home I took a shower then walked with Lucille and Celine to Charlotte's... When we got there everyone had on a weird hat and was walking around in clothes that were quite unique.. One boy had on a pink cowgirl shirt.. I had no idea why everyone was dressed odd but I went with Lucille up to Charlotte's room and put on random clothes as well.
Dinner with friends in France is quite different. We actually eat things that are relatively healthy and have set times where we eat certain things. The kids are really culturally developed here. I love being the foreigner because EVERYONE wants me to try their deserts or their speciality cooking.. I love they food here by the way.. I have gained 6 pounds so far.
So between Chez Charlotte and Annacy I had school.. which is still difficult but I do notice that I am comprehending more..
Last weekend was the slightly major Rotary Event in Annacy. All of the rotary students had to get up on stage and introduce themselves.. After we talked quite a bit with the other students and I practiced my spanish :) so many kids are from either mexico or south america it is almost unbelievable..
We had to perform a talent for the Rotarians. The kids from Canada did a hilarious skit about hockey. It was so stereotypically Canada I was busting up laughing. My friend Paige was pretending to be a radio DJ from Quebec and told the other Canadians to sing the OTHER national anthem, which was about hockey.. My friend Ayan did a traditional India dance, Rodrigo sang Besame Mucho, which was absolutely incredibly, and Carla sang a song about diahrea but since she sang in Finnish the Rotary did not know.. I recited a poem in french about an ant that does not exist..
We were told to be in bed by midnight, however I was rooming with Ayan and Paige (who is like our little sister) wanted to talk until 2.. We all woke up on time the next morning and had a somewhat enjoyable but very long day touring the city of Annacy.
This WEEKEND! I am planning to have my friends from school spend the night. Zoe, Jade, and Celia are my best friends at school and I think I will take the opportunity this weekend to show them how much we eat at american sleep overs.. Ha it should be fun
Until next time, Au revoir
After the coupi-car and the LONG bike ride home I took a shower then walked with Lucille and Celine to Charlotte's... When we got there everyone had on a weird hat and was walking around in clothes that were quite unique.. One boy had on a pink cowgirl shirt.. I had no idea why everyone was dressed odd but I went with Lucille up to Charlotte's room and put on random clothes as well.
Dinner with friends in France is quite different. We actually eat things that are relatively healthy and have set times where we eat certain things. The kids are really culturally developed here. I love being the foreigner because EVERYONE wants me to try their deserts or their speciality cooking.. I love they food here by the way.. I have gained 6 pounds so far.
So between Chez Charlotte and Annacy I had school.. which is still difficult but I do notice that I am comprehending more..
Last weekend was the slightly major Rotary Event in Annacy. All of the rotary students had to get up on stage and introduce themselves.. After we talked quite a bit with the other students and I practiced my spanish :) so many kids are from either mexico or south america it is almost unbelievable..
We had to perform a talent for the Rotarians. The kids from Canada did a hilarious skit about hockey. It was so stereotypically Canada I was busting up laughing. My friend Paige was pretending to be a radio DJ from Quebec and told the other Canadians to sing the OTHER national anthem, which was about hockey.. My friend Ayan did a traditional India dance, Rodrigo sang Besame Mucho, which was absolutely incredibly, and Carla sang a song about diahrea but since she sang in Finnish the Rotary did not know.. I recited a poem in french about an ant that does not exist..
We were told to be in bed by midnight, however I was rooming with Ayan and Paige (who is like our little sister) wanted to talk until 2.. We all woke up on time the next morning and had a somewhat enjoyable but very long day touring the city of Annacy.
This WEEKEND! I am planning to have my friends from school spend the night. Zoe, Jade, and Celia are my best friends at school and I think I will take the opportunity this weekend to show them how much we eat at american sleep overs.. Ha it should be fun
Until next time, Au revoir
Friday, September 19, 2008
Folk Dancing and my week at school
So.... Today is friday and I was finished with school at 11:05. Wednesday my history/geography teacher finally realized that I am not french. He was talking about the Grandes Plaines and I excitedly told my friend Zoe that's where I'm from and he heard and was wondering why I was speaking then my french friends told him I am americaine. I thought it was hilarious I had been in his class for three weeks and he finally found out I am not french.. All of my other teachers found that out on the first day of class. I also helped to cut open a mouse wednesday which wouldnt have been so bad if I knew I was going to be cutting open a mouse that day. I got to class and lifted the towel that was over the mouse in the pan and kinda froze a bit. It was fun though. Thursday our class went to the city of Pontchara to visit the library and local sport association. We also visited a planned parenthood kind of place, of course once again I did not know what was going on and was a little bit shocked when I looked around the room and saw posters about spermatozoide.. The people at the planned parenthood wanted to know what we were taught about protection in the US and I told them abstinance and they laughed and in very bad broken english said "oh but kids will have sex" and I agreed and looked down at the floor..
Last night I tried folk dancing. It was actually pretty fun. I danced with the instructor and he spun me around quite a bit. I think folk dancing is the french equivalent to square dancing so I was a little hesitant to try it but I am really glad I did..
Oh and I am not sure if I have mentioned but I really like the other exchange students.. each has something different about them that I like.
Next weekend is a big rotary event where they will have a talent show.. My father suggested that I do comedy.. Well if you know me that is not a good idea.. I constantly laugh at my own jokes and digress quite often.. I think I might recite a poem, but I joked with my family about doing arm farts or spitting chewing tabacco into a spitoon from a ways back. If you have any suggestions let me know.. oh and i can not sing or dance nor do i want to..
~Relaxing this weekend~ Olivia
Last night I tried folk dancing. It was actually pretty fun. I danced with the instructor and he spun me around quite a bit. I think folk dancing is the french equivalent to square dancing so I was a little hesitant to try it but I am really glad I did..
Oh and I am not sure if I have mentioned but I really like the other exchange students.. each has something different about them that I like.
Next weekend is a big rotary event where they will have a talent show.. My father suggested that I do comedy.. Well if you know me that is not a good idea.. I constantly laugh at my own jokes and digress quite often.. I think I might recite a poem, but I joked with my family about doing arm farts or spitting chewing tabacco into a spitoon from a ways back. If you have any suggestions let me know.. oh and i can not sing or dance nor do i want to..
~Relaxing this weekend~ Olivia
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Lugaro, School Friends, Random stuff
So, it has been quite a while since I have last updated my blog. Last weekend I was up until five with Olivier and his friends. Olivier is my host brother and he left for Scotland this Saturday so he had a going away party. The french play tons of drinking games. It was so funny to watch them. I was allowed to play but when I lost Olivier had to drink. It was so funny. Olivier is a very well-mannered nice person and all his friends were trying to get him drunk. Olivier is a great big brother. I really mean that. He constantly was telling his friends that I was not allowed to drink.
We played some game called lugaro which is similar to the game mafia. Its a card game and each person is allowed to do different things. Lugaro means wearwolf in english andI was the wearwolf for the first few games and I kept winning so by the time the night had wore on a bit all the boys were saying I was tricky and they wouldnt trust me. It was so much fun I would always accuse fredderick of being the wearwolf and for a while they agreed with me. The kids were so nice. They included me really well and a few spoke very good english so they would translate things for me.
School is really long and boring but my friends amuse me beyond belief. They try to trip eachother and we set trashcans in front of eachother's bathroom stalls. They also randomly start singing and dancing. They are so much fun. When they see me in the morning they yell E-livia and then we go to the front of the school so they can smoke.
So many kids at school smoke. They smoke before and after we have gym. I even saw one boy smoking while he was riding his bike.
The school schedule is so stupid. We are there until 5:15 each day and have huge breaks in between classes. If they reformed their schedule we would only have to go until about two or three each day. Lunch is from 12 until 1:20
Oh and the other exchange students are really fun too. They are more enthusiastic about american pop culture than I am. They sing that I have never even heard before and are shocked when I dont know it.
Yesterday we took Olivier to the airport in Geneva Switzerland. I do not think Switzerland is as beautiful as france. Geneva did have some good pizza though.. The french don't hug when someone is leaving for a long time.. We all kissed olivier and that was it. I was really surprised. When I left to get on my plane my family hugged me for quite a while.
After being home for a while I went to a party with Gilles and Anne for their friend who is retiring. My friend Gwenille was there and I think I have convinced her to do foreign exchange to America. She loved the idea of prom and all of the things we do with in our schools.
Today I went with Olivier (My neighbor) for a walk throught the village and to visit the castle in Touvet. We ran into some of his friends and played soccer. Oh and I finished all of my homework for once.. I hadn't been doing anything besides english and math for a while so I am quite pleased with myself.
Until next time !Bizzoux!
We played some game called lugaro which is similar to the game mafia. Its a card game and each person is allowed to do different things. Lugaro means wearwolf in english andI was the wearwolf for the first few games and I kept winning so by the time the night had wore on a bit all the boys were saying I was tricky and they wouldnt trust me. It was so much fun I would always accuse fredderick of being the wearwolf and for a while they agreed with me. The kids were so nice. They included me really well and a few spoke very good english so they would translate things for me.
School is really long and boring but my friends amuse me beyond belief. They try to trip eachother and we set trashcans in front of eachother's bathroom stalls. They also randomly start singing and dancing. They are so much fun. When they see me in the morning they yell E-livia and then we go to the front of the school so they can smoke.
So many kids at school smoke. They smoke before and after we have gym. I even saw one boy smoking while he was riding his bike.
The school schedule is so stupid. We are there until 5:15 each day and have huge breaks in between classes. If they reformed their schedule we would only have to go until about two or three each day. Lunch is from 12 until 1:20
Oh and the other exchange students are really fun too. They are more enthusiastic about american pop culture than I am. They sing that I have never even heard before and are shocked when I dont know it.
Yesterday we took Olivier to the airport in Geneva Switzerland. I do not think Switzerland is as beautiful as france. Geneva did have some good pizza though.. The french don't hug when someone is leaving for a long time.. We all kissed olivier and that was it. I was really surprised. When I left to get on my plane my family hugged me for quite a while.
After being home for a while I went to a party with Gilles and Anne for their friend who is retiring. My friend Gwenille was there and I think I have convinced her to do foreign exchange to America. She loved the idea of prom and all of the things we do with in our schools.
Today I went with Olivier (My neighbor) for a walk throught the village and to visit the castle in Touvet. We ran into some of his friends and played soccer. Oh and I finished all of my homework for once.. I hadn't been doing anything besides english and math for a while so I am quite pleased with myself.
Until next time !Bizzoux!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Mermaids/Dinners/Mountains
Dinner with the elderly is not always fun unless there is a mermaid involved or the old people are incredibly interesting. Well my first dinner with the rotary was slightly intriguing.. Everyone there, excluding me, was about 50+. I expected all guests at the party to be dressed conservitavely until i saw a women who looked like a mermaid.. She had on a green knee length dress with hot pink straps. She was about 60 and have teal eyelashes and a shell necklace.. When I saw her I could not help but to do a double-take. I hope when I am that old I have her guts.. Oh and I saw my first man in a beret. He was really very funny. When he found out I was american he asked if I like hamburgers and coke. Then when he found I was from Kansas he assumed I lived with indians.. He cracked me up. I found out later he had helped to discover the North pole or South pole.
France is funny in a way because of the rotary I can not drink, but the french rotary was offended that I didn't taste wine. I would have for sure, but my rotary counselor sat next to me and told them all NO wine for the petite american.
Saturday I went with Anne and Gilles to climb a mountain. That was one of the most fun things I have ever done in my life. The descent down is my absolute favorite. The proper way to descend a mountain is to zig-zag back and forth down the trail. I kept imaging juking people in basketball. I really want to take my brother down a mountain because I think he would enjoy it.
That night we had a dinner with our neighbors. They could not believe how easy it was to get guns and how young children learned to shoot. I found out that you can not kill a robber in France unless they are endangering your life. That was so shocking to me. I told them that down south people can get shot at for trespassing. If you kill or injure an intruder they can actually sue YOU. I find that incredibly odd. Oh and the french play a game called grimace where you make strange faces at eachother. This little boy Gregorie who is 4 kept making faces at me. He was so cute. He has blonde hair blue-green eyes and HUGE glasses. His family would like for me to baby-sit for them because he has taken a liking to me.
My host family is very nice. Gilles my host dad is HUGe compared to everyone here. He is maybe 6 3 or a little bit taller. It is so sweet to see him interact with the children. When he greets them he picks them up to kiss them. The kids love that. Anne is very nice too. She is a school teacher for pre schoolers and kids really like her too. My home is very happy here and easy going. Gilles is very smart so I like to talk to him, oh and he is fluent in english..
My french is coming along ok. I am surprised by what I remember from day to day.. To sum things up I am having a great time and experiencing lots of things.
Also I really miss my brother and find it very hard to tell people about him because it makes me feel like crying.. So if you see Danny tell him I love him.
France is funny in a way because of the rotary I can not drink, but the french rotary was offended that I didn't taste wine. I would have for sure, but my rotary counselor sat next to me and told them all NO wine for the petite american.
Saturday I went with Anne and Gilles to climb a mountain. That was one of the most fun things I have ever done in my life. The descent down is my absolute favorite. The proper way to descend a mountain is to zig-zag back and forth down the trail. I kept imaging juking people in basketball. I really want to take my brother down a mountain because I think he would enjoy it.
That night we had a dinner with our neighbors. They could not believe how easy it was to get guns and how young children learned to shoot. I found out that you can not kill a robber in France unless they are endangering your life. That was so shocking to me. I told them that down south people can get shot at for trespassing. If you kill or injure an intruder they can actually sue YOU. I find that incredibly odd. Oh and the french play a game called grimace where you make strange faces at eachother. This little boy Gregorie who is 4 kept making faces at me. He was so cute. He has blonde hair blue-green eyes and HUGE glasses. His family would like for me to baby-sit for them because he has taken a liking to me.
My host family is very nice. Gilles my host dad is HUGe compared to everyone here. He is maybe 6 3 or a little bit taller. It is so sweet to see him interact with the children. When he greets them he picks them up to kiss them. The kids love that. Anne is very nice too. She is a school teacher for pre schoolers and kids really like her too. My home is very happy here and easy going. Gilles is very smart so I like to talk to him, oh and he is fluent in english..
My french is coming along ok. I am surprised by what I remember from day to day.. To sum things up I am having a great time and experiencing lots of things.
Also I really miss my brother and find it very hard to tell people about him because it makes me feel like crying.. So if you see Danny tell him I love him.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Arrival/Journey
28 hours of flight time seems a little excessive but all and all it went well. On my first plane ride from MCI to D.C. I sat next to a Canadian boy who I think was a total liar. Not only did this kid play a step below the minor leagues for baseball, but he was a potentially star student, even though he was failing school, he was also some big D.J. who made 7,000 dollars at some gigs, he was a carpenter who could build his own house, and was only 17. Maybe typed out that doesn't seem so ridiculous, but listening to him it did.
The layover in D.C. was fun. Some of us girls sat together and talked about our fears as exchange students and little tid-bits we had heard about the french. My last meal in America was 7 chicken nuggets from Wendy's.
The plane ride to France was scrunched. I sat in the very middle of five people and didn't want to get up and wake them so I had to sit for hoursss, and if you know me that is difficult. I talked to a boy from Maine and appearently Maine has rednecks! I had never heard that before I thought rednecks were confined to the lower portion of the United States.
Our layover at Charles de Gaulle was torture!! We all wanted to meet up with our host parents so badly it made the wait seem like an eternity. I fell asleep before take off on our way to Lyon. I woke up and could not for the life of me decipher the time of day it was outside. When we finally reached our destination and got our luggage it was only a small matter of time before we were greeted like celebrities by our host families and clubs. I instantly found my mother and my rotary representitive. It was odd for me to kiss people on the cheek. I tried shaking people's hands a few times then apologized.
The drive to my home was absolutely breathe-taking. The houses have orange spanish tile roofs and are a somewhat orange stucco color. The mountains are so beautiful it was different to see something so high. My home is gorgeous the outside is all white and we have fig trees and a small garden. Anne showed me all of her plants that she uses with cooking. The back yard is very nice and we have a pool. The inside of the house is way different from what we have back home. The family room has two pink walls and two red sofas. It is very colorful and inviting.
Last night I helped cut home grown tomatoes for dinner. I never liked tomatoes until last night. We also had onion which I never liked back home, but do now. We made pasta and put the tomatoes and onions on top of it then covered them with canned tomatoes. It's crazy how good that was. We even had fresh melon which I never liked back home. Everything is so flavorful it makes things taste better.
Oh yeah.. when we first met French Rotarians I knew they were talking about me because they kept say petite fille.. It made me laugh. I thought in France I would be a normal size, but appearently not.
The layover in D.C. was fun. Some of us girls sat together and talked about our fears as exchange students and little tid-bits we had heard about the french. My last meal in America was 7 chicken nuggets from Wendy's.
The plane ride to France was scrunched. I sat in the very middle of five people and didn't want to get up and wake them so I had to sit for hoursss, and if you know me that is difficult. I talked to a boy from Maine and appearently Maine has rednecks! I had never heard that before I thought rednecks were confined to the lower portion of the United States.
Our layover at Charles de Gaulle was torture!! We all wanted to meet up with our host parents so badly it made the wait seem like an eternity. I fell asleep before take off on our way to Lyon. I woke up and could not for the life of me decipher the time of day it was outside. When we finally reached our destination and got our luggage it was only a small matter of time before we were greeted like celebrities by our host families and clubs. I instantly found my mother and my rotary representitive. It was odd for me to kiss people on the cheek. I tried shaking people's hands a few times then apologized.
The drive to my home was absolutely breathe-taking. The houses have orange spanish tile roofs and are a somewhat orange stucco color. The mountains are so beautiful it was different to see something so high. My home is gorgeous the outside is all white and we have fig trees and a small garden. Anne showed me all of her plants that she uses with cooking. The back yard is very nice and we have a pool. The inside of the house is way different from what we have back home. The family room has two pink walls and two red sofas. It is very colorful and inviting.
Last night I helped cut home grown tomatoes for dinner. I never liked tomatoes until last night. We also had onion which I never liked back home, but do now. We made pasta and put the tomatoes and onions on top of it then covered them with canned tomatoes. It's crazy how good that was. We even had fresh melon which I never liked back home. Everything is so flavorful it makes things taste better.
Oh yeah.. when we first met French Rotarians I knew they were talking about me because they kept say petite fille.. It made me laugh. I thought in France I would be a normal size, but appearently not.
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