Jae Min, Kristina, and I decided to celebrate my host mom's birthday because she would be in Japan on her real birthday. Friday night Jae Min and Kristina came over to my house after school, I made a cake, and Jae Min made fried shrimp. We set the table and wrapped the gift before she got home. Fried shrimp is her favorite meal and she really loves chocolate cake. We got her an eletronic sudoku puzzle for her present so she could take it to Japan with her. She was crazy about the gift, Jae Min and I were really happy.
Saturday I made chilli and cookies.
This year in France was a big year for exchanges because they had a huge conference in Toulouse where all of the inbounds all over France met up for about 3 days. Paige came over to my house Thursday night and we made cookies and got our lunches ready. I slept for about 3 hours and Paige didn't sleep at all. We got on the bus for Toulouse with an incredible about of energy. The bus was really fun because exchange students are in general a bit crazy. We stopped in a big town somewhere before Toulouse and visted. There was a torture museum and a scare museum. We got to Toulouse around 5 and were assigned rooms.
Finding Laura was my main objective. Paige and I ran to every new bus that arrived. I was looking for my fellow Kansans and she her fellow Canadian. I was shouting Rock Chalk Jayhawk hoping that someone would scream back GO KU. However, that didn't work so I resorted to asking around. I eventually found her and we had dinner together.
The rotary organized a huge circus day. We each attempted different circus events and depending on our preformance were given a certain number of dollars. The one with the most dollars at the end of the event won. The circus events were really fun. We did plate juggling, sac races, tight rope, fishing blindfolded, and lots of other things. We had a small lunch then got back on the bus to go home.
The next two weeks I will be away on my bus trip.. I will write again soon :)
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Carnaval!!
This week at school we had carnaval. It's an old french tradition where you dress up in a disguise and eat crepes. My best friend Paige and I dressed up as Power Rangers. I was the pink one and she was the yellow. At our school everyone lined up in front of the entrance and those who were disguised passed by to show off. It was fun. Rodrigo was a Mexican for carnaval and he walked with us. However, I missed out on eating crepes because I didn't have money with me :(..
Friday evening I went over to my friend Morgane's house. We ate raclette with her family and then talked until 10. Saturday I went to Noemie's for lunch then we went iceskating with her mom. Sunday I helped my host mom get lunch ready and rode a horse. It was pretty fun and my host sister is going to teach me how to ride.
Well that was my week...
Bisous
Friday evening I went over to my friend Morgane's house. We ate raclette with her family and then talked until 10. Saturday I went to Noemie's for lunch then we went iceskating with her mom. Sunday I helped my host mom get lunch ready and rode a horse. It was pretty fun and my host sister is going to teach me how to ride.
Well that was my week...
Bisous
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Everything from January 1st to Febuary 22
For New Years I went to my friend Laurie's house. We had a disco themed party, but no disco music was played. I still had a pretty good time though.
January 5th I switched host families. I had so much stuff I litterally filled the car. That was kind of embarrassing. I will be sending all of my winter clothes and things home by mail so I will not have to pay extra when I come home. My first impressions of my host family were that they were pretty nice and my host mom was pretty funny. My new room is smaller in size, but I have more space to put my clothes. I am still an only child. I won't have a brother or sister through out my whole stay :(
January 24th. My birthday!! My birthday was the best birthday I have ever had. My friend Paige helped me get everything ready. We made rice krispie treats and peanut butter fudge. All my friends brought a little something to eat and we spent the night dancing eating and talking. I received lots of nice gifts and everyone had a really good time.
January 30th was our Snow Weekend with the Rotary. We went to the Vercors. We were informed that we would be using snow shoes and noone was happy about that. Just about everyone had done snowshoeing before. When I had gone I went with my host Dad and host brother. They were both in pretty good shape so decided to climb a high mountain. Believe me I was miserable through out the march and did not want to repeat that experience again. This time though was actually fun. We were walking up very small hills and Paige and I were rolling down them. Paige and I taught the other student to play B.S. I went sledding in trash bags. All in all the Snow Weekend was a lot of fun.
The past two weeks I have been on vacation. It has been pretty great. I have relaxed and drank lots of hot chocolate. I went to Paige's house for a couple of days. Her host family is really nice which makes me happy because they are my next host family. Paige and I went to Chambury where we ate Domino's pizza, wandered aimlessly, and met up Katie and Hector. We had a pretty good day lots of walking and recounting of random stories. I went home from Paige's Wednesday. Thursday I went to my friend Noemie's house. We ate and played the wii. I didn't do anything Friday, but Saturday I went to Mount Blanc with Paige and Jae Min. We had a really fun time. We went into this ice cave that was carved from an old glacier. Inside the gave there was an art exhibtion. This year's theme was fountains. It was 324 steps down and up from the cave. At the top of the tourist area we found a crystal cave. Later we went to the animal museum. At the train station Paige Jae Min and I ate icecream. It was -20 degrees celsius outside. We all felt a little bit crazy. We took the train down the mountain and did a little shopping. I went skiing with Jae Min Sunday. He really cracks me up. He can barely speak English, but he says the most ridiculous and funny things anyway. While we were skiing we saw two big snow flattening machines. I said "Oh no Jae Min monster" "We run away now" and he said "No Olivia, We fight, We Power Ranger". It's really quite funny. Whenever I am with Jae Min I speak really bad English just so he gets the idea of what I want to do. Jae Min had really long fingernails one day, Paige and I tried to get him to cut them. He told us no he vampire. So now everytime I am with Jae Min he shows me his really long pinky nail and says " I vampire" it makes me expode in laughter. Wednesday Jae Min and Kristina came to my house and we just hung out for a while. Friday my host mom, my host sister Caroline, my host sister Marine, her girlfriend, Jae Min, and I all went skiing. We had beautiful weather. I of course was the worst skier, but we all had fun anyway. Lunch was so funny. Jae Min does not like gay people and my host sister and her girlfriend kept kissing. Everytime I would look over at Jae Min had the absolute most horrified/disgusted look I have ever seen a person possess. I felt a lot closer to my host mom after our day of skiing. Everytime I fell down she helped me back up. Saturday Jae Min and I went to Grenoble to celebrate Paige's fake birthday. We went to KFC with Ayan, Paige, and Kristina. After lunch we went Grand Place then on to Hagen Daas. I had my first french milkshake and it was not good. It was too thin and didn't have any oreo cookie chunks in it.
Last night at dinner was about the most I have ever laughed with this host family. Their son's friend Jordan was over. He had just gotten a hair cut. Someone had messed up and ended by buzzing him. My host family kept joking that he was an escaped prisoner. Later my host mom was telling him that next time someone tried to cut his hair he was to run to our house so she could cut it. She then went on to say what a good job she does cutting my host dad's hair ( my host dad is completely bald on top) I looked over at my host dad and started busting up laughing I turned bright red and everything. My whole host family followed me by laughing. My host mom then tried to cover herself and said " Well I'm not the one who made him bald". It was the best laugh I have had in a long time.
Well that's all I have to tell about now. Tuesday is Mardi Gras and I will be dressing up as the Pink Power Ranger. Paige (my favorite canadian/best friend) will be the Yellow Ranger. It should be a lot of fun. I can't wait to write about it.
See you all in June
Love Olivia
January 5th I switched host families. I had so much stuff I litterally filled the car. That was kind of embarrassing. I will be sending all of my winter clothes and things home by mail so I will not have to pay extra when I come home. My first impressions of my host family were that they were pretty nice and my host mom was pretty funny. My new room is smaller in size, but I have more space to put my clothes. I am still an only child. I won't have a brother or sister through out my whole stay :(
January 24th. My birthday!! My birthday was the best birthday I have ever had. My friend Paige helped me get everything ready. We made rice krispie treats and peanut butter fudge. All my friends brought a little something to eat and we spent the night dancing eating and talking. I received lots of nice gifts and everyone had a really good time.
January 30th was our Snow Weekend with the Rotary. We went to the Vercors. We were informed that we would be using snow shoes and noone was happy about that. Just about everyone had done snowshoeing before. When I had gone I went with my host Dad and host brother. They were both in pretty good shape so decided to climb a high mountain. Believe me I was miserable through out the march and did not want to repeat that experience again. This time though was actually fun. We were walking up very small hills and Paige and I were rolling down them. Paige and I taught the other student to play B.S. I went sledding in trash bags. All in all the Snow Weekend was a lot of fun.
The past two weeks I have been on vacation. It has been pretty great. I have relaxed and drank lots of hot chocolate. I went to Paige's house for a couple of days. Her host family is really nice which makes me happy because they are my next host family. Paige and I went to Chambury where we ate Domino's pizza, wandered aimlessly, and met up Katie and Hector. We had a pretty good day lots of walking and recounting of random stories. I went home from Paige's Wednesday. Thursday I went to my friend Noemie's house. We ate and played the wii. I didn't do anything Friday, but Saturday I went to Mount Blanc with Paige and Jae Min. We had a really fun time. We went into this ice cave that was carved from an old glacier. Inside the gave there was an art exhibtion. This year's theme was fountains. It was 324 steps down and up from the cave. At the top of the tourist area we found a crystal cave. Later we went to the animal museum. At the train station Paige Jae Min and I ate icecream. It was -20 degrees celsius outside. We all felt a little bit crazy. We took the train down the mountain and did a little shopping. I went skiing with Jae Min Sunday. He really cracks me up. He can barely speak English, but he says the most ridiculous and funny things anyway. While we were skiing we saw two big snow flattening machines. I said "Oh no Jae Min monster" "We run away now" and he said "No Olivia, We fight, We Power Ranger". It's really quite funny. Whenever I am with Jae Min I speak really bad English just so he gets the idea of what I want to do. Jae Min had really long fingernails one day, Paige and I tried to get him to cut them. He told us no he vampire. So now everytime I am with Jae Min he shows me his really long pinky nail and says " I vampire" it makes me expode in laughter. Wednesday Jae Min and Kristina came to my house and we just hung out for a while. Friday my host mom, my host sister Caroline, my host sister Marine, her girlfriend, Jae Min, and I all went skiing. We had beautiful weather. I of course was the worst skier, but we all had fun anyway. Lunch was so funny. Jae Min does not like gay people and my host sister and her girlfriend kept kissing. Everytime I would look over at Jae Min had the absolute most horrified/disgusted look I have ever seen a person possess. I felt a lot closer to my host mom after our day of skiing. Everytime I fell down she helped me back up. Saturday Jae Min and I went to Grenoble to celebrate Paige's fake birthday. We went to KFC with Ayan, Paige, and Kristina. After lunch we went Grand Place then on to Hagen Daas. I had my first french milkshake and it was not good. It was too thin and didn't have any oreo cookie chunks in it.
Last night at dinner was about the most I have ever laughed with this host family. Their son's friend Jordan was over. He had just gotten a hair cut. Someone had messed up and ended by buzzing him. My host family kept joking that he was an escaped prisoner. Later my host mom was telling him that next time someone tried to cut his hair he was to run to our house so she could cut it. She then went on to say what a good job she does cutting my host dad's hair ( my host dad is completely bald on top) I looked over at my host dad and started busting up laughing I turned bright red and everything. My whole host family followed me by laughing. My host mom then tried to cover herself and said " Well I'm not the one who made him bald". It was the best laugh I have had in a long time.
Well that's all I have to tell about now. Tuesday is Mardi Gras and I will be dressing up as the Pink Power Ranger. Paige (my favorite canadian/best friend) will be the Yellow Ranger. It should be a lot of fun. I can't wait to write about it.
See you all in June
Love Olivia
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Week at school before vacation/ Vacation
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
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
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.
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