School again. I have to say... Monday was rough, like all Mondays are. School was sooo long (8:00am-5:30pm) because I had two hours of music after school. It wasn't much fun for me because I didn't have my clarinet yet so I had to standby and watch everyone else. We have to preform in a concert soon so I'm getting a bit nervous. Also, earlier in the day I helped another English teacher with her class. It was with older kids in more serious atmosphere than the time before. No more wild questions thrown at me. I helped them while they worked in small groups. The teacher insisted that they not speak French, but I knew they spoke French the minute my back was turned. It was fun even though they seemed a bit shy speaking English in front of me. I'm such an intimidating American with my ridiculous backpack and all ;)
So yeah... that was my first Monday at school. But after school, I had a lot of fun finishing my English video with Manon. Sophie came over too because she got locked out of her house. It took us forever to make the video because we couldn't stop laughing. I couldn't say "Ondres" with the fancy French tongue roll and Manon couldn't say "Aja" the same way every time. We took twenty takes before we got one that worked. Then we snuck into the kitchen and ate some cheese and yogurt. No. Lots of cheese and yogurt. It was amusing when the girls taught me how much cheese to take. The first time I cut a piece they exclaimed that it was too small. I gaped when they showed me how much cheese they put on one piece of bread. It's not a stereotype: In France, they eat cheese... a lot of cheese. Then we ate some some chocolate and things that aren't generally good for you. As a result, I have some sugar-resulted zits on my forehead :P Very attractive.
School was interesting today, Tuesday. So early in the morning I went to a class called SVT, which is basically the same thing as science. I had heard that the teacher, Mr. Ego (yes that's his real name) was a bit strange and I immediately saw what they meant when I walked in. The first thing I saw was an old man cleaning pig eyeballs. I seriously almost threw up. I looked around for the real teacher, but of course it was him. It smelled so bad for the whole hour and a half. For most of the class he talked to us while cleaning the eyeballs at his desk, cutting away muscle and gushy stuff. I felt nauseous. Then he made us all come to the front and watch him cut the eyeballs in half so we could see the insides. I won't go into detail. Let's just say that it wasn't the best class that I've had so far. Later while we were taking notes, he came over and hovered over my desk. I got really nervous that he would touch my stuff– I really wasn't digging the thought of eyeball juices on my notebooks. Anyways, yeah. That's Mr. Ego for you.
SVT finished early so I had to eat my lunch outside of the steps of the lunch building for P.E. (not physical education. It's the study hall). I had two hours of Italian and we apparently eat in the P.E. building. Some people called me over and I talked with them for a while before class. They were really interested in America and all say that they want to go there (to New York, Florida, and California. Same states every time I ask.) I decided that it is too much work to take another language on top of learning French. I wanted to stay there, though, because the people were so nice, but it's just too much work and confusion with the languages. But now I know. I tried, I found out, and now I know for next time. Motto of my time in France so far.
I was home alone for awhile after school because Marie-Armelle went to the parent reunion/conference. Afterwards I found out that I may be able to switch into séries ES– ES will have less French literature and more economics so therefore maybe I will be able to keep up more with the conversations :D We will make an appointment with the principal and find out if that's possible. Normally in France one can't switch back and forth, try new classes for fun and then quit the next day. Normally, you can't. But there are special exceptions for me– the foreign girl. I'm glad that my school isn't super strict and that the teachers are nice and understanding with me.
In the evening I did iChat (same thing as Skype, but for Macs) with my parents in America and my host parents joined us. They said lots of nice things about me and spoke English for my mom (French for my dad. He's fluent.) I adore their French accents. Their English is really good, but they don't speak a word of it with me. It's for my own good. It was interesting to see both of my lives in the same place, same time. I'm not sure which one I'll miss more overall. I've only been here for three weeks, but it feels like I arrived yesterday. I haven't really had much of a culture shock yet and I haven't gotten super homesick. Sometimes I keep thinking (usually in the middle of not understanding a class) "I wish I was home right now... with English-speaking people who understand me" but at others it's "I already don't want to go back home." It changes like the weather. Speaking of weather... It rains and clouds-over here just like Seattle. Just like home! Rain! Clouds! Whoo! Nah, I love it here :)
Oh by the way, I had a really hard time falling asleep last night. Why? My host dad snores like no other. It echoes like crazy in the house and his snoring is sooo loud. The house shakes. I don't mean to be rude, I know he can't help it, but still... Finally I fell asleep by wearing my noise-canceling headphones that are meant for planes. It worked. Like Marie-Armelle I have to start going to bed earlier before he falls asleep and starts snoring. Oh darn, I missed my opportunity. He's snoring right now. Better get my headphones. Good night. :)
September 13, 2011
September 11, 2011
Church Songs, Seafood, and 911
The weekend at last. This week has been incredibly long and packed with so many things. I've learned so much and already feel like my week on L'île de Ré was a lifetime ago. But things didn't slow down at all this weekend. Anne-Soizic came back Friday evening to stay for the weekend and– oh! I forgot to mention that Marie-Armelle's mother has been staying with us for a couple of days. She's nice, small, and very old-fashioned.
I went shopping with Anne-Soizic in the big city Saturday afternoon. Big city meaning Cambrai. It's a lot bigger than Snoqualmie with lots more shops and beautiful building, but literally all the teens here think that Cambrai is too small. They all wonder why I like it so much. It was extremely hot while we shopped around looking for a new school bag for me. I can't stand my big backpack anymore. However, there was nothing that appealed to me. But something interesting did happen in one of the back alleys... We were crossing through when suddenly some random guy came up and started talking to us. I thought Anne-Soizic knew him, but when he asked us if we wanted to go have some cake at his house she paled and rapidly told him no thanks. She didn't know him. Marie-Armelle looked really worried when we told her what happened. Moral of the story: Creepy people are everywhere in the world and always say no if you're in a foreign country and a stranger mentions cake.
After shopping we went to mass. Oh, mass. I had to sing in the choir. So, so, so awkward and uncomfortable. Not only did I not know the songs, but it was extremely hot and I was bright red the whole time. Now I understand why it took forever that one night singing church songs with the other kids. It was practice for the real thing. I watched other peoples' mouths and tried to make the same sounds like a child learning how to talk. We sang so much. I tried to just repeat "Jesus" and "Hallelujah" the whole time. It seemed to work. :) Our neighbor, Sophie, came with us and she, like me, didn't know the songs. It was fun pretending to sing along seriously with everyone else. But the best part of the "soirée" was after mass when the church held a barbeque get-together sort of thing outside. It was less hot and I got to meet a lot of cool teens. They all said that my French is super. :D A lot of them have taken seven, eight years of English but still have difficulties. I think it's easier for an American to learn French than a French person to learn English. I made some new friends and had a lot of fun talking with them. They all go to Saint Luc, but are in Terminale (12th grade) or Première (11th grade) séries S (science). We stood up the entire time so my legs were killing me by the end. We ate hot dogs and moms walked around with desserts. I had made little cakes with Marie-Armelle that afternoon... but I didn't eat them. The moon was full and there was a random cat that kept trying to sneak into peoples' cars. I wanted to take it home. I met a girl named Justine and her brother Tibault. Justine actually knew me beforehand because Marie Damelincourt had told her about me. I think it was a really good mistake that the Damelincourt sisters thought that I would be living with them. They told all their friends about me so a lot of people have approached me to talk with the American :) I promised Justine and Tibault to help them with their English sometime after school. After the barbeque, Sophie and I had some good laughs on the walk home about... some French words. I won't go into detail ;)
On Sunday, we had a birthday party for Marie-Armelle. It was really nice. Two of her friends came over and we got out the nice silverware. Really nice silverware. Her friends brought a ton of flowers so the house is very pretty and decorated right now. During the day we mostly... ate. A lot. There were eight people so Marie-Armelle bought a HUGE seafood platter that took forever to eat. It was so good and reminded me of home– where seafood is everywhere. There were oysters on the half shell, crabs, shrimps, little clam-like things, and scary looking shrimp/lobster/monster things with eyes, claws, and everything. Anne-Soizic freaked out when she saw crab guts :) And again we had champagne. For the record, champagne is not an everyday thing. It just so happens that I've been having it a lot here. This time there wasn't as much fire in my throat, but it wasn't my favorite thing in the world. After seafood we had a huge platter of cheese with salad. Then we had not one, but two amazing cakes and there were cool candles, not just the boring stick ones. There were sparklers and things that crackled and exploded. They sang "Happy Birthday" in English! With the French accent, of course :) Marie-Armelle opened her presents and adored what I gave her: smoked salmon in a hand-painted box with a pretty Native American deisgn + a painting of Seattle that I got at Pike Place market. Xavier gave her a blootooth :) She got a lot of kitchen supplies and Soizic lied that Morgon and Edern bought her the pair of salad spatulas before they left. I was with her when she got them. Marie-Armelle is getting anxious. She really wants to talk to Edern, but he hasn't given them much news and has only sent nine photos... :P I've taken over a thousand. There you go. The difference between a boy and a girl.
Later we said our good-byes and ate the rest of the seafood for dinner. Oy. So many oysters. We talked a little about 911 at the table. Today is the horrible 10th anniversary. The event had shocked the whole world, but I was a bit surprised to see that French people knew so much about it. I wondered about America and what people there were all thinking about as they did their daily things... Maybe about all the people that died on this day? The children who lost fathers and mothers this day? The evil that still exists in this world? I wondered about this and thought it rather strange to be celebrating a birthday and eating cake in France... when today is the anniversary of an event that shook up the world and killed parents and people with dreams.
I'm a bit nervous for school tomorrow. It's my first Monday there. I'm starting Italian and have three hours of music... in which I don't have an instrument. I might just have to sing like I did in the church ;) We'll have to wait and see. Oh and one more piece of good news. I figured out how to use the accents on my French phone and I memorized my number! That's all for now. A bientôt :)
I went shopping with Anne-Soizic in the big city Saturday afternoon. Big city meaning Cambrai. It's a lot bigger than Snoqualmie with lots more shops and beautiful building, but literally all the teens here think that Cambrai is too small. They all wonder why I like it so much. It was extremely hot while we shopped around looking for a new school bag for me. I can't stand my big backpack anymore. However, there was nothing that appealed to me. But something interesting did happen in one of the back alleys... We were crossing through when suddenly some random guy came up and started talking to us. I thought Anne-Soizic knew him, but when he asked us if we wanted to go have some cake at his house she paled and rapidly told him no thanks. She didn't know him. Marie-Armelle looked really worried when we told her what happened. Moral of the story: Creepy people are everywhere in the world and always say no if you're in a foreign country and a stranger mentions cake.
After shopping we went to mass. Oh, mass. I had to sing in the choir. So, so, so awkward and uncomfortable. Not only did I not know the songs, but it was extremely hot and I was bright red the whole time. Now I understand why it took forever that one night singing church songs with the other kids. It was practice for the real thing. I watched other peoples' mouths and tried to make the same sounds like a child learning how to talk. We sang so much. I tried to just repeat "Jesus" and "Hallelujah" the whole time. It seemed to work. :) Our neighbor, Sophie, came with us and she, like me, didn't know the songs. It was fun pretending to sing along seriously with everyone else. But the best part of the "soirée" was after mass when the church held a barbeque get-together sort of thing outside. It was less hot and I got to meet a lot of cool teens. They all said that my French is super. :D A lot of them have taken seven, eight years of English but still have difficulties. I think it's easier for an American to learn French than a French person to learn English. I made some new friends and had a lot of fun talking with them. They all go to Saint Luc, but are in Terminale (12th grade) or Première (11th grade) séries S (science). We stood up the entire time so my legs were killing me by the end. We ate hot dogs and moms walked around with desserts. I had made little cakes with Marie-Armelle that afternoon... but I didn't eat them. The moon was full and there was a random cat that kept trying to sneak into peoples' cars. I wanted to take it home. I met a girl named Justine and her brother Tibault. Justine actually knew me beforehand because Marie Damelincourt had told her about me. I think it was a really good mistake that the Damelincourt sisters thought that I would be living with them. They told all their friends about me so a lot of people have approached me to talk with the American :) I promised Justine and Tibault to help them with their English sometime after school. After the barbeque, Sophie and I had some good laughs on the walk home about... some French words. I won't go into detail ;)
On Sunday, we had a birthday party for Marie-Armelle. It was really nice. Two of her friends came over and we got out the nice silverware. Really nice silverware. Her friends brought a ton of flowers so the house is very pretty and decorated right now. During the day we mostly... ate. A lot. There were eight people so Marie-Armelle bought a HUGE seafood platter that took forever to eat. It was so good and reminded me of home– where seafood is everywhere. There were oysters on the half shell, crabs, shrimps, little clam-like things, and scary looking shrimp/lobster/monster things with eyes, claws, and everything. Anne-Soizic freaked out when she saw crab guts :) And again we had champagne. For the record, champagne is not an everyday thing. It just so happens that I've been having it a lot here. This time there wasn't as much fire in my throat, but it wasn't my favorite thing in the world. After seafood we had a huge platter of cheese with salad. Then we had not one, but two amazing cakes and there were cool candles, not just the boring stick ones. There were sparklers and things that crackled and exploded. They sang "Happy Birthday" in English! With the French accent, of course :) Marie-Armelle opened her presents and adored what I gave her: smoked salmon in a hand-painted box with a pretty Native American deisgn + a painting of Seattle that I got at Pike Place market. Xavier gave her a blootooth :) She got a lot of kitchen supplies and Soizic lied that Morgon and Edern bought her the pair of salad spatulas before they left. I was with her when she got them. Marie-Armelle is getting anxious. She really wants to talk to Edern, but he hasn't given them much news and has only sent nine photos... :P I've taken over a thousand. There you go. The difference between a boy and a girl.
Later we said our good-byes and ate the rest of the seafood for dinner. Oy. So many oysters. We talked a little about 911 at the table. Today is the horrible 10th anniversary. The event had shocked the whole world, but I was a bit surprised to see that French people knew so much about it. I wondered about America and what people there were all thinking about as they did their daily things... Maybe about all the people that died on this day? The children who lost fathers and mothers this day? The evil that still exists in this world? I wondered about this and thought it rather strange to be celebrating a birthday and eating cake in France... when today is the anniversary of an event that shook up the world and killed parents and people with dreams.
I'm a bit nervous for school tomorrow. It's my first Monday there. I'm starting Italian and have three hours of music... in which I don't have an instrument. I might just have to sing like I did in the church ;) We'll have to wait and see. Oh and one more piece of good news. I figured out how to use the accents on my French phone and I memorized my number! That's all for now. A bientôt :)
Some Overdue Pictures
I'm a bit lazy with putting pictures on my blog. Friend me on Facebook, if you haven't already, to see more :)
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| Some of the other exchange students in the Paris airport! |
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| Enormous yogurt selection in the supermarket. Three aisles! |
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| Me and my occasional host sister in Cambrai's cathedral. |
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| Specialty candy with a joke (Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis) |
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| At the first exchange student get-together. In our blazers :) |
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| Ropes course group! |
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| Beach on l'île de Ré :) |
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| Me and Clautilde (my future host sister) |
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| At Saint-Martin |
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| Saint-Martin. It's so beautiful. |
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| Petit-Suisse and Nutella. Yumm... |
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| Impromptu concert! Last night on L'île de Ré. |
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| Castle Chenonceau. So pretty! Me with Marie-Michelle and Clautilde. |
September 9, 2011
Champagne and a Broken Wine Glass
Yeah... I broke my first wine glass today. I'm horrible with delicate, breakable, fragile things. But first, some things about the last few days here in Cambrai. I started music class on Wednesday and loved it. I was with different kids and the environment was less serious and more chill. The teacher had everyone make a little speech about themselves, why they chose music, what instrument they play, what music they like, etc. So naturally I was really nervous, but it went well. I didn't tremble. I am going to start playing the clarinet again, despite the fact that I haven't played it for two years. I met some nice new people in the class and am now sort of nervous that I won't remember how to play my clarinet. I have three hours of music on Monday and I don't have an instrument. Should be interesting.
Also, I had four hours of English on Wednesday. Four hours! It's so cute to hear the French accents on American words. The teachers often ask me for little pronunciation help or grammar assistance. I got really bored though after awhile. I have two different English teachers and I am going to help them later with different classes, I hope. Speaking of that, as I was leaving for lunch yesterday I ran into another English teacher. I simply wanted to say hello, but she asked me to come and follow her. I had talked with her earlier about speaking to her class sometime, but I had no idea that it would right then and there. The class was really fun and I talked to them for the whole hour! It made the teacher's job really easy :) She insisted for me to only speak English with them. They asked me all sorts of questions: Is your school big? Are there cheerleaders? (cheerleaders don't exist in France). What kind of music do you like? Do you know LMFAO? Do you like France better than America? Do you eat peanut butter in the mornings? Is it true that Coke is cheaper than water in the United States? Do you have a boyfriend? Can you drive? What, you can drive! Do you have a car?... All in all, it was entertaining :) It seemed like the class wanted me to come back, as it was a day of no homework for them and a day to goof off and make the American girl feel slightly awkward.
Also today I started P.E. It's called EPS here. It was a lot different than I expected. First of all there were tons of people. It was my class with my history/geography class (which has a lot of people in it) AND the class that I spoke in front of yesterday. Some of the kids in the class kept glancing at me and I heard some of them say something about me, but none of them approached me! It was like they had forgotten who I was :\ We had to walk far from the main building to get to the stadium. Once we were there we had to choose which series we wanted to be in. Again with the series. I stuck with series one because that's what my friends in my class were doing. It's badminton, acrobatics/dance, step, and swimming. Series two is muscular work, hand ball, badminton, and climbing. I considered doing that one, but I thought it would be best to stay with my friends and there were already too many people in that class. There could only be 30 students in each series so some unlucky people had to be moved to series three which is running, soccer, and swimming. My series is all girls again :P None of us want to run, haha. P.E. is two hours long and only on Fridays. That's it. We didn't do anything today because we ran out of time. I met some new girls in my class who recognized me from English First– that isn't worth mentioning. It was horrible. One of the most boring hour and halfs I've ever had. It was an optional course after school meant for preparing for a big English test later in the year. Never doing that again.
I keep running into random groups of friends that I know. Two over here, two over here. We're not all super close but we know each other. In France, if you walk past your friend you don't just wave at them or smile or just say hello. You kiss them on each cheek, then walk away. Sometimes without saying something. It's more personal that way I guess. Sometimes I forget the kisses and remember after it's too late. It's one of those culture things...
Today was a really great day because it was so short and I did a lot of things besides gym. After school Marie-Armelle and I went to Auchan, the HUGE supermarket, again to buy some new school supplies for me and to get food for the weekend. Sunday is Marie-Armelle's birthday so we're having people come over. Lots of cheese, yogurt, and cake awaits :) Then my friend, Manon, came over to work on our video for English class. It was extremely funny. I helped her a lot and wrote the script. She helps me a lot in French class and with the literature so in return I'm helping her with her English :) Our first attempt at the video was horrible, but I'll keep it for future laughs. The things that are so easy for me to say in English are so hard for French people to say. And vice versa... Example: "Say host family" "House fameelee" "No, host family." "Houst fameelee" It was fun :)
And immediately after that, Marie-Armelle, Xavier, and I went for a little get together at my Rotarian counselor's house. We all talked for hours. To be honest, I almost fell asleep because I couldn't keep up with the conversation. There were cute little things to eat... and oh yeah, champagne. Oy. It's against the Rotary rules to drink, but it's okay to drink a little something-something with your host families. It would have been rude if I didn't drink the champagne with them. I've had a little champagne before, but not a big glass like tonight. My throat was on fire, but I had to smile and tell them how good it was. Later, I accidentally knocked the glass over and it immediately shattered. They insisted that it wasn't a big deal, but it was super embarrassing. Oh and now that I mentioned– embarrassing– one more story. Last night I was watching the finale of one of my favorite reality shows. It was really intense, because it was the last episode, so I sort of squealed occasionally. I had my headphones in so I didn't realize how loud I was being. Suddenly my host mother was at my bedside. I nearly jumped out of my skin. She had thought that I was crying. I told her in English that "I was just watching my–" Oops, I'm in France. I said something rapidly in French, something like "Sorry, this is sort of embarrassing" but she just smiled and left. Yeah. Then she told the story to the Rotarians tonight. Note to self: Every little noise echoes in the house... So be quiet and stop watching reality shows at midnight. Hehehe.
So that's it for now. I can't really remember everything, just like I can't remember everyone's names. More later. This weekend is going to be really busy with parties, more church, and maybe horseback riding. I'm exhausted now. Bonne nuit et à bientôt :)
Also, I had four hours of English on Wednesday. Four hours! It's so cute to hear the French accents on American words. The teachers often ask me for little pronunciation help or grammar assistance. I got really bored though after awhile. I have two different English teachers and I am going to help them later with different classes, I hope. Speaking of that, as I was leaving for lunch yesterday I ran into another English teacher. I simply wanted to say hello, but she asked me to come and follow her. I had talked with her earlier about speaking to her class sometime, but I had no idea that it would right then and there. The class was really fun and I talked to them for the whole hour! It made the teacher's job really easy :) She insisted for me to only speak English with them. They asked me all sorts of questions: Is your school big? Are there cheerleaders? (cheerleaders don't exist in France). What kind of music do you like? Do you know LMFAO? Do you like France better than America? Do you eat peanut butter in the mornings? Is it true that Coke is cheaper than water in the United States? Do you have a boyfriend? Can you drive? What, you can drive! Do you have a car?... All in all, it was entertaining :) It seemed like the class wanted me to come back, as it was a day of no homework for them and a day to goof off and make the American girl feel slightly awkward.
Also today I started P.E. It's called EPS here. It was a lot different than I expected. First of all there were tons of people. It was my class with my history/geography class (which has a lot of people in it) AND the class that I spoke in front of yesterday. Some of the kids in the class kept glancing at me and I heard some of them say something about me, but none of them approached me! It was like they had forgotten who I was :\ We had to walk far from the main building to get to the stadium. Once we were there we had to choose which series we wanted to be in. Again with the series. I stuck with series one because that's what my friends in my class were doing. It's badminton, acrobatics/dance, step, and swimming. Series two is muscular work, hand ball, badminton, and climbing. I considered doing that one, but I thought it would be best to stay with my friends and there were already too many people in that class. There could only be 30 students in each series so some unlucky people had to be moved to series three which is running, soccer, and swimming. My series is all girls again :P None of us want to run, haha. P.E. is two hours long and only on Fridays. That's it. We didn't do anything today because we ran out of time. I met some new girls in my class who recognized me from English First– that isn't worth mentioning. It was horrible. One of the most boring hour and halfs I've ever had. It was an optional course after school meant for preparing for a big English test later in the year. Never doing that again.
I keep running into random groups of friends that I know. Two over here, two over here. We're not all super close but we know each other. In France, if you walk past your friend you don't just wave at them or smile or just say hello. You kiss them on each cheek, then walk away. Sometimes without saying something. It's more personal that way I guess. Sometimes I forget the kisses and remember after it's too late. It's one of those culture things...
Today was a really great day because it was so short and I did a lot of things besides gym. After school Marie-Armelle and I went to Auchan, the HUGE supermarket, again to buy some new school supplies for me and to get food for the weekend. Sunday is Marie-Armelle's birthday so we're having people come over. Lots of cheese, yogurt, and cake awaits :) Then my friend, Manon, came over to work on our video for English class. It was extremely funny. I helped her a lot and wrote the script. She helps me a lot in French class and with the literature so in return I'm helping her with her English :) Our first attempt at the video was horrible, but I'll keep it for future laughs. The things that are so easy for me to say in English are so hard for French people to say. And vice versa... Example: "Say host family" "House fameelee" "No, host family." "Houst fameelee" It was fun :)
And immediately after that, Marie-Armelle, Xavier, and I went for a little get together at my Rotarian counselor's house. We all talked for hours. To be honest, I almost fell asleep because I couldn't keep up with the conversation. There were cute little things to eat... and oh yeah, champagne. Oy. It's against the Rotary rules to drink, but it's okay to drink a little something-something with your host families. It would have been rude if I didn't drink the champagne with them. I've had a little champagne before, but not a big glass like tonight. My throat was on fire, but I had to smile and tell them how good it was. Later, I accidentally knocked the glass over and it immediately shattered. They insisted that it wasn't a big deal, but it was super embarrassing. Oh and now that I mentioned– embarrassing– one more story. Last night I was watching the finale of one of my favorite reality shows. It was really intense, because it was the last episode, so I sort of squealed occasionally. I had my headphones in so I didn't realize how loud I was being. Suddenly my host mother was at my bedside. I nearly jumped out of my skin. She had thought that I was crying. I told her in English that "I was just watching my–" Oops, I'm in France. I said something rapidly in French, something like "Sorry, this is sort of embarrassing" but she just smiled and left. Yeah. Then she told the story to the Rotarians tonight. Note to self: Every little noise echoes in the house... So be quiet and stop watching reality shows at midnight. Hehehe.
So that's it for now. I can't really remember everything, just like I can't remember everyone's names. More later. This weekend is going to be really busy with parties, more church, and maybe horseback riding. I'm exhausted now. Bonne nuit et à bientôt :)
September 6, 2011
Never Drop Your Fountain Pen
It explodes. Okay, that was a really minor thing today but I needed a title. Anyways, today was the longest day in the world: AKA the first official day of school. So crazy and confusing. I asked so many questions, but I didn't understand the answers I got... so in the end I just had to sit tight and pretend to look like I knew what was going on. The day started early at 7 in the morning. My host parents have to drive me everyday because the school is a bit far. Again, I was shocked by the mass of students outside the school, but less so than yesterday. First, I had literature with Madame Massy again. Hardly understood a word. A word. Maybe we have homework? Maybe I'm supposed to read fifteen books in French by next month? Maybe poems are cool? No idea. I asked Manon, the class president and one of my first friends here, but she spoke really fast and I didn't understand. She sat by me in every class. I think it's her job for the first week or so...
We went for our individual pictures in the middle of Literature. It lasted for less than two minutes. In America, pictures always take a long time to get it right. Here, you sit on a stool, say "bonjour" to the photographer, *click*, then "next"! I really hope my picture turned out well. :P Also, every time a class finished, Jennifer Lopez's song "On the Floor" played over the loudspeakers. It was cool :) After Literature, we had English! Yayy finally a class that I understood. The teacher is super super nice and funny. She speaks and teaches British English which is a bit different than American English. It was bizarre to watch the students struggle with simple phrases like "Can you repeat that, please?" It made me think of my French class and how hard it was to remember certain phrases. It's very interesting and fun to observe the class. I am going to help the teacher, Madame Lemaire, sometimes with teaching the class. Kind of like a sidekick; an assistant.
Next we had a quick little recess and I saw Céline, Marie, and some of their friends. They're supeeer nice. I talked with another girl name Liddy, whose also in my class, and she's super nice too. After the break we had science–chemistry/physics–... bleck. But we only have it once every two weeks. It was the first class with a guy teacher. His name is Monsieur Bardoud and apparently he has a Syrian accent with his French. It's all the same to me. I didn't understand. But I know he talked about the US and how the buildings were really big... and he talked about lenses... and eyeballs... and how our eyes are like cameras... and how we must take notes. It's weird writing down notes that you don't understand. I learned about eyes in English so it was a bit easier for me, despite that the terms for the gushy stuff in an eyeball are completely different.
Then I went home for a nice two hour lunch. Usually it's only one hour, but today it was longer. My schedule is very complicated, but since I'm not taking a certain class after lunch I got to stay at home. Most people go home for lunch. I wish people did that in the US. Also there's tons of time called P.E. which is basically study hall, but I'm not taking it now because I don't have much homework. So I have lots of gaps in my schedule. Not for long though. During lunch Marie-Armelle and I went to the bank to open my French bank account. The details are really confusing, but I will get my card on Friday. After lunch, I met up with Manon and her friends to go to "Heure Vie de Classe (HVC)." Not only did I not know what I was writing for my notes, but I had absolutely no idea about what the class even was. It was with Madame Massy again and she talked super fast about books. Later I found out that it's a time for extra information basically. It's not a class. Since I'm in the literature séries, it's about books for me. If you're in the science séries, your HVC is about math, etc. I have to read so many French books so I'm nervous :P After that we had another short break before the last class of the day: History/Geography. It was with other students!! Boys and Girls! I like the 12 girls in my class, but it was really nice to see other faces. 30 other faces! Except we arrived kind of late so Manon and I had to sit in the very very front so I didn't get to see who else was in the class. I told the teacher that I was American after not understanding a short assignment. Some other students heard and when one of them accidentally bumped into me they said "Excuse-moi, erh, sorry!"... From their limited English vocabulary :) I have Madame Botte for that class and she's really nice.
After school, my English teacher wanted to speak with me, but she was still teaching for awhile so Marie-Armelle bought me an amazing patisserie while we waited. I talked to Madame Lemaire about a lot of different things that I could do in the English class. I really want to take advantage of all the different opportunities here so I signed up for music class (I'm gonna get back into playing my clarinet!), Italian, and to be an assistant for two English teachers. On top of that, I'm going to start horseback riding and theater lessons. Too much? Nah. I'm going going to try them all and if I don't like them, I can always stop. Mostly I want to take those other classes to meet other students besides the 12 girls in my class. If you don't really like something, you have to figure out another way by yourself. That's what this exchange is all about. Finding your own way in a completely new environment. Scary, confusing, and exciting.
On a side note, I noticed that there's a cross in every room and that none of the classrooms are decorated because the teachers rotate out of them to teach in different rooms for different reasons. Very different than some of the very personalized classroom in my high school back in the US. It was confusing to find my classes so I just followed the other classmates.
Also in the evening, my sim card arrived! My French cell phone works now! And I already have a bunch of numbers. The French keyboard is super confusing because all the letters are in different places. I was exhausted, but I figured out how to change a couple settings. Everything is in French so it's a bit harder. Everyone texts here, so now I can join the party. Whoo!
Tomorrow is going to be a long day. I don't get to come home for lunch because I have music class. I also have 4 hours of English and get to start school at 10 :) Let's hope it's awesome!
We went for our individual pictures in the middle of Literature. It lasted for less than two minutes. In America, pictures always take a long time to get it right. Here, you sit on a stool, say "bonjour" to the photographer, *click*, then "next"! I really hope my picture turned out well. :P Also, every time a class finished, Jennifer Lopez's song "On the Floor" played over the loudspeakers. It was cool :) After Literature, we had English! Yayy finally a class that I understood. The teacher is super super nice and funny. She speaks and teaches British English which is a bit different than American English. It was bizarre to watch the students struggle with simple phrases like "Can you repeat that, please?" It made me think of my French class and how hard it was to remember certain phrases. It's very interesting and fun to observe the class. I am going to help the teacher, Madame Lemaire, sometimes with teaching the class. Kind of like a sidekick; an assistant.
Next we had a quick little recess and I saw Céline, Marie, and some of their friends. They're supeeer nice. I talked with another girl name Liddy, whose also in my class, and she's super nice too. After the break we had science–chemistry/physics–... bleck. But we only have it once every two weeks. It was the first class with a guy teacher. His name is Monsieur Bardoud and apparently he has a Syrian accent with his French. It's all the same to me. I didn't understand. But I know he talked about the US and how the buildings were really big... and he talked about lenses... and eyeballs... and how our eyes are like cameras... and how we must take notes. It's weird writing down notes that you don't understand. I learned about eyes in English so it was a bit easier for me, despite that the terms for the gushy stuff in an eyeball are completely different.
Then I went home for a nice two hour lunch. Usually it's only one hour, but today it was longer. My schedule is very complicated, but since I'm not taking a certain class after lunch I got to stay at home. Most people go home for lunch. I wish people did that in the US. Also there's tons of time called P.E. which is basically study hall, but I'm not taking it now because I don't have much homework. So I have lots of gaps in my schedule. Not for long though. During lunch Marie-Armelle and I went to the bank to open my French bank account. The details are really confusing, but I will get my card on Friday. After lunch, I met up with Manon and her friends to go to "Heure Vie de Classe (HVC)." Not only did I not know what I was writing for my notes, but I had absolutely no idea about what the class even was. It was with Madame Massy again and she talked super fast about books. Later I found out that it's a time for extra information basically. It's not a class. Since I'm in the literature séries, it's about books for me. If you're in the science séries, your HVC is about math, etc. I have to read so many French books so I'm nervous :P After that we had another short break before the last class of the day: History/Geography. It was with other students!! Boys and Girls! I like the 12 girls in my class, but it was really nice to see other faces. 30 other faces! Except we arrived kind of late so Manon and I had to sit in the very very front so I didn't get to see who else was in the class. I told the teacher that I was American after not understanding a short assignment. Some other students heard and when one of them accidentally bumped into me they said "Excuse-moi, erh, sorry!"... From their limited English vocabulary :) I have Madame Botte for that class and she's really nice.
After school, my English teacher wanted to speak with me, but she was still teaching for awhile so Marie-Armelle bought me an amazing patisserie while we waited. I talked to Madame Lemaire about a lot of different things that I could do in the English class. I really want to take advantage of all the different opportunities here so I signed up for music class (I'm gonna get back into playing my clarinet!), Italian, and to be an assistant for two English teachers. On top of that, I'm going to start horseback riding and theater lessons. Too much? Nah. I'm going going to try them all and if I don't like them, I can always stop. Mostly I want to take those other classes to meet other students besides the 12 girls in my class. If you don't really like something, you have to figure out another way by yourself. That's what this exchange is all about. Finding your own way in a completely new environment. Scary, confusing, and exciting.
On a side note, I noticed that there's a cross in every room and that none of the classrooms are decorated because the teachers rotate out of them to teach in different rooms for different reasons. Very different than some of the very personalized classroom in my high school back in the US. It was confusing to find my classes so I just followed the other classmates.
Also in the evening, my sim card arrived! My French cell phone works now! And I already have a bunch of numbers. The French keyboard is super confusing because all the letters are in different places. I was exhausted, but I figured out how to change a couple settings. Everything is in French so it's a bit harder. Everyone texts here, so now I can join the party. Whoo!
Tomorrow is going to be a long day. I don't get to come home for lunch because I have music class. I also have 4 hours of English and get to start school at 10 :) Let's hope it's awesome!
September 5, 2011
First Day of School
AAAHHH!!! = my general state of mind for the day. So much confusion. So much French. So many people. I was really nervous this morning and changed my outfit three times. School started later at 1:30 and lasted until 4:30. The first day is just for meeting people and getting the textbooks. A huge reality shock hit me when we entered the school grounds. Everyone was clustered out front, all kissing on the cheeks, screaming with shrieks of recognition, and looking at the class lists. The general style for the girls is skinny jeans with a pretty top. I was the only girl with a backpack, not to mention a huge black bulky backpack. :P It was so crazy and loud. I finally met Céline and Marie Damelinecourt today. I've been talking with them for a long time online because there was a miscommunication and they thought that they were one of my host families. It was a good mistake because now I now two more people at my school. It's crazy to see someone in person after only knowing them by Internet. Marie-Armelle accompanied me the three flights of stairs and presented me to the teacher: Mme Massey. She wasn't what I would have expected for a Catholic school teacher. She has frizzy red hair, wears lots of colorful jewelry, and talks suuuuper fast. I hardly understand anything that class, let alone our homework. I'm not really obliged to do it because I'm foreign :) but I hope that the credits will work out for when I return. I didn't get to talk much with the 12 girls in my class. I sort of pictured it to be more welcoming and a day for icebreakers, but most of them already knew each other... so I felt like a loner until we went to get our books. Ah, our books. Craziest moment in a school. Everything in France is either very very organized or completely chaotic. This was completely chaotic. Hundreds of students were crammed into one hallway in a not-so-orderly line to get our textbooks for the year. I got to see Marie-Michelle, which was a relief, because I had someone to talk to slowly in French. Later though, I made some new friends after the class president talked to me and introduced me to some of our other classmates. I wasn't sure if it was her job to talk to me or if she wanted to, but she's really nice and I'm meeting her tomorrow at McDonalds before school to hang out a bit. After waiting within a mass of people called a "line" in France, we went out for our recess break. (Yes they have recess in France! :D) and I got to meet some more people and see more of the school. Sooo chaotic. Instead of a bell to signal the end of class, they have loud music that plays over the speak. I was really confused when it first rang, thinking someone's cell phone had gone off. I finally got my books an hour later. So heavy. I have like seven of them, but I won't have to carry them to school everyday because I have different classes each day. Some days I have a two hour lunch, some days I leave an hour earlier, some days I come to school later. It all depends. Anyways, after school ended I was again engulfed in a huge mass of students. Unlike the schools in the US, the kids didn't hop on their buses or cars. Instead they crowded around chatting and smoking. Yep. Everyone smokes here. So many students just got out their cigarettes right then and there. Smoking isn't a huge deal in France like it is in America; almost everyone does it here. I plan not to. I've seen enough smoldered smoking-consequenced pig lungs to know better.
After ranting about my day to Marie-Michelle and figuring out what happened at school, I ate a pain au chocolat then talked with my parents for the first time on iChat (it's like Skype, but for Macs). It was nice to see them. I had so much to say and not much time. I accidentally said some French words instead of English. It was pretty cool to mix them up. Maybe I'm getting closer to being fluent? Maybe?
Two hours after school got out, we went to the Cambrai Rotary club meeting. It was way more formal than I expected and a lot more fun. In Snoqualmie, the Rotary meetings aren't that formal and we sometimes play games, but here all the men were dressed in tuxes and it took place in a beautiful castle-like building. There were guys who walked around with platters of pretty pastries and champagne. I shook so many hands tonight. They were all really nice and the president man looks sort of Spanish with a deep tan and gold rings. :) I had to make a speech and show them 20 something pictures of my life back home. It went better than I thought. Apparently my fumbling with some French words with an American accent was "charming." They loved the pictures of the mountains and lakes in my town. It went super well and I am excited to go back there again. I love fancy, formal outings. It feels so medieval sometimes... you know minus the PC computer that takes 20 minutes to work and show the slideshow.
I didn't do my homework because I don't know what the homework is. Tomorrow is picture day and I have to get up early to meet Manon (the class president) Hopefully tomorrow things will calm down and I can make more friends. In France it's harder to make friends, but easier to keep them. It's the opposite in America where it's super easy to make friends, but harder to keep them for long. I've been told that and now I believe it. I'm exhausted and good night.
After ranting about my day to Marie-Michelle and figuring out what happened at school, I ate a pain au chocolat then talked with my parents for the first time on iChat (it's like Skype, but for Macs). It was nice to see them. I had so much to say and not much time. I accidentally said some French words instead of English. It was pretty cool to mix them up. Maybe I'm getting closer to being fluent? Maybe?
Two hours after school got out, we went to the Cambrai Rotary club meeting. It was way more formal than I expected and a lot more fun. In Snoqualmie, the Rotary meetings aren't that formal and we sometimes play games, but here all the men were dressed in tuxes and it took place in a beautiful castle-like building. There were guys who walked around with platters of pretty pastries and champagne. I shook so many hands tonight. They were all really nice and the president man looks sort of Spanish with a deep tan and gold rings. :) I had to make a speech and show them 20 something pictures of my life back home. It went better than I thought. Apparently my fumbling with some French words with an American accent was "charming." They loved the pictures of the mountains and lakes in my town. It went super well and I am excited to go back there again. I love fancy, formal outings. It feels so medieval sometimes... you know minus the PC computer that takes 20 minutes to work and show the slideshow.
I didn't do my homework because I don't know what the homework is. Tomorrow is picture day and I have to get up early to meet Manon (the class president) Hopefully tomorrow things will calm down and I can make more friends. In France it's harder to make friends, but easier to keep them. It's the opposite in America where it's super easy to make friends, but harder to keep them for long. I've been told that and now I believe it. I'm exhausted and good night.
September 4, 2011
L'île de Ré
I'm back from an incredible week on the beautiful island, L'île de Ré. We did so much and it was a great opportunity to meet my future host sisters: Clautilde Robalo and Marie Michelle Guisnet. They're really nice, but it seemed at first that they only wanted to talk with each other because they're both French. In the end though, we all became good friends and I'm excited to live with their families later in the year. So here's the story...
Day 1: August 29~
The four of us (Marie-Armelle, Clautilde, Marie Michelle, and me) were in the car for 7 hours en route to L'île de Ré, but it passed by quickly by sleeping, talking, and finding Waldo. We were expecting lots of traffic near Paris, but there was none so we reached the city of Blois early. We stopped there to visit some of Marie-Armelle's friends. They were super nice and had a lot of wooden ducks in their house. We ate a yummy tart before going on a little tour of the Loire Valley city to visit a gorgeous castle. We didn't go inside, but the outside was super pretty. We arrived at the island in the evening and explored the house. It's so cute with pictures of boats everywhere :) We went for a walk in the evening on the gorgeous port. It was so beautiful at night with all the stars in the sky and music from the restaurants by the water. I kept thinking that France is the most romantic place in the world.
Day 2: August 30~
My friends back home are starting school today. I'm not so jealous of them. In the morning the girls and I hit the market :) It blew my mind. So amazing. There's not many places like that in America. It completely embodied the French life: people bustling everywhere with baguettes over their shoulders, children screaming for little French candies, tons of cheese stalls, tons of little pastries stalls, and seafood. We saw live eels for sale! Ick. I was the tourist again, taking pictures of everything. After that we went to the supermarket and bought a ton of stuff. I feel like anything I eat here is going to be good because it's French ;) Later after a huge lunch with lots of cheese we biked to the BEACH. It was way farther than I thought, but the bike route went past beautiful scenery. The water was really warm and felt so good. We swam for a long time and then sprawled out on the beach. Lots of women were topless :P Later in the evening, Marie-Armelle's friends, Jean-Pierre and Hèlene, came over to stay with us for a couple nights. They were a little "special" as they often say here in France, but decently nice. We ate so much yogurt and Nutella and jam and bread and cheese here, it's ridiculous. French Nutella is soooo much better than American Nutella.
Day 3: August 31~
I completely lost my appetite for breakfast because Hèlene's cigarette box was next to me the whole time. In France they put a nasty image of a cancerous lung on the box to encourage people not to smoke (not like that really works) and it certainty grossed me out! The girls and I went to the market again and I bought some postcards, tourist style. I love walking around with all the French people and baguettes :) Then later... we went clam hunting. Yeah, that's right. We waddled in the mud when the tide was really far off and collected clams for dinner. We walked past rows of oyster harvesters and finally got to an area where orange clams clung to the rocks. I found a ton. It rained a bit and my clothes got muddy, but it was super fun. We were exhausted by then so we chilled back at the house and I read more of Harry Potter (in French of course... I'm almost done!) Then later we rode our bikes to an amazingly beautiful town called Saint-Martin and en route saw donkeys! They were so cute, but really lazy and didn't even lift their heads up. Saint-Martin has so many boats, cobblestone alleys, shops, and food places. There's a huge gelato place and a waffle shop :D We shopped around for a long time before we biked back at sunset. It was like a dream sequence. SO many people ride their bikes here and there's no electrical wires in sight! (They're tastefully buried underground) It's like the island is detached from the rest of the world. I love it. We ate the clams for dinner and Hèlene made a chocolate mousse with alcohol in it :P Good, but the alcohol was a bit overwhelming. We played a game called Taboo in the evening where you have to guess a certain word with hints from the other person... in French, naturally. I was so proud when I got one right. Marie-Michelle kept swearing in English and it was really funny because to them it didn't really mean anything. I admit, I've gotten into a habit of swearing in French... particularity Merde. Look it up. Overall it was a great day– clam hunting and donkey petting.
Day 4: September 1~
How is it September already? Crazy. I'm going to start school soon and I'm quite nervous, but I'm still here in paradise so it's all good :) Today in the morning we had crêpes with Nutella for breafast. Yummmmm... And I bought a pretty scarf at the market. Later we drove to a different beach that was farther away than the first. We brought boards for surfing but there were hardly any waves. Still it was really fun to swim in the sea again. So much fun indeed that we swam out farther than we had expected.. And we saw nudists! At first it was like "Oh my gosh look, a nudist (hahaha)"... then "Another nudist!"... then "Look! Another! Another! Eight nudists!" Then we realized that we had swam out accidentally to the side of the beach reserved for nudists. It was super funny and slightly awkward. For dinner, we had pizza. I requested pepperoni and they looked at me like I was crazy. That word doesn't exist here but we bought pepperoni pizza anyway. Hèlene made an amazing citron tart for dessert. There's dessert after every meal. Fruits, yogurt, cake, tart, etc. I haven't gained any weight yet and I hope it stays that way!
Day 5: September 2~
Today we went for a picnic by the beach. It was amazing. Then later we searched the muddy sands for little shelled creatures that I can't remember the name of. We poured salt over tiny holes in the sand to make then come out, but none were home :P It was still fun to splash each other with mud like little kids. Later, we went back to the same beach as yesterday and again accidentally went over the nudist side. That night we went for another walk around the square and it was magnificent as always. I was more confident with the language this time and had a blast talking with the girls under the stars.
Day 6: September 3~
It was the last night on l'île de Ré :( And it rained. Figures. We went to the market and the girls bought a bunch of patisseries and souvenirs for their families. I bought a ring and some more postcards. We bought Marie-Armelle a present too: a box with a picture of a donkey on it, filled with delicious caramels :) Later we biked to Saint-Martin for the last time and walked around. The girls bought waffles with Nutella. It was cold, windy, and rainy by the time we got home to drink some hot chocolate before going to mass. Yep, I went to church for the first time in my life! It was a beautiful church with lots of elderly people. I tried to understand what was going on and what people were saying, but in the end I just spaced out and admired the beautiful ceiling and statues. It was a good experience :) But I think the best part of the whole trip was that last evening. We were playing Taboo when suddenly we heard music outside. The girls and I walked to the square and saw that a big concert was going on! Right there in the middle of all the restaurants and boats! It was incredibly fun. The music was a variety of French songs and popular American songs by artists like the Black Eyed Peas, Shakira, Maroon 5, etc. We danced and danced and danced. Really danced. Everyone was dancing! We didn't care about how we looked. It didn't matter. It was just so much fun. There was a huge konga line later :D I love konga lines. We went to bed absolutely exhausted that night... and had to get up super early the next day. To go back home :( and start school.
Day 7: September 4~
We got up early and bought baguettes from the market. Then we cleaned the house and finished packing :( Then to the car and off we went. We drove for three house before stopping at the castle Chenensaux. Aaaahhhh it was soooo gorgeous! Magnificent! I took about a hundred pictures there. We walked around and listened to an audio guide on iPod touches. I listened to it in English and then decided to listen to the kids version because it was funnier and less boring. I love castles, but there were so many people there it made it less medieval and more tourist attraction-y. We had our picnic there (baguette sandwiches of course :) We drove for three more hours and arrived back in Cambrai in the evening. It started to pour like mad right as we entered Cambrai. Movie moment.
All in all it was a fantastic trip and I really liked meeting my future host sisters. I took a thousand pictures in seven days. :D I start school tomorrow!!! Wish me luck. A bientôt :)
Day 1: August 29~
The four of us (Marie-Armelle, Clautilde, Marie Michelle, and me) were in the car for 7 hours en route to L'île de Ré, but it passed by quickly by sleeping, talking, and finding Waldo. We were expecting lots of traffic near Paris, but there was none so we reached the city of Blois early. We stopped there to visit some of Marie-Armelle's friends. They were super nice and had a lot of wooden ducks in their house. We ate a yummy tart before going on a little tour of the Loire Valley city to visit a gorgeous castle. We didn't go inside, but the outside was super pretty. We arrived at the island in the evening and explored the house. It's so cute with pictures of boats everywhere :) We went for a walk in the evening on the gorgeous port. It was so beautiful at night with all the stars in the sky and music from the restaurants by the water. I kept thinking that France is the most romantic place in the world.
Day 2: August 30~
My friends back home are starting school today. I'm not so jealous of them. In the morning the girls and I hit the market :) It blew my mind. So amazing. There's not many places like that in America. It completely embodied the French life: people bustling everywhere with baguettes over their shoulders, children screaming for little French candies, tons of cheese stalls, tons of little pastries stalls, and seafood. We saw live eels for sale! Ick. I was the tourist again, taking pictures of everything. After that we went to the supermarket and bought a ton of stuff. I feel like anything I eat here is going to be good because it's French ;) Later after a huge lunch with lots of cheese we biked to the BEACH. It was way farther than I thought, but the bike route went past beautiful scenery. The water was really warm and felt so good. We swam for a long time and then sprawled out on the beach. Lots of women were topless :P Later in the evening, Marie-Armelle's friends, Jean-Pierre and Hèlene, came over to stay with us for a couple nights. They were a little "special" as they often say here in France, but decently nice. We ate so much yogurt and Nutella and jam and bread and cheese here, it's ridiculous. French Nutella is soooo much better than American Nutella.
Day 3: August 31~
I completely lost my appetite for breakfast because Hèlene's cigarette box was next to me the whole time. In France they put a nasty image of a cancerous lung on the box to encourage people not to smoke (not like that really works) and it certainty grossed me out! The girls and I went to the market again and I bought some postcards, tourist style. I love walking around with all the French people and baguettes :) Then later... we went clam hunting. Yeah, that's right. We waddled in the mud when the tide was really far off and collected clams for dinner. We walked past rows of oyster harvesters and finally got to an area where orange clams clung to the rocks. I found a ton. It rained a bit and my clothes got muddy, but it was super fun. We were exhausted by then so we chilled back at the house and I read more of Harry Potter (in French of course... I'm almost done!) Then later we rode our bikes to an amazingly beautiful town called Saint-Martin and en route saw donkeys! They were so cute, but really lazy and didn't even lift their heads up. Saint-Martin has so many boats, cobblestone alleys, shops, and food places. There's a huge gelato place and a waffle shop :D We shopped around for a long time before we biked back at sunset. It was like a dream sequence. SO many people ride their bikes here and there's no electrical wires in sight! (They're tastefully buried underground) It's like the island is detached from the rest of the world. I love it. We ate the clams for dinner and Hèlene made a chocolate mousse with alcohol in it :P Good, but the alcohol was a bit overwhelming. We played a game called Taboo in the evening where you have to guess a certain word with hints from the other person... in French, naturally. I was so proud when I got one right. Marie-Michelle kept swearing in English and it was really funny because to them it didn't really mean anything. I admit, I've gotten into a habit of swearing in French... particularity Merde. Look it up. Overall it was a great day– clam hunting and donkey petting.
Day 4: September 1~
How is it September already? Crazy. I'm going to start school soon and I'm quite nervous, but I'm still here in paradise so it's all good :) Today in the morning we had crêpes with Nutella for breafast. Yummmmm... And I bought a pretty scarf at the market. Later we drove to a different beach that was farther away than the first. We brought boards for surfing but there were hardly any waves. Still it was really fun to swim in the sea again. So much fun indeed that we swam out farther than we had expected.. And we saw nudists! At first it was like "Oh my gosh look, a nudist (hahaha)"... then "Another nudist!"... then "Look! Another! Another! Eight nudists!" Then we realized that we had swam out accidentally to the side of the beach reserved for nudists. It was super funny and slightly awkward. For dinner, we had pizza. I requested pepperoni and they looked at me like I was crazy. That word doesn't exist here but we bought pepperoni pizza anyway. Hèlene made an amazing citron tart for dessert. There's dessert after every meal. Fruits, yogurt, cake, tart, etc. I haven't gained any weight yet and I hope it stays that way!
Day 5: September 2~
Today we went for a picnic by the beach. It was amazing. Then later we searched the muddy sands for little shelled creatures that I can't remember the name of. We poured salt over tiny holes in the sand to make then come out, but none were home :P It was still fun to splash each other with mud like little kids. Later, we went back to the same beach as yesterday and again accidentally went over the nudist side. That night we went for another walk around the square and it was magnificent as always. I was more confident with the language this time and had a blast talking with the girls under the stars.
Day 6: September 3~
It was the last night on l'île de Ré :( And it rained. Figures. We went to the market and the girls bought a bunch of patisseries and souvenirs for their families. I bought a ring and some more postcards. We bought Marie-Armelle a present too: a box with a picture of a donkey on it, filled with delicious caramels :) Later we biked to Saint-Martin for the last time and walked around. The girls bought waffles with Nutella. It was cold, windy, and rainy by the time we got home to drink some hot chocolate before going to mass. Yep, I went to church for the first time in my life! It was a beautiful church with lots of elderly people. I tried to understand what was going on and what people were saying, but in the end I just spaced out and admired the beautiful ceiling and statues. It was a good experience :) But I think the best part of the whole trip was that last evening. We were playing Taboo when suddenly we heard music outside. The girls and I walked to the square and saw that a big concert was going on! Right there in the middle of all the restaurants and boats! It was incredibly fun. The music was a variety of French songs and popular American songs by artists like the Black Eyed Peas, Shakira, Maroon 5, etc. We danced and danced and danced. Really danced. Everyone was dancing! We didn't care about how we looked. It didn't matter. It was just so much fun. There was a huge konga line later :D I love konga lines. We went to bed absolutely exhausted that night... and had to get up super early the next day. To go back home :( and start school.
Day 7: September 4~
We got up early and bought baguettes from the market. Then we cleaned the house and finished packing :( Then to the car and off we went. We drove for three house before stopping at the castle Chenensaux. Aaaahhhh it was soooo gorgeous! Magnificent! I took about a hundred pictures there. We walked around and listened to an audio guide on iPod touches. I listened to it in English and then decided to listen to the kids version because it was funnier and less boring. I love castles, but there were so many people there it made it less medieval and more tourist attraction-y. We had our picnic there (baguette sandwiches of course :) We drove for three more hours and arrived back in Cambrai in the evening. It started to pour like mad right as we entered Cambrai. Movie moment.
All in all it was a fantastic trip and I really liked meeting my future host sisters. I took a thousand pictures in seven days. :D I start school tomorrow!!! Wish me luck. A bientôt :)
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