June Gloom

It’s June. How scary is that? I’ll write a pretty long post for this one…June is pretty important, considering it’s my LAST FULL MONTH IN FRANCE.

So, the other day I looked back at some journal entries I wrote in the beginning of the year. (I’ve faithfully kept a journal here, in English the first month, and in French the rest. I have 2 already completely filled up!). And here is one from right before Christmas:

It’s snowing again. It’s my first real winter and I never thought it would be so cold. Okay maybe I did. But I didn’t think about all the other things, really. Not about the aloneness of starting a new school or the little things that remind me of home. I didn’t think about being trapped in my head or being with people who just wouldn’t understand.
But I also didn’t think about the beauty. I mean, I’m only an LA kid—I’m not accustomed to all the trees and sky and snow. I feel like I should introduce myself.
When I think of Christmas I think of…tourtiere and our advent calendar, the perfect tree in the family room with the lights out. The smell of pine and tourtiere. I think of driving to Orange County and seeing the cathedral, then driving home in the dark. I think of grandpa and his last gifts, I think about Willie Nelson Christmas albums and picking presents one by one—we see everyone open each one. I don’t think about little siblings, foie gras, or the decorated dining room. But I think I will, when I go home.
It’s getting darker and darker and all I can think about is emptiness—I feel pretty empty—almost like I’m in defense mode. Every smile is the best moment of my week.
I hate the uncertainty here. Home is sure, my friends are sure, my family is sure. I’m really not homesick—but I hate the uncertainty of not knowing if my friends here really like me, or not or what’s up. It takes someone confident to be an exchange student, I guess. I don’t know if I’m confident enough. I try!

When I think about that time in my exchange year…it was still kind of in the stage where I kind of had friends, but not really yet, and I was still feeling kind of uneasy and nostalgic about Christmas in the US. But what is true is that it takes someone confident to be an exchange student. I think that I was kind of confident when I left LA, but now that I’m going to return, I feel like my confidence has grown a lot. I think that I can get away with a lot more in LA than I can in France, in terms of fashion and behavior, and I’m definitely going to take advantage of that when I get back. If I went to my school in LA wearing something out of the ordinary (I dunno…a floor-length dress, or a weird hat or something), it would be noticed maybe, but it wouldn’t be a big deal. However, if I did that in France, everyone would stare and make comments and soon I’d be famous. Okay, maybe it’s not that extreme, but I find that a lot of girls at my lycée make a lot more comments on everyone’s clothing, their weight, if they’re “moche” (ugly) or not. haha, that sounds funny, but it’s true.

I will no longer have ANY problems at all meeting new people—if I can do it in another language I can do it in English. And that’s coming from someone who used to be really shy when she was younger—I’ve changed a lot. And it’s definitely a change for the better. I can see better where I am as a person—what I’m doing, the real importance of certain things.

Anyways, someone commented on my last post and asked me to give advice for people going to France next year. (Wow! I’m trying to imagine myself in your position last year! I didn’t even have my host family yet in June!) So here ya go, the differences: (I’ll name as many as I can think of).

1. The French give the “bise” (kisses on each cheek) a lot. Firstly, to say hello and goodbye. Guys only kiss other guys when they’re really good friends, but guys kiss girls to say hello and usually give handshakes to other guys. Girls “font la bise” almost always to everyone to say hello. (No mess with handshakes and all that…) Pretty complicated, eh? And then, girls and guys who are friends sometimes just kiss each other on the cheeks all the time, just because they like each other. Et voila. French people kiss a lot more than American people.
2. Most people eat pretty delicately, with a fork AND a knife. Practice eating with the fork in your left hand, the knife in your right, and don’t put your elbows on the table.
The food is a pretty big difference. They eat almost everything with bread, and they don’t mix the courses often. (As in, you eat some vegetable dish, and then, you eat the meat, and then the fromage, etc.)
3. If you are placed in pretty small town, don’t expect everyone at lycée to be welcoming first. I think because everyone comes from the same area, everyone is kind of attached to their group of friends that they’ve known for a really long time. All the students won’t necessarily go and talk to you at school, so you have to make an effort to talk a lot, be really friendly, and ask people to go with them when you don’t have class, etc.
4. It’s really common for teenagers to drink alcohol. (The drinking age is 16 for beer and 18 for wine or something like that). It’s not illegal, so I’d say, even if you’re not used to drinking in the US, to go ahead and drink a little. It’s kind of a joke with me and my friends here that I should take advantage, because back in the US I still have 5 years to wait.
5. A lot of teenagers smoke. It’s fairly normal, but if you don’t smoke, your friends usually won’t pressure you.
6. Everyone doesn’t party very often, but when they do, it gets kind of crazy. Almost everyone gets drunk and does n’importe quoi.
7. The school system is interesting to say the least. High school starts in 10th grade (Seconde), and with AFS, usually you’ll be put in S.E.S. or “générale.” 11th grade is called Première, and you have to choose from 3 options: Littérature, Sciences, or ES (économiques et sociaux or something like that). In 12th grade, or Terminale, you stay in the option you chose, and you take the Bac at the end of the year. You’re put in one class of students that you stay with for all the subjects. Class starts around 8, and finishes around 5 or 6 pm, depending on what subjects you take and things like that. When you don’t have class, you can leave the school to walk around town or go home or do what you want, really.

I can’t really give differences about family life, because that really depends on the family. Like anywhere you go.

AND HERE’S SOME ADVICE:

Pack enough underwear and pajamas. I sure didn’t.
Girls: bring jeans and t-shirts or blouses, and sweaters. Not many people wear skirts or dresses to school, if they do, it’s with leggings or tights. If you’ll be somewhere cold, bring a coat in wool or something like that, not one of those giant ski jackets.
Guys: jeans and t-shirts will always be fine. Not a big difference there. You don’t have as many guys that sag their jeans, though.

Talk A LOT. It’s the only way to improve your French, and if you talk, it’s easier to make friends and get along with your family. Call your new friends to organize things, etc.

Don’t use the internet too often. If you use it to go on MSN and talk with people in France, then go ahead, but not for messaging everybody in the US. The internet is kind of addicting, or it was for me—so you should think about it, and set up a time you should use it each week. (I went on two or three times a week for only about 10 minutes each and that was perfect).

Try to work in class, and actually do your homework and study and all that. If you do well, it’s good for your self-esteem, and even if you don’t, everyone in class will see that you try—that you’re like them, not a huge slacker at the least.

And that’s it, really. If anyone has questions to ask me, they can go right ahead. I’ll answer them!

And I haven’t even covered what I’ve been doing lately, since my last post. Today
I went with Helene, Pauline, Louis, Gautier, Arthur and Charlotte to go see the “Structures Gonflables” at Borts-les-Orgues. I think it’s a kind of playground structure type thing, but with special things where you can blow balloons up or something. (Okay, I really have no idea). But turns out, we couldn’t even find the “Structures Gonflables,” so we went and saw the Chateau de Val (which is very pretty!), and we ate icecream at a restaurant nearby. We got back to the house around 7, and we snacked on chips and guacamole. It was a funny kind of day.

Last week was my LAST REAL WEEK OF LYCEE. Which is kind of starting to scare me. Thursday we only had 1 hour of class, and so for the rest of the day, we laid around au stade (grassy area where people play rugby in front of lycee), and I got sunburned really badly. (But it was awesome at the same time!). Friday we had a huge surprise party for Madame Culinat (our math teacher, who’s retiring), and we got another teacher to open up her room before her class at 1 o’clock, so everyone (two classes from Seconde) brought food, hid, and cheered when she opened the door. I don’t like the French version of math, but she’s a good teacher and a really nice lady…it’s sad that everyone won’t have her next year! Anyways, we finished at 2, so we went to the park and hung out. Normal normal. hehe. But it’s the beginning of the end, really.

And this week has gone even faster. We didn’t go to class the past couple days, really, (don’t tell!), because it’s the last couple days and they changed around all the schedules and we only watch movies in class…so ce n’est pas grave! Monday, we had a class picnic at the park, and Madame Blanchard and Culinat came (with clafoutis!), and it started raining afterward, so we all hung out at Marie T.’s house. (another girl from my class who lives right next to lycee, almost). And Tuesday we didn’t go to class at all, but hung out at Ussel, went to go eat kebab for lunch, and all that. Wednesday, I went with the group to the lake at Meymac for the afternoon. It was fantastic, but sad too. It’s the end of things. I wrote little letters to Marie, Nono, Charlie, and Julie that pretty much say “je t’aime! tu vas me manquer!” (a little longer). I’ve made really good friends here. I hate that when you really make friends here, you have to leave.

Hey, AFS, why don’t you offer, like…3 year programs?

Yup.

"Parmi les choses dont la sagesse se munit en vue de la félicité de la vie tout entier de beaucoup la plus importante est la possession de l'amitié" --Epicure

I am really happy. I went back to lycée today and I realized, I've found some really good friends here--and I have a family here and I will miss France so much. Even with my rollercoaster emotions, I've learned a lot here, things I never would've learned if I had stayed another year in Los Angeles.

Last Monday, the school bus came late so I missed 2 hours of math. All the high schooelrs from Liginiac (we're about 8) got to Ussel around 9h30, so we all went to a pub before going back to class ( we had to all go together; otherwise we couldn't get away with it! hehe) We got back to lycée around 10 and we told everyone that the car had just arrived! My English teacher wasn't there all this week either, which was pretty nice (she has some really bad mood swings, and not a very good accent) The weather is finally getting warmer (20-30 degrees celsius!) and so it's generally marvelous. We spet all of last weekend next to the swimming pool--I've started tanning!

The other night, Minette (one of our many tabby cats, their names are: Songha, Minette, Nougat, Tigrou, on other one that I can't remember the name of, and Gaspard) gave birth to kittens! Apparently, Minette started giving birth at like...3 in the morning, on Pauline's bed (I would definitely like to be woken up by that! lol...I'm being sarcastic). Now there are three tout-petit chatons hanging out in Pauline's room.

And yesterday was a Thursday, so we finished at 3 like usual, so we went in a group to le parc de la mairie, and just hung out. I love the days like that. We kind of all lean and lay on each other in the sun, and talk, and goof around. And it's starting to feel like the end of the year...in SES we already got our grades for the last trimestre, so no one takes notes; and everyone has started talking about summer plans. I finish school the 17th of June; and then I'll leave Ussel the 7th of July to return in LA the 12th.

I've just started to realize that I only have...1 monh left in France. About a month...a month and a week really. And that scares me. I think I keep saying that (yes?) but it's true! 10 months has gone by a bit too quickly. 10 MONTHS?! I can't even believe I've been here for that long.

So I've also started thinking about what it'll be like when I get back to LA. I'm mostly thinking it'll be weird? I think I took way too much for granted when I was in LA--the closeness of everything and everyone. I'm looking forward to seeing you. And doing AP work of course (I'm kidding for that one). I should probably see all the movies I missed this year, and start reading only french books or something (or give bisous to everyone all the time!)

But mostly, I'll deal with that in July. Right now I just want to be here with my friends and Helene and the family and the countrside and the swimming pool and Ussel and the afternoons after lycée and general normalness. I will miss it incredibly. I'm glad that I'll have 3 weeks of French summer vacation before I leave--so I can hang out with all my friends here, I'll have enough time to say goodbye. Or maybe I'll never have enough time? I'm not someone who would "accidentally" misplace their airplane tickets or something like that (like that AFS book says people do before they leave), because I know that I'll have to go back to LA. I just wish I had a bit more time, you know...this year has almost felt like a dream. Wake me up in 6 more months!

I don'wanna leave yet.

Easter and...other stuff

May.
Maymaymaymay!!!!May ?

I should say, c’est mai! Je me sens comme je dois écrire tout en français maintenant ! C’est vrai que, quand j’essaye d’écrire et penser en anglais, tout devient bizarre. (J’ai besoin de penser soigneusement d’abord, et après écrire)

But I won’t continue in french…because then (almost) no one at home will understand me! (exceptions: Mama, Allie, and Sarah?) I feel restless. Not here, but because I keep thinking I’ll be home in 2 months, and how weeirrdd that’ll be. I have changed a lot. I can no longer think back when I was in LA, and remember the conversations I had or how I really spent the days, because my types of conversations and how I spend my days here are so much different. I am home here. I also feel like, once you really settle in, you have to think about going home. (2 months will go a whole heck of a lot faster than I want)

What will I do without the hours after school is done, when we hang out and wait for the car? What will I do without the chateau? Without all the forest to take long walks in? Without the snow in winter? Without all my friends here? Without Louis and Gauthier and Lucie and Marion to talk with? Without fromage?
I am at a loss. NOT THINKING ABOUT THAT.

So, we had another 2 week vacation at the end of April (that finishes next Monday), and I stayed with a temporary host family in Paris for the 2 weeks. (They couldn’t find a family in Marseille). But it was AMAZING! The family consisted of Laure, and Michel her husband, and their 3 daughters: Anne, Claire and Louise. They weren’t at home all that often (at ages 13, 16, and 19), but I did a couple things with Anne, who is hilarious, in the first week. (I also went to her college one morning in the 2nd week, because she wanted me to). haha, but almost every day I woke up pretty early, left the house to go see things in Paris: le Louvre (Mona Lisa!), Montmartre, le Marais, St. Germain-des-Pres, les Champs-Elysees, and elsewhere. The first week, two friends from the lycee at Ussel (Antoine and Pauline) were in Paris too, staying at Antoine’s uncle’s house, so we hung out a bit. And the second week, Nadine from Switzerland stayed with the family too, so we went to the Tour Eiffel and saw everything again. (I saw Marton too, who was there with another host family). Pretty much, I was rarely alone in Paris!

Our last night in Paris, Nadine and I made carrot cake (did you know they make one in Switzerland too? But with a taste of lemon and lots and lots of nuts) We used the American version…but the problem was that we didn’t have flour, oil, cream cheese (for the frosting) or carrots. And all the supermarkets were closed because it was the 1er Mai (La Fete de Travail). So we decided we’d find everything we needed, somehow. haha, we went to the Gare de Lyon (the family lived just next to it), in the metro (they have little stores inside), and finally (after walking 5 blocks) we found a little grocery store that was still open. It was kind of hilarious, we ran around the store trying to find everything (and at the cheapest), and we bought flour, a GIGANTIC thing of vegetable oil, 2 carrots, and a fromage a tartiner, for only 4 euros! We high-fived and ran back to the house (and they loved the gateau en plus!)

I saw about…4 movies: 17 again (the really um…cliché one with Zac Efron), Coco avant Chanel (with Audrey Tautou, which was good), Safari (un film française, really funny but kinda dumb), and Incognito (another French movie with Benabar). There was a movie theater about a block away from my host family’s house, so it was kind of convenient! I also went to a lot of museums: le Louvre, Le musee d’Orsay (impressionists!), Le musee Carnavalet (French history), and Le Grand Palais, where I saw the Andy Warhol exposition (fantastic!) and one about graffiti. It was just fantastic. I really needed to get out a bit from Mareges to be in a big city again—just for a little bit. By the end I was homesick. I was ready to go back to lycée!

Anyways, because I didn’t update in April (sorry…I was really busy!), I’ll summarize it a little bit. Pretty much, it was comme habitude, and one weekend Miyu and Victoria came to visit me (It was soo much fun, we stayed up really late each night and talked and sang in foreign languages) and then the next weekend, I went to Yolaine’s house at Brive for her birthday party. (She’s 18!) We stayed up until 4 AM watching ‘Mon Voisin Totoro.’ (And we ate pasta in the form of flowers and hearts, hehe) And afterward, pretty much like normal: hanging out with everyone after lycee, and doing homework and yup. I got a 12/20 on a dissertation in class for French, and I am pretty proud of myself, because my prof grades severely, and I had the same grade as Marie!

There was also Easter! Here in France, they say that the cloche hides the eggs (not the enormous bunny). Actually, the cloche doesn’t chime (I can’t remember what word I would use in English to describe the noise of a large bell?) at the church for the week or two before Easter, and on Easter, it rings and rings, (right word?) and they say that the cloche came back, with chocolate for everyone. Aude and Lucie went to go hide the eggs in the garden, and afterward, we all went to try and find them. It was a good day; not Easter in the US, but Easter in France! haha, and that’s about it.

Yup… I have to do my devoirs, so, à plus tard!

Lol, murs and 16!!!

It’s the middle of March. Which is pretty strange. I know I always say that—but it’s really very strange. I almost feel like this year has been a dream or something—It really feels like a REALLY LONG august or something. As though I left LA a week ago and I’ll be returning in a week or so.

Yesterday Helene made a gateau de murs (mur = a kind of blackberry/mulberry type fruit) and all the chateau smelled like…murs. I felt really bizarre, because it was as though the smell called up a distant memory. I’ve smelled this scent before, but where? Once I thought about it a bit more—it’s what the chateau smelled like when I arrived in August. When I first arrived, I went with Helene to pick murs, and she made confiture (jam) with the murs that we picked. I associate the smell with the first couple weeks of complete confusion. But also with the excitement that I had the first week or two—it was so beautiful, here, it was so wonderful, here, everything was different and amazing. It’s funny to think I’ve been here for 7 months. The longest I’ve ever been away from home! But once you’re here for this long—this kind of becomes home. I’m no longer a guest au chateau! (I haven’t been for awhile)

Anyways, for my birthday, mama sent me a packet of cards. It was the most amazing birthday present I’ve ever gotten. I got a card from EVERYONE. Everyone in girl scouts, lariats, the aquarium, Allie and Chris, and all of my friends from school and elsewhere. Nicole got everyone to sign a card at school—which just makes me smile—I’m trying to imagine Nicole getting all the random people to sign: Charles Kim from my bio class last year, Ms. Derdzinske, Micah and Ted. Emily sent me cards and pictures and a marvelous Giant Robot t-shirt. I feel loved by everyone at home, and everyone here (man, I just feel loved in general). hehe, but it’s true. I have some really good friends in LA, who I love incredibly, and who I miss a lot. Even though I’m not quite ready to leave yet, I really can’t wait to see everyone in July.

The week of my birthday was maybe one of the best weeks I’ve had since I’ve arrived in France. Everyone sang to me for my birthday (accompanied with lighters in one case, haha) and when I got home, Helene made brownies for my gateau d’anniversaire, and I got a pretty pair of earrings, a book of conjugaison, a card from Lucie, and a book about chiens from Gautier. And after that it was just a good week—one of those weeks that go a lot faster than expected. On Thursday, we finished at 3 comme habitude, and so we went to the café and each drank two glasses of (ok, I don’t really remember what that was? alcoholic beverage?), and we were all a little more…relaxed? hehe…So we went to the park in Ussel—le parc de la mairie, and sat down at the stone table at the top of a hill. It’s really an awesome place—you can see all of Ussel (the church and all the buildings around it, and then the campagne in the distance). Charlie brought his guitar, and he played and we sang. On Friday we finished at 2, so we went to the café (didn’t drink, really, this time) and then went to the table en pierre again. (Pierre = stone) It was awesome to just talk a little bit with Noemie and Charlie. And we changed my birthday party to next weekend, because ‘Lol’ played at Meymac yesterday, (which we all really wanted to see). And it was fantastic. The movie is just about a girl au lycee—with boyfriend problems and friend problems and family problems. At the end, she gets together with her best friend, Mael (hot French guy who plays guitar), and everything pretty much works out. It was hilarious, and I guess it could say something pretty concrete about who most teenagers in France want to be…to be an ideal girl who parties with a boyfriend that looks like one of those guys in the Kooks? Maybe.

To sum it up: I’m happy. Just plain happy. I remember reading that book about “your exchange experience” or whatever that was written by that lady with AFS, and about how most people went through the same stages: arrival excitement, culture fatigue, getting used to it a little bit, holiday depression, then culture adaptation, etc. They show you a chart that shows how your feelings go up, down, up slowly, down slowly, then gradually rise and rise as you adapt to the culture. But when I really think about it—mine was never really like that. Mine would look less like a mountain than it does a lightning bolt. It’s kind of funny to think about it. Mais c’est pas grave, the little line keeps going up and up from here, and I’m sure of it!

So, that’s it really. Frede, the AFS Correze coordinator is organizing so I can go to Marseille the next vacation, and stay with a temporary host family or someone with AFS. Which would be amazing. (I want to see Marseille more than ANYTHING). And Victoria and Miyu visit the weekend of the 28th this month….and I have to study for a test in English tomorrow (the easier of my classes) and yes! bye!

Making Meringues and Noel!

Wow. It’s ALMOST Christmas!
I’ve been here for…a long time now. Just about 5 months. Which means that I’m approximately half-way through my year abroad in France.

And wow. The first 3 months were hard. The first month I found a friend in my sister, but didn’t find any at school. I didn’t understand anyone, and no one could understand me. The second month I started a new school, and realized that it’s actually pretty hard to find friends at a new school. And the last 3 were just…hard sometimes, but wonderful mostly. I made a good thanksgiving dinner, hung out with people here that I love, will celebrate Christmas!
Have I mentioned how much I love my host family? Alain and I talk and watch NCIS and rugby together. Helene knows my preference for apples for dessert, and we talk too. Aude is sweet, and is en train de devenir vegetarian. Marion corrects my French (« ce que je mange, pas quoi je mange ») and knows how to play BS. Hmm…Louis is funny, and always tries to help me figure out words. Lucie has a strong personality (some people would say…strong tempered?), but we hang out occasionally, and if there’s something wrong I can talk with her. Pauline doesn’t talk much, but I think she’s accepted my existence comme même. I let Gauthier cheat at ‘Dame’ (checkers…okay, he’s not cheating, but I don’t like the French rules! they’re not fair!). Arthur and Charlotte make noise all the time, and are possibly the most annoying children in France (or in the US for that matter) Or maybe they’re not. (maybe little kids are just annoying in general? I’m definitely not going to be a kindergarten teacher) It’s different to be in such a big family, but it’s also kind of comforting, because everyone has such a big support system. And it really doesn’t feel like such a large family while living with them. It feels normal. (I’m going to go home and feel bizarre when setting the table…we put 9 plates right? hehe) And really, I hardly see everyone all together…all in the same room or something. Alain has two children from his first marriage (Pauline at 18 and Mathieu at 24 years old), who only visit occasionally. Aude is only at home for the vacations, and Marion is home every other weekend. I’m trying to imagine everyone on a road trip.

And have I mentioned how much I love my friends? I’m not very close with Samantha, Orane, and Charlotte, who I hung out with the first month at lycee, but I don’t think I was ever very close with them to start out with. (I find that they’re nice, but a little exclusive) But I’m really close with Juliana, who just moved to the Meymac area from Gironde (so she’s starting out fresh too), and Elise, who reminds me A LOT of Mary Rose (a girl I played AYSO soccer with), which is pretty bizarre. Also with Marie, Noemie, Julie, and Charlie, who I hang out with Thursdays and Fridays after school. It’s easy to talk with them, and they’re sweet—huggy and free-thinking. They like Manu Chao (¡me gustas mañana, me gustas tu!) and Charlie plays some pretty awesome electric guitar, and Marie plays a little bit of guitar and sings. (she says she doesn’t sing well…but she’s modest! She’s great!) The Friday before the winter vacation, we all went to the “Espace Jeune,” and Charlie played guitar and Flora played the bass, Marie and Solene sang, I played a little bit of piano. Everyone else listened, and/or sang along. It felt a lot like…the guys’ band practice at our house, or something. It was comfortable, and loud.
AND I LOVE MANIFESTATIONS! So, the French government is trying to reform the Bac, and change the hours of school and change the whole system and everything, and it’s all pretty dumb. (great explanation, eh?) So there’ve been a bunch of protests from the lyceens throughout France (they protest a lot here—a lot more than in the US) And last Thursday there was a ‘greve,’ meaning that none of the students went to classes all day (okay, there were about 5 in our classe that went…the losers! just kidding) and around 2 there was a ‘manifestation,’ where about 50 or 60 of us met around centre ville in Ussel. We formed a big group and the police was there (along with a reporter from Bleu-Limousin radio), and we marched in the streets of Ussel, (blocking traffic!) and sang songs. (« Trois marches devant, trois marches derrière, c’est la politique du gouvernement! ») It was really just…awesome. I mean, we weren’t the only ones protesting…hundreds of teenagers throughout France were doing the same thing. How come we don’t do things like that back home?

Yup. I dunno…I’m really at home here. It’s normal. With lycee, I’m going to ‘faire du ski’ (we meet Wednesdays after school in January and February, and then we go and faire du ski pendant quelques weekends). Yolaine and Ione are visiting the chateau in a week or so, and there’s an AFS weekend next month. The SNOW here was WONDERFUL. And when there’s too much snow the school bus doesn’t pass by the house and we don’t go to school (and then we go out in the snow and build igloos and ‘bonhommes de neige,’ no joke!). And then it’s beautiful and I take pictures. (Finally some pictures of everyone for you guys back home!) I thought we were going to have a white Christmas, but yesterday we had some sun (for the first time since the beginning of November, honestly!) and our igloo melted and I spent the whole day in jeans and a t-shirt. (it was a good 7 degrees! Um…about 45 degrees Fahrenheit…ooph) I think I’m getting acclimated to the cold.

I’ve had a lot of firsts in France: first real winter, first beer, first manifestation, first taste of elk. (Charlie and Noemie are afraid that they’ve taken away my innocence, and that they’ll send me back to the US an alcoholic or something. Which is pretty ridiculous. hehe)

And I’m excited for Christmas: to open the mysterious presents that Mama and Papa sent, and to see if everyone likes my presents (Arthur will get the t-shirt that says ‘Muscle Beach’ on it!). And I sent home presents, which you’ll all get way too late. Sorry. I hope you get it before February or something.

Hum. I don’t know what else to say. Christmas eve is tomorrow!! New Years is shortly after! And then school will start again and then I have another 5 months to go!

(photos are in next post...it was too slow to include in this one!!)

Real men play rugby!

C’est incroyable!! C’est déjà presque la fin de novembre !!! Ma vie ici va trop vitement pour moi ! Alors, tout va bien.

This month has gone by UNBELIEVABLY FAST. It feels like October. Or maybe August? Anyways, lycée has been going along like usual. I am way more comfortable with my friends here, and my classes are fairly interesting. (Je crois que j’ai la moyenne dans presque tout !) I found a jazz band that plays with the Ecole de Musique here that I might join, and I can play a sport after school on Wednesday afternoons. I listened to Fred’s advice and I’m trying my best to do things with my friends outside of school, and I’m having a little fête for Thanksgiving next Sunday, and inviting some friends from school to my house for a big traditional American dinner. And I’m more and more a part of the life of my host family. Alain and I watch rugby occasionally which is a sport I find pretty bizarre, and I help Hélène cook sometimes too. Everything feels pretty normal, now, and when I don’t have anything to do I’ll watch TV with Lucie, Pauline, or Gauthier or sit in the cuisine (kitchen, warmer than the reste du château) and read “Harry Potter à L’école des Sorciers.”

And my French is improving like clockwork. I finished Un Secret by Grimbert, and I can read Harry Potter in French without a dictionary. It’s pretty bizarre, because none of the word plays that J.K. Rowling uses exactly work in French, so they changed a bunch of the names. Oliver Wood turned into Olivier Dubois (du bois= of wood), Hogwarts into Poudlard, Professor Snape into Professeur Rogue, and they call magic wands “baguettes magiques,” (which makes for a nice visual image).

I think I can think in French now. I can understand almost everything that everyone says to me, and I’ve been having pretty weird dreams, in French. (one involving mama and papa donating money to a charity and getting new pots and pans, one involving my prof principale du lycée and the exchange student from Brazil at my school, who I’ve never talked to) I used to wake up every morning and be disorientated when Hélène talked to me in French…it used to take a little bit to get used to speaking in French again. But now, I wake up, and it’s French, automatically. (Though I occasionally insert words like ‘the’ and ‘nor’ in my classwork by accident) I thought that this would be harder, language-wise. It’s really not so bad. The language came fairly easily for me, I think. And sure, I’m not Victoria, where French is her….4th language? (Portuguese, Spanish, English, French), but mon français marche pour moi !

I’ve found that I don’t like the French school system as much as I like the one in the U.S. Man, it’s hard! Well, you actually learn something in the classes here, but you choose what you want to be for the rest of your life at the end of middle school. When I changed schools from college to lycée, I chose between “Information Gestion,” another section for people who want to become “ingénieurs,’ and “S.E.S.” (Sciences Economiques et Sociaux, or something like that, supposedly the most ‘prestigious’). And school isn’t required after college, so some people just finish and find a job at 15 and that’s it. I chose S.E.S., and after this year, everyone chooses between L (literature, history, etc.), ES (economics, history, math), or S (science, math, etc.). My prof de S.E.S. made it very clear that if you’re just a “moyenne” (average) student, you can leave. There isn’t room for you at lycée. So everyone in class actually does their homework, and everyone tries to do well. (It’s like being in more than an honors class, without the ‘honors class’) I mean, in the US, even if you don’t succeed in high school, you can still go to college and be, really, whoever you want to be. My anthropology professor last summer left school at 9th grade, and now he has a book published and a doctorate! But in France, not everyone goes to université, and if you do, bonne chance, because it’s really difficult, and a lot of people leave.

Anyways…I’m happy here. I haven’t had any major homesickness bouts since last month. Every once and awhile there’ll be little things: Hallelujah (Rufus Wainwright) will play on the radio, and I’ll be really sad and think of Emily’s last birthday party, or someone will say something that reminds a lot of home, but other than that…I haven’t been as close with Lucie since I changed schools, and she seems to be going through a phase of « j’ai marre du monde » But I guess being annoyed by my host siblings means I’m really comfortable with my family, haha. Well, it’s the weekend again, and I have tennis today and homework tomorrow. (a fair amount of sleeping there too…je suis toujours trop fatiguée par le week-end) I don’t really have any GRANDE NOUVELLES to report, because nothing too exciting has happened. I’m excited for Thanksgiving next weekend, and it’s almost December!

George Brassens 'Au marché de Briv'-la-Gaillarde' et Manu Chao

Octobre va finir a bientot! The beginning was pretty slow, the first month felt like a year, but once I’ve settled in, it’s going by pretty fast! I changed schools in the beginning of October, from college (6th to 9th grade) to lycée (10th to 12th grades), which is really where I should be. Everyone was really nice at college, but I think its better that I’m with people the same age, and that I can make friends that aren’t the same friends as Lucie’s. It’s a little weird because it’s like I’m starting over, but I really like it.

My class has only 3 boys in it (none of which are too cute…) and a bunch of girls, who are all really friendly. I’ve become friends with girls named Samantha, Orane, Charlotte, and Lea, who I eat lunch with most of the time. But after school (sometimes school ends at 3, so we have to wait a couple hours for the school buses) I occasionally hang out with Charlie, Elise, Noemie, and Marie, who go to the Troubadour (a restaurant/ice cream place/bar/et cetera place) in Ussel, where they play pool and such. Noemie and Charlie smoke, but after I said I didn’t, Charlie said “Good! Don’t start!” And I probably won’t (don’t worry Mama). Drinking is more common too for teenagers, but it’s not the same kind of drinking that a lot of teens do in the US. I mean, they don’t get really drunk or anything. As 15 year olds, we can go into any bar or restaurant in Ussel, and order a beer, and it’s perfectly normal. It’s weird to think that if I was in the US, they would ask to see an ID, or, more likely, refuse outright. (Well, the drinking age here is 16, which might be a part of it)

Anyways, my classes at lycee are a bit harder than at college. All of the professeurs expect us to take notes while they dictate, and we have a controle (a quiz) about once a week in each of my classes. (And they’re hard!!) I really like my Physic/Chimie class though, (which is odd, because it’s a subject I hate in the US) because the prof Mme (Mademoiselle) Peyre, is really nice, and I actually understand what we’re learning (how to calculate light years and things like that). And Espagnol, which is surprising, seeing as I’m terrible at it and can’t understand anything the teacher says. (I think if I could understand what was going on in my classes, I’d be really confused) The thing about lycee, is that it’s a lot more relaxed. When a teacher isn’t there, or we don’t have a class at a certain time, we can leave the school to walk around Ussel, or sit and talk at school. Normally, school starts at 8 AM and ends at 5 PM, except for Thursdays, where we finish at 3, and Wednesdays, where all the schools finish at 12.

Life with my host family is great, as usual. Everyone liked the snickerdoodles, and tacos I made for them (not simultaneously of course). I’m still scared of the horses a little bit, but I go with Lucie and Pauline sometimes, and I start tennis lessons on Saturdays next week. I finished my first book, completely in French! (Cette chanson-la by Sarah Dessen, which is an American book translated into French) Pretty soon, though, I will be reading Le Mariage de Figaro by Beaumarchais for Français, and Un Secret by Grimbert for Histoire/Geo.

I don’t know what else to say. Vacation has started, and the past couple days I stayed at Yolaine’s house (a girl who will be going to the US next year, and who is hosting Ione (no idea how that’s spelled) who changed families this month and is from the US too and is now part of the AFS Correze group, (me, Victoria from Brazil, Miyu from Japan, Marton from Hungary), and who is just generally awesome. Everyone, except for Marton and I, lives at Brive La-Gaillard, and so we all got together to hang out in Brive, and visit Tulle (where Marton lives). Ione and I also had our own mini-halloween, and carved pumpkins. (Yolaine thinks mine looks like Salvador Dali?) These past couple days I had a kind of bad bout with homesickness (J’ai mal de pays!), but I talked with Frederique (the Correze coordinator, who everyone calls ‘Fred’) and we decided that I need to get out more, talk nonstop, buy a portable (cell phone) and find bus routes to Ussel from Liginiac. It’s mostly because sometimes I’m stuck a la maison with nothing to do, and that’s when I miss home.

But mostly, I’m pretty comfortable here. And it's snowing outside! (no joke!) And it’s really weird to write in English, too. I tried to read the English book that Papa sent, but it took me like…a half-hour to read 8 pages. Mais, ce n’est pas grave! À plus tard! Here are some pictures too! (pictures from lycée will come later, sorry)

Tulle!

Miyu and Marton being silly

Ione carving the pumpkin

My pumpkin...

the chateau!

Charlotte!! (hehheee)

One month mark

Mission accomplished. Well, a little more than it was 2 days ago. I made a list the other day of things I was going to do to take better advantage of my year in France, (yeah, I make lists…hehe) because I was feeling kind of out of it. The teenagers here aren’t exactly like the teenagers in the US, similar (I think all teenagers around the world are pretty similar), but not quite. Advice to anyone going to France: just give it some time. You’re not going to have immediate friends, but by being friendly, after a couple weeks, you’ll have a couple. I mean, that if you went to the US, tons of people would be really overfriendly and show you around the school and ask you to eat lunch with them, but here, everyone is more laidback, and most people won’t approach you first. You really have to make a conscious effort to make friends. And I think I’ve made a couple! At least started to, anyways. I’ve definitely found a friend in Lucie, my host sister. She’s been pretty awesome showing me around at school, and we’ve been doing homework together and such.

I want to be able to say how France is right now—to sum up the last month. But as always, just when I need the words the most, they won’t come. First of all, Los Angeles is no longer where I’ve lived for 15 years, but what defines me. In Arts-Plastiques (drawing) we had to draw a picture of us—who am I? what do I like? that kind of thing. Without thinking, I started drawing LA, and piano keys along the side. If I was in the US right now, I could say my hobbies were soccer, dancing, girl scouts, LA youth, guitar, knitting, and aquarium-ing. But here, none of that exists. I can’t even say that I like to write, because I can’t creatively write in French. I’m pretty blank here. I mean, it’s not a bad thing. But it’s different.

When I say I come from Los Angeles, they say “Quelle chance!” (what luck!) They all have this idealized version of what LA is, and it’s kind of hilarious. (yes! of course I see movie stars all the time! hehe) But I absolutely love Liginiac and Ussel. They’re these old towns with old houses and flowerbeds on all the balconies. And there are patisseries (bakeries) and little restaurants on every corner. Some of the parents of people you go to school with own boulangeries. The whole atmosphere is pretty charming, because everyone knows (or knows of) everyone who lives nearby.

I should talk about the food too. It’s delicious, to sum it up. I am sincerely hoping I won’t gain weight. Each meal with my host family has about 2-3 “courses” I guess you could say. (they aren’t huge portions in the “courses”) First, we’ll have some kind of vegetable (tomato salad, or soup, for example), and then something with meat and a starch (chicken and pasta) and then cheese (camembert, goat’s cheese, I am a fan of brie) and then dessert (yogurt or fruit, or on special occasions a gateau). Even the cafeteria food at the cantine at college is WAY better than American cafeteria food. No hamburgers/cheese covered fried stuff. They have pasta and vegetables and meat and yogurt and general goodness. And you know how everyone thinks that there aren’t any overweight people in France? They’re wrong.

Hm…what else to say? I don’t know. Oh, never say “Je suis pleine” (literal translation: I am full) because it really means that you are a female cow, and you are going to give birth. Marion informed me of that a couple days ago…so I didn’t have to go through the embarrassment of saying something like that…

Mostly, it’s pretty strange to think that I’ve been here for a whole month already, because it really doesn’t feel like it. (Yesterday after dinner, Helene brought a yaourt with a candle in it, and reminded me I’ve been here for exactly a month!) And if the rest of the months are like this, I’m happy. And I have things to look forward to too: maybe going to a lycee instead of a college (that’s a different, more complicated, and less interesting story), Paris at Christmas, Ping-Pong class during lunch every Friday, the AFS outing planned for this weekend at Montaubon, going um….the equivalent of jumping off a cliff with one of those elastic rope things attached, with Marion and Lucie in October, dinner tomorrow, History class (we’re learning about the American elections, and I am therefore doing very well)—everything. I’m more and more excited for my continuing life in France.

IN FRANCE!!

I'm finally here....after the AFS camps, both in New York (which was almost horrible, by the way), and in France (which wasn't).

The days have been passing by...and they seem a lot longer here. Everyone wakes up at 6 or 7 for school (which I 'll talk a bit more about later), eat lunch around 12, 13h00, then eats dinner around 21h00, then goes to bed. They're house is beautiful... and everyone has been really nice to me, even though my french really isn't what I expected and I don't understand much at all. When I think about it, it's really the little things that make France so...awesome. I am in love with here. The other day, I sat out in their backyard, and Gautier plopped one of the many cats in my lap. Pretty much, it pooped all over my jeans--and it was just too funny. ( You know those moments when you're really embarrassed, but when you think about it, it's really pretty funny) Lucie and I couldn't stop laughing. And when we drove in the car to go canoeing and canyoning (a very....um...exciting excursion), they played a french song, and then that oldie 'Satisfaction' and Alain sang along. Alain has been talking in a strange mix of english and french ( he studied in wyoming for a couple years, but his english has since deteriorated), and when we went canyoning (rock climbing) he was trying to help me, but he kept mixing up the words 'left' and 'right.' And I've been really confused mind-wise, and most of the time, I can't remember whether someone said something to me in english or french....
The little things that are just.....funny about france:

• they eat fromage and pain with everything
• when I ordered pizza in a restaurant, they came out with a whole pizza on a plate for me
• there's a waffle in the vending machine
• the mailwoman knows everyone's name in the town
• Charlotte (3) has a different cut little dress to where everyday, and she loves Indiana Jones movies
• Gautier tries to be helpful, by repeating what everyone says very slowly for me
• People smile and wave when you drive by, and they don't know you
• they think it's just hilarious to eat eggs for breakfast
• there are little villages everywhere and all of htem are the length of about one street in LA

School started yesterday too. It was....to put it mildly CONFUSING. We took a big charter bus to school...hm....pretty much I didn't understand anything, but Lucie is in the same class as me, so she was really helpful. My P.E. teacher thought it was very interesting that I was from the US, and he made us walk 2 blocks, then gave us candy. Pretty much, the whole day was WHOOSH (that was it going over my head). But today, the seocnd day of school, was much better. I could understand a bit more, and I had english class, and music. (Singing! required singing class! I think we learn some recorder in there too).

But I'm taking 10 classes overall: French, english, spanish, math, physics/chemistry, biology, history, drawing, music, P.E., and Technology. And ALL of that is required!! I am definitely thinking about all the requirements I can get out of the way. haha...

In the meantime, everyone thinks it's quite a novelty to be from LA, and all the girls in my class have been asking if there are 'beautiful boys there.' I mean...you tell me. =P

I love it, and I miss you.