Goodbyes, strikes, and the circus?

Lorna left this past week! It's really amazing what an AFS experience can do. One month brought two people from opposite sides of the world together. By the end I felt like I had known her for years! I knew it would be hard to say goodbye, but I didn't know it would be that hard. It's different now from saying goodbyes in the states. I don't know when I'll ever see Lorna again. It's not that the goodbyes mean any less, or that they're necessarily harder, but it's different than the goodbyes I said six weeks ago.

Lorna and me in Saint Tropez

Since I've arrived in France, there have been four stikes, and this past week there was a blockade at the school gates so I couldn't go to class! The students formed a barrier so no one could get in out out of the school. Apparently this is not unusual, but it was my first time ever seeing something like it! I was shocked and a little bit scared! The whole time I just gazed in amazement, and all of my friends laughed at the stunned look on my face.

"La Révolution"
The blockade

The strikes and blockades are going on because because President Nicolas Sarkozy had raised the minimum age of retirement from 60 to 62 and the age to get a full pension from 65 to 67. This means that the government won't have to spend as much pensions because there will be more people who are forced to retire before the cutoff because of health or layoff. Not only are the teachers in uproar over these pension cuts though, the waste management services are also on strike. This creates the problem of an excess of trash all over the city. Everyone's trash bins are full to the brim!

When there are organized strikes, not just blockades, the public transportation goes on strike as well. On days of strike, you can expect to not get anywhere you want to go on time, by bus or by car! Everyone who has a car takes it instead of using the public transportation, and the busses and metros don't come as ofter, or even don't come at all!

Last week I attended a dinner party at the Consulate General of the United States of America for the South of France. It was very posh, but I got to eat a lot of good (familiar, American) food, and talk to some really interesting people. Most of the people there were teachers who came from the US to teach in France for some extended period of time with a program called the Franco-American Educational Exchange Network. They were all very interested to find that I was only sixteen and that I would be here for "a whole year?!"

The house of the Consulate General is the most amazing house in Marseille. It's on top of the cliffs overlooking the sea. I think I'm going to be the next Consulate General, even if it's just to live there.

Lorna and me at the dinner party with the view from the balcony in the background.

On Thursday I had the chance to go to the circus! It was like no other circus I've been to! It was more like a circus for adults. There was more sophisticated humor than other circuses I've been to. It's truly amazing what some people can do with their bodies. I planned on taking a whole bunch of pictures, but it was forbidden!

Today a friend and I went to my first movie at a theater in France! We saw "Moi, Moche et Méchant" which in English is Despicable Me! It just came to theaters this week in France, where as in the US it was released in July! It's the same with a lot of things here, especially music. Songs that were released at the beginning of the summer in the US are just starting to become popular here.

The movie theater was amazing! The seats were gigantic and so comfy! It was an enjoyable experience, and a bonus: I understood a lot!

Week by week life in France is becoming easier and easier. The language is coming, and I'm making friends, and I'm finally settling into a steady routine. School is still difficult, but I'm understanding more and more so it's more enjoyable now. It's really amazing how much my French has improved in just six weeks, but it's also quite scary how much more I have to learn. But day by day, week by week, it gets better. :)

I've also added a new link so you can view all of the photo's that I can't fit into my blog! Check out my flickr :).