au revoir

Yesterday was my last full day in Marseille. Today I'm going to go to the train station in Marseille and take the train to Paris along with the rest of the AFSers from PACA who are going to the end of stay orientation. Tonight will be spent with AFSers from all over france. Tomorrow morning, at the crack of dawn, The other Americans and I will head to the airport to catch our flight back to New York. I will then take a flight back home.

Remember those posts back in August? Where I was just too sad to leave my home? Well this one is going to be very similar. Marseille has become chez moi. I don't want to leave it! Granted, I have had quite a few perks...you know, like living in walking distance from the beach, having one of the nicest parks in Marseille right next to my house, the beautiful weather...but it's not just the superficial things which I'm going to miss about Marseille. Over the past ten months Marseille has become my home. I finally learned which exit goes where at the metro stop in the old port. I know how to get around the city by bus, by metro, by foot and by car. I've made some of the best friends of my life here and I know that we'll stay in contact. I have another mother who will hug me when I need it.

Sometimes I don't know what I'm going to do when I get back. Will I just go back to my day to day life? I don't think so...I could never just forget an experience like this. I really grown up this year. I've changed so much. I'm no longer that little girl who said goodbye to all she knew last August. They say that coming back will be an adjustment "that can sometimes be difficult". I believe them...It's just hard to imagine being back home when here in Marseille it's also my home.

Where did the time go? Its funny...I seem to remember saying just last week that is was so sad "I only have six weeks left." How did that change from six weeks to a couple of hours so quickly? There was a while where I wasn't ready to go home, but that feeling has passed. It's not that I don't want to go home, I just don't want to leave...does that make sense?

As usual, I'll leave you with some pictures. These are a few snapshots of the visit from my brother and his girlfriend.

La France va me manquer. Il y a tant des qui m'ont vraiment touchés, et je ne les oublierai jamais. Il y aura toujours une place dans mon coeur pour Marseille et tout le monde qui m'ont accueilli chaleureusement. 

My going away party

School's out!

That's right everyone, school's officially finished (but not forgetting that little thing in less than two weeks called the BAC).

Usually at the end of a school year I'm one hundred percent ready for summer. Here, it's not exactly the same thing. From the work standpoint, I'm one hundred and fifty percent ready for summer, but on the other hand it means that I won't see most of the kids in my class. The feeling on the last day of classes was one of tight throated, small smile while the people who helped me all year long wished me a "bon retour aux états unis" and told me "tu me manqueras".

The 1ereS3

Vous me manquerez tous! I'll never forget how you helped me when I was lost in class, made me laugh with your crazy antics at the most inappropriate times, encouraged me when I thought I couldn't do it, and welcomed me graciously to the 1ereS3. Thank you for an amazing year. 

 “Why does it take a minute to say hello and forever to say goodbye?”

                                                                    -Unknown

Goodbyes being said, I walked home in low spirits to find my train ticket to Paris for the end of program orientation waiting for me on the table. Everything's happening too fast! I still have one month left, and I'm going to make the most of it. The beautiful weather is calling, and I have some of the best friends in the world to pass the days with. 


These last few weeks won't go to waste. 

"Don't be dismayed at goodbyes.  A farewell is necessary before you can meet again.  And meeting again, after moments or lifetime, is certain for those who are friends."

                                                                    -Richard Bach

And as usual, I'll leave you with some pictures :)

Our AFS PACA volunteer Timour's going away party

A day at the pool with Marie and Mélanie 

and Axelle! :)

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 :).

LAST DAY!

I spent my last day at home today, and I'm headed to New York for orientation tomorrow! I went out to lunch and spent the day with my best friends. It was incredibly hard to say goodbye to everyone. Sometimes it makes me wonder why I ever did such a crazy thing, but I try to remember that a year is not all that long. It's going to be an amazing experience.

To all of my friends and family, I love you! No matter what, you will always have a place in my heart.

And with that, I'm off to bed.

Much love,
Jana