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! :)

Before I left for France I found it impossible to imagine that in such a short time I would be leaving to go to a foreign country for a whole year. I feel a little bit like that right now. Not only do I find it utterly impossible to imagine that I'm going to be back in the United States in less than two months, but it also seems like I'm going to another foreign country. The two months mark came and went without leaving me time to fully comprehend the magnitude of what it means.

In about a month and a half I will no longer be in France. With almost all of my friends and family here in France, the subject has become taboo. We just don't talk about it because it's too sad to think about. I know I'll come back, but visiting isn't the same thing as living the French life.

I've really come to love this country and I haven't even had the chance to explore it in it's entirety. I'm going to be coming back to visit for the rest of my life.

With that all said, it's not over yet! I still have time left to really take advantage of my experience. School is almost over (June 10th) and the weather is gorgeous! I'm living the life with the sun and a high of 80's every day.

I've also taken advantage of the nice weather to do some traveling and see some friends and family. Since the last time I updated I've visited with my older brother, sister-in-law and niece, I've been to the French Alps, traveled back up to Paris to visit some friends from home, took a trip to Corsica, and spent a mini-vacation in St. Tropez.

Here's the proof :)

Lucy, Laura and me in Cassis

Ice Cream with Lucy and Eben in Cassis

Hiking in the Alps!

Reunion in the middle of Paris!

The view from a hike in Corsica

Jumping around in Bonifacio, Corsica

Emma and me in Corsica

The Statue of Liberty! There's a carnival at school where everyone dresses up, and this was my costume.

La Bravade de St. Tropez.
 Each year, St. Tropez has their "fête du village" where they celebrate their history. It's a different St. Tropez than I had imagined or seen before. All of the Tropeziens dress up in the old provençal costumes. It's like we took a trip back in time. 

La Bravade de St. Tropez

Here's a video of last years Bravade. It'll give you an idea of what it's like. You'll see small bouquets on the shoulders of the soldiers. Nicoles family is the last family in the town who make the bouquets, so we spent the day before the bravade making bouquets for the town. They then got sent to the church to be blessed. Folklore has it that if you keep your bouquet for the whole year, it'll bring you good luck. On the other hand, you can't throw it out until you have one from next year, and you can't throw the old one in the trash. It has to be thrown to sea or burned. 

In the next month and a half, I expect that I'll be even busier than the last! Imagine that!

There's no place like home

Sorry for the late post (I've been trying to update every other Sunday) but it's been a crazy past few weeks. Vacation ended last week and thursday was my first day back to school (yes, it was Thursday, and yes, I think it's weird too). The vacation was really nice. I was off from October 23rd to November 4th. It was a nice break to catch up on rest, hang out with some friends, and catch up on school work. On the weekend, I had a party for Halloween/birthdays of some AFS friends. Most people from the PACA region (my AFS chapter) came and we spent a couple days in Marseille. It was very interesting to celebrate Halloween in France. Halloween isn't a big deal here at all. Some of the younger kids will go out trick-or-treating, but not all houses participate. Most teenagers get together for a party or just to hang out, and adults, unless they have children, don't really participate.

The party with the other AFS students was great though! It's amazing how comforting it is to have someone to talk to who know's exactly what you're going through. We traded experiences and made sure that everything we were going through was normal. Nicole gave us our space by going to Greg and Tashina's for the night. I was so surprised by the amount of freedom we were given. All we had to do was have the house looking the same when when she got back the next day, and we had the house to ourselves. I wasn't used to so much freedom, but I wasn't about to abuse it!

I went for a bike ride around Marseille the other day, and I realized that Marseille is my home now. When I think of home, I think of Marseille not Maine. Don't get me wrong, Maine is still my home but for the time being, I live in Marseille. In Marseille there's my home, not just any old house, my school, not just a school I go to, my favorite park, not just a park near my house, and my favorite stores not just any old shopping center. I can make my way through the city on my own without thinking twice. I've setteled into a schedule and it's nice to think that what once seemed so bizarre has now turned into my daily life. I've come to accept the good and the bad about Marseille, and I thnk that allows me to be able to call it my home. I'm past the honeymoon stage where everything is amazing, and I realized that Marseille has it's faults just like anyother city, and that's what gives it character. Despite the bad parts, I still like Marseille because it' my home.

School is slowly getting better. Bad grades are slowly being interspersed with some good ones, and that always boosts my confidence. Every day I get comments on how my french is improving! I'm starting to even think in french! Parts of the grammer that I thought I would never be able to understand are slowly but surely making sense. There are times when I have a full conversation with someone without having to ask them to repeat something, and (as far as I know) them understanding me, and it just makes me feel great. It's one of the greatest feelings to finally be able to communicate (somewhat) competently.

While my french is progressing, my english is digressing. It becomes really apparent when I know what a word means in french, but I can't think of the translation in english (if that makes any sense at all).

I'm off to study for a maths contrôle (math test), but I'll update again in the next week.

Bonjour mes amis and ma famille!

Hi everyone! I have so much to update on and so much to comment on, so I'll start with the updates. 


Lorna, the AFS teacher from New Zealand is so nice! It's nice to have someone to escape to and speak English with when things get overwhelming. It's going to be really hard when she leaves! We've been to le Vieux Port (the Old Port) a couple times. There we shopped 'til we dropped! Then we got some (very good) French food, and shopped some more. It's great to have a companion in the house to go out with. 


On my first weekend in Marseille, Lorna, Nicole and I went to Saint Tropez! It's about 120 km from Marseille and it's absolutely gorgeous. Nicole grew up in there, and her family has a very long history there. One of her relatives was the mayor, and her family helped build most of the houses and resorts for the rich. Saint Tropez it the place to be and to be seen for the celebrities! It was so amazing to get to go there, and to see all of the sights. There was so much to do! The first day, we went to Nicole's aunt's house. The view from the house was breathtaking. It looked out over their vineyard and out to the coast of southern France. We spent a while picking (and eating) grapes from the vineyard. They were the best grapes I'd ever had. After that we spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool. It was divine. That evening, Lorna and I wandered around town and got some chocolate chaud. 


The next morning, Nicole took us to one of her favorite beaches. It was really amazing. The weather is ideal, and it was so relaxing. The main difference from the beaches in the US, though, was that most women sunbathe topless...I, however, did not conform. I had to be careful what I took pictures of though! After going to the beach, we went back to Nicole's Aunt's house and lounged by the pool for a while. Once we had had our fill of lounging, Nicole, Lorna and I picked figs from the many trees in the garden. Not only did we have "beaucoup de rasin, mais beaucoup de figues aussi!"


Following fig picking, Lorna and I did some shopping in town. It was mostly window shopping because most of the stores were way out of our price range (i.e. Dolce and Gabbana, Christian Dior, Gucci, etc.) but we did manage to find some reasonably priced clothes. :)


This past Wednesday, I started tennis lessons! It's great to be active again. They all called me "the American" and I think that they were entertained every time I tried to talk. On Monday, I started yoga. It's great for me to de-stress, especially since Monday is the hardest day of the week for me. 


For my second weekend, Nicole brought us to a party for a PACS. In France, a PACS is an alternative to mariage. It is open to both homosexual and heterosexual couples, is much less binding than a marriage, but it's legal and recognized by the government. It was interesting, but most of the time I couldn't understand anything that anyone said, so I just enjoyed the amazing cheese and desserts. 


The food here is amazing! I have never eaten so much bread, cheese and meat, and drank so much wine as I have here! Maybe it's just that I don't eat a lot of meat at home, but we have some type of meat every lunch and dinner! It's crazy! So far, I've had duck, lamb, chicken, tons of different types of fish, and steak! The bread in France is the best. No matter where it's from, no matter when you have it (which is every meal), it's amazing. I see people walking around with baguettes under their arms all of the time. It's classic French. 


Meals in France are not just for eating. They're a social event as well. We eat at 8 in the evening for dinner, and often we're not done until after 9! Meals are served in courses, so first, we'll have appetizers or some type of cold meat. Next we'll have either salad or the main course. After that you have cheese and then you have fruit/yogurt/desert. I have trouble remembering that theres more after the main couse, so I always fill myself up on that and I don't have room for the amazing cheese. 


Every night with dinner we have wine. It's not just any wine though, it's wine made with the grapes picked at Nicole's Aunt's vineyard in Saint Tropez! Drinking alcohol here is not a big deal. I think that because the drinking age is 16, teenagers don't feel the need to abuse alcohol like some do in the US. 


Classes are extremely hard here. Yes, I am taking most of them in a different language, but they're hard for the students who speak french fluently as well! There is always so much homework. Every night, for at least three hours, I work on school work. The point of school is not to provide opportunities for learning as well as extracurriculars such as sports, music, key club, student senate, etc. like in the US, but to teach the students enough for them to pass le Bac. Short for le Baccalauréat, le Bac is a little like the SAT's in the US. It's like a diploma that you need in order to go to university. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baccalauréat) So, at school there are no extracurricular activities, just learning. 


I am taking Premiere S 3. Premiere is the equivalent of being a junior in the US. S means I am in the science track, and I am in the third group of the science track. This track is the most difficult of the three tracks generally offered in french lycées. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_education_in_France for a further (and better) explanation of the secondary education in France.) 


Because I am in the most difficult class, I have a very full and heavy schedule. On Mondays, I am in school until 5. Tuesdays, until 6. Wednesdays I get out at noon, Thursdays I get out at four. On Fridays (for now) I get out at 2, but that's going to change in October, and I'll get out at four. Saturdays, for now, I get out at 10, but in October I'll start getting out at noon. I start school at 8 every morning except for Thursdays. In general, I have two hours off for lunch, but even with the break in the middle the days are incredibly long! I find myself getting excited over ending at 2, when that's when I would end school in the US every day! I think that I would prefer not having as long of a lunch break, and getting out earlier, but it's all part of the French experience!


The uniformity in school is ridiculous. Everyone takes notes, underlines, highlights, and writes, in the exact same way. It's crazy! Every time I go to write something, I'm afraid that I'm going to do it wrong.


There are good things about the school system here though! They give you so much freedom here. If you don't have a class, you don't have to be in school. Durring breaks, you're allowed to go outside of the school grounds. Many of the kids will go out for a smoke durring break. If your teacher isn't there for class, there is no substitute teacher, you just don't have class. I've had a couple times where the teacher wasn't there and I got to go home early. 


I've made so many friends! School is not only bearable, but fun with them. A lot of people speak English pretty well, so when I don't understand something or I can't make myself clear, there's always someone who can help me out. 


Beaucoup de Bisous! There are so many kisses! When I see someone I know, instead of waving to them and saying "Hi!", or giving them a hug, I have  to kiss them on each cheek! Before class in the morning it's just a long line of kisses! Everyone does it. girls with girls, girls with boy, and boys with boys. It's not awkward or weird, it's just the way things are here. 


It's really hard to remember that when I'm talking to elders, teachers or people that I don't know very well I have to address them formally and use the "Vous" form of the verb and not the "Tu" form. In English we don't have anything like it, so it's really hard to get used to.


I promise that more is on it's way! :)

Mon premier jour d'école!

I had my first day of school yesterday! I started at 8h00 with Science de Vie et Terre (SVT "Science of life and earth") for two hours.  It's basically biology for the first semester, but much harder biology than I took in the states. For the second semester it's geology. I'm glad that the subject that I don't know is second, so by the time we get to it I'll know what everyone is talking about. After SVT, I had two hours of physiques. I found out that in France, physiques is really chemistry! So we did some chemistry experiment with magnesium and some other chemical that I vaguely remember from chemistry in the states. After those two classes I was finished for the day! On Wednesdays and Saturdays I only have a half day.

In the afternoon, Nicole and I went shopping! I picked up some school supplies. All of the kids in class have these special pens and special paper, and they all take notes the same way! I felt so weird when I did everything differently, with the wrong color pens, wrong color paper and wrong organisation of my notes!

After getting my school supplies, we went to the "Orange" store. Orange is a phone carrier, so I got my blackberry there! It's nice to finally have a phone. I feel much safer, especially since I'm in a big city because I can call someone if I'm lost or in trouble, and I can contact friends (once I make some!)

From Orange, we went to the train station to pick up Lorna. Lorna is an exchange teacher from New Zealand that we are hosting for a month. It is really nice to have someone who speaks English in the house with us, but we will have to make a pact to speak only French to each other.

Today was my second day of school. I had two hours of SVT this morning. It's really intense for me because all of the students write down what the teacher dictates, and I don't understand much of it. I write what I can, and then copy the rest from the girl who sits next to me.

Next I had English! It's by far my favorite class. It was really boring, but I got everything right and all of the kids were coming to me for answers. It was great! There is another girl in my class who speaks english too! We sat together, and talked the whole time. We are going to hang out this weekend!

I have three hours off until my next class, so I came home to have lunch. When I go back I will have Spanish, and history & geography and my day will be finished!


Also, here are some pictures from my tour in Paris! Some of them are not very good quality because they were taken from inside the moving bus.