Caen and Mont Saint Michel

My French is getting so much better. I know that it’s full of errors but the flow with which I talk is substantially better than when I arrived. Everyone I ask tells me that my French has improved a lot. I’m to the point that I understand what people say to me almost all the time. School is still a struggle and I don’t get much out of my classes, but I can understand at least some of what the teachers are teaching us. Although I still think it’s amazing how few words I understand when I’m copying my neighbors notes. That’s been all I’ve done in my classes, in general the homework is too hard or complex for me.

On Monday, I wrote my first oral for Spanish. It’s a little surreal taking a Spanish class in French in France. It’s weird getting an assignment with translations into French and not English. The tests for instance are sentences in French, which you then have to translate into Spanish. My first test was rough and I literally just put down the pronouns but I took my second test last week and one of my sentences was entirely correct. My Spanish teacher also told my English teacher, who is also in charge of the exchange students, that if I continue like this I’ll speak Spanish by the end of the year. I’m glad that I decided to stay in Spanish, it’ll set me up really well in the US and I do really want to learn the language.

I’ve been talking pretty often with Manon, who went to Australia, and Lou, my second host sister. They’re very cool and it’s been nice to talk to them about their experiences. I’ve also been hanging out with some other exchange students pretty often. One girl named Vilma and another named Amy, from Sweden and Mexico respectively. I feel a little bad for Vilma because she lives at the school and only gets to leave for an hour everyday.

On Tuesday, in my science class I dissected a cow eyeball. It was so awesome. The only problem was that my partner wanted to do it as well and I really like dissecting. Phones are pretty strictly forbidden here but I managed to take a couple of pictures. I may have gotten eyeball on my phone but it was so worth it. It’s things like this that make me think I could do something with medicine for a living.

Some days are harder than other. Some days I feel perfectly content and some days I just feel like crying from frustration. For example, on Wednesday I got so frustrated in a pharmacy because I needed to buy lotion and when I told my host family and the pharmacist they didn’t understand. It turns out that the French word, “Lotion,” translates to “body oil” in English, and the English word, “Lotion,” translates to “Crème.” This was the last straw in a day full of frustrating things like that and I almost lost it in the middle of the pharmacy. It’s so frustrating have thoughts in English that you can’t convey because you don’t know the words in French.

Although, Wednesday also ended on a good note, I took a Jazz class where I took my Ballet class. It was actually pretty fun. I’ve never really done Jazz but it wasn’t bad at all. I think the Swedish girl is going to start the class as well. I think that if I take the Jazz class I will also take the Monday ballet class even though it’s not great; something is better than nothing.

On Thursday, I went to a Rotary club meeting with all the kids from Vendée, my department in France. There are six other kids. We all live around the region but we’re pretty close to each other. It was a really fun night and I was glad that I got to hang out with all the other kids. It was a meeting of all the clubs in Vendée so there were a lot of people there. They had a sort of strange fashion to raise money, but we got to walk at the end of it. It was a great night and I hope that the Vendée kids can get together often. Friday, school was little hard. I was pretty tired because I got back from the meeting so late. I was pretty tired in all my classes.

On Friday, toward the middle of the day a woman came and got a girl from my class and told her to take all her stuff. The woman came back later to tell us that the girl’s father had died. It was shocking to hear and one of my friends started to cry. The funeral is on Wednesday and the school is arranging for a bus to take the entire class. This is something that probably wouldn’t happen in the US but I feel is going to be very important to the girl.

Last weekend I went to Caen in Normandy and Le Mont Saint Michel in Brittany. Friday night, I slept at the chairman’s house because we had to get up at 4:00 AM to leave. For dinner we ate basically all of my least favorite foods. I forced my way through it and ate everything. I’ve come a long way from the days when my family made fun of me for being a picky eater.

On Saturday, Felippe, the other kid in La Roche sur Yon, and I got up very early and left to meet the other kids Angers where we took a bus to Caen. On the way we picked up Öykü, the girl living in Les Sables d’Olonne. The bus ride was long but we eventually made it to Caen.

The first thing we did was go to a World War II Museum. After you walked through the Museum you ended up in an American cemetery. The museum and cemetery was on a bluff above the beach, which soldiers stormed during World War II. It was a sad place but there was a path down to the beach and we were with a girl who had never been to the ocean and we got to see her experience it for the first time so it was a happy occasion as well.

That night at dinner another girl, who shares my birthday, and I got sung to and the Rotarians gave us agendas and Mont Saint Michel bookmarks. I’m glad I wasn’t alone on my birthday. It might have been a little depressing, I’m glad I got to spend it with other kids who are experiencing the same thing as me as well. I do wish that I had been able to talk to my parents though.

On Sunday, we got up at 8:00 AM and left for Le Mont Saint Michel. We arrived there at about 11:30 and hiked to the top of the mountain. It was incredibly beautiful. Although it was a little strange how commercialized the whole place was. It was definitely a tourist attraction and the whole place was covered with little souvenir shops. When we got to the top Mass was just beginning and it was amazing to see and experience that event in such a magnificent place.

I slept most of the way back and got home at probably 8:00. We ate dinner together and I ate so much; one of my favorite meals here is called Moussaka, it’s Greek and Turkish. That’s what we ate for dinner and after my family surprised me with a cake. It was very nice and this weekend we are going to go go carting for my birthday. I’m very excited.

I’ve had a few very strange French moments. I’ve noticed that sometimes my French slips into my English. Also French grammar sometimes comes into my English as well. The weirdest moment I’ve had so far was this weekend. I read an email from my mom and started to think about the reply in French before I even realized it. It’s going to be so weird to think entirely in French but I’m so excited.

Three Weeks

Third week down. It was a pretty good week; I’m starting to fall into my schedule. I still have no idea what classes I have, and I have to check it everyday but I am beginning to know what is going on.

I take naps everyday, being an exchange student is really exhausting. It’s a lot of work to constantly concentrate. That’s one of the bonding points I have with all the other exchange students, we all complain how we’re tired literally all the time. I met three other exchange students at school. One is from Mexico, one is from Sweden, and the last is from China. It’s pretty tough for the Amy, the Mexican, because she’s never taken a French class before, but the Chinese girl is in a Spanish class and she said that she’s never even heard the language before, so that would be pretty tough.

I’ve sort of gotten into a routine here. I have to get up at seven most days and I eat breakfast with the family, this is difference between the US and France, in the US I hardly ever eat breakfast. By 7:30 I leave the house and walk to school, which is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be, I arrive at school at 7:45ish and talk to my friends or stand awkwardly if no one I know is there. My day starts at 8:00 and ends at different times depending on the day, on Mondays and Fridays I finish at 5:00, on Wednesday I finish at 12:00, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I finish at 3:20. My favorite part of the day here is the walk home, it’s refreshing and it reminds me why I’m here. Also stopping at the bakery down the street doesn’t hurt!

We started a class called TPE two weeks ago; it’s a two-hour class that we have every week. Basically in the second year of high school the kids have to do a huge project in the subject area of their path. We have to do ours on either, money, consumption, or crisis and panic. Last week during that class was the first time I felt really capable of rapid French comprehension. It was a great class and I felt like I actually contributed something to my group. This week I didn’t understand as much and we don’t really know where we’re going with the project. The good news about this project is that I will probably get to use it for my senior project, which is great because I had no idea what I was going to do.

I didn’t do much at the beginning of last week but on Wednesday a friend of Cécile’s named Peter. He goes to a different high school than us. We met up after school and ate lunch in town instead of at home. I had my first hamburger here, and I have to say we do it better.

On Thursday morning I had a class called Devoirs for two hours. I didn’t know what it was and I don’t think I was making myself clear when I was asking about because I was not prepared at all. It turns out that every Thursday morning the kids here have to take tests for two hours. Last week it was two hours of French, this week it is one hour of Math and one hour of SES. I didn’t have to do it last week but I think I do have to do it this week. Last week I sat in the CDI (Library) and made Spanish verb tables.

I’ve learned a little about the French education system since being here. I’ve come to realize that everything they do in school is preparation for the Bac. The Bac is a huge test that basically determines their life. The Devoirs is preparation for the Bac but it is also what determines their grade. Their entire grade is out of twenty points and those twenty points seem to be based entirely upon the Devoirs.

On Monday I signed up for an Art class, partially because I need to take one for the US and partly because you don’t need French for art. It was pretty great and I am really glad I started it. It’s a little different than any at class I’ve taken in the US. Here I feel as if it is a lot less structured, which is a little odd for French schooling. The teacher gave us an assignment, made something that is blurred in 2D using elements of Picasso and Matisse, and after that we were completely free to do what we wanted. My art is pretty ugly but I enjoy the class.

I also signed up for a European history class that is taught in English. The teacher doesn’t speak perfect English but it’s pretty easy. I don’t know if I understood correctly what the class is about though because we are learning about American geography and American inventors right now.

On Saturday, I went to a movie. It was dubbed in French so I didn’t understand everything that was going on but I could understand more than I though I would and I think that you don’t really need the words to a movie to figure out what is going on.  The movie I saw is called, in English, If I Stay and Si Je Reste, in French. It’s different here, on the way to the movie my Host Dad explained that it was considered kind of rude to eat snacks or popcorn during a movie here. I saw one girl with popcorn and it was tiny as well. I hadn’t really realized how big everything is in the US. Also the popcorn at the movies here is sweet not salty.

On Sunday, we went to La Tranche sur Mer for Cécile’s birthday. My family has a home on the Beach there. One of Hugue’s relatives was a mason and constructed the house. It was fun, a lot of the family came. It amounted to 15 people. There were three different types of cake, I’ve learned here though that cake means different things is the two countries. I haven’t really eaten what an American would consider cake yet. Below are pictures of the cakes.

I know that I am understanding what is going on and French so much better than when I came. It’s crazy how much I’ve already improved. I am able to have conversations with people now and if I don’t have to conjugate in the past or strangely it has a pretty good flow. Also it’s weird sometimes French words come more readily than English words, for, instance pour instead of for. Also French grammar is slipping into my English. I sometimes say something in English the way  I would in French and it comes out a little strangely. Thursday marks one month here.

Second Week Here

Second full week is over. It was my first full week of school. School is starting to get better and I can understand some of what the teacher says now. It’s just the gist; I am to full comprehension yet but if someone is talking directly and not to quickly to me I can generally understand what he or she is saying. I would describe myself as conversational right now. I can talk to people and tell stories and explain what I want or need but it’s probably full of errors and its very slow. I can tell that I am so much better than I was when I arrived or even when I started school.

I had a couple interesting moments this week that made me realize that the US and France are different.

The first happened on a walk home from school with my host sister. We stopped the post office to buy stamps and so I could send out some postcards. I bought the stamps and put the postcards in the outgoing mail slot and on the way out I said, “Merci,” but it was clear the man hadn’t heard me and so I waved as well. When I we got out of the post office my host sister asked why I had done that. She then explained that doing things like that was really against French culture and that I should not do that. She explained the public etiquette and I found that it highlighted a lot of what was different between the US and France.

It reminded me of a story my Grandma told me. She was stationed in this area of France shortly after World War II working with the American Army. While here she stayed at a French boarding house. She explained to me how odd she found it that the French people seemed so reserved in public. For instance, if the owner of the boarding house passed her on the street she would say hello or even show recognition beyond the rising of one eyebrow. This story came to me while Cécile was talking because it highlighted exactly what she was telling me.

I also went to wedding in Brittany this weekend. It was actually very similar to the weddings to weddings in the US but here going to have the legal marriage documents signed is a part of the wedding. Every one collects at this place called the Mairie where they sign the documents then goes to a reception/ ceremony. It was a beautiful wedding and I met a lot of the extended family of my host family. It turns out that they have a lot of cousins, like about 30. After the ceremony there was a dinner, which was very good, as per usual, and then dancing that lasted until 5 AM, however I went to bed at 3 AM. I like going to events like this not only because it shows me French culture but also because I get to practice my French.

One of the things I would like to do while here is take a dance class. It’s a big part of my life in the US and I don’t want to just stop for a year; although it is becoming sort of a hassle. On Monday I went to a dance studio that my host parents found. I was really encouraged by the amazing studios but the class was not very good. The teacher lacked a lot of technique and a lot of what she was teaching was not correct. I can respect that it is a different technique than that of the US but this was hardly even ballet.

Then, on Wednesday I went to a class with at the Conservatoire, which is the fancy studio in town and loved it but the problem is the only way I can take classes there is if I take four a week, which I don’t really want to do and isn’t really possible for my third host family. My host parents said they were looking at a third dance studio in the city.

Also on Wednesday I went to a Rotaract meeting at a restaurant. For those of you who don’t know, Rotaract is Rotary for people under thirty. It was really fun and it was one of the first times I felt really comfortable with French. I felt like I understood almost everything that people said to me. It was great and I look forward to having more moments like that.

When I left I knew it was going to be hard and I knew that I would miss everyone and everything terribly, but while I was in the US it was just an idea. I didn’t really know how it felt to miss home. It’s hard sometimes but I always come back to how amazing and transformative this year is going to be and how lucky I am to be here. Today I was feeling homesick during the car ride and we stopped in this beautiful town in Brittany and I remembered why I was here and really touched that I was able to do this.

First Full Week

I’m starting my second week in France. It’s just hitting me that I’m here for the long haul, that this isn’t just a vacation. It’s scary because that means I won’t see my family and friends for a very long time, but at the same time it’s very exciting. I can’t believe that at the end of this year I will be fluent in to languages. I can’t wrap my mind around actually being able to understand everything that is going on around me.

            School started last Wednesday. It was a good way to start the year. In France, Wednesdays are generally half days. So school started at 9:00 AM and ended at 11:45 AM. The first day was crazy. There were so many people there and you had to fight your way through a huge crowd of people to get to these pieces of paper that told you where your classroom was. I let Cécile do that for me because I had literally no idea what was going on. She took me to my classroom and thus began my adventure. School isn’t very fun right now because I understand nothing the teachers or students are saying. I know it will come and it’s normal but at the same time it’s pretty frustrating.

            The first two days were pretty terrible because there was a lot of free time to hang out on the campus but I didn’t know anyone so I ended up just sitting by myself. But now I’ve met some kids from my class who I’ve been doing stuff with. I need to learn their names though. I don’t know if it’s the same throughout France, but at my school you are with the same class pretty much all day. Here everyone pretty much takes the same class because they are preparing for workforce.

When kids are fourteen they have to choose which career path they want to follow. There are three basic types: S, which stresses science, ES, which stresses economics and business, and L, which stresses literature and language. These career types correspond to classes in the high school. Your schedule is dependent on which career path you take and everyone in the class takes the same classes with the exception of language where there is some leeway and you could take extra English class or something along those lines. It’s not like the US where you have a lot of control over your schedule and what you want to take. Below is a picture of schedule.

In general I begin school at 8:00 AM and finish 15:25 which is 3:25 PM. Although I am going to take an art class through the school will make me stay later. I am in an advanced Spanish class because that is all that is available and taking a second language is compulsory. Anyway, in that class I understand nothing, because it’s either in Spanish or French. But, Spanish is a language I want to learn so I am going to stay in the class. I know school will get better once I understand stuff so I pushing through.

I went to another rotary meeting on Thursday. In Columbus Rotary meetings are in the morning, here they are in the afternoon and are a very social affair. I talked with some more Rotarians and was glad to talk to my friend Manon who went to Australia for a year. She helped me feel much more normal. I have been so tired from all the French and school. Of the two rotary meeting I’ve attended since being here I have returned from both past midnight. The French know how to talk.

This weekend we went to a birthday party in Le Mans, France. It was simultaneously the most elegant and tacky dinner I have ever experienced. There was a champagne cocktail with the aperitif, three types of wine with the appetizer and main course, and three types of cheeses before dessert, which were French pastries. However, there was also a magician, a singer, two strange dancers, and a Buddha that came up to my chest. We arrived at 7:00 PM and didn’t leave until 2:00 AM. The French know how to party.  

You can follow my year through photos on Facebook as well.