A Very American First Week

A week later and I'm still finding it a little hard to adjust. Sure, I knew this life like the back of my hand, but that was before I immersed myself in and made an effort to be part of another life, culture, and language for half of a year. I'm not being hit with reverse culture shock as much as I am with having to change worlds so suddenly again... for the third time within two years. I'm not complaining. I wouldn't want to change a thing in my life. But I will admit it can be a lot to deal with, but I do love adventure and one can't really have a great, insightful experience without making or accepting changes that may be weird and/or uncomfortable in some ways.

However, to venture back to The States to start this transition back, I had to endure a very long day and a half of travel. I only had two and a half hours of sleep before my alarm went off at 4:45 a.m. The braids in my hair had stayed together so I was happy I didn't have to further deal with my now long hair. My host family seemed sadder than I was throughout the car ride and even at the goodbyes just before my train pulled away. I honestly thought that I would have cried. "I'll probably cry on the plane or when I see my real family," I innocently thought to myself as I settled in my seat. I didn't stay there for very long because Saku and Eliza were on that train as well, so for a little while we all found seats together and took a few last selfies and had a nice, light hearted conversation about what we will miss about France and what we've missed in our home towns. After a while we became tired so we retired back to our original seats (all in different cars of the train), so once I got back, I pulled out my bible, blocking out the noise of the loud family near me, I started catching up on my daily readings. 

The airport was a blur of goodbyes and trying to find the right way to go. Thank goodness I had someone from WEP to help me. When it came time to leave Eliza and Saku, I got a lump in my throat when I hugged Saku. I then made my way through security and to my gate with enough time to buy a coffee and an apple and enjoy my coffee all before they called my boarding group. Stepping on the plane I wasn't feeling as tired as I was anticipating my arrival back to the States. I was feeling good about how nice this plane was compared to the one I had to ride on my way here all those six months ago. There was at least five more inches of leg space, a TV with a nice selection of free movies (I watched Birdman and The Imitation Game) and the flight attendant even gave me a some free snacks because I was sitting next to this really nice college student who was a family friend of hers. My seat partner, Caitlyn, was in Italy for a month long study abroad program. We talked about our experiences and our summer and what we want to do with our lives. Even though we only talked probably a total of one hour of that nine hour flight, it was nice to be able to have a conversation with a total stranger. The next day of traveling would prove that the world is full of strangers not just willing, but actually wanting to have a conversation with another total stranger. Forcing me to realize that the world is full of beautiful people. 

My next five hours at the Charlotte airport were full of phone calls, remembering the drinking age is twenty-one, rocking in a rocking chair and wishing more of the world loved oatmeal raisin cookies the way I do. Those five hours went by fast considering how eager I was to get home. During my next flight, I talked to a senior in high school named Bryce. We talked the whole flight! He was very a very nice and funny guy; he even gave me a National Geographic magazine! I didn't have any time to read after the flight because I had no time to waste in getting to my next gate. Looking at the time, it was eleven minutes till departure, one minute to spare before the gates were to be closed. Or so I thought... When I arrived at the gate, it was already closed! They opened the gate for a mother and her baby and I tried to follow her but the desk lady told me that they had already given my ticket away! I mean, I know I was cutting it close but I still was supposed to have one minute right? Plus, the gate was already closed when I got there and there was another family that missed it too. I was a little confused but very frustrated and angry. It was the last flight to Denver from that airport in Dallas that night so therefore, that meant I had to spend my first night back in the States alone in a cheap hotel room (so generously given by American Airlines). After a very calm and collected twenty six hours of traveling, I (not very proudly) snapped. I was clearly letting the lady who closed the gate early know how angry and disappointed I was to not be able to sleep in my own bed with my own dog nearby and to wake up to a family breakfast. I also didn't expect my first tears of the journey home to commence because I wasn't going to be home when I really wanted to. I didn't really have much of a choice so I took the (already paid for) taxi to the hotel and slept for about four or five hours. Thanks jet lag.. Anyways, I took the shuttle to the airport at 5:30 the next morning and again, made a few new 'five minute friends' who I didn't see after I got through security. After buying myself a coffee and a muffin with my voucher ticket, I sat at my gate, called my dad, and waited for my boarding group to be called. The flight was pleasant with some light conversation with the people sitting next to me. 

I don't think my footsteps have ever felt so light. Speed walking through the airport to the shuttle that will take me to my family. I noticed this father and his son, noticing me and probably wondering why this teen girl is in such a jittery rush. I also noticed those same two notice me when I ran to my family who was holding a "Welcome Home" sign and gave me teary eyed bear hugs. Denver said it's welcome to me with beautiful weather. Warm with clear skies. It was a day of being with my family and unpacking the last six months of my life. 

The first week back was full of visiting friends and taking narcotics due to the fact that my last two wisdom teeth were extracted only two days after my arrival home. I'm not going to lie; it was really hard having to sit around and not be able to do anything for even a few days. I just wanted to get out because it was beautiful weather or I wanted to clean or work on a personal project but couldn't because of the drugs. Thank goodness that's over. The Fourth of July happened during my first week back as well. I was happy because this day reminded me how great this country is. It was also a wonderful feeling chowing down on a corn dog again, or at least munching on it best I could with my still swollen jaw. I had a LOT of different feeling that I guess come along with re-adjusting being home. It was a weird feeling to be at a party, meet a bunch of new people and not kiss them all on the cheek. It's a discommoding feeling to grab lunch with the guy I formerly loved and a sad feeling to know that the last time I was here, I loved him. It is a funny feeling being able to be more aware of everyday, American culture. Things like our refrigerators, and how all the houses are so big and the interior design in houses. I'm also more aware of just how BIG America is! It's almost hard to fathom, but I love this country and being away from it for so long has planted a seed in me. A seed that, as it sprouts, will give me a want and need to travel and explore my own country. There is so much to see just in my own backyard if you will! There are so many breathtaking views and intimidating cities to visit. I'm already making a list of the ones I want to go to. Since this adventure has come to a close, it's only natural that I have my next one in mind, right?

Truth be told, this post has been re-typed and put off, but tomorrow I am going to California to be a part of SSP (the mission trip with my church) and to visit my childhood friends for a total of two weeks so it is now or probably never. Here's where I get to the deep emotions; These past six months have taught me that I can survive on my own even though I'm a sensitive individual and  that I can also be my own best friend. But about a week after coming back, I had a breakdown. The farther the days are getting away from my life in France, the closer they are getting to my real life and the stress of being back and having to do so much to get ready for college apps was almost too much. But after talking through it with friends who understand and loved ones, I realized that some people in this world may have it "easy" but they may not have the motivation to better oneself in even the personal aspects of their lives. I've been noticing how the past six months have shaped me to be the person I am right now. I am now wanting to and currently working on bettering my study habits for tests, read harder and more often, try my hand at writing a novel, apply for scholarships, be the best friend I can be to my friends who have given me more than they know, be the best follower of Christ I can be and also be the best sister and daughter I can be (but also keeping in mind that I am not and will not be perfect and that it's okay and that it's human to make mistakes). It scares me that maybe this mentality of wanting to work hard to accepted in my dream college to make my family proud may have come too late in my highschool career in order to achieve my college dreams. I'm praying it not to be true, but the facts aren't exactly pointing in my favor. However, much more importantly, God has a plan for me. It may not be what I want but it will be what I need in the end and I'm not perfect so I don't remember this all the time, but a very insightful and cherished friend told me to always remember,"worry is what you do when you don't trust God."

With doing my best to always keep that in mind, I'm going to take the insight, knowledge and skills that only my semester in France could have given me through senior year, college and wherever life leads me after that! With this new understanding of how wonderful the world is and if you just use the able mind and body to the best of your abilities and not compare your weaknesses to others strengths, but to focus on your strengths and how you can get ahead in this life using those, you may just live a more satisfying life. I am borderline terrified to apply for college and to start the "real world" but at the same time I trust my life will unfold in my favor and also, I feel ready and able to help make that happen. For the first time in my life I'm ready to live my life; even with the hard times because if God has shown me anything, it's that there will in fact be very hard and stressful times in my life but He has also shown me I can have the strength to persevere also with the help of the people he has put in my life, and maybe more importantly, that good times will follow any hardships.

I wish upon everyone reading this with the mentality I currently have about life and the eagerness to live it to the best way we are able to. I hope I was able to bring you all along on this journey well enough to spread the mentality that it all really IS all going to be okay if you truly allow yourself to believe it. It was okay at some point, it's up to you to believe and work for it to be okay again.

With much love and many thanks to everyone in America (and who was with me in France) I sign off, ending this adventure and taking the memories and knowledge with me from here on out. I know it was just me in France during this past semester, but it was really thanks to the people who supported me and stuck with me thought the distance and time. Je vous aime tellement.

My Six Month Lesson On Life

This past week has possibly been one of the best and most important weeks of my life. I realized so many new things about the me, my life, or the world we live in. It's also never been so clear to me who I am as a person. It's an incredible feeling to have. I don't love every aspect of myself, physical or personality wise, because I'm not perfect. I'm the type of person who will become really excited to explore even a little castle, or even when I have a savory galette saucisse or a good cup of coffee (maybe that's  just the caffeine though). I'm also the type of person who will walk away from you if you keep singing even though I've asked you to stop. I'm not the most patient person. I'm also not completely sorry that I'm not perfect. Nobody's perfect, so why keep making excuses for it? I don't think going rouge with our imperfections is the way to go either. Just be the best you can, always strive to better yourself, know you will make mistakes and own up to them so that you can move on. Forgiving others on their imperfections is also truly important thing that not enough people do, I've realized. It would have been a lonely six months if I didn't forgive and forget. It's a lot more fun joking with a friend about how cold the stone toilets in the castles must have been rather than laughing to yourself as the strangers around you slowly step away.
Also, sometimes when you meet a stranger, that individual can become an important person in your life in a matter of a day. Which brings me to Tuesday. A 9:09 train took me to Bayeux (a city in Normandy where a tapestry you probably have heard of is on display). There, a friend of a friend met me at the gare at around noon and took me to see the famous tapestry and show me around the town he works in during the summer. The large cathedral in Bayeux was beautiful along with the gardens and shallow, slow moving river. A lot of walking and talking was done and it wasn't until we sat down at a table for lunch when I realized that, first, I've never had a 'croque monsieur' that he was talking so highly of, and second, that this was a really good idea to follow my gut and come here to hang out with an almost stranger for a day. I mean, he is a friend of a really good friend in California so I knew he couldn't have been an axe murderer or something! I was maybe a little nervous because I didn't know exactly what to expect. Was I going to waste one of my precious last days in France with someone who annoys me? I was hoping not. I've learned to not always listen to my melodramtic head completely if my gut and heart are telling me something else. My heart was telling me to go and travel despite of who you're with and my gut was telling me this new friend would be alright. However, the funny thing about following your gut is that even though it's most likely right, it still can't tell you the full story of why it's telling you to do this certain thing or go this certain place. It just tells you that you should. Being an overthinker, it's hard to reason why to take such action when you can't find one possibility that's more probable than another, but after the first time I took a big leap in following my gut, it led me to France! Listening to your gut isn't about reasoning with it or asking it questions. It won't answer you. It tells you something short and you respond to it. In some cases our heart or your head and sometimes more than one of those are in your favor, and in the end it's not usually an answer you can find on Goodle. I'm stressing this whole 'following your gut' thing because during this entire day, our conversation never was meaningless small talk but it also never went dry. We sat on a ledge at a beach not far from the D Day beach and talked for hours. Talking about how crazy and wonderful life is and cracking jokes every other sentence. It's not everyday you get the chance to spend all day with someone who you have common interests with, can make endless amounts of inside jokes with in a matter of a few hours, and more importantly talk about life, death and faith with.
It's been a long time since I've opened up a bible or closed my eyes to pray. I was slowly putting my faith farther and farther in the back of my mind. It wasn't on purpose, it just happened as I went through this journey. I didn't realize it was even happening until we were talking about how great He is and how He's blessed our lives thus far. I've talked about God and my faith many times before, but never unexpectedly with someone my own age whom I didn't even know as much as believed in God until the conversation came to light. I'm going to admit, even when my mind was in overdrive, thinking about even the most un-plausible outcomes of how the day would go, it for some reason didn't think it come to talking about God.
It gives me immense faith in the world that people like my new found friend indeed exist and I'm not the only one who has values based on what the bible says and not society. It gives me hope that other people in this world can not know what's in the future but love life anyway and keep Jesus by their side all the while.
To say the least, it was a day that really opened my eyes to myself, to God again and this crazy, wonderful world he has temporarily put us in.
The next morning was all smiles until the train pulled away from the station when the emotions hit me. It took me well until after lunch to sort through my emotions. I did a lot of crying and I wasn't really sure why. Being overwhelmed is the best answer that I can give. Overwhelmed with emotions of joy and love for the lord and how I've never truly realized how important it is to feel Him like this in your heart, the refreshment of meeting another soul in this world that gives me hope, meeting someone that actually makes me believe in myself for a change and makes me believe that I may just be a little better than the bully in my head who I listen to too often, sad that my new friend basically lives a world away, scared I'll lose this way of looking at life, God and my faith. and realizing that these past six months haven't changed me as much as they've opened my eyes to what's important in life and the kind of Christian I want to be. I'm determined to carry this growth with me throughout my life.
I know this may not make sense to some people reading this but, the right conversation with the right person at the right time in your life is something I wish everyone to experience. I also know that I take and feel things more deeply being a sensitive person, so I don't even know if my friend feels the exact same way about our day! But I'm sure we can agree on the fact that sometimes, God comes to us in amazing ways.
I do know the day after the best day ever is something no one wants to face. Even though I had only left that morning, after lunch in downtown, it seemed like so long ago. I was exhausted by the time I got home, but I sorrowfully packed most all of my belongings that have accompanied me these past six months before laying down for a much deserved nap. I woke up in time to eat dinner with my family, then after, with food in my belly and an adequate amount of energy, Faustine took me to hang out with her friends at the soccer fields around her house. We didn't return home too late, so I watched the movie, Boyhood. Great movie by the way, did you know it's three hours? I didn't.... I'm glad there's finally a movie that realistically depicts the life of a modern day teenager (even though the main character, Mason, has a particularly hard life).
By the time Thursday rolled around I was feeling good about my life. I got past the rush of emotions that came with all the thinking and discovering that was done. I slept in late and ate a casual lunch with Natalie, Faustine and Maxent. Faustine surprised me best she could with my exchange friends unexpectedly showing up to my house along with about eight other of her friends from Thoringe, who I guess are my friends now too. We sat in the backyard snaking on undercooked crumble and sipping on coke or orange juice while chatting away. When dinner time came along, we all went to Rennes to get some kebab and eat it in a park. After we walked around and went to the popular Rue De Soif (I'll let you translate that) to be in the upbeat nightlife that Rennes offers. However, if you're with Faustine and her crew, the night is alive no matter where you go. After Stephane picked us up, a small group who could still be out went to the skate park in my town. They got some of my beloved cider and we all sat, talked and had a cup. I'm going to miss my friends here. I'm going to miss how, in general, the French are warm-hearted, contagiously joyful people. It was a melancholy walk home after all those goodbyes.
Friday, every week, is saying goodbye to the week and hello to the weekend. Along with that, this particular Friday was my last day in Rennes. I'm going to miss meeting my friends here and going shopping in all the boutiques. After finishing our burgers and my buying a duffle bag (for a good deal), I said my final goodbyes to Sirin and Joel. I will see Saku and Eliza tomorrow morning at the gare but I was still sad that it was out last time hanging out. I've been blessed to go through this amazing adventure with some really great people. A few tears slipped out during the bus ride back to my house. This bus 50 was another thing I was sad to say goodbye to for the last time, along with the walk home, giving a,"bonjour" back to the elderly women offering a smile to everyone who walked by always made my day a little brighter. I kept myself busy by cleaning my room and doing the very last of my packing. M. Vidal came over for a weird visit to have a discussion with me and my family about my exchange. Nothing was bad or tence, I just felt as though it was maybe unnecessary? After his departure was my final family dinner of my favorite pizza and tartiflette. It was a normal dinner which was nice. We did take some photos and talked about how crazy fast it's gone by after dinner over coffee and TV. I'm now retired in my room. Clothes ready for tomorrow and alarm set.
Now I know that this blog may have sounded sad, but in all honesty, the majority of the time I was feeling content with leaving. I came here and achieved my goal, which I admittedly found out later in my program which was to enrich my life (again how the gut doesn't tell you your future). I learned a language and a culture along with meeting some great people along the way and I found out things about myself and life that I never would have if I had stayed in Colorado. Also, I'm leaving France on a very high note and it's just my gut telling me that my time here is coming to a close (I think despite what my plane ticket says) even though I still would love to stay here longer for many reasons. I'm a little terrified I will lose what I've learned and the feelings that come with it, but I'm preparing. I'm going to give myself reminders and start habits that will hopefully not let me forget how wonderful life is even with all the bad that goes on.
Man, who would have thought that Cassie Bricker would move to France for a semester? I still have a long journey to go for loving and having confidence in myself but I think I have a good start. I'm leaving this chapter of my life with more confidence in myself and with an excitement to see that the next one has in store for me. I'm 80% certain it won't include as many baguettes though...
See you in 29 hours Colorado!

Dear Time, Plz SLOW DOWN, Thx

I started my vacation with a very normal way which was sleeping in, baking cookies with Faustine and hanging out with her and her friends. I think because of this day of rest, I was able to get through the coming week with an adequate amount of energy.
I was at the Gare bright and early Tuesday morning to take a bus to the beautiful coastal city of Dinard. The two hour ride there didn't feel that long since Eliza and I were chatting it up like we always do. So it was a good day from the start. It got better as we (mostly just I) danced in the water and climbed on the rough rocks. I may or may not have gotten a few cuts on my feet from that. After walking and admiring the sea on one side and the beautiful villas on the other, we stopped to eat some fish and chips. We wished the fish hadn't resembled fish sticks so much and that the chips were a little more cooked but at least we had full tummies. We then ended our time there by walking around and buying some souvenirs and lollipops.  Even though our socks were full of sand by the time we had to go back to the bus stop, we were both very happy ladies. Both having lived by the beach most all our lives, it was great hearing the seagulls and feeling the sand between our toes. I will say that I love and miss Colorado and the mountains, but for me, nothing beats an ocean view.
Lucky for me I went to the ocean again the next day with Eliza and our Tailandese friend, Sirin. We had a little trouble finding St. Malo from the Gare because Sirin's Google Maps went all wacky. It told us that we were miles off the coast half of the day... We eventually got there and started shopping for presents and souvenirs. We also got a little desert which name starts with an 'a' (sorry for my weak memory) that is by far one of my favorite things I've eaten in France thus far. It's kind of like a cinnamon roll except less fluffy and instead of white icing it's just sugar. We also ate at a fancy-ish seafood restaurant where I ordered an amazing pizza, Sirin ordered a pot of muscles that you could eat forever because they were so good, and Eliza ordered a shrimp pasta (I don't really like shrimp so...). We took a stroll around the exterior of the whole walled town and I noticed a statue of Jacques Cartier! It's interesting for me because I remember dressing up like him and telling my 5th grade class all about his life in first person with a truly horrific french accent, never thinking I would come to his homeland! The tide also went down a great deal so we walked over to a castle that is only accessible at that time and because Sirin and Eliza weren't feeling like it, I walked alone on the wet, partially broken path around the castle that was under at least six feet of water not that long ago. I don't think I will ever get tired of exploring tide pools or even just walking on the beach. I'm a little bummed because I think this fourth time at Saint Malo was my last time there and at the beach. I didn't want to leave but I have to say I was happy getting off my very sore feet that evening when I got back home. In fact, the whole next day was me resting and taking a load off.
Maxent still had school this past week, Stephane and Natalie both had work so that left Faustine and I watching Gossip Girl and eating pasta in our PJs most of the day. Some people may see this as wasting one of my last few days here in France but I wouldn't say it was! I watched TV in French and had some quality time with my amazing host sister! Also that evening, Stephane told me the recipe he uses to make galettes. I can't wait to make them for my family back in the States.
Friday was a busy day that began with a picnic in a park with Faustine and her friends whom she had at her school before she started going to St. Genevieve. I've met them all before but that was about five months ago, so it was nice being able to actually communicate with them this time around. After that Faustine and I met up with Eliza and Faustine's friend, Colleen at Musee Beaux Arts. I'm a little bummed I didn't go there more because I passed by it everyday and it is a big musume without being too intimidating to go though. We got through it in just about two hours, even though I could've spent all day there. There were even Picasso pieces and pieces from the Louvre! Faustine doesn't like museums that much but she wanted to spend some time with me anyway since I was leaving in just a mere eight days! She doesn't like to go out all that often so I was really happy she came and when we all went for ice cream after I bought her cone for her. She and Colleen then left to hang out with some other friends. With our last few hours before the bus home, Elia and I did the last of our gift shopping and (not proudly) ate dinner at a popular fast food restaurant called Quick. We didn't hear good things about it but we both really wanted to see for ourselves why it was popular instead of wondering for the rest of our lives.
After we took to bus to my town (Eliza was spending the night), we got some ice cream at the store, sat on a skate ramp by the soccer fields and told Faustine to come and bring spoons. After she came with her friend, Erika, we all sat, talked and I showed Erika how to do a yoga sun salutation! Some other friends of Faustine happen to walk by so they spent the next hour playing the violin for us and talking with us. Since it doesn't become truly dark until about 23:00, it is a lot easier and less nerve racking for the parents to let us be out late.
The next morning Eliza and me went to the big market in Rennes for the last time. We didn't even buy anything expect some macarons, but it was nice to take it all in one last time. Leaving the market, we made our way over to Saint Anne to sit at a cafe, drink some delicious Bretagne cider and crepes. I felt kind of bad because all morning Eliza was making some obvious hints that she wanted me to invite her to a music festival that night in Thorigne Fouillard but I don't want to spend all my last two weeks in France with just her because first of all she gets a little of my nerves after a while, not to mention a whole 24 hours and second, I don't want to spend it with just any one person! I'd rather spend time continuing to meet new, French people or spend time with people I would like to build stronger relationships with. The festival wasn't super amazing anyway, it was good and fun but it just wasn't anything special. Faustine, her friends and me didn't even stay that long. We went and hung out at a nearby park playing truth or dare. I picked truth every time because you know how the french can be... Overall it was in fact a good night with good people.
Fetes des Peres (Father's Day) was Sunday so we went to Natalie's parent's house for some orange juice and snacks, then to Stephane's mother's house for a very savory, very french lunch like always and also like always, Faustine, Maxent and I sat eating candy and watching American Dad while the adults chatted away. Just to note: I find that french television commercials are a little more out there. Not in an inappropriate way, but in a 'different sense of humor than America' way. Not bad, in fact it makes TV quite interesting sometimes!
After cake and coffee at Stephan's brother's house, we went over to the hospital here Stephane's dad was staying. He lives there now because Stephane's mother couldn't take care of him alone anymore. The room was plane and a little darker but his dad was in high spirits as we sat and visited with him. He thought I was the oldest sister, Ombeline, half the time but that was okay. We stayed there for about thirty or fortyfive minutes before heading home for a late dinner, organizing plans for the following week and then hitting the hay.
I can confidently say I had a really good first week of vacation! I'm now on to face my final week here in France. The closer the day comes, the less homesick I become and the more I want to stay. It's hard not knowing if I'll ever have the money to come back and see my family and friends here again. It's a wonderful, beautiful, historic country that can never be explored enough. I'm going to really take it all in my final week. I have even more planned than this past week! I also have a feeling it will be more of an emotional week. The crying still hasn't come, but just writing this last paragraph is giving me a lump in my thought. I've never had such a strong bitter sweet feeling. Bitter because I'm leaving this home. Sweet because I'm going home. There are so many feeling and so few words to describe them with. I will tell you this, I have a feeling that for the rest of my life, my craving for adventures will be a hard thing to keep at bay, and it scares me that it has to be at bay. I guess I have to also trust that the next thing chapter in my life won't keep me hung up on the last one.
My next blog will be posted on Friday or Saturday night. I'll also write one or two more blogs after that because I'm sure I'm going to get hit with reverse culture shock and also because the exchange doesn't end right when I get home. I still have to show my friends and family the new culture I've learned so much about! But I will worry about impressing my family later, I still have another week to conquer.

Les GRANDES Vacances

Monday was the beginning of the end... Of my French high school experience that is. It was a good day, besides my cold I had. I ate lunch with two friends in my class, Victorian and Eva. I ate lunch with them most every Monday, but this lunch was one of the few times I was really apart of the conversation which is an amazing feeling to not only be able to understand, but to respond fast enough to keep up with the conversation is still so rewarding even over five months in.
My two, hour and a half science classes were unusually entertaining and my teachers even said a little goodbye to me after class. Not every teacher did that so I thought that was especially nice of them.
Then the next day that is usually one of my boring days, was actually not a bore! For most my art history class, we sat and talked and drew the first letter of our firstname in as fancy calligraphy as our art skills could give (my art skills are not very good despide what my mom might say, but I tried). Not only was it our last art history class, it was also my last day eating at Fast! It wasn't anything special that day but it was still as good as always. I'm going to miss the baguette sandwiches and fries. I usually had a panini but I think that the Bricker household is still big on paninis (at least I'm hoping) so I don't think there will be much longing for a hot sandwhich.
It being the last week of school, one of the final steps in my exchange, hit me harder on Wednesday. I didn't cry, I actually didn't cry at all this past week which is unlike me with goodbyes. Anyway, after a messy lab in MPS and completing our forty-five second video in my art class, I was on my bus to Republique from the school. I had about ten minutes to reflect on how this was the last Wednesday I would have to worry about not making my next bus and being late getting home and thus eating alone. I actually did make my second bus to my town with only seconds to spare, but I still couldn't get it out of my head that this particular humpday, was a little milestone for me. I think mainly because it was probably the last time I really had to worry about being late for my public transport. But after lunch with Ombeline, Natalie and Maxent, Maxent went back to school because he had detention for drinking water in class. I thought that was a little ridiculous just how I think it's ridiculous that you have to miss the whole class even if you are only a few minutes late. For whatever reason, that is the way they do things here and they seem very set on their ways. Speaking of ways, I'm trying to get back into my old ways of eating healthy. I made avocado dark chocolate balls for my family. I knew they were good because my host mom even asked for the recipe. Tip: there are a lot of instagram accounts with very clever and fun recipes for healthy eating.
Thursday I started an hour later than usual and then in my next two classes, math and English, we all brought our assigned food, candy or drink (I brought coke) and sat in a big circle eating and talking. I also wore my tie-dye shirt that I had my whole class sign. Then in EJS class, my friend Aude and I talked about all the places we've traveled too and all the places we want to go someday. She's been all over Europe and even a lot of the northern part of Africa! It was really cool listening to all of her travels.
By lunch time, the back of my shirt was almost totally covered with notes and so was Eliza's. Her, Saku and me ate our last lunch at the school together while talking mostly about what we are going to do our last two weeks here in France. None of us are planning on wasting anytime being bored at home.
After my last two hour of History-Geography, I was finally out for the day. I talked with Faustine and her friends for a while after school and some of the guys started to draw on my shirt, so now I have a cat and a dinosaur added to the collection of farewell notes.
Usually my journey home after school days are uneventful but that day I saw a doppelganger of a guy I had class with sophomore year. The weird thing is though, I quite frequently see a person that reminds me or even resembles a person I know in the States. The other unusual thing was that this sketchy house with a lot of sketchy people who didn't speak French or English living in it was boarded up. By that I mean all the windows and doors were taken out and replaced with concrete blocks cemented together. Nothing is getting in or out of that house now. I'm a little curious to know what happened. I asked Faustine but she didn't know either.
When I woke up Friday morning, I felt great, even though I haven't gotten a solid night's rest since before my weekend in Paris, I was feeling good about the day to come. I was really excited in knowing that this was my last day having to wake up early to go to this school that everyone liked so much for whatever reason. I was also excited because I would be finished at 12:15 so my only two classes were French and EPS (PE). In French we had a food party and talked about what we all wanted to do in our futures. Then in EPS we went to a nearby park for a scavenger hunt. I'm not really sure as to why we went because it was raining quite hard for an outdoor adventure. Thankfully a girl in my class lived just next to the park so a few of us went to her apartment. We got a call only ten minutes after arriving from a guy in our class telling us that we were leaving early. So the six of us quickly walked back to the classes meeting spot. And by the time we got there we were just as soaked from the rain as everyone else, so the teacher didn't suspect a thing. We then waited around in the school's gym and ate candy that the teacher had brought for us while we waited for the remaining thirty minutes of the day to pass. When the time came, I said goodbye to my few friends I talked to the most in my class with. I was never really close with anyone in my class except Saku and maybe Aude because of the few impenetrable cliques in my class. But no worries, I still consider them my friends because they were always so nice to me.
After the goodbyes, I went with Faustine, Emma and Aude to Emma's house for a picnic. It was originally going to be an actual picnic in a park but it was still steadily raining. There was even lighting and thunder, which hasn't happened yet in the almost six months I've been here. Anyway, I didn't bring much food but luckily for me, Aude had brought enough chips to share with everyone and even made some extra sandwiches! Sitting there talking with them then going home to take a much needed four hour nap was a great way to kick off summer vacation. In fact, this whole weekend I'm about to tell you about is how I wish I could kick off every summer vacation!
As you may have guessed, I did in fact go to the big market with Eliza. This time I bought some abricots for Faustine, a pineapple, a cantaloupe, and some strawberries. I really hope there is a place like this near where I live, it's probably going to be one of the things I miss the most. That and shopping. I love shopping the streets verses in an indoor mall. This day we focused on shoe shopping after the market but for whatever reason we both just can't seem to find what we are looking for. We did go to our favorite cafe and drank some delicious juice and french food. When I returned home I made a fruit bouquet for my family with all the fruit I had bought that day. The strawberries weren't the best, but the pineapple was amazing and the cantaloupe was to die for it was so good. But later that evening I packed my suitcase to weigh it (I have a few kilos to spare so yay!) but it was so bitter sweet in doing so. I was feeling so excited that I'm so close to seeing my friends and family again but on the other hand, I just had an amazing day in a place that I don't think I could find anywhere in the Denver area. Even though I haven't cried yet, I'm sure that all the tears in my tear ducts are getting ready for the heartbreaking final goodbyes in France and the very much looked-forward to hellos in The States.
However,on Sunday I got a little taste of what it will feel like to be with my friends and family again after so long. I took the bus into town and walked to the hotel where my good friend Lara was staying. It was so good to see her again. I forgot how easy it is to talk to her. We didn't even become good friends until just a few weeks before she left, but I'm really glad we did because I love having free spirited people like her in my life. Her mom and host sister were there as well and they are both so nice and fun to be around. We all had fun driving to Mont Saint-Michel, exploring there and grabbing a bite to eat within its walls. We then made our way to St Malo, but I couldn't be wander the walled town with them for too long because I had to take the train back in time to make the last bus of the day. I'm really glad that when I get back home that I will have not just someone, but a good friend I can talk to when we both get back home. I'm actually getting really nervous having to go back home. I have a feeling that reverse culture shock may hit me hard but my program has already given me papers to help if that does happen. In many ways this grand adventure is like a dream, not because of the beauty of the experience, but because it's only you who is experiencing it. All your family knows of it is what you tell them. It's you who have these new feelings, memories and knowledge about life and yourself. I guess I'm just scared of maybe feeling a little isolated because of it. Whatever feelings I have though, I know my friends and family will help me work through them, so at least I know I have that.
I have a lot planned for these next two weeks before I have to potentially face reverse culture shock or any other less than happy feelings! I don't think there will even be time for a lazy day at the house, which is a good and ideal thing at this point. I can't wait to share all my experiences with all of whoever is still reading my blog!

Paris? Paris.

I finally have a moment to catch you all up on my life! Or at least just on last week, which started off fairly normal. Monday I had three hours of math, but I did do yoga when I got back home that evening to stretch out the stress of that. Not having school on Tuesday also helped! Most of my teachers were absent with the exception of my first and last classes so the Vie Scholar (school office) decided to cancel the whole day for 2nd 5 (my class). I worked on checking things off my list of errands and to-dos that day along with practicing some yoga; so I would say it was still a productive day. It was also nice because on Wednesday  I only had art, so I therefore I obtained a few more hours of sleep that morning. Also, that day for lunch I went out to get kebabs with all the exchange kids from my school and even other schools in Rennes who Serin and Joel had invited. After eating, we walked around the park, sat on the grass and we all caught up and thought up some ideas of what we should do for the two weeks of vacation. No plans are solid yet, but I have a feeling that I may be boarding more trains than I can count in my last remaining weeks here.
When I'm with my friends here, I never think about checking my phone (even though it only works when I have wifi) or scrolling through my instagram feed. I think it's going to be hard going back to a world where my friends will check their twitter or insta before starting a conversation. I always wondered why they don't just wait till later. I don't think I'll be able to put up with that now that my desensitivity to it is gone. I've realized how small I feel when my friends (probably not aware of it) put their phones before me. The message will still be there. The moment you're in will go by with or without you realizing it. I'm so glad I didn't have a phone most of this exchange to take away from the truly important parts, which can just be something as simple as watching a movie with my family. I don't think most people realize that as soon as you take out your phone, the immediate world around you won't wait for you to look back up.
However sometimes putting your head down is good! By that I mean sleep. In the beginning of these six months I was a champ at getting enough sleep... not so much anymore. I was dog tired on Thursday, and having three hours of French did not help whatsoever. I was also tired of people's bad manners. Everywhere from table manners to just how to treat another human being. Don't get me wrong. Most everyone here is very nice and welcoming. Sometimes I just scratch my head and wonder why no one has told them things like what's okay to joke about and what's not. Also table manners still get on my nerves even after five months. I just wonder to myself if they would still eat like that if they were in front of their president. Maybe all this is just me being fussy and wanting everything to meet the high standard I have in my head. As you can tell, the sleep deprivation got to me by Thursday.
I was praying that the following three days would exceed my expectations for my exchange here. I'm very pleased to say that they did indeed exceed.
Friday, Stephane drove me to school at 6:20 a.m. because there weren't any buses that early. By 7:00 a.m, I was on a large bus with the a few other exchange students and about sixty-five college (French word for middle school) students on our way to Puy Du Fou. I really didn't know what Puy Du Fou was other than what my friends told me which was that it has "really cool bird shows", it was "really cool", and there were "a lot of medieval shows". I have to admit that I was skeptical because I usually find medieval reenactments to be a little dumb in my opinion. I'm happy to say that Puy Du Fou exceeded my low set expectations by miles!
We saw eight shows throughout the day and all of the shows are about history so the whole park is at least a little informational! All the shows had a little background story that was spoken in french. For example, the falcon show was about a princess who woke up and loved to sing to the birds because she loves the birds love her back as well. There wasn't one thing not amazing about any of the shows. From the dozens of birds, to the balls of fire coming out of the castles, and even the athleticism of some of the actors was amazing! I would love to take my family there some day, but it was all in French so I'm thinking that maybe that wouldn't be so much fun for them. I myself couldn't even understand everything!
I'm really glad I went even though there were two really annoying girls sitting behind us on the bus who would scream some inside joke in our ears. Thank God they got separated for most of the ride.
On arriving back at St. Genevieve, Eliza and I had to go straight to the Gare to catch our train to Paris! We may have had to take a train that arrived in Paris just past midnight, but because of the lack of people on the train, Eliza and I were able to go from the one of the last train cars to first class! Our weekend in Paris was off to a 'first class' start.
After walking to our hotel from the metro, we got ready for bed and went to sleep as quickly as we could in order to have as much strength for the next two days to come. The breakfast at our hotel helped with our strength as well. Even though there wasn't a waffle press or hot eggs or sausages, there was cheese, cereal, yogurt, and all kinds of yummy bread. I was very happy and satisfied with it all. Maybe except the coffee though.
I will keep the recap short and sweet. I'll start off with saying that the weather all of Saturday was perfectly warm, a little windy, but not a cloud in the sky or a need for anything more than a light cardigan. Sunday was the same with the addition of clouds in the sky.
Saturday's activities consisted of eating breakfast at the hotel, walking along the Seine, shopping in the stores around the Opera, eating lunch in the Tuileries with a view of the Louvre, shopping on the Champs-Elysees, going to the summit of the Eiffel Tower and drinking champagne there, and lastly going to a very french restaurant, eating a very french four course meal (I'm counting the coffee at the end) and not getting to the hotel until midnight!
We started Sunday bright and early with getting to Musee D'Orsay an hour before the doors opened so that we could be one of the first ones in line. Lucky for us it was the first Sunday of the month so in addition to being almost first in line, everyone got in for free!
We surprisingly saw a lot of the art within the museum. We took our time with a lot of the impressionism art and of course Van Gogh. It was truly amazing to see all these priceless pieces of art. To be so close to the brushstrokes made by all these famous artists I learned about in school was something I never thought I would get the chance to do. It would be difficult for me to list everything and every artists we saw due to the fact that I'm not well versed in my art history and that we went through most of the museum so quickly.We wanted to grab lunch in the city and go to the Gallery Lafayette. Upon arriving, we found out that it was closed, we decided to go back to the Champs-Elysees to go back to the stores and buy the clothes and presents that we didn't on Saturday because we wanted to wait incase we saw something better later on.
Before we knew it, it was time to get our stuff from the hotel and head to the train station, so with sore feet and bags in hand, we sadly accepted our dream weekend was coming to a close.
Besides the creepy group of guys at the train station and the blisters on our feet, this weekend really couldn't have been better. It was weird being around so many English speakers for the first time in five months but that was hardly an issue. The real issue is the stress I have when I realize that I have no idea when the next time I will return to Paris, or even France for that matter, after these next two weeks come to a close. Typing that just now made me realize how blessed I am. I've had so many adventures in my life and I can't believe that it's taken me so long to realize that some adventures (no matter how much you don't want them to) have to come to an end so that you can have new ones and therefore grow and learn even more. Maybe my next adventure will just be the relationships I have with my friends and family growing to new levels as I go through my senior year with them! I guess I have to finish 2nd 5 before I can call myself a senior. Just one more week!
P.S. This past Sunday was the start of my twenty day countdown until my flight back to the States. It's weird I can now count how long I have left on my fingers and toes!

The Breath Before the Homestretch

Thanks to the many French holidays, I had yet another three day weekend. This time with Monday off. So after lunch, Stephane, Natalie, Maxent and me drove an hour and a half to Mont Saint-Michel. We had to park far away from it, but we were able to take a short trolley to the little island. We took the classic pictures as we walked up to it from the trolley. With the iconic tower in the background with your hair flying every which way because of the wind.
We then walked all the way up past the crowds and shops and more than enough steps to get a tour guide, which was free (and in French), around the abbey. From the parts I could understand, the tour was very informative and I learned some new things. I could even understand some of the tour guides jokes! I would wonder off though and not really pay attention to the tour sometimes, but during those times I got the chance to appreciate the symmetrical and detailed architecture of the whole place even more. It baffles me how people did all of this without modern technology. I still am curious as to where all these perfectly cut stones came from. But my main question is just how? How was all this accomplished? How many people did it take? Were those people working day and night to get this place built? How much were they paid? How much was the architect paid? What mixter is keeping these stones together? Did one person do all the detailed stonework in this room? Am I the only one here thinking of these weirdly specific questions? How could nobody else be asking these questions? A picture of this place isn't just worth a thousand words, it's worth a thousand and one questions.
This this what goes on in my head when I come to places like these. I become so focused on how my mind is responding to what my eyes are seeing. Even if the tour was in English my own mind would have tuned it out and would have made my feet move forward to soak in every part of every room we went to.
We did go to quite a few rooms, but there were many more locked doors or blocked hallways than open doors and free flowing hallways. It almost pained me that I couldn't explore every nook and cranny. I just wish that I could have a master key to every door. I wonder if anyone has a master key to every door. If someone does, I want to become friends with them.
After the tour we walked around the outside walls and got some coffee and crepes at a cafe followed by walking around in the shops. Natalie tends to walk pretty far ahead and Stephan tends to walk very slowly, leaving Maxent and me in the middle. As I've mentioned before, he's been talking to me way more often and so all the time we were there, we were joking and talking. He's a good kid. He often tries to speak English with me in a joking manner. In fact, my whole family now will randomly say a word or even a whole question in English! Probably because they know that I know the translation of whatever they are saying. I have to say it makes for a more fun time because they will laugh and tease each other on their accents.
Speaking of speaking English, I asked my host parents on the way back to the car if it was weird for them to hear people speaking English all the time. They said since France is such an international travel destination, going anywhere and hearing someone speak another language is totally normal. It's also normal that most songs on the radio are in fact, in English. A lot of posters are too. Also, most things at the Color Me Rad Rennes run was in English, including the directions on how to put on the fake tatoo!
I don't think I have mentioned this before, but France has truly beautiful country sides. The drive to and from Mont Saint-Michel was a whole lot of luscious, green fields, old stone houses and blue skies with puffy white clouds. I've been very fortunate to have nice weather on most of my outings. Lets hope my luck doesn't run out. I'm planning a lot of adventures here in the next month. I'm trying to feed my need for new experiences best I can before I go. That's one reason why I don't want to go back home, in fact I'm scared that when I go back home I will become bored and get restless. That is one way I've changed in these past five months. I need new experiences to feel my soul. My soul craves to get into the unknown and figure it out. I guess my next big unknown will be college...
Thank God I am still in highschool though! I'm going to enjoy these last two weeks of french high school all that I can. It's weird that everyone back home is on summer. It's also weird that I'm not that jealous. I am jealous that they get to sleep in and have time to go to the pool and get a job, but I am living a life in France and I'm glad to say that that fact alone is more than enough for me to not care at all that I'm not on summer vacation yet. A lot of my teachers are absent quite often anyway. On Tuesday I didn't even go to school until 2:24 because all of my teachers that morning were doing things for the BAC testing which is like the SAT or ACT but more intense from what I hear.
Then on Wednesday I had school from 8:05 to 10:35 and so did Eliza. So we got brunch, did a little shopping (didn't buy anything though), got lunch and headed back to our homes all by 2:30. Since the weather was very beautiful, Maxent and I enjoyed a few hours of badminton before dinner. A Fun Fact about this Wednesday is that it the one month mark until I go home! How crazy is that!
These past few weeks I've decided to start reading again. I stopped reading for a few months because I didn't want it to interfere with my French. But I've missed and I'm more solid in my French speaking now. I've read about a book a week and now I'm on Inferno by Dan Brown. I read on my Nook so I don't have to lug around a ton of books. I only read on the bus and before I go to sleep because I will get criticized for reading in English but I don't care because I can't read these books in French because it would just be too difficult and reading makes me happy and that's reason enough for me. I try to read before class but sometimes one of my classmates has his music from is headphones so loud that I can clearly hear every strum of the guitar and it's just too distracting, not to mention that his taste in music isn't exactly my favorite either. However, I'm also reading French kids books while I'm at home though so I'm not totally slacking in my French!
Just to prove that my french speaking ability is increasingly becoming better; A girl asked me where the school was from the bus stop because she had to take the BAC, and I gave her directions in full sentences and she understood! Exchange kids live for moments like that.
Friday was also the last day of acrogym! I think I called it acrosport in my last blog, sorry for my ignorance. It was much more fun than last weeks class and we even played the french version of dodgeball for a warm up! Our teacher is very relaxed and even played with us and helped my team not lose as bad as we would have without her.
That evening I helped Faustine pick out some gifts for her mom and sister and I was very happy to finally get home and relax after a long and busy week.
My weekend turned out to busy too.
Eliza and I hit up the Saturday morning market and bought some fruit and macarons. Which we then ate in the park on a bench after we were done being tempted by all the other delicious food we hadn't bought. We walked around and got some rubber bands so that we could tie-dye some shirts and socks. We got a quick bite of sushi then headed back to my house to tie-dye. I wasn't very good at it but the shirts and socks turned out great! We are both going to wear the shirts the last day of school and have our classes sign them so that will be fun!
Fetes Des Meres was today (Mother's Day). It was also Ombeline's twenty first birthday! The twenty first birthday isn't a big deal here, because why would it be? You can already drink, drive and most importantly to teenagers, they can vote already so it's understandable.
I got my mom some nice raspberry jam from the market because she absolutely loves anything rasberry, and then I got Ombeline some makeup because she is very fashion forward with clothes, makeup, shoes and everything. She reminds me of my older sister a lot!
Before lunch Ombeline and I made some cake pops and decorated them for that night after dinner for dessert. After lunch Natalie and Stephan's mothers came over for some snacks wine, champagne and cake for Ombeline. It's always nice seeing them and talking to them.
This week is nothing compared to what I'm about to face. I am now officially in the homestretch. Two school weeks, a total of seven school days but three of those days are half days, and then two vacation weeks stand in the way of me finally being with my friends and family again. These next four week will go by so fast. I am not going to let myself waste a second of them. I already have a lot of plans and I can't wait for them and to tell you all about them. Sorry in advance if I seem like I'm bragging. But I feel as though the best times are the ones that other people what to have for themselves as well.
It's also come to my attention that some people who are looking to do an exchange are reading my blog and to you I must say that you should do it if your heart is telling you. Experience the world, make new friends, a new family, make plans, have fun, put yourself out there. It's not always easy and fun but that's okay. No great adventure is. Not everyone's path in life is the same, but every path has logs to jump over and mud to trudge though. And there will be a beautiful view just for you if you keep going though the rough parts. Trust me, I know first hand. And if you do this, make sure to thank your parents profusely because I am so grateful to my parents for giving this to me and I don't know how to repay them besides giving this experience all I've got. Thank you Mom and Dad for helping me get to this view, and bonne fetes des meres, maman!

Weekends Always Win

Best way to start off the week? Dissecting some sort of animal heart. I was told that it was a lamb's heart, but it was a little smaller than the size of two fists put together so I'm still not so sure.  I was proud of myself for remembering a lot of the heart's parts and the function of most of those parts even though it was an already informative lab.. The only thing I wasn't totally okay with was when my lab partner would toss the heart from one hand to another and not hold it directly over the tray and get blood on the table, to which I was the one who was chosen to clean it up. That's normal for an exchange kid though, being the cleaner-upper since, in most labs, we can't usually keep up with all the steps. Also did I mention that everyone has to wear white lab coats? I find that fun.

Also that day there were burgers at Fast (the fast-food cafeteria)! This week I only ate at fast twice and each time the person in front of me got the last burger. Which I guess turned out to be for the best because I took a salad instead. Before I wasn't a fan of salads but now I've realized that salads aren't as hard to make appetizing than I had originally thought. 

In general I've learned how to take food that I previously found boring or bland and make it into something I don't want to stop eating! I can't wait to cook authentic french food for my friends and family. I also can't wait to bring back all french culture I've learned!

Speaking of learning, this past week had been my first full week of school since vacation! It wasn't as hard as I thought to get through. I've become very used to having to be at school for eight to nine hours most days. Plus the bus. However, I've come to enjoy taking the bus and having to figure out what time the bus comes. It makes me feel more independent. 

Back to talking about school now. Tuesday I have art history which is about a three hour class and that day we were supposed to have an oral presentation about Grizzle Man, the movie about that man living in the Alaskan wilderness with the bears. For whatever reason we didn't have to present our ten minute presentation. I was a little bummed honestly because I had written a summary (corrected by a girl in my group) of the documentary and practiced it and was all ready to go. So instead we had to revise our powerpoint to make it more detailed and informative. Then send that to the teacher for a grade. The three others in my group actually trusted me to do some research for the powerpoint and when I had a question they were really nice and helped me versus just having me sit there, not talking and just observing like I do in most group projects.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this but the french do their school work very, very neatly and precisely. They have to set up their tests and notes a certain way on their paper, their handwriting is something you only see in fairy tales, anything underlined is done with a ruler, a four colored pen is a necessity, and even the little boxes in the color key for a map have to be a certain size! In not having  had to do this my whole life in school thus far, I'm not very good at it to say the least. I was drawing in the areas in Africa that don't have enough water (or something like that) in red pen instead of purple colored pencil because I didn't have colored pencils and my desk partners didn't have any either so I thought it wasn't a big deal since we didn't have to turn this paper in for a grade. My teacher would have none of that and made me redo it all. At least that was the last class of the day and I got home in plenty of time to go out for a run.

It hadn't rained at all that day and the weather said that there was only a 40% chance of afternoon showers, so I took my chances went ahead and took my phone so that I could listen to my music. Ten minutes into the run it started to shower for roughly thirty seconds before the almost-pea-sized hail came pelting down. I always run with a baseball cap so at least the rain and hail wasn't hitting my face, but it did kinda hurt everywhere else they were hitting my body. It was like that for the last thirty minutes of my run and I came home to my family telling me I was crazy. Even though it may not have been ideal, it was fun running in that intense weather. And my phone survived so that's also a plus!

Wednesday was another day of doing nothing in my classes. We were going to finish filming but it started to rain. After school my host mom took me to the Gare to get tickets for my weekend in Paris that is coming up here in a few weeks. I didn't feel like working out that day so I sent out some over due emails and went to the store. That evening I got a wave of homesickness crash on me, which hasn't happened in a while. Having to go back home has been getting heavier on my mind now that it's only a little more than a month away!

Thursday didn't help with my homesickness because in my two hour history and geography class, we talked a lot about water in California and specifically Palm Springs. Then my teacher made fun of Californians because of how much water they use. Which, hopefully with the drought, is much less than what these old textbooks are telling us.

I also had a two hour french class that day and we had to look for certain things in a chaper your group was given. I was really proud of myself because I read a few pages of the chapter out loud and even was able to find things we had to underline! My group praised me on the french I did know and happily helped me on the french I struggled with.

Have I mentioned how I haven't had EPS (PE) at all since vacation? Well, I haven't had it until this Friday. I didn't have to get to school till ten because my french teacher wasn't there that morning. I had no idea what we were doing for EPS since we had finished our swimming unit. Turns out we were starting our acrosport unit! Which is building human pyramids and doing weird partner poses. So after warming up we got a partner and had to do a pose that we found on a worksheet of pictures of poses. I wasn't very good at it but I enjoyed myself for the most part! We also had to do a three person pose then a four person pose. It was all fun until I got a painful knee in the back from having to be part of the base of the pyramid. My chiropractor is not going to be happy with me. I just realized that this is probably the longest time in years that I haven't been to a chiropractor! I have a feeling the first few visits back may or may not be a little painful for me.

Anyway, that Friday evening, a family friend who lives a few doors down was having a little get together. The only age groups there were forty and older or thirteen and younger. So Faustine and I left kinda early to eat dinner at our house. Erica, Faustine's good friend, came over and we all made a raspberry and apple crumble together while dancing to Katy Perry. Another one of Faustine's friends came over and together we ate most all the crumble before heading out for brief night stroll.

Saturday was a day full of firsts! I went to the big market in downtown and got some fresh fruit for my family, then, Eliza and I discovered our new favorite cafe and sat there drinking tea and eating a cookie. We were there talking and laughing about life, school and books for over an hour before we had to meet Saku for a lunch date. We had invited most of the other exchange kids at our school but they were all busy. The three of us had a really good time devouring our pizzas at a cafe in St Anne, a really popular spot in Rennes with a lot of cafes and restaurants. It's also a popular smoking place among the students at my school, but we didn't see anyone we knew besides our English teacher. We talked to her for about ten minutes. Or should I say she talked to us. We barely got a word in because she was telling us all about her choir and this other job she has and she went on telling us about how her husband doesn't like pizza after we had told her the three of us had just had pizza for lunch. It was a little bizarre to say the least.

 We didn't stay in the city very long after lunch because I had told my parents that I would be home after lunch and I also had wanted to have plenty of time to work out because I've now started using the Nike+ app and it definitely isn't easy.

Sunday I woke up sore muscles from acrosports on Friday and then all the walking and the Nike workout from the day before, but I still did the fifteen minutes of yoga anyway. Even though I didn't feel like moving I was still excited to go to out with my host parents. After lunch the three of us went out (my host siblings prefered be in their rooms all day for some reason). We started at Paimpont Abbey and walked around there for a short while before getting back in the car to go to Chateau de Comper which is the Arthurien Center. You know the Author who took the sword out of the stone? That one. There was some sort of Medieval festival going on because there were a lot a people there dressed up in medieval attire. And after we did some walking around I figured out that it was more like a medieval weekend because there were medieval tents with beds and everything all over. We stayed at that location for a while before heading to our final destination which also happened to be my favorite. I can't remember the name of it, but at this place there was a lot going on. There was ziplining, paddle boat, a large snack bar, dancing to a woman singing and playing an accordion and a small beach. All the the three places had a large lake at it, but this one was the most scenic. Natalie, Stephan and me sat down on a rock over looking the lake with all the paddle boats with the accordion music in the back ground. It was a really nice way to end the day. Or so I thought, because we went last minute to eat dinner with Stephan's mother at her house. I was actually happy because she's so nice and welcoming. We picked flowers for a bouquet and cabbage for a salad all from her very impressive and well-kept garden. After dinner of salad and pasta, we all had a cappuccino and snacked on candy before we headed home for the night. 

After the last two days I was totally exhausted and very thankful for not having to wake up early the next day for school.

It's Been a 'Rad' Week

Monday was the only day that had a event that I wasn't exactly thrilled about. I got dress code because I was unaware that any kind of shorts were not allowed to be worn at school, so I had to wear a long lab coat all day. It made for good conversation and I also needed to wear a lab coat for two of my science classes that day. Wearing it and not being that embarrassed was test for myself in which I feel as though I passed. I will admit I was not the happiest to have to cover up my well thought-out outfit by an old, white lab coat but at the same time I just kinda shrugged and told myself that I'll just rock this outfit where it's more accepted and went on with my life. Another girl in my class almost got dress code but not by the same lady I did so she got out of it. She made it seem like such a big deal though that she almost had to look goffy for the last few hours of the day. So what if you look a little goofy? You're not being forced to wear a clown suit and hey, at least you get a little more noticed! I really learned this week that your appearance can really be your best tool to get more attention (will explain more later). When I got home, my host siblings were playing badminton in the backyard for the first time. They told me that they play a lot during the summer so that makes me happy because I quite enjoy playing it and this means I have more bonding time with my host siblings and more french speaking time.
Tuesday, the only out-of-the-ordinary thing that happened at school waswhen Serin randomly brought a few eclairs for a few of her friends to share in perm. She usually brings candy to perm but never in the past four months has it been delicious french pastries. I didn't eat a lot because of the whole counting my calories deal, but I did have take a few small bites and I'm glad I did. I'm also glad that I played badminton with just Maxent instead of taking a nap or reading like I was planning on doing after I got home that evening. While we played we talked about Youtube, books, school, etc until we had to eat dinner. Like I said, it's a great opportunity for bonding!
The next day, Wednesday the thirteenth, was my 18th birthday! I have to say I do kinda feel a little different knowing that I am looked upon as an adult by the government and anyone else who doesn't know who I am as a person (meaning they know that age is just a number and I still act like a child most of the time). I woke up to an extra happy to Natalie who was evidently excited for me. We chatted a bit about my plans for the day (or lack of plans) while I ate a bowl of my favorite sugary cereal. I've been watching my calories pretty closely just so that I wouldn't feel guilty indulging myself a little on my big day.
Going to school I honestly wasn't expecting more than the usual verbal birthday wishes from my friend or a cookie from the nearby bakery. I'm glad my expectations were low because when Eliza came to school with two birthday presents I almost started crying with appreciation! One present was from Faustine and Eliza that consisted of nice bath soaps and shower gels. The other one was from Eliza had a cute elephant necklace and a really cute scrunchie and some other items that showed me just how well she does know me and also how good of a friend she really is!
Wednesday is usually my half day but the school moved our Friday afternoon classes to Wednesday afternoon because we hadn't had a Friday at school for the third consecutive week now. I had my science class in the morning where it's either labs or research, so Saku and I usually talk the whole time but this day he didn't even give me as much as give me a "what's up" nod of the head. I thought he was just having family drama or was just really tired or something because he has never not said at least hi to me on any given day we've seen each other. I decided I would ask him about it later with less people around incase it was something bad.
I didn't have art that day so I had a few hours to kill in perm, but I came prepared. I had bought some of my favorite candy to really only share with Eliza and Serin but then some other people came over and took some. I would have been fine with sharing with them except they took handfuls at a time. My candy disappeared back into the safety of my bag so that I could actually enjoy the majority of it with the people I originally intended on eating it with. I know that may sound selfish but I had been saving and looking forward to that candy for days. Sorry, but not sorry...
After lunch (and eating the rest of my candy how I wanted to) I had physics which I don't really remember because I was half asleep most of the class but we are now learning about forces. I was then more awake during English because we had a test so I was actually doing something. We listened to this "normal" american girl talking about how your can still have good style without having to wear the expensive designer brands brands. The girls voice was so painful to listen to. NO WONDER WHY THE FRENCH THINK AMERICANS ARE OBNOXIOUS! THEY ARE INDIRECTLY TAUGHT IT IN SCHOOL.  I really wanted to stand up to the class and explain that no one really talks like this and if you hear someone say "fave" in an actual conversation, that that individual not someone you really want to be learning your English from... My English class did sing Happy Birthday to me but they would add in a quick "Cassiieee" after every "Happy Birthday to you." I was debating on telling them that's not how we sing it in The States but I didn't want them to think I was ungrateful so I thought it best to leave that correction for another time.
We had a little break before Math where I was waiting alone when Saku and Kevin walked up and then I asked Saku if everything was alright. He let out a sigh and took out from his backpack a little box Bretagne's special salted caramels! He practically exclaimed "Happy Birthday!" and started laughing. He explained that he was pretending all day that he had forgotten about my birthday and that he hated me so that he could surprise me at the end of the day. I definitely was not expecting something like that from Saku! This whole day was filled with surprises from my friends and family that forced me to realize that I'm special to these people just like how they are special to me too.
After school, I got fries and a beer with Eliza (wasn't even carded) and then went home. Every day when I get home I decompress in my room for a at least ten minutes before I go downstairs and rack my brain with more french. During this decompression time, Ombeline knocked on my door. I thought it was just to wish me a happy birthday, which is was, but it was also Faustine and Eliza there too! I was really not expecting to see Eliza, but Faustine waited for her after I left Republique to go home and together they took the next bus. I was really happy Eliza could be there to celebrate with me that evening at my home. We talked and waited for dinner which consisted of sushi (because my host family knows I love it) ordered from a restaurant. This was quite an event in my house because at least in the past four months, we have not eaten out or even as much as ordered a delivery pizza! I was very grateful! Stephan also made three of my favorite kinds of pizzas. I'm not sure how, but even after more than one serving of sushi and pizza, I managed to save room for a huge slice of cake. It was also the most delicious dessert I think I've had the pleasure of consuming since I arrived in France. I also received an enormous bath bomb from Ombeline and a book from the whole family. We also had my favorite cider and I made a toast. I hope I got across well enough how much I appreciate and love being apart of this family.
 That day will be a memory I'll never forget thanks to my friends and family. I have a truly blessed exchange.
The rest of the night Eliza and I hung out in my room in our PJs and I skyped my family and received birthday messages from my friend in The States which made me happier than they probably thought. I do have to say it was hard not being with my real family on this milestone in my life even with all the wonderful surprises and birthday wishes but how could that not be expected? It was even harder not being with Christa. It was our first birthday ever that we weren't together blowing out candles side by side. Mais, c'est la vie. And I will see them soon enough!
Eliza had spent the night (we had a four day weekend), so Thursday morning we made ourselves breakfast. She had a bowl of cereal because she didn't want to try my new, healthy pancake recipe. I still need to tweak it but they actually weren't that bad! I really enjoyed them! Anyways, after breakfast we got ready for the day.
We took my usual bus into Republique a little before lunch and took the ten minute metro to Alma, which was closed because it was a holiday. So we went back to downtown and ate a small lunch in St. Anne where there are a lot of different cafes. We didn't sit and eat too long because we were becoming cold from sitting in the shade. We didn't sit much besides lunch and then an afternoon snack of peach ice cream and coffee. We explored a new part of Rennes and also walked alongside  the river for a while. Despite it being a little chilly, it was a perfect day just to walk around. My pedometer on my phone was pleased with my over 24,000 steps! My legs and feet had a different story to tell. The bus ride back home all I could think about was sitting and relaxing in my bed watching Gossip Girl (in French of course!). And that is precisely what I did after we ate a new, sophisticated type of pizza created by Stephen. His cooking never ceases to please my taste buds!
Friday was another day full of walking (and running). I woke up a bit early to go on a run with an Irish exchange student who boards at the school during the week and stays with a family in my town during the weekend, her name is Sinead. I think I mentioned her in my last blog post. She's really nice, but oh my can that girl talk! We had to walk most of the way because so much conversation was happening. It was an overall good way to start the morning! Then after lunch I went to the Aeroport with Eliza so that we could pick up our pack of goodies for our color run, which included a tshirt, food coupons, our bib, some color packets I had ordered online, and even a little thing of candy that Eliza and I ate immediately! We did do a little shopping to try and find some fun colored socks or scrunchies but that mission failed and we were both exhausted and thought it would be best to rest before our very looked-forward to day! We didn't want to be too tired!
I was so excited Saturday morning even though I went to sleep later than I should have. I changed into my Color Me Rad t shirt, tied my hair up in a high ponytail, and pressed on my temporary "RAD" tattoo. Oh yeah, I was ready to run. After I took my bus of course, then another bus, then waiting for our group to go, but even all boring-ness of those didn't make me any less pubmed. Eliza and I met before I took that second bus to the Aeroport and I don't think I have ever seen her so excited! I'm really glad I did this with he for a lot a reasons and one reason is because I was stupid and neglected to drink enough water that morning so during the 5k I got those side cramps but she walked with me and didn't mind at all! Our only two goals of the day were to 1) make sure we were both having a 'rad' time and 2) get colorful. Even before the run we took out a packet of our color powder and started throwing it in the air and on each other. Then at every kilometer in the run there would be a certain color that would be thrown at you by the volunteers. At the finish line, they would throw all the colors at you. Then after the finish line there was a big stage and an open area with everyone who just finished the course dancing and surrounding that open area was food and souvenir tents. Eiza and I didn't eat there but we did push our way to the center of the crowd for the color explosion that happened every 45 minutes or so where everyone threw up their packet of color all at once. After about an hour of dancing we decided to leave and get some kebab in Republique before we headed home. The bus ride to Republique was packed with Color Me Rad participants, but as Eliza and I got our food and by the time we sat down we were the only ones in sight that participated in the run and who was completely covered in color. Everyone looked and about five people even commented (mostly nice and appropriate things). Then while Eliza was waiting for my bus with me, two people came up to us to ask us what was going on since they had seen a few others like us, and we explained it to them in the best french we could. As I mentioned before, appearance does play a role in social situations. If you are dressed in a way that shows you are an interesting or fun person (e.i. lab coat or post color run attire) then people won't be as nervous or scared to approach you with a question! And in learning a new language, you will want to grasp every opportunity to practice your speaking a little more.
On arriving home that afternoon, Natalie was so excited for me and took a picture of me covered with all the color and I told her all about it. I could see in her eyes that she was genuinely happy that I had a good time. I'm really happy that my and Natalie's relationship has gotten a lot closer in these past few months, because we weren't that close in the beginning but I guess some relationships just take more time than others to grow.
That night I went out with Faustine and her friends until around 10:00 pm when the sun went down. I would have stayed longer but Color Me Rad Rennes had been such a tiring success, not to mention I had some sort of rendez-vous thing every day since Wednesday, I just had to curl up in bed and get a well deserved night's sleep.
Sunday was just what I needed, a day with the family at Stephen's mother's house. There, we walked around her very charming and picturesque pond, talked, snacked on bread and candy, and drank cappuccinos. Stephan and Natalie went to go visit Stephen's father because he now lives in a home, so for a while it was just Ombeline and I talking outside while Maxent and the grandmother were inside (Faustine stayed home because she already had plans with friends). It was also very nice and sunny weather.
As you can see I had a very busy week and I suspect that my weeks are going to start being more like this with my friends, family and I try to do everything we want to before I leave in just six short weeks!

My Next Chapter is Starting in France

Monday started the week off pretty well. I ate a fresh salad, banana and a really good curry chicken wrap for lunch. Then I got to go home an hour early because my french teacher wasn't there again. The only downside to this Monday was the rain which I'm very used to by now.
Tuesday I had a big math test that I'm not feeling too great about it. I've also obtained a sweet tooth here in France and Tuesday it was really aching. It doesn't like the cuts I've made to what kinds of foods I eat. My sweet tooth and I are always having an argument whenever I go to the store or in the kitchen. I give into it more times than I care to admit but I am getting better, I promise!
Wednesday was a much more fun day for me. We had a lab about chlorophyll and most all class we basically only talked and smashed leaves in a bowl. Then for my art class we are making a short film and I pulled the shortest paper from Aude's (girl in our group) hand so I had to be one of the main people. However that only means I am on camra most. My only line was to yell," LE ROCK!" All the other times I am pretending to read a book and am eavesdropping on passerbyers' conversations. I'm still a little confused on the details of the storyline but oh well! After that class I was done for the day so Eliza and I went to do some makeup shopping and to grab lunch. I got some new lipstick and nail stickers that I'm quite excited about. I also got some makeup for Ombeline as her birthday present because her birthday coming up here in a few weeks. While I was checking out, Eliza make marks all over her hand with the tester lipsticks, which she does everytime we step into any store with makeup. That girl could shop for makeup all day if I let her. But I was hungry so we then went to Pita Pit where I got this curry chicken wrap with cheese, olives, guacamole and spinach and it was AMAZING. I want to go there all the time now. Eliza and I were very tempted to go back and get another one but we thought against it seeing as we don't want to get fat and we had already walked to this park we really like that has that big bird cage. We sat on a bench and talked and ate for a while. I'm happy that I now have a friend that I click with because I didn't really have that in the beginning. That evening I went to the post office on my way home and the lady working was so nice and patient with me even though I showed up two minutes before closing behind a line of four or five people. Then that night Stephan made this really amazing fish that we've never had before and I really hope he makes again sometime!
Thursday was the first day in a week in which rain did not fall from the sky non-stop. It did a little bit but I'm going to be happy with the improvement. I also had a physics quiz that day which I think I did okay on. I at least hope I did okay on it. I also found out that while the private school I attended is not in itself very expensive, the food at the private school averages out to be around six euros per meal. My pal, Saku, did the math. I do have to admit that there is always a good variety of food, healthy options, and I never left unsatisfied with the taste or amount of food (decides that one chicken nugget-potato meal). I'm not going to lie, I'm going to miss the school food a lot. In fact there's a lot I'm going to miss from here.
I got home by 3:20 Thursday so I hung out and rested before yet another party. This time it was a twentieth birthday party for one of Faustines cousins, Clement. I was expecting it to be at someone's house but it was actually held in a rented room at some community center. All the decorations were tasteful and the food was even tastier. I found that I really love foie gras now. For the first hour or so while everyone arrived, I talked a lot with Faustines extended family and they were all very interested in the differences of California and Colorado so I definitely got my daily French speaking practice in then. There was then a game where you picked a name of a famous french person out of a hat and then you had to find whoever got that famous persons spouse and once you did that you would take a funny picture with that person. I didn't know who the famous person was but Faustine helped me find her uncle who had the name of the spouse. After that there was another game played where you would have a clothing pin and throughout the night you couldn't say the words "oui" or "non" and if you did you would have to give your pin to whoever made you say it. Maxent and his uncle tied by dinner time so there wasn't a winner. We finally sat down to eat at very nicely set tables. There were three courses that went by pretty fast since there were only around forty or fifty people there. Over half of whom were family. Faustine is unbelievably blessed to have such a nice and open family. It makes me miss my family a lot to be honest. But I will see them soon enough! Speaking of family, Clement's parents wanted him to take a picture with me so of course I did and then all the adults started making marriage jokes... I don't even want to know what shade of red my face became there in that moment. We didn't have cake until 1:15 and after cake we were dancing until 3:45 when we went home.
We didn't have school again on Friday again so we all had some much needed sleep. From sleeping in so late, we therefore had a late lunch. Then that evening I went for a run in the light rain which was actually really nice. The rest of that evening I was working on projects for school when I got an upsetting call from my mom. A very good family friend of ours has lost his battle to cancer. I took a while to compose myself before I could leave my room to tell my host parents. They gave me a big hug and I talked with them about it. I did call Christa that night and we talked about all the memories we've had with him. It's hard losing someone you've known your whole life. It hard when the circle of life is completed for someone you care about. It's not something you think is going to happen on your exchange and it is something that hits hard and does affect this experience. I'm just very blessed I have a family here that really supports me.
Saturday I didn't feel like sitting around all day so I went to the store, took the family dog on a long walk and went to the Gare with Natalie to pick up Ombeline because she is now on summer vacation.
Sunday I finished my homework before lunch and then went to Dinan with Natalie and Stephan after lunch. None of my host siblings wanted to come, even though they hadn't left the house since Friday and it was perfect weather. I was at least eager to get out. So we walked around the charming river town, talking, going to churches and getting some very yummy macaron ice cream.
Now I prepare to face the last few days as a minor. My seventeenth year of life has been, by far, my most eventful year. I've had crazy summer adventures with my friends, I had my first love, my first job, I started to love the classes I was taking, I became closer than ever with my twin, I quit my first job, I moved to France, I got over my first love, I've made new friends, new family, new interests, new passions, a new way of looking at life and I've found a way to be my own best friend even though I've been blessed with some of the best best friends the world could give me. I'm sad that this year is three days from being over. But life is a book and time flips the pages for you. I'm excited and scared for what is going to come next for me. Scared because it's the unknown but excited because if the book of my life has any sort of trend so far, it is that no matter how great the last chapter was, the next one has other new things that can be more great or even just great in different ways even if my life slows down or speeds up. One thing's for certain, I am living a very blessed life. Our family friend, whose life was cut short, said in his final months that he has lived a blessed life. He truly was a man of God too. My prayer for myself and everyone I know, for the rest of our lives, is to see what we've been blessed with even in the most grim times.

Le Mariage Francais

Warning: this post may be longer than the novel, Les Miserables.  

This four day week was short and sweet and the three day weekend was shorter and even more sweet. I knew it was going to be a good week because I didn't start school until 10:00 a.m., so being refreshed the first Monday back put me in a fantastic mood the whole day that I carried with me throughout most of the week Having being refreshed from vacation and the late start made it much easier for me to talk my classmates that I don't usually have conversations with besides the usual," Salut! Ca va?" I did have a SVT presentation about solar energie that didn't go so great because it was a lot of new vocab with difficult words to pronounce. No biggie though, I at least learned some new words. Then after SVT I had physics which we did a lab and the whole room smelled like oranges so that alone made the world seem like a good place! 

Tuesday was a more eventful and interesting day. My art history class went to a small, local movie theater. There we watched the documentary, Grizzly Man. I'm not sure why we watched it because we just finished our unit on Renaissance art and architecture. Not complaining, just curious. Anyway it's a very interesting film. The man, Timothy Treadwell, has some views about nature and animals that I don't completely agree with but I do love his commitment and love for protecting the bears and other wildlife. He wanted to become a bear and he viewed every animal as a friend who loved him back. He thought if he played it right and acted enough like the bears that they wouldn't hurt him. He was a human who lived with bears without any protection. I'm sure you can guess the ending. Just having had finished a semester of AP Psych I watched the whole documentary with that point of view, thinking about the differences of the bear brain to the human brain and trying to guess why Treadwell was so naive to think that these creatures could love him back even when starving and well, being a bear. The film was also all in English (with French subtitles) so that gave Eliza and I a very easy time. Also that day, I met the new Irish girl who is very nice, a little too loud for my liking, but at least she's not loud and mean. I didn't get to chat with her too much before I went to history where I took a vocab quiz in which I earned a passing grade and an encouraging little note from my teacher telling me to continue to keep improving with my french! My desk partner laughed and thought that was cute and funny. One thing that's not cute or funny is when people hum loudly on the bus, or rap quietly to themselves. It happens more than you would think. Thank goodness I didn't forget my headphones that day. 

After a great first two days of the week, Wednesday was slow and pretty boring. In both of my classes I did nothing besides talk to Saku in my first class and then Eliza in my second class. For each hour and a half class the assignment was to make a presentation with your group and with those kinds of class activities I do nothing which is usually fine unless it's all morning. I talked a lot with Natalie and Maxent at lunch so that put me back in a more upbeat mood. It's been really nice that Maxent, my little host brother, has been talking to me a great deal more and even has been teasing me like he does with Faustine. Little things like that I've realized are what can make you feel more apart of the family. Also just going grocery shopping that evening with Natalie and Faustine made me feel like a Rouault. 

Thursday I didn't sleep that well because it was raining very hard and I have a slanted window in my room that makes the already heavy raindrops seem heavier and therefore louder. When I went downstairs Natalie greeted me with the usual," Bonjour, Cassie." I don't know why but it wasn't until then I realized how much I appreciate a greeting with a smile first thing in the morning. I needed a good start to that day because Thursdays are my longest days with school from 8:05 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.  I don't think it stopped raining for more than ten minutes total that day. That day was also the first day that I didn't like my lunch of bland potatoes with even more bland nuggets. I have to applaude France for making it this long to go without giving me an unsatisfactory meal. But even that was still better than the lunches at my high school. The day ended on a good note because even though I had a two hour history test, I wrote a page in French about medieval peasant life and I've been talking to Saku more and getting to become better friends with him which is really cool because he is an awesome guy to know. It's weird though, making all these close friends you may never see again. Thank goodness for email and social media!

Okay, so, this week Eliza got me into counting my calories. Friday I was bad and ate a massive bowl of my favorite sugary cereal. I did go for a run in the gloomy weather, which I think made my run easier since I didn't get too hot and I actually ran for the whole 50 minutes! I came back home to a frightening sight; Stephan fixing the dishwasher. It was only frightening because at my house we only use the dishwasher to wash the dishes, besides the big pots and pans of course. Thinking of the mood Natalie or Faustine would be in if they had to wash all the plates, cups and silverware made me nervous. Stephan did get it working like it was new, so bad moods and me offering to do more chores was thankfully avoided. That evening before dinner I went out to Faustine's friend's house with her and a few of her friends to eat cake made by his mom (which was really good) and to meet another exchange student from Ireland, Jared. He was super cool and nice. He boards at his lycee during the week but I think he is coming back every weekend for the next few weekends. Oh, I should also mention that I didn't have school this day.

Now on to the fun part! I woke up bright and early Saturday morning and got ready for the wedding of one of Stephen's cousins. At around 10:15 a.m. we arrived at this moderately sized, very charming and beautiful church, we went inside to take our seats and everything was beautifully decorated. Everything seemed normal except that people showed up seconds before and after the bride had walked down the aisle. After the ceremony, we drove to the place where the reception was held. It was a big room filled with tables, food and champagne. We stood around talking and saying hello to family members until around 1:00 when everyone went out into the rain and stood on bleachers to take one big picture. Even though it was raining, it was fun and I like the idea of a big group wedding photo! After that we took our seats at the table which sat sixteen people. I sat with Faustine and Maxent and all the other teenagers at the wedding. It took me a while to open up and start talking to all these strangers but eventually it happened and they asked me question and we would talk and laugh and the whole meal was so fun! The meal we had was definitely something I had never experienced before. It lasted from 1:30 to 5:30. In that time we had an appetizer of foie gras and a little bit of salad and other meat, then the main course of fish with sauce and veggies, then a little cup of delicious ice cream, then a dish with a short potato tower thing and pork with sauce, then a plate of cheeses and lettuce (least favorite of all the courses but still not awful), then we finally had the most delicious plate of a few different kinds of little, french desserts and I can not put into words how delicious that was. All of the courses were fairly small and well spaced out so it was doable to enjoyably everything. All of the food was immensely delicious. I was most definitely not counting my calories that day. I was going to enjoy as much of this amazing french food as I could. And I'm glad I did! Weddings are no time to be on a limiting diet.

It wasn't just us eating nonstop though. In between each course there would be short and personalized entertainment on the stage like a funny show, or skit, or song done by a family member. For instance someone went around with the microphone and everyone told a "tack-tack" joke (knock-knock joke) but the twist was that the word had to become a song. I also found out from Faustine's Twitter feed that the princess was born! There were also a lot of french wedding traditions done which was cool to experience. I realize how lucky I am because I'm sure most exchange kids don't get to go to a true french wedding. It is something everyone should experience. There is a lot of  everyone standing on chairs, drinking good wine and champagne, and dancing (on your chair in some cases) to songs that are very common songs to play at weddings. There were also cute new couples games played on the stage as well as battle of the sexes games. It was all very entertaining! By the end of "lunch" I was exhausted and was wishing that there was a nap room somewhere. But sleeping was for the non french because it seamed like all the other 240-ish guests were still at full energy with the singing and dancing. That's another thing about any french party, there is a lot of singing! 

All the tables had to be reset so for a little over an hour Faustine, her cousin and I went outside and walked with umbrellas in the rain. A lot of people when to family members houses that lived close by though. When we got back I played a very confusing card game with Faustine and her grandmother. I apparently won, but I'm not really sure how. Maxent did help me out so I have to give him some thanks for that. 

Dinner was buffet style of delightfully arranged meats and fruits with bowls of bread and chips around it. So I sat down at my seat eager to tear race to the buffet. Little did I know that we would watch hilarious home videos of the bride and groom and also hilarious music videos made by the grooms family. So it wasn't until around ten when we got to dig into the buffet, and then it was another hour and a half until we had another dessert and a shot of espresso. After that the eating was finally over. The tables were moved to thus create a dancefloor! The DJ wasn't bad! My only complaint would be that we would play three to many slow songs in a row. There were a lot of french songs that had dance moves to it so Lucy, Faustine's cousin, taught me the dance moves because no one else in my family was dancing, but after that espresso I couldn't bear to stay still. I was a little embarrassed and timid at first to dance but then I realized that no one cares! The french dance and sing however they want and everyone just goes with it! It's awesome! I was having so much fun dancing that I didn't realize how fast time was moving! I was wide awake and wanting to stay when Stephan came up to me and said it was 2:30 and that we were leaving! We were again some of the first to leave even though it was so late! 

The next day we went back to the large room where the reception was held. Most everyone from the wedding was there, but in casual clothes and we ate lunch, which was just leftovers from dinner, then had a fruit salad for dessert. There was more entertainment on stage. This one guy would play tunes of his french horn and someone would guess what song or theme song it was. While the chairs and tables were being put up and while the floors were being cleaned, I played more card games with Maxent, Faustine and Lucy. We were there from 1:30 to 5:45. By the time we got home I was exhausted. I asked around and I've been assured by multiple people that this was a very normal wedding in France. In fact some people told be that weddings can go to 4:00 or even 6:00 a.m. and that we in fact left early!

I feel so lucky that I got the chance to attend an event that has so many definite culture differences! The newlyweds asked me what I thought of it and I assured them that even though it was different, it was fantastic and I thanked them for letting me come along with my host family. I wonder if I will experience any more new culture differences or experiences in my last two months!