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!