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!