VACATION part 1

Hey there everyone. So I am in the CDI again, updating because I don't have class or anything else to do. Plus I really should update as I've already been back from vacation for a week. My, my time passes quite quickly, does it not? I was helping Lucia translate English expressions into French for her English class, but I just have to say half of the expressions that were on the list are hardly ever used in seriousness. They had phrases like "Good heavens!" "Fancy that!" and "Dear me!". Oh, France and your English classes...
Anyway! Vacation!

So three Saturdays ago I got up and went to class in the morning, and then headed straight into town to take the train at noon. I changed in Lyon, and I have to say I didn't mind the six hour train ride at all. I listened to music and slept a bit, and it is always nice just looking out the window at the landscape and stuff. Plus I was next to a nice lady who did crossword puzzles the whole time. I did get really excited towards the end though, which made it hard to sit still. When I got on the platform though, I basically excitedly skipped to the main waiting lobby where Erin and Matheus were waiting. I actually screamed when I saw them, and Erin screamed too, so it's easy to say we attracted a bit of attention. But, oh man, it was so nice seeing them again. And I can't describe how strange it was to revisit Angers after about 5 months of being away.. We walked out around town because Erin and I had some time before taking the train to Saumur and were going to eat in town and stuff. We walked to the castle, took pictures by the overlook, went back to the shopping streets, and the big square with the opera house. It was so nice. We took the train back and got in Saumur around 10. Surprisingly we didn't stay up late that night, and were asleep by probably 11 o clock.
So then Sunday was Easter and we just chilled around the house talking and laughing our asses off about random things. Oh! We went for a small walk as well, and almost got lost. There were barely any people though. Oh funny story, there is a monument outside of the church in her town that was made for all of the youth in the town that died during the war. Well Erin looked at it and goes, "Well that's kind of stupid there are only like 10 names". And then she walked around to the side, and the list continued on for like at least 50 other people, and there were even more on the other side. Haha.
Anyway, Monday we actually celebrated Easter. We woke up and had an Easter Egg hunt with Erin's host sister and their previous Icelandic exchange student that came to visit them for a few days. It was hilarious because we kept walking past extremely obvious hiding spots, still half asleep. We ended up finding them all though. Then that night Erin and Manon ( oh that's her host sister's name ) left for a camp for four days, so I went and stayed with Christoffer a norwegian AFSer that lives like 6 minutes away from her.
That was really fun. He even got Super Smash Brothers on his computer so I got to dominate with Kirby once again. Jokes, I'm not that good. Jokes, I'm super pro. No, really, it was just fun though. We also watched a ton of movies and cooked for his host family. I made Mac and Cheese. OHH question for you guys: DO ANY OF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO PUTS MAC AND CHEESE IN THE OVEN? Yeah, I didn't think so. Neither have I. But apparently that's how you're supposed to make it... Strange!!
So anyway a few days I went back to Erin's house, and Friday Christoffer came back over because the next morning he was going to Paris and the day after Erin, her host family, and I were going to Perigueux. Erin tried to bake a chocolate cake ( stress on the word tried ) and it turned out looking horrible and tasting like regular bread. Haha. No one wanted to eat it except her. We also took weird pictures which I might put on later. But probably not, haha. I will add pictures of everything else though. However, most of you have me on Facebook and they are already there, so yeah...
Anyway next day Erin and went into Angers and met up with Benji, Matheus, and Gabe. I got to see a lot of my old friends and it was really nice. We got ice cream and drank Orangina and it was overall a good day. HOWEVER. Erin and I misread the train times and ended up not having a train back into Saumur. So we found a bus that went to a town nearby, so her parents could pick us up there. But the bus stopped at the most random unmarked places I have ever seen. One of the stops was a field on the side of the highway. Erin and I were afraid we were going to be stranded in some weird French town because we had no idea where we were. Plus the bus kept making this annoying noise? but both of our iPods were dead, so we put in headphones and listened to her ringtones on her phone. Hahahaha. We finally made it to the place though.
After that we packed to leave for Perigueux on Monday.

And I actually have to leave because the bell just rang. Off to Literature class. Woooooooooo. I bet you can feel my extreme enthusiasm just radiating off the screen.

But anyway. TO BE CONTINUED! With pictures! I hope!

Hello everyone!!
I'm in the CDI (school library) right now am and having an amazingly difficult time figuring out how to type on the French keyboard. Seriously the a is where the q is and I need to shift to make a comma and type a number and I still have no idea how to make an at sign for email addresses. HOW DOES THIS THING WORK?§§?

Anyway I decided to update because this week has been pretty interesting. We had what was called "Semaine Culturelle". It was basically the equivalent of homecoming week, but there was no dance or football game following it. Each day had a theme to follow, for example today was "le temps qui n'es pas encore passé" which means basically time that hasn't arrived yet aka the future so everyone came decked out in futuristic costumes. Magda the Swedish girl came as a robot and literally wrapped herself completely in aluminum foil, and Cornelia the Norwegian girl came as a dead version of herself and powdered her face and drew stitches. It xas really funny. The best costume I saw probably was Wednesday when the theme was the past and there was a guy that came as a knight. It was a legit metal armour set which was super awesome. Other than the costumes there have been concerts each lunch break and during the ten minute break at ten o clock. The first day on Monday, there was a DJ during lunch and everyone was dancing, it was really fun. I took a video but as I am not on my laptop I cant upload it now. Maybe later. Also, each period there are shows in the auditorium for everyone who doesnt have class or whose teacher decides to take them to see it. I only got to go to one with Tomasc (Slovakian guy) on Monday. It was a bunch of students rapping. I couldnt take it very seriously as the first thing the guy said was... well I dont know to translate it, but basically he was like "This shit right here is for my bitch". It was so funny I cant even describe. AHH, anyway. I'm trying to think of other stuff that happened during this week... Hmm... Life here has become so normal that it is hard to remember exciting stuff, because everything feels average, hah.

Well anyway all the trees are budding here and it makes me so incredibly happy. I LOVE THE SPRING. It came really early as well. It's only April and it looks like May. I just can't wait to swim in the lake ! The water is so clear that it will be like taking a massive bath without soap or something. Oh man I've obviously remained so incredibly poetic. I'm glad my writing skills have held, lols. LITERALLY the other day in English class I couldn't finish a sentence without including a french phrase or word. I have no idea why and I was just about losing it. I have so many words from random languages rolling around in my head. But I love it, its so awesome in Europe because you have so many languages around you. Or maybe its cause I just have loads of exchange student friends. NEM TUDOM. Anyway... Tomorrow is vacation AW YEAH and I'm going to Saumur to see Erin again !! IM SO EXCITED I CANT CONTAIN MYSELF QSLDKFJLMSKJDFMLKZJEFLKJZELMFKJZELMFKJZMLEKFJLMKJGMLZKEJGMLEKJGMLKJ
I'll prolly make another post when I get back.
Wow my shoulder is really sore and I haven't done anything. QUELLE CON DE LA VIE DE MERDE POURQUOI CEST TOUJOURS COMME CA CEST CHIANT DE PUTAIN JAI ENVIE DE PLEURER PUTAIN CA FAIT CHIER
lols I may be overexagerating there. ANYWAYY



Uh I have to go to class in like ten minutes. Jeg har IKKEEEEE lyst.
Sorry I keep typing in different languages but its because I FEEL LIKE IT.
Anywayyyyyyy
OFF TO CLASS.
Going to go study and be productive and a good exchange student !!
WEEE
Okay so Im using a French keyboard and have no idea how to put an accent on the a fail.
OH WAIT ITS RIGHT HERE LOLS ààààà

Well i have no idea how to capitalize it so anyway à bientot !

A tour of my school and Carnaval

I'm updating my blog twice in less than two weeks- I must be super bored. 
Nah I'm joking, I just had some free time Friday afternoon, so I went around taking picture of my lycee to show you guys. Also, this weekend there was a celebration which is called Little Venice (or something like that) where people dress up in self-made elaborate costumes and masks. It was super super cool, and the weather was absolutely fantastic that day. 

Anyway, on with the photos: 

 This is a view from the top level

 I only included this photo because as you will notice (NO TOILET SEATS EVERRR) 

 This is where everyone goes in between classes to buy pain au chocolats and cafes

 Classroom

 random stairwell. Stairwell? Staircase? Stair...s? 

 average hallway

 view of the courtyard :P

 This is the science sector. it's by far the coolest. *cries with longing*

 lobby-place near the entrance

 area kids go to smoke inbetween classes

 the gym! (it's almost always a seperate building)

 view of the mountains from a random place outside

 another place where kids go to smoke


So these are the photos from carnaval :P

Anyways, I have to go now! Cleaning the garage. YIPEE

À bientôt !

Winter Vacations!

Today is the last day of winter vacations, so I'm taking the time to catch up on everything I've done in the past two weeks.

My vacation started with visiting my friend who lives in Montpellier down in the south of France. I took the TGV train down there, which I absolutely love. The TGV trains are super awesome. But let me tell you something, although the TGV train system is pretty sufficient in France (although they are always at least ten or fifteen minutes late), the TER trains are a really weird mess. My total travel time was around four/five hours. The TGV I took from Valence to Montpellier took about an hour and a half. The train I took from Annecy to Valence however, took around three hours because it stopped in every train station along the way... Literally there were about thirty stops listed on the board before leaving.

BUT ANYWAY, I got to Montpellier just fine and it was a nice relaxing morning. I stayed in Montpellier for about four days, and then took the train back. The south is super beautiful. The thing that always throws me off is doing the bises three times, instead of two. I like go to pull away after the second time, and the person will be waiting for a third and it gets a bit awkward. But in Montpellier, it's so beautiful. There are millions of palm trees, rarely ever any clouds, and it's just a 30 or so minute drive to the beach. (which yes, I did go to :P) Also, it's close by to a city which is called Nimes, which used to be a Roman city. My friend's host mom took us there, and we were able to see la Maison Carré (The Square House- constructed in 2 AC) and les Arènes (The Arena- constructed in 70 AD) and also le Pont du Gard (constructed around 50 AC). I was practically flailing all over the place because I've never ever seen or touched buildings so old in my life. It wasn't so bad for my Hungarian friend because he lives in Budapest and sees Roman ruins all the time, so I was the only one dying from absolutely astonishment. I'll add pictures of all of this in the end of the post. We also went to the beach. It wasn't very warm (around 40 degrees) when we went, but of course, I still went into the water. I mean, it was necessary considering it was the Mediterranean Sea. It was so beautiful. It's been ages since I've been to a beach (if you don't count Lake Michigan, lols) and it was so wonderful. I picked up a few seashells I still have in my drawer here. Other than that, we just wandered around Montpellier, which is a really beautiful city. Oh, funny story: We were walking around the city the second day (I think) I was there, and I was feeling really super good because his host mom had just told me she was taking us to see the Roman buildings that day. So this is basically how it went:
Me: OMG I CANT BELIEVE I'M GOING TO SEE A ROMAN BUILDING THIS AFTERNOON.
Áron: Uhm, yeah, you're also going to see one in about three minutes.
Me: AKJKFJWEKAJFKEJF:LK WHAT?!?!

*three minutes later: a huge roman structure appears*
*I die*

No, but it was really amazing to see and touch such an old civilisation. I'm so glad people took the time to preserve all these old buildings because they are so spectacular to see. Truly one of the highlights of my exchange.

Once I got back home after my four days in the south, I chilled around the house for a few more days. My host sister was in Greece with her school the whole first week (I know, what a field trip...) So it was really just a calm three days. The Monday after we got back, we went up to the Chalet (cabin) where I tried skiing again for the second time. It was muchhhh muchhhh better the second time, and I really started to get the hang of it. I could go so much faster while still feeling comfortable. I'm definitely going to try to keep skiing once I get back to the US if I find the time. I also tried cross country skiing which was a workout. My host grandma and I did about 9 km which is about 5 miles. It was much easier, I have to say, although the skiis slip more and it's harder to stop. I also went snow-shoeing. I basically did the three most popular sports in my region of France all within three days, haha. I really enjoy going to the Chalet though because it's so beautiful and quiet and calm.

After that we went down to my other host grandma's house in another department of France. Get this- She lives in a town of 25 people. 25 people. My host sister also told me there is a city in France with 1 person. I looked it up- it exists. Haha. We stayed there for about four days as well, and then came back yesterday. We basically just sat around the four days watching movies and relaxing. However, my host sister swears the house is haunted as it was built in 1887 and people have previously died in it, so there were some nights where falling asleep was harder than others. But in the end we made it out alive, so no worries.

Now I have school again tomorrow. Yipeeeee. I'm actually happy to see everyone again, and because I don't have school every Monday afternoon I'll get to go into Annecy again which I always love. But, blah. The BAC is getting closer and closer, and I'm slowly dying on the inside because of it, haha. I really really don't know what I was thinking when I decided that I should take the BAC. All my other exchange student friends taking the BAC agree with me. It's so much more strenuous and inclusive than any of us thought. I would pull out if given the option, but then I'd be a quitter and probably disappoint a lot of people which I don't want to do. But oh well, we'll just see how it goes.

Other than that, vacation again in a month and a half! I've already planned out going back to visit my amazing Australian friend in Saumur for the whole two weeks. I'm super excited to see her again, I miss her so much.

Anyway, I should probably start homework, hah.

À bientôt ! (Just realised the only time I ever say this is on my blog, lols)

 This is le Pont du Gard ^

 This tree start growing in 908 AD. 

 This is la Maison Carré ^

 This is the Arena ^

 The Arena still hosts bull fighting shows as it's pretty close to Spain

 THE BEACH

 NOTHING BUT BLUE SKIES OMG

I saw this shirt in a store here and just laughed and laughed and laughed. Thought I'd share. 

Rambling

Last night I had a dream that I was back home. Somehow I was sent home five months early with all of the semester kids, even though I was supposed to be there for a year. Even though that would never happen in reality. But when I woke up, I felt a surge of relief that it was a dream. I think I've reached the stage in my exchange where I don't want to go home.
Don't get me wrong, I miss Wisconsin and my family and friends more than I can say. But... I have a life here too now, a normal one. I go to school every day, laugh with my friends, walk around the city. I have sad days, good days, happy days, bad days. And I know once I leave this life, I can never return back to it. I'll visit, but it won't be the same. And it's horribly sad.
I have met so many amazing people this year, I can't think about the time when we are all back in our own countries half way across the world, probably never seeing each other again. I'm convinced one of the most beautiful things about exchange is the relationships you make with all the other exchange students.
And the weird thing is I remember reading these things on other exchange students blogs, but it's really impossible to understand until you actually experience it.
Something happens when you are put in a foreign country away from everything normal you know and made to build a new life, but I can't even think of how to put it into words. Because we change but in all the strangest ways and at the strangest times. It's only been four months, and I already feel... different?
I guess I think of all the things I've done, gone through, experienced, and imagine being placed back into my old life... and I just can't. I can't imagine it correctly. It doesn't work in my brain. I know when the time comes to go home, I'll eventually adapt. But for now, I can't see it.
All I tell myself is that I have six months left to really really enjoy this. And that's exactly what I'm going to do.

JOYEUX NOEL

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Sorry it's been a while! I actually was pretty busy this time, it's much easier to say you are going to keep up a blog until you actually, but don't worry I haven't forgotten :)

The month of December went fairly normally, school, sleep, school. However, in France vacation starts much earlier, I've been off since the 17th, and also the last day of school before vacation is much more action packed than at home.
First of all, there are always Christmas decorations around. We had a huge Christmas tree in the entrance hallway, and little ornaments all over. Secondly, there was a huge Christmas meal- Repas de Noel- that lasted for two hours and was followed by a concert put on by the students.

I hung out with the other exchange students and watched, and besides being crammed against a railing by other kids trying to see, it was so much fun.

 I can't imagine this at school back in Wisconsin. 

 this is the concert :P

After that vacation was pretty normal, we hung around the house for a few days, and then while my host dad worked, my host siblings and I went to my host grandparents house for a while. I turned seventeen that week, and it was really sweet because they bought me a cake and sang Joyeux Anniversaire. I can't say I feel much older, but it's quite strange having a birthday in a different country. However, it was a much improved birthday from my 16th- working and school, haha.

For Christmas though, we drove up to the family Chalet, which means cabin or cottage. It was so amazing, this cute wood house up in the mountains. The view was amazing, especially at night. We stayed there with my host family's grandparents and cousins, and it was quite fun.

I even tried skiing for the first time ever! It was really hard, I felt like I had two huge feet I couldn't control and even got stuck in a fence, but I had fun! Now I'm back home for the rest of vacation :)

I also have a video of the mountains around the ski resort. They are so breathlessly beautiful I can't even describe it, so I have to show you.

Other than that, New Year's is this weekend! :D
So I'll wrap it up by saying to everyone, HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR <3

ALLEMANGE

So this weekend, I went to Germany. I feel so weird typing that, almost-- like going to Germany is hardly a big deal. But it kind of felt that way when the car ride was only three hours long and required no customs whatsoever. We went for an awesome open market in a city called Freiburg. The market is this huge thing where artisans opens booths included handmade things like food, candles, toys, soaps, wooden carvings, etc...

We left from Cuvat around noon, and passed through the border into Switzerland the same way you pass through a pay toll in the US, except there wasn't a fee. We drove through Switzerland for a while which I must say was one of the prettiest car rides I've ever taken, (I LOVE Swiss houses) and then we passed through the German border (again, easiest thing ever). Fun fact: there is no speed limit on German highways meaning you can go as fast as you want. So we got to Freiburg, fairly quickly after that.

We first went to the hotel and checked out our room. My host dad speaks German so it was like my first day in France all over again -- me standing there understanding nothing :P After we went up the room which was decorated so nicely I took a picture:

 Although believe it or not- the bathrooms are in a different room down the hallway. First hotel I've ever been in where the bathroom wasn't right there in the room. Yay cultural differences! :D
After we walked down to the place where the market was passing by buildings like this:

 And the prettiest McDonald's I've ever seen:

We finally got there, and it was really crowded. It was so strange hearing German everywhere, and seeing it everywhere. I even saw my last name BECK on multiple stores and it made me happy. We squeezed through the crowds and I got to see real hand crafted wooden statues and smell amazing sausages and even tried some BREZEL which was by far the most amazing pretzel I've ever eaten. I also had warm fruit juice which was delicious and got to keep the cup. I finally got around to buying a coat, and bought some presents for my parents. After, we walked around a bit, returned to the hotel to relax and watch some German TV, and then went back out for dinner. It took us ages to find a restaurant as all the others were literally full. We almost went to McDonalds, until we found one that had open tables. It was really pretty, and loud, and they kept playing old American songs, and I almost felt like I was back in America, especially when they handed me a HUGE glass of water. I had gotten so used to the small glasses in France, I was almost overjoyed to not finish my water in one gulp, haha. After that we went back to the hotel and slept.

The next day was pretty short, we woke up, and went downstairs to a huge brunch. There was sausage, ham, eggs, mushrooms, yoghurt, cereal, brezel, bread, everything. After we returned to the market, bought some gingerbread cookies for Christmas, and then headed back to the car to go home.

I can't really describe such a cool place this was, and how great it was just being there, so here are some pictures:

(^ This photo is dedicated to Mark Stewart)

Other than that- things are going well. I love my school, my host family, my house, my city, and Christmas vacation is just two weeks away!!

I'll update again soon~

À bientôt!