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!

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE

SO BIG NEWS: I changed host families and regions. To put it simply, I was having problems with the host family and adapting well (one of the reasons I didn't update my blog very often) so I requested to change host families. Because there weren't any families available in the region (it's really difficult to find host families any time of the year) they asked if I knew anyone who would host me. I am now with my friend Maud, at her amazing house in Cuvat, France near Annecy in Rhone Alps. Picture below: 

It's right by Switzerland! AND THE SWISS ALPS. There are mountains everywhere around me: on the bus ride to school, outside my window, right in the back yard! It's so beautiful here! And the reason I put the title as it is, is because I feel like I'm in the Sound of Music. I know I'm not in Austria, but I'm in the Swiss Alps all the same, so SHHH don't ruin my moment :P

So just for an update, I'll tell you about my long weekend:

Thursday: It was my last day of school in Angers. It was kind of sad, but I was meeting up with a bunch of other AFSers that night so it was easy to not think about it. Straight away after school I went to the gare to look for Holly (NZ). Funny story though, I couldn't find her, and my phone was dead. I paced around the gare for like an hour, and even tried the pay phone, although it doesn't take cash and you need a card. I had to go back to meet Eszter at lycee and we both were freaking out worrying about Holly because both of our phones were dead. Finally, we ran into France Telecom and bought a charger. I then used an outlet in the store to check my phone: Holly was with Gabe the whole time. I felt really relieved. We went and met them at the gare and then met up with Elizabeth and Erin who took a train for the night. We hung around for a while until Gabe and Eszter left (a very sad moment saying goodbye to Eszter) and then after went shopping with Elizabeth Erin and Holly. After Elizabeth and Erin took the train back to Saumur and Holly and I went back home to watch a movie.

Friday: Holly and I met up with Benji and Gabe at the Foire (a carnival/fair) where we went on a few rides and ate festival foods and basically goofed around. Here are some pictures :

 It was so safe.

Saturday: Holly and I returned to the Foire where we met Gabe again and went on some more rides. Funny fact: the word for cotton candy in french is barbe a papa, which means father's beard. Haha. Anyways, Holly went back to Laval that night, and I packed.

Sunday: I woke up early in the morning, lugged my suitcases to the train station and off I went! I met up with the volunteer of Rhone Alps AFS in Blois where she was visiting friends with her family and her AFS student Natalia from Colombia. We hung around in town and then left by car for her house near Lyon. It was a fun trip: except the car battery died twice, the first time at 20h and the second time at midnight. :P It wasn't too cold, and it was funny pushing the car along the French roads at night. We ended up getting a lift from their friends because the car was so dead. We got to the house around 1 am and went straight to bed.

Monday: I hung around the house and went for a walk with the volunteer through the mountains. It was so beautiful, I didn't get any pictures though because it was too dark for my camera by then :( I ate a lovely dinner and then went to bed early because I knew it would be a long day Tuesday.

Tuesday: I woke up and repacked my backpack and ate lunch. My train left from Lyon at 4 so we left her town around 14h to get there on time. We only drove through Lyon, but it was so beautiful, I'll definitely have to visit it again. We went into the gare, and the music was so dramatic.
I was so glad the volunteer stayed with until the train actually left though because it got changed TWICE. Haha. But I finally got to Annecy after the most beautiful train ride ever. I'll upload videos of it after I publish this. I finally saw Maud and it was such a cool moment. After we went back to the house ate dinner and I got ready for school.

TODAY: We took the bus to school, and i got to see the mountains by sunrise and it was beautiful. There was even frost on the ground and that made me happy-- I missed the cold! We got to the lycee which is so beautiful. It's completely modern architecture and open with windows on the roof. The teachers and classmates seem really nice, and that's always a good thing! Then I got back home ate lunch with Maud's grandparents and Quentin her brother. Then we went for a walk, pictures below:

Well, I must now go do homework!

À bientôt! 

Hey there!

Hello everyone!

So you know how I said I'd update this blog regularly with more than just pictures...
Yeah.
I'm sorry, I've been busy, and by busy I mean not at all. I've just been lacking motivation. But, I am back! With a new fiery will to keep updated that hopefully won't fade within a month again! 

Basically a lot has happened within the last, dear goodness it's been almost a month, so I will put them into a list because lists are neat:

-Had an AFS meeting at a strange cave-like ancient home

-Spent a weekend in Saumur with Erin and Elizabeth (Australian AFSers) and saw the castle of Saumur 

-Had the one month mark of being in France

-Took and failed miserable my first French test

-Saw someone wearing an actual beret

-Gained some knowledge in French (still not fluent)

-Had another AFS meeting making apple juice (I love my AFSers)

-Had Eszter over for the weekend and spoke with her parents on Skype (I said one word in Hungarian)

-Discovered that the park here lacks a playground but has cows. 

-Also there is a lake

I didn't realise there were that many events until I finished typing just now. But I think that is because I am starting to get used to daily life in France. Well, I must buzz off to bed! 

à bientôt! 

Even More Pictures!

Just because!