CHANGED my BLOG SITE

Hey everyone i changed my blog site: http://sydneysinfrance.tumblr.com/

Les Vacances

Vacation!! Its finally here. Today i got off for a 10 day vacation which is much needed, lately i have been more moodier and frustrated with my speaking abilities. But i think the more i understand the more i want to be able to add to the conversation. Which is good, i think thats the only way i will learn.

But i am really looking forward to this vacation because 10 days of relaxing around the house and spending time with my friends and family sounds perfect and the France i dreamed of. I always feel at home now in this cozy apartment.

Which reminds me i have not yet describe my family or the home i live in. First off i have to say they have a beautiful piano which is perfectly tuned and sits in the dining room. I have spent many hours playing away on a relaxing sunday afternoon. The house its self is above a doctors office and the first floor of the apartment is everything the kitchen, the TV, the dining room, the piano and everyones room, but mine. The second floor up, which is like the attic is an office, my room, a storage room, and a ironing room. I have to say i think i have done quite well not hiding up there to often, but when i need my space i am fortunate for the little hide out with its own heater.

My family on the other hand is very difficult to describe i mean im still figuring out there routine and moods. But through observing and all the time spent at home i have come to learn two things: i live with them and there will be times i make mistakes and also there are awkward moments. Both i have come to accept and move on and laugh at.

So this life at the moment. Halloween is around the corner and im very happy to share my traditions with my friends and family here. So until my next post i hope everyone is well and happy.

In the newspaper again

This is when we had an event with all the other foreign exchange students in the area. I think it is so amazing how so many cultures and so many different people can all meet in one place and have the same goal and it was just a really fun and informative event.

So in the picture we are all holding our flags and there are three other americans here. Kelly who is only staying for three months goes to my school and Kathryn lives far from epinal and in a different town.

EXCITING NEWS

So yes i know i have already updated my blog today but i have some very exciting news to share with everyone who actually reads this.

I study my french grammar book all the time, to learn verbs and then i read french books for my vocabulary and i speak with my french friends to tie it all up and practice. But i have been so worried and stressing out because there are 14 tenses in french and it is very overwhelming to study. But then today i finally asked my host siblings which tenses are used to speak and they only use 3. No joke it makes so much more sense and i am so happy and its the best feeling to know what to study and what im looking for and listening for in conversations. So that is my exciting news.

Im off to learn french now and buy more pens.

This is France

So as all of you must be wondering, how is school? what do you do? And how are the people? Well these are questions that i should have answered a long time ago on my blog. But its ok because i am going to do it now.

So school...what can i say, school is school. I mean yes it is different from America but i have to do work and go to classes and be respectful just like at home. But there are some upsides that i have really come to love and i know i will miss when i leave. Such as if you don't have class you don't have to be on campus, and since i live so close to home walking home or going to get "pain au chocolates" is pretty nice. Another thing i love about the school here is that teachers are there to teach and teach only, it reminds me of a college. They do not stay after class they don't even have assigned rooms. You go to a class the teacher teaches and then you leave and that is that. And don't get me started on how much i love love love when teachers decide to not show up for class. I mean in america you go to school from 8-3 and you always have class and you always have a teacher who makes you care. I mean i really love how school here is your chose, i mean if you want to do well its not the teacher who is forcing you its your inner will to do well that will make you succeed. And to tell you the truth thats where i think the largest differences in American and French schools are, its the students who are doing well not the teachers who are forcing them to do well.

So now on to what do i do. Well that is a completely different story. During weekdays i barley have homework, so i use all my free time to either study french, talk to french people, or just enjoy the beauty of France, and yes that means buying tons of french desserts which i have no idea how i am going to live without when i leave. But besides all that i really just try and go with the flow and not worry about when and what is going on. Because to tell you the truth even if they told me i would still have no idea what is going on, which is fine.

Although school and studying take up most of my time i still have time to socialize quite a bit with all my free periods at school. So the french people and there way of life is exactly how its made out to be. They are a very social culture and wine, bread, cheese, and food is the main focus here. I mean in one day my family can go through 2 baguettes, a block of cheese, 2 bottles of wine, and i have never had a meal that wasn't at least 2 to 3 different courses (and i have been here for almost 2 months). Nevertheless it all helps especially because we eat all our meals together around a table and i mean french, french, french, and maybe a little bit of spanish and german thrown into the mix it turns into a listening comprehension test.

Despite all the changes and the life i live here, it is truly amazing. I feel the french fit my personality and i think it suits the type of person i am. Even though i may be a little louder then most i still love the food, bisouses (kisses), and all the socializing that it involves.

So that is France.

Just some thoughts

So as i have ventured on through my days here in France life becomes easier and easier. I can now ask to pass the water at the dinner table without getting frustrated and having to think for a couple of minutes which i consider a huge improvement. And my accent has reached the point where people understand what i am saying and i have even mastered the skill of whispering in french which let me tell you was not easy to do.

SO besides all my new loves and obsessions France is absolutely amazing. I have come to realize there is a lot more to a french life then i thought. I mean the people here are so deep and understanding and just different then what i am used to. I am fascinated by there way of life and how they hold themselves and act with others. A few things i have noticed about the teenagers is they are an incorporation of the old and the new. i mean they "bisous" each other and introductions are very important but then they have this whole different version of french and slang and way of acting. Its very odd to me to see because in America the way you act or the things you say is mostly what you would say to adults and parents.

But here in France its like they speak a whole different language with there friends. Its a very odd thing to listen to and very difficult to pick up. But i know in time i will learn. I mean i need to cut myself some slack these kids have been speaking french for 16/17 years i have been speaking English all that time. you would be amazed at how much logic and reasoning has to do with this process, i mean in English something might be logical to me but not to them and the other way around. It all makes sense in some way or another.

It gets better with each rising day: one month down....i can do this

This saturday marks one month in France. As much as i would like to say i made it through this month with no problem...i can't. I have heard repeatedly that the first month is the hardest but it is so different when you are living through it. I mean to tell you the truth it could have been worse, i mean i think the worst thing that has happened was i had a bad day and i misunderstood a few things but besides not being able to communicate my basic needs and learning the fine art of sherds and pantomiming its been good so far.

I will be posting another blog shortly but due to my cold, which is way worse then a normal cold because of the stress and the new environment. I am feeling under the weather, and the french do not believe in "staying home from school" unless you are dying. And i do not know how to ask in french so i will make due with what i got.

parle vous francais

to talk
to communicate
to share
to have a personality
is a gift
to love
to meet
to have friends
to feel the presence of others
is taken advantage of
to know
to understand
to be familiar
to be self sufficient
is simply marvelous
to offer
to help
to feel needed
is whats wanted

There is going for a bike ride, then there is going for a bike ride in France

As you can tell by the name of this post i have experienced the difference between biking in other places and biking in France. As many of you might know i am not the most athletic girl, so when i was asked if i want to go biking in the morning i thought of it as a chance to see the city, which it was, but not the way i expected it to be.
So i wake up around 9 and its a perfectly sunny day, and sunny days for them are still a little chilly. So being me i put on a pair of jeans and a nice top and thinking that is ok for biking. Oh am i wrong, i come down to breakfast and the parents explain to me in french may i add that my attire is very wrong. Now im starting to think "oh gosh" what did i agree to, so i go and change into a pair of leggings and a white long sleeve top and i return to the downstairs area where i see Jean-Charles and Corentin in full professional biking gear. Oh no thats rite i walk outside and there are mountain bikes, i kid you not. As most of you are thinking, Sydney mountain biking, is this a joke. So as we set off on a bike ride i start to feel like this is a workout not a leisure bike ride and was a rite, i was very tired when i got back 2 hours later, or as i would say in french "je suis tres fatigue". But i do have to say riding along the Epinal river and canals was beautiful im not used to all the tress and open air, i mean i saw just open fields with nothing and it was amazing.
Even though the biking made me tired and my legs catch on fire it was a very good activity and Jean-Charles and Corentin were very nice about resting and understanding that i did not understand every single word.

I was in the local newspaper with all the other foreign exchange students. The one on the far left is from holland, then me and then in the middle is from america and the one on the left is from america as well, and then the guy on the far left is from columbia. we took this photo at the train station as soon as we got off.

Dinner

I have decided to dedicate a whole post to dinner and meals in general because i feel like meals are an event, or at least i feel they are. So here is a run down of what we eat and the routine. Appetizers and drinks in the family room and chatting. Then we sit down and we eat a main course which is big. Then cheese which is brought out in a big box and there are several different large chunks of cheese, then on to the yogurt and fruit for dessert. Then after all that and in between talking and chatting, and then we all clear the table and help clean up and then we sit and watch TV or chat in the family room. This dinner or event as i would say last a good 2 hours before i feel like returning to my room or going to sleep.
I try to stay out of my room due to its on the top floor where no one lives, which is nice because i have my own bathroom and a little bit of space and quite but still it is very lonely. so for now as i would say in french au revoir et bonsoir.

First Day

Here i am in Epinal, France. I definitely underestimated the beauty and size of this city. But the most interesting parts of this experience have been about the language barrier. within 10 minutes of my arrival at the home my host mother, my host brother, and i were poured over a french to English book trying to explain the word for cell phone.
This trip or year is going to be one of the most adventurous,fun, dramatic, embarrassing, and oddest years of my life. But its worth it, the french are very funny people and come to find out most stereotypes about them are wrong. I am very very excited to see more.
SO this is my first post from France, i start school next week so i will update once a week due to the excessive french reading and the academic torture i am not accustomed to. Please comment and ask questions, you have no idea how good my head feels when i don't have to answer in french and how simple it is to not have to think about every little word.

Life in a Box

Pack, Pack, Pack
I feel like my whole life is in my suitcase
all the things i have grown to love and cherish
held within a small box shape configuration
goodbye to the idea of having a lot
and hello to minimizing

To Do List

-Get VISA back in the mail
-Pack my room up in boxes
-Only pack whats important
-Say goodbye
-try and pack for 10 months
-Pretend like i know how to buy for the season of winter and fall
-write letters to closest friends
To do list always help me when i am getting ready for something but this one is different, i feel like when I'm packing my room into a box i am packing my life here in San Diego into a box, and my self in a way. I know i am going to return different and a new person, but i like the person i am now. I just hope everyone will except the change.

There is a first for everything

This is my first post documenting my long journey ahead of me. I am very excited and very optimistic about my learning abilities. The last couple of months leading up to my departure have been nerve wracking and almost peaceful, with no worries of an upcoming school year at my regular high school. But this trip has also given me the feeling of growing up to fast, i sometimes forget that i am only 16 and get caught up in the wave of independence that has swept over me.
Independence is a funny thing, its like a pair of shoes you grow into. I have grown into mine and ran and broken them in, but now moving to France, is making me buy a whole new pair. Which is exciting, scary, and very much new territory.
This is my chance to be young and grow up again. To be curious and naive, to have absolute trust and to gain back a loss of innocence.
SO this post is marking the beginning of my childhood in France.