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.