Yay!!!! I have a two week vacation now and its not even Christmas yet!!! I could definitely get used to this.
Anyways, I think I wrote on Monday. So, Tuesday, I went to McDonalds for lunch with Chloé and Laurie. It is different here. For one thing, they call it McDos, and another 'McDos' has cake here! And espresso. But that is just in the front of the very fancy McDonalds (no bright red and yellow colors here, just nice dark browns and greens) in the back, there is a person who takes you order, and then you walk up to another counter to get your food. In literally 10 seconds. They must be familiar with the lunch rush, because that was FAST food.
On Wednesday, I had a control (test) in math, and since I dont have math class after wednesday in my schedule, I thought I wouldnt know the grade until I got back from the vacation. For some reason, one of the kids got a hold of all the math tests after the teacher graded them and handed them back to everyone, guess what I got? I GOT AN 11 OUT OF 20!!! YAY! Needless to say, I was very excited. Whats more, the teacher had to know that I didnt copy because I got a better grade than the person I was sitting next to when I took the test!:)
After the control, I had a 'presentation' in acrosport. My group consisted of four people and we made three figures. That was my last class ever of acrosport, because after the break, we move on to badmitton.
After school Wednesday, I had my first dance class. I think it was suposed to be modern jazz. I actually knew someone in the class (the whole class consisted of four other girls and one teacher:) ) Her name is Lisa, she is a friend of Laurie and I had met her before. The class was fun, and I think I will sign up for the entire year.
Thursday the bus to school was late in arriving, and I got detention again. Though I dont mind because that means I dont have to listen to one of my teachers talk for an hour. Another girl in my class, Jennifer, was also late, and we started talking. The CPE guy (the same one who told us earlier to stop working when we had a free period) came over and yelled at us for talking and told us to get to work....he is one strange man.
The chemistry-physics teacher was absent that day, so I went to Lauries house for lunch.
Thursday night, I watched a movie with Claire called Coupe de Foudre à Notting Hill (in English it is just Notting Hill) with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. I was too tired to watch all of it, so I ended up going to bed half way through it:)
Yesterday (Friday) I had two hours of English, two and a half hours of Physics and Chemistry, the half an hour for lunch, two hours of TPE, in which we searched online for symetry in the human body, in French, so it was a little confusing for me, but I learned some new words. The I had one hour free, so I went to get birthday card for Claire because it was her birthday yesterday. Then one hour of History and Geography and then I was done! Though every Friday, half our class has a second hour of History and Geography, so Ingrid and I waited for Chloé and Justine because this week it was their turn to have the second hour. We played word games in French to widen my vocabulary, and then some kids found out I was from Alaska and came over to ask me so really weird questions. When Justine and Chloé finished, we went to a boulangerie to get pain au chocolat to celebrate the start of the vacation:)
For Claires birthday dinner, the guests included the godmothers of Théo and Victor, another friend of Claires and Théo. The godmothers and the other friend only stayed for appetizers, and then Claire, Michel, Théo, Laura and I ate a dinner or oysters (Claires favorite), JUMBO shrimp, uncooked salmon, potatoes, and a chocolate cake with passion fruit syrup, it was all really good. Though I didnt really like the oysters, I think they take some time to get used to.
Today, I went to the supermarket and walked through the small Monchat market, I just cant get over how cool it is!!:) I still need to pack, and then tomorrow we leave at 8:00 am by car headed for Florence, Italy.
23.10.09
19.10.09
No Title
Saturday morning I got up early to call my parents for a chicken noodle soup recipe. I decided it was a pretty Amercian recipe and fairly easy to make. I went to the small Monchat market with Laura to pick out ingredients. I bought two onions, five carrots, and a large bunch of celery, and it only cost around 2€50! Maybe everything isnt really expensive here..
When we got back to the house, I made chocolate chip cookies, with REAL chocolate chips this time (not just a cut up chocolate bar) and then took the bus to Grange Blanche to meet Laurie and Chloé to go shopping. Chloé ended up having too much homework, so Laurie brought along a friend, Leah. Leah was really shy or something and because I couldnt speak French fluently, she pretty much didnt talk to me. She would ask Laurie questions about my life, and then Laurie would just repeat them to me in French...she is the second person whose done that to me so far! I dont know, maybe I intimidate them somehow:) Anyways, I bought a 'manteau', or peacoat, which turns out not to be very warm, as I wore it this morning, but its pretty and I like it. Friday evening, I made the soup with Laura and Sophia (she was able to come after all!). Then Ingrid, Justine, Laurie, and Chloé came and we ate dinner and talked until midnight. I was very tired by the end.
Sunday, Claire, Michel, Laura, Sophia and I drove two hours to the Alpes to climb a mountain. I originally asked what the name of it was, but Michel said it really fast with a strong french accent, so I really have no clue what it is. We climbed the mountain with two friends of Claire and Michel. The hike was tough, but 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 times better than biking with Michel:) This time, I was the second to reach the top, and the first down! Claire and Michel didnt make it to the top, but we met them on the way down. And this time, I remembered my camera!!! The final altitude of the climb was 2,660 meters which translates to about 8,727 feet. We obviously didnt start at 0 altitude, but I think it was about 1,500 meters where we started? I may have misunderstood. We started the climb at 9:45 and ended at 4:00. It actually hurt worse coming down, because my toes smashed against the front of my shoes. We got back to the house about 6:45 and Sophia's host mom came to pick her up soon after. Then Laura and I ate dinner and went to bed at about 8:30 because we were so tired!:)
This morning I had one hour of math and then a two hour break because my French teacher was absent. I went to Lauries house with her and Olivia to finish some geography homework and then started my math homework. Then I had another hour of math, and one hour of 'English Assistant' (I cant remember if I already explained it or not, so I will) which is when we have class for an hour with a person who doesnt speak French and their first language is English. The teachers name is Katie and she is from Vancouver I think. She is about 23 years old and is here to learn French because she wants to be a French teacher. That was my last class of the day. This week is my last until the two week vacation, but it is not the end of the first trimester. Now I will go get my camera to post pictures:)
When we got back to the house, I made chocolate chip cookies, with REAL chocolate chips this time (not just a cut up chocolate bar) and then took the bus to Grange Blanche to meet Laurie and Chloé to go shopping. Chloé ended up having too much homework, so Laurie brought along a friend, Leah. Leah was really shy or something and because I couldnt speak French fluently, she pretty much didnt talk to me. She would ask Laurie questions about my life, and then Laurie would just repeat them to me in French...she is the second person whose done that to me so far! I dont know, maybe I intimidate them somehow:) Anyways, I bought a 'manteau', or peacoat, which turns out not to be very warm, as I wore it this morning, but its pretty and I like it. Friday evening, I made the soup with Laura and Sophia (she was able to come after all!). Then Ingrid, Justine, Laurie, and Chloé came and we ate dinner and talked until midnight. I was very tired by the end.
Sunday, Claire, Michel, Laura, Sophia and I drove two hours to the Alpes to climb a mountain. I originally asked what the name of it was, but Michel said it really fast with a strong french accent, so I really have no clue what it is. We climbed the mountain with two friends of Claire and Michel. The hike was tough, but 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 times better than biking with Michel:) This time, I was the second to reach the top, and the first down! Claire and Michel didnt make it to the top, but we met them on the way down. And this time, I remembered my camera!!! The final altitude of the climb was 2,660 meters which translates to about 8,727 feet. We obviously didnt start at 0 altitude, but I think it was about 1,500 meters where we started? I may have misunderstood. We started the climb at 9:45 and ended at 4:00. It actually hurt worse coming down, because my toes smashed against the front of my shoes. We got back to the house about 6:45 and Sophia's host mom came to pick her up soon after. Then Laura and I ate dinner and went to bed at about 8:30 because we were so tired!:)
This morning I had one hour of math and then a two hour break because my French teacher was absent. I went to Lauries house with her and Olivia to finish some geography homework and then started my math homework. Then I had another hour of math, and one hour of 'English Assistant' (I cant remember if I already explained it or not, so I will) which is when we have class for an hour with a person who doesnt speak French and their first language is English. The teachers name is Katie and she is from Vancouver I think. She is about 23 years old and is here to learn French because she wants to be a French teacher. That was my last class of the day. This week is my last until the two week vacation, but it is not the end of the first trimester. Now I will go get my camera to post pictures:)
16.10.09
Long week
Its been a while since I last wrote. Thats because I normally write on Wednesdays, but wednesday was my birthday and I didnt have the time to write:)
Before I write about my week, I have another interesting fact: people here actually say Oh la la (or sometimes just Oh la (I think its the manly version:D)), however, they dont say it when they are happy, like I had previously though, or when they are in awe. They say it when they are frusterated or fed-up.
It has been getting colder here, and fairly windy. About 35-45 degrees fahrenheit, depending on the time of day. Apparently, the French dont believe in heating buildings much; both my house and school have been about the same temperature as outside! I only brought one pair of thick socks, so I havent changed my socks in three days:). Haha, tomorrow though, I am going shopping with Laurie, Laura, and Chloé and I and going to buy slippers and warm sweaters!
Monday and Tuesday were pretty uneventful, just school and home and sleep.
Wednesday was my birthday. I had four hours of school; two of math, and two of acro sport, where I learned we will have to present our four and two person figures next week, and that also marks the end of acro sport (yay!), next up is badmitton, which I think will be a little more fun. After school, I came home and ate lunch with my host parents and Laura. Claire then told me where I could find a supermarché (super market, grocery store) to buy ingredients to make an american style cake, because she had a lot of work to do that afternoon. That was just fine for me, I have missed baking:) So I decided to make a recipe from my Grandmas cookbook which is called Johns Easy Chocolate Cake. Yes, it is easy if you are in the US using cups and teaspoons, but here, all they use are grams. So I translated it as best I could, and set out for the supermarché. It is about 5 or 6 blocks from my house, and I found and bought everything all by myself! When I got home, I realized that 'sucre poudre' in not, in fact, powdered sugar, but granulated sugar. So, I had to go back to get some 'sucre glace', (powdered sugar). The cake turned out fine, I didnt set a timer because I have no clue how, and so I overcooked it a little, but everyone really like it. The 'everyone' who came to dinner, was my host parents, Laura, Théo, Théos girlfriend, the godmother of Théo, and the godmother of Victor. We had cheese stuffed redpeppers for appetizers, and then meat for dinner, with four different kinds of sauces my host mom made, it was delicious. The meat was uncooked, completely (but just at first;)), it was really interesting, because Claire set a electric griddle in the middle of the table and put just a little bit of salt on it. Then passed around the plate of meat (beef, duck, and fowl), then everyone just stuck their piece of meat on the griddle and let it cook as long as they wanted. I thought that was a pretty nifty way to make everyone happy with their meat. Afterwards, we ate cake. Since we couldnt find any birthday candles, they lit seventeen small round candles and set them on a plate. Claire took pictures, so I will upload some later. I received a livre de gateaux (dessert cookbook) from the godmothers of Victor and Théo, perfume from Michel, and a Tshirt with the saying 'les temps de ceries' on it, which means, 'the time of the cherries' which is a very well know saying and has historical roots, but I didnt understand the full explanation. It was late when I got to bed Wednesday night, about 12:00 am, which is the latest I have stayed up on a school night yet. Usually I just go to bed right after dinner because I am so tired:) Over all, my birthday in France was a very fun and memorable day.
On Thursday, it was pretty much just a normal day. Though at lunch, we were sitting next to the line of students waiting to get their trays and I heard a girl talk. The strange thing is, I could actually understand her, so I got really excited! But just then, Ingrid turns to me and says, 'do you see that girl over there?' (the same one I could understand) 'she is an exchange student too', and I asked her how she knew, she said it was because she talked so slowly and had such a strange accent!!! There goes my happy moment:) Anyways, I actually have been able to understand more and more in class and even when my friends talk rapidly, just not everything yet.
This evening, my host mom made a yummy pot of seafood, there were very small shrimp (the size of my pinky), normal shrimp, octopus, some smushy white thing I didnt understand the explanation of, and it was all in a really yummy sauce. I asked what the sauce was made out of, and Claire told me white wine and crème fraiche, and then stopped. I asked her if that was all, and she said no, but didnt say what else, so maybe its a secret, I dont know. Then we ate green beans with a red sauce. Then fromage, and then some Alaskan Polar Bear Kisses. Because, today I got my birthday box from my parents:D!!! It was very exciting. I got a 72 oz costco size bag of chocolate chips and when Claire asked it if was so big because it was for the whole year, all I could do was laugh:) I was finally able to tell her that my family goes through one of those in two weeks, but I dont think she believed me! I also got a necklace, cards (thank you to everyone who wrote in them), other candy, and pictures!! I showed my host family the pictures and they were very impressed with the Alaskan wildlife (a moose in my front yard) and the scenery (the moss hills and blueberry bushes at my cabin).
Tomorrow, I am having a small party with my friends from school and hopefully one AFS student, Sophia, whos host mom my host mom is talking to right now, trying to work things out because she lives in a different town. My host parents said they are going to go to a movie and dinner, while I have my party. For the party, I am going to make a American dinner, though I havent really figured out what yet, and dessert. Chloé said she would also bring some dessert, which was supposed to be a surprise but she said it in French really fast and though I wouldnt understand, but I did:) (I told you my french has improved!). Sunday, my host family is hiking up a mountain. I was told it is four hours to the top, we will have a picnic and then three hours down. It is a two hour drive each way. I was also told I didnt have to go, but that 'say no to nothing' voice in the back of my head told me I should go:) So, I am going, along with the AFS student (hopefully) who will spend the night because of the distance between towns, I think, though my host mom is STILL talking to her host mom! Anyways, I will do my best to NOT forget my camera this time, take some victory pictures when I get to the top, and post them later. Now it is late and I am tired, so I should go to bed, if anyone has any idea on a easy American meal, I would love to hear them. I think I will check this in the morning before going to the store to get ingredients. Please leave a comment, I need ideas:)
Before I write about my week, I have another interesting fact: people here actually say Oh la la (or sometimes just Oh la (I think its the manly version:D)), however, they dont say it when they are happy, like I had previously though, or when they are in awe. They say it when they are frusterated or fed-up.
It has been getting colder here, and fairly windy. About 35-45 degrees fahrenheit, depending on the time of day. Apparently, the French dont believe in heating buildings much; both my house and school have been about the same temperature as outside! I only brought one pair of thick socks, so I havent changed my socks in three days:). Haha, tomorrow though, I am going shopping with Laurie, Laura, and Chloé and I and going to buy slippers and warm sweaters!
Monday and Tuesday were pretty uneventful, just school and home and sleep.
Wednesday was my birthday. I had four hours of school; two of math, and two of acro sport, where I learned we will have to present our four and two person figures next week, and that also marks the end of acro sport (yay!), next up is badmitton, which I think will be a little more fun. After school, I came home and ate lunch with my host parents and Laura. Claire then told me where I could find a supermarché (super market, grocery store) to buy ingredients to make an american style cake, because she had a lot of work to do that afternoon. That was just fine for me, I have missed baking:) So I decided to make a recipe from my Grandmas cookbook which is called Johns Easy Chocolate Cake. Yes, it is easy if you are in the US using cups and teaspoons, but here, all they use are grams. So I translated it as best I could, and set out for the supermarché. It is about 5 or 6 blocks from my house, and I found and bought everything all by myself! When I got home, I realized that 'sucre poudre' in not, in fact, powdered sugar, but granulated sugar. So, I had to go back to get some 'sucre glace', (powdered sugar). The cake turned out fine, I didnt set a timer because I have no clue how, and so I overcooked it a little, but everyone really like it. The 'everyone' who came to dinner, was my host parents, Laura, Théo, Théos girlfriend, the godmother of Théo, and the godmother of Victor. We had cheese stuffed redpeppers for appetizers, and then meat for dinner, with four different kinds of sauces my host mom made, it was delicious. The meat was uncooked, completely (but just at first;)), it was really interesting, because Claire set a electric griddle in the middle of the table and put just a little bit of salt on it. Then passed around the plate of meat (beef, duck, and fowl), then everyone just stuck their piece of meat on the griddle and let it cook as long as they wanted. I thought that was a pretty nifty way to make everyone happy with their meat. Afterwards, we ate cake. Since we couldnt find any birthday candles, they lit seventeen small round candles and set them on a plate. Claire took pictures, so I will upload some later. I received a livre de gateaux (dessert cookbook) from the godmothers of Victor and Théo, perfume from Michel, and a Tshirt with the saying 'les temps de ceries' on it, which means, 'the time of the cherries' which is a very well know saying and has historical roots, but I didnt understand the full explanation. It was late when I got to bed Wednesday night, about 12:00 am, which is the latest I have stayed up on a school night yet. Usually I just go to bed right after dinner because I am so tired:) Over all, my birthday in France was a very fun and memorable day.
On Thursday, it was pretty much just a normal day. Though at lunch, we were sitting next to the line of students waiting to get their trays and I heard a girl talk. The strange thing is, I could actually understand her, so I got really excited! But just then, Ingrid turns to me and says, 'do you see that girl over there?' (the same one I could understand) 'she is an exchange student too', and I asked her how she knew, she said it was because she talked so slowly and had such a strange accent!!! There goes my happy moment:) Anyways, I actually have been able to understand more and more in class and even when my friends talk rapidly, just not everything yet.
This evening, my host mom made a yummy pot of seafood, there were very small shrimp (the size of my pinky), normal shrimp, octopus, some smushy white thing I didnt understand the explanation of, and it was all in a really yummy sauce. I asked what the sauce was made out of, and Claire told me white wine and crème fraiche, and then stopped. I asked her if that was all, and she said no, but didnt say what else, so maybe its a secret, I dont know. Then we ate green beans with a red sauce. Then fromage, and then some Alaskan Polar Bear Kisses. Because, today I got my birthday box from my parents:D!!! It was very exciting. I got a 72 oz costco size bag of chocolate chips and when Claire asked it if was so big because it was for the whole year, all I could do was laugh:) I was finally able to tell her that my family goes through one of those in two weeks, but I dont think she believed me! I also got a necklace, cards (thank you to everyone who wrote in them), other candy, and pictures!! I showed my host family the pictures and they were very impressed with the Alaskan wildlife (a moose in my front yard) and the scenery (the moss hills and blueberry bushes at my cabin).
Tomorrow, I am having a small party with my friends from school and hopefully one AFS student, Sophia, whos host mom my host mom is talking to right now, trying to work things out because she lives in a different town. My host parents said they are going to go to a movie and dinner, while I have my party. For the party, I am going to make a American dinner, though I havent really figured out what yet, and dessert. Chloé said she would also bring some dessert, which was supposed to be a surprise but she said it in French really fast and though I wouldnt understand, but I did:) (I told you my french has improved!). Sunday, my host family is hiking up a mountain. I was told it is four hours to the top, we will have a picnic and then three hours down. It is a two hour drive each way. I was also told I didnt have to go, but that 'say no to nothing' voice in the back of my head told me I should go:) So, I am going, along with the AFS student (hopefully) who will spend the night because of the distance between towns, I think, though my host mom is STILL talking to her host mom! Anyways, I will do my best to NOT forget my camera this time, take some victory pictures when I get to the top, and post them later. Now it is late and I am tired, so I should go to bed, if anyone has any idea on a easy American meal, I would love to hear them. I think I will check this in the morning before going to the store to get ingredients. Please leave a comment, I need ideas:)
12.10.09
Picture Difficulties
Sorry for the picture captions on the blog post below, I tried to get them under the picture, but it isnt cooperating.
No Title
The Saone River
Cheese!!!! (again :) ) The yellow blocks in the top right are Comte!!
This is the Velo'v bike system is Lyon. To use, you scan a
card in the machine at right, take a bike, and drop it off at
one of the other 200 stations in Lyon!!
This is the Saone Market on the Saone River
Saturday afternoon, my host dad, Laura and I went to a museum and walked through two parts. The first was an art exhibit, the artists were children and adults who are mentally slow. Most of the paintings were very well done, to my standards I guess, but I am not really an artists. Then we walked through an exhibit which chronicled the French resistance of WWII and Hitler. It was very interesting, but long. The picture discriptions and articles were in French and English. I started reading them in French, and then in English, just to see if I understood, but then I got too tired, and just read them in English. After the museum, we met up with Claire outside of a movie theater and saw a movie called Mères et Filles (= Mothers and Daughters). It was about a young woman deciding what to do about her pregnancy, while her mother found out the truth about her parents separating during her childhood. At the end of the movie, neither of the problems were resolved, it was a completely different ending than you might have seen in the US. After the movie, we went to an Italian restaurant where I ordered noodles with a red sauce, cheese, and vegetables, and panna cotta with red fruit coulis for dessert.
Sunday we went to a larger market, called the Marché de Saone (Saone is one of the two rivers that run through Lyon, the other is the Rhone). It had all the same stands as the Monchat market on one side of the river, and then on the other, it had material goods, like paintings, jewelry, and clothing. Claire had a friend who had a painting table set up, so we met him, and she got a painting that she had previously picked out from his collection. After walking around the market for a couple hours, Laura, Claire and I had lunch at a restaurant. I had a Salade Lyonnais which consisted of green lettuce, lardon (similar to bacon), croutons, and two partially cooked eggs on top. It was really good. Then we ate ice cream at a glacier (ice cream shop). After that, we went back home. Later that afternoon, Laurie and her two friends (one named Sarah, and the other I forgot her name) came over and I gave them a tour of the house, then we walked to a park, and then back to Sarahs appartment for a snack (Sarah lives on the same street I do).
Today in school, I got a math test back. I got a 2/20 :). Not good, but still better than my Chemistry and Physics test! My French teacher was back today, unfortunately, and I handed in my petit reduction (small essay). Tomorrow I have a test in History and Geography, so I have been studying for that..though it is hard to read my notes because half the words are spelled wrong!
I have two weeks left until a two week vacation from school!!
10.10.09
Dog Poop
Just a strange fact: NOBODY picks up their dogs poop here, they just leave it. Even if it is right in front of your gate!
Thurday was a long day, because I ended at six for the first time all week. I got my physics test back, and got a 1.5/20! I guess it can only get better from there!:) Friday the English teacher was missing, so for the first two hours of school my whole class went into this recreation room where we studied for the next classes test, Chemistry. Even though I have already taken chemistry in AK, its a bit different here. The names of the elements for one thing, and then also the method of the teacher. I didnt understand, so Laurie spend 1 hour and a half going over all the problems with me! Though some people were studying, most were not; playing music on their ipods or cellphone, or messing with the radio in the room. So, when our crazy CPE (principle-ish position) man walked in, he saw the majority of us playing instead of studying. So this is what he told us: since most people were playing, we all had to play! And he made everyone put away their homework and folders. I didnt understand, and didnt see everyone else put away their stuff, so then he came over to me and started talking really fast in french, and I just smiled at him because thats what I normally do when I dont understand:), so then he got even angrier, until Laurie told me to close my book and put everything away! I had heard he was crazy, but never though he would forbid students to do their homework!!
Anyways, I realized that I have not been talking much about French food, and that is a big part of the culture here!! So, I think I will start writing down what I have for dinner each day, because that is the most French of all my French meals. Breakfast here is usually the same, we eat fruit, cereal (Special K with chocolate:)), or hard commercial bread with homemade jam (fig, apricot, strawberry) or butter. Then lunch at school is French, but the main course is pretty much like anyother highschool. You can get yoghurt, a dessert, bread (they have huge baskets of it!), cheese most days, fruit, and then the main course which usually is a hot vegetable and meat. You eat at tables with your food on trays, and real silverware, real plates, and real glasses (which someone breaks about once every day). Okay, dinner:
On Wednesday night, we ate whole artichokes first, we pealed them apart and dipped each individual leaf-thing in a redwine vinegar-olive oil sauce. It was my first time eating a whole artichoke, and I though it was pretty good, though the heart was the best part! Then we ate a plateful of black mushrooms (sorry for my poor discriptions and lack of knowlege, I always ask what were having, they my host parents say the name so fast, I forget it right after they say it, and if I didnt I would have no idea how to spell it correctly, I will work on that though). Like always, we ate bread with dinner, and after the mushrooms, we had cheese and/or yoghurt.
On Thursday night, we ate rabbit with mushrooms, olives, and it was all in a red sauce. Then we ate noodles with parmesean cheese, and of course, bread and cheese/yoghurt/fruit.
Last night, we ate a greek salad, though it was not really salad as I am used to with lettuce, it had a creamy white sauce (I think maybe crème fraiche) and then ground up cucumber mixed in, and then chives on top. We ate most of it with bread, and then we ate a plateful of greenbeans, which they eat a lot of here, though I am not sure if it is just because they are in season or not. Afterwards, we ate cheese and bread.
Last night, Claire told us she was going to the outdoor market that happens every Saturday and Wednesday morning. (Claire always goes on Saturday mornings, and Michel goes on Wednesday mornings). I asked what time she was going, and she told me 8:30, and would like it if I went too! So, this morning I got up and went to the market, this time, I did not forget my camera, so I will download pictures soon. I asked her a bunch of questions, and found out that they always buy their bread, fruit, and vegetables at this market, never at the grocery store. The market is called Le Petit Marché de Monchat (Monchat just one small region of Lyon), and that it continues through winter and summer alike. There were mostly small tents of fruits and vegetables, but also about 3 or 4 stands of bread, 3 or 4 stands of flowers, 3 or 4 stands of cheese, 3 or 4 stand of meat, and one stand of woven bags and carpets. Claire told me that there is a larger market where there are more stands of material items, rather than just fresh produce, bread and cheese. We got our bread first. Surprisingly, they dont buy many baguettes, though there are plenty of people walking about the streets with one or two baguettes under their arm! They buy bread with poppyseeds or nuts in it, though it is always freshly baked and crusty, not like the smooshy wonderbread in the US. Claire bought about a foot long loaf of nut bread (fact: in the french language, they do not have a word for 'nut', you have to say the specific type of nut, though I am not sure what kind is in the bread), one long and skinny (though not a traditional baguette) loaf of poppyseed bread, and then one croissant, one pain au chocolate (croissant with chocolate in it), and one brioche. Before this, I had never really known what brioche was, it turns out, that it is a very light and fluffy bread that is put in a small starish shaped pan with a little ball of dough stuck on top to bake, its good, but I like croissants better:) Then we bought lettuce, potatos, apples, avocatos, cheese, and meat. There is a type of cheese here called Comte, it is a hard cheese and it is deeeeeelicious! We also eat Brie, Camembert, and a bunch of other cheeses I have yet to learn the names of.
This afternoon, we are going to an art exhibit and then my host dad bought the movie 'Fame' so we will watch that tonight. Tomorrow, we are going biking again, though definitely ON the road this time, I told my host dad that I would never again go off road biking with him:), to a restaurant that serves frog..
.at least t
hat is what 
I understood.
Thurday was a long day, because I ended at six for the first time all week. I got my physics test back, and got a 1.5/20! I guess it can only get better from there!:) Friday the English teacher was missing, so for the first two hours of school my whole class went into this recreation room where we studied for the next classes test, Chemistry. Even though I have already taken chemistry in AK, its a bit different here. The names of the elements for one thing, and then also the method of the teacher. I didnt understand, so Laurie spend 1 hour and a half going over all the problems with me! Though some people were studying, most were not; playing music on their ipods or cellphone, or messing with the radio in the room. So, when our crazy CPE (principle-ish position) man walked in, he saw the majority of us playing instead of studying. So this is what he told us: since most people were playing, we all had to play! And he made everyone put away their homework and folders. I didnt understand, and didnt see everyone else put away their stuff, so then he came over to me and started talking really fast in french, and I just smiled at him because thats what I normally do when I dont understand:), so then he got even angrier, until Laurie told me to close my book and put everything away! I had heard he was crazy, but never though he would forbid students to do their homework!!
Anyways, I realized that I have not been talking much about French food, and that is a big part of the culture here!! So, I think I will start writing down what I have for dinner each day, because that is the most French of all my French meals. Breakfast here is usually the same, we eat fruit, cereal (Special K with chocolate:)), or hard commercial bread with homemade jam (fig, apricot, strawberry) or butter. Then lunch at school is French, but the main course is pretty much like anyother highschool. You can get yoghurt, a dessert, bread (they have huge baskets of it!), cheese most days, fruit, and then the main course which usually is a hot vegetable and meat. You eat at tables with your food on trays, and real silverware, real plates, and real glasses (which someone breaks about once every day). Okay, dinner:
On Wednesday night, we ate whole artichokes first, we pealed them apart and dipped each individual leaf-thing in a redwine vinegar-olive oil sauce. It was my first time eating a whole artichoke, and I though it was pretty good, though the heart was the best part! Then we ate a plateful of black mushrooms (sorry for my poor discriptions and lack of knowlege, I always ask what were having, they my host parents say the name so fast, I forget it right after they say it, and if I didnt I would have no idea how to spell it correctly, I will work on that though). Like always, we ate bread with dinner, and after the mushrooms, we had cheese and/or yoghurt.
On Thursday night, we ate rabbit with mushrooms, olives, and it was all in a red sauce. Then we ate noodles with parmesean cheese, and of course, bread and cheese/yoghurt/fruit.
Last night, we ate a greek salad, though it was not really salad as I am used to with lettuce, it had a creamy white sauce (I think maybe crème fraiche) and then ground up cucumber mixed in, and then chives on top. We ate most of it with bread, and then we ate a plateful of greenbeans, which they eat a lot of here, though I am not sure if it is just because they are in season or not. Afterwards, we ate cheese and bread.
Last night, Claire told us she was going to the outdoor market that happens every Saturday and Wednesday morning. (Claire always goes on Saturday mornings, and Michel goes on Wednesday mornings). I asked what time she was going, and she told me 8:30, and would like it if I went too! So, this morning I got up and went to the market, this time, I did not forget my camera, so I will download pictures soon. I asked her a bunch of questions, and found out that they always buy their bread, fruit, and vegetables at this market, never at the grocery store. The market is called Le Petit Marché de Monchat (Monchat just one small region of Lyon), and that it continues through winter and summer alike. There were mostly small tents of fruits and vegetables, but also about 3 or 4 stands of bread, 3 or 4 stands of flowers, 3 or 4 stands of cheese, 3 or 4 stand of meat, and one stand of woven bags and carpets. Claire told me that there is a larger market where there are more stands of material items, rather than just fresh produce, bread and cheese. We got our bread first. Surprisingly, they dont buy many baguettes, though there are plenty of people walking about the streets with one or two baguettes under their arm! They buy bread with poppyseeds or nuts in it, though it is always freshly baked and crusty, not like the smooshy wonderbread in the US. Claire bought about a foot long loaf of nut bread (fact: in the french language, they do not have a word for 'nut', you have to say the specific type of nut, though I am not sure what kind is in the bread), one long and skinny (though not a traditional baguette) loaf of poppyseed bread, and then one croissant, one pain au chocolate (croissant with chocolate in it), and one brioche. Before this, I had never really known what brioche was, it turns out, that it is a very light and fluffy bread that is put in a small starish shaped pan with a little ball of dough stuck on top to bake, its good, but I like croissants better:) Then we bought lettuce, potatos, apples, avocatos, cheese, and meat. There is a type of cheese here called Comte, it is a hard cheese and it is deeeeeelicious! We also eat Brie, Camembert, and a bunch of other cheeses I have yet to learn the names of.
This afternoon, we are going to an art exhibit and then my host dad bought the movie 'Fame' so we will watch that tonight. Tomorrow, we are going biking again, though definitely ON the road this time, I told my host dad that I would never again go off road biking with him:), to a restaurant that serves frog..
.at least that is what I understood.
7.10.09
Il fait du vent!
For the past couple of days it has been pretty windy here. Though, strangly, its warmer than before. Super warm actually, like 70 degrees. Tuesday was nice, I got out of school early because the French teacher is gone all week. Although I did finally have history and geography because we got a substitute. I guess if the teacher is gone for more than two weeks, the school hire a substitute. Our subsitute has a funny looking beard that, unfortunately for him, makes him look like a goat/beaver. He made us write our names on a piece of paper, kind of like place cards, so that he could call on us to read, I turned mine facedown so he wouldnt call on me:) Today was nice, as all Wednesdays are, because it was only four hours of school. The first two hours I took (pretended to take for the last hour) a math test that I didnt really understand, then acrosport. We have sort of moved on to circus stuff, like juggling with scarves and large ring things, and twirling a frisby disc on a wooden stick. Its actually pretty hard. After school, Laura and I went to place Bellecours to get the rest of our books (we got texts from the book shop saying they had our books). Claire didnt come with us this time, and it took us a while to understand and be understood by the books store clerks. But now, I have all my school books. Which means I should probably finish studying for my SVT (biology) test tomorrow, but instead I am on the computer. Claire also asked Laura and I if we wanted to do any extracurricular activities, so I may take a modern dance class. Now its dinner time, I dont know what were having but it smells delicious!!:)
5.10.09
AFS weekend
The AFS weekend has come and gone, and now I have been in Lyon for exactly 4 weeks and 1 day. Saturday morning I woke up at 8:30, for some reason it is difficult to sleep in here. I ate breakfast with Laura, and tried to start my french essay. The French teacher asked me to write an essay on my AFS experience so far. Then I packed my bag for the AFS weekend. There are two other girls who live in or very close to the center of Lyon (other than Laura and I), so one of the was dropped off at our house around 1:00 pm to catch a ride with us to the trainstation. We took the train (it was my first time on one!) to the small town of Anjou, which is about 1 and 1/2 hours away from Lyon by car. We were met in Anjou by some AFS voluteers who the drove us up to the chateau where we first met our host families. I had NO idea it was a real chateau. I thought it was just a big house and we were all going to cram into the living room to sleep. Nope. when we arrived we recieved our room assignments along with the name of our roomates. I was in room 2007. My roomates name was Isabella, from Austria. Each of the rooms had a separate toilet room and sink room with a shower. We dropped our stuff of and then went back down to the outside patio thing. This is the point in time when I began speaking English, and didnt stop until 4:00 pm the next day. It was awesome! I forgot what it felt like to actually be able to communicate and say what you want when you want! There were a lot of familiar faces and I exchanged information with a lot of people over the course of the weekend. There were about 40 AFS students total from the Collines-du-Rhone region. We all introduced ourselves and got name tags. One of the volunteers introduced herself as "I am Emeline, I spend a year in Anchorage, Alaksa, last year"(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) It was a crazy coincidence!! I talked to here later and told her that I remembered going to an AFS meeting where she did a presentation and made crepes with nutella! It was pretty cool. After that, we split into small groups and talked about how its going with our host families and school. I realized how lucky I am to have gotten such a great family and to have found friends already in school. Lots of kids were having problems with that. Then we had dinner and after that we were allowed to talk or wander around the grounds until midnight. I played games with a group of kids. The games were called ca touche: ca touche pas; ca touche pas: ca touche, black magic, and 4 is cosmic. They were all games where one person had played before, and knew the rules, and they would start spouting off numbers and we would have to figure out the rules to play. It was a lot of fun, but a lot of thinking for a Saturday night:). We got to bed by 12:30 and woke up at about 7:30 for breakfast, then we did energizers, such as let me see your funky chicken..I dont really know how to describe it, but you can find some AFS kids doing it under the eiffle tour on you tube, but Im not in it because my group was wandering off somewhere at that time, and other games like capture the flag with three teams but there is no flag. Then our host families came and brought pic-nics and we ate. So. Much. Food. I love all french food, I am going to be 50 lbs heavier by the time I get back to Ak! After we ate, the parents had a meeting, and the kids played more games. Then it was time to go home. It was a long car ride back, and I was glad when we finally made it. I finished my French essay, and then, even though I wasnt hungry, at dinner. We had quiche, which consisted of eggs, cheese, ham and bacon. It was good. My host mom also made apple tarts, but they were too hot to eat right away, and we were all tired (Laura and I because of the AFS weekend, and Claire and Michel because it was their friends 50th birthday party on Saturday night, and they stayed up til 5 am!!!) so we just ate the apple tarts for breakfast. Its normal here to eat leftover cake, pie, etc for breakfast:)
Today was a relaxing day. I had one hour of Math in the morning, which I actually finished my homework for (and it was right!!!), then I had a two hour break, it is normally just one, but the French teacher was absent today (so yes, I finished that essay for nothing!) and then we had one more hour of math and then one hour of English, though it was a new class that just started today. It is with a teachers assistant who speaks only English, she is from Vancouver, Canada, and is here to just talk to us and get us to speak more English (well not really me, but the French kids). After that, I took the bus home, ate some quiche for lunch and started this blog.
Today was a relaxing day. I had one hour of Math in the morning, which I actually finished my homework for (and it was right!!!), then I had a two hour break, it is normally just one, but the French teacher was absent today (so yes, I finished that essay for nothing!) and then we had one more hour of math and then one hour of English, though it was a new class that just started today. It is with a teachers assistant who speaks only English, she is from Vancouver, Canada, and is here to just talk to us and get us to speak more English (well not really me, but the French kids). After that, I took the bus home, ate some quiche for lunch and started this blog.
1.10.09
Differences
So, that math test I studdied for...I got a 2.5 out of 10! I was actually pretty happy with myself:) And today, I finished all the math homework without help from anyone, though only because I am familiar with what we are doing right now. In Chemistry today, I also got one problem right that my table partner didnt!!! It was very exciting, but once again, only because I learned it last year. Other than that, this school week was pretty normal. The bus drivers are still on strike, so I get rides to school with Chloé, her little sister, Ingrid and Laura, with either Ingrids mom, or Chloés dad. Then, because we arent on a time crunch, we take the bus home, or walk. Today after school, I took the bus with Ingrid and Chloé and then we walked into a little Papeterie to buy a cahier (small notebook) for me for tomorrows prep. bac class. Tonight, Claire has a reunion of some sort with kids who used to go to her college (middle school). Michel has a impromptu basketball game with some friends, so Laura and I are on our own for dinner:), I got home early because the professeur d'histoire et geographie was absent again. That is one difference from school in the US, here, they dont get substitues unless you go to a private school, you just end up not having class, which is more than desirable:) So, that was just one of the differences I have noticed here, and I have been keeping a list, so I will write them down so you can see too.
Keep in mind that these differences may be local, or even family customs, and may not represent all French lifestyles.
-My house has a very small room with a toilet, and a completely separate room with a sink and
bathtub
-My family eats bread at all meals, with everything, they mop up leftover food on their plate with it
-Crazy driving, 150 KM on the highway, no blinkers, swerve in and out of lanes, and sometimes drive half in one lane half in another
-Mostly stick shift cars, and not a bunch of smart cars like I though, mostly just compact cars, no trucks!
-No carpet in the house at all, very few rugs
-Everyone carries kleenex everywhere, because some bathrooms dont supply toilet paper
-They eat FAST, not slow as they are known to
-Most kids smoke before, after, and during breaks in school, and they dont just smoke regular cigarettes either..
-No clocks in the classrooms
-Dont dry clothes in a dryer, they hang them up
-Guests dont take off their shoes when they come into the house
-Most meals have courses, but for convienence, but I think I mentioned that in a previous post
-NO ONE brings their lunch to school. Everyone eats in the Cantine (calfateria), or goes home for lunch when time permits
-They have sheets on the beds, but they are wrapped around a larger comforter so it seems as though its one blanket
-The emergency trucks' sirens sound like the beginning of the happy birthday song..I know its weird
-Barely cook their meat, still oozes blood when cut
-No one does homework at school or at lunch
-Lots of kids have t-shirts with english words on them, barely anyone has them with french words
-Most school age kids use the bus for transport, lots of middle aged people use scooters:)
-Classroom doors are ALWAYS locked until the teacher gets there, and always locked when the teacher leaves
-Teachers encourage students to use Wikipedia
-They say 'donc' alot, which is the equivilent of 'so', they use it even when speaking in english:)
Okay, there is a lottttt more, but that is what I have noticed the most, sorry it is not in any kind of order, I just wrote it down in the order it was thought of.
One last thing; this weekend will mark my first month in France, and it also means the first AFS orientation. Laura and I are to meet up with another girl who also lives in Lyon , on Saturday, and take the train to where we first met our host parents, which is in a tiny village in I have no clue what area, but I will tell you when I find out. We are going to spend the night with 35 other AFS kids who are also in the Lyon, Rhone-Alps region. So that is all for now:)
Keep in mind that these differences may be local, or even family customs, and may not represent all French lifestyles.
-My house has a very small room with a toilet, and a completely separate room with a sink and
bathtub
-My family eats bread at all meals, with everything, they mop up leftover food on their plate with it
-Crazy driving, 150 KM on the highway, no blinkers, swerve in and out of lanes, and sometimes drive half in one lane half in another
-Mostly stick shift cars, and not a bunch of smart cars like I though, mostly just compact cars, no trucks!
-No carpet in the house at all, very few rugs
-Everyone carries kleenex everywhere, because some bathrooms dont supply toilet paper
-They eat FAST, not slow as they are known to
-Most kids smoke before, after, and during breaks in school, and they dont just smoke regular cigarettes either..
-No clocks in the classrooms
-Dont dry clothes in a dryer, they hang them up
-Guests dont take off their shoes when they come into the house
-Most meals have courses, but for convienence, but I think I mentioned that in a previous post
-NO ONE brings their lunch to school. Everyone eats in the Cantine (calfateria), or goes home for lunch when time permits
-They have sheets on the beds, but they are wrapped around a larger comforter so it seems as though its one blanket
-The emergency trucks' sirens sound like the beginning of the happy birthday song..I know its weird
-Barely cook their meat, still oozes blood when cut
-No one does homework at school or at lunch
-Lots of kids have t-shirts with english words on them, barely anyone has them with french words
-Most school age kids use the bus for transport, lots of middle aged people use scooters:)
-Classroom doors are ALWAYS locked until the teacher gets there, and always locked when the teacher leaves
-Teachers encourage students to use Wikipedia
-They say 'donc' alot, which is the equivilent of 'so', they use it even when speaking in english:)
Okay, there is a lottttt more, but that is what I have noticed the most, sorry it is not in any kind of order, I just wrote it down in the order it was thought of.
One last thing; this weekend will mark my first month in France, and it also means the first AFS orientation. Laura and I are to meet up with another girl who also lives in Lyon , on Saturday, and take the train to where we first met our host parents, which is in a tiny village in I have no clue what area, but I will tell you when I find out. We are going to spend the night with 35 other AFS kids who are also in the Lyon, Rhone-Alps region. So that is all for now:)
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