Surprise! You're Going to EuroDisney!!!

So I have one of the greatest best friends in the entire world. Well, actually, I have the greatest best friends (plural) in the world but, at this time, most of them are on the other side of the world. On Wednesday, Adèle took me to DisneyLand Resort in Paris. It was so amazing! I absolutley loved it!!! It seriously is a place where all of your dreams come true (so I know that that is really cliché and all but, I'm being completely serious.



The castle is amazing! For some reason, I can't include pictures with my blog here at Adèle's house but, next Thursday, when I get back to Nancy, I will return and put pictures up.


I saw Mickey and Minnie and Donald and Daisy and Pluto and all of the princesses. But, I think that the best part of the whole day was seeing Mary Poppins.

It was so great. I think that at that moment, I stopped breathing and started to cry lol. But no seriously, it was absolutley amazing! I had such a great time with Adèle. She doesn't have a clue how happy she made me =)

(Yes Aurore went to Disney. You got a problem?)



Mathou et Minnie

So I guess that I pooped out my little Adèle.

Paris = Amazing

So for the past two days (and three nights), I have made Meudon ( a little town just outside of Paris) my home. In this town, lives one of my best friends in the whole world, Adèle. I am so lucky that she wants to be my friend because she is so cool! I get to spend the next week with her too!

Here, we've already done a bunch of really cool things. Yesterday, we went into Paris in the Afternoon and we walked around Notre Dame eating ice cream. Then, we went to the Mosque of Paris and drank some green mint tea. It was so amazing! Then we chilled around the house with her sisters and some of their friends. Clarisse also came over. She's really cool too.







Today, We ate breakfast and then left for Paris. We got of the train at the Musée D'Orsay and then we walked around on a gorgeous, brisk fall day. We walked around (a lot) and met Marie (Adèle's sister) for lunch. We bought some Macaron's and then ate lunch at a little café/ bakery/ Then, we left her and we walked along the Champs Elysées and it was amazing! I love Paris in the autumn!!!!! It's so gorgeous. I think that it is even better than the summer. The Eiffel Tower was beautiful. When KJ gets a little older (and I save my money), I am going to bring her here in October. The leaves are so gorgeous.




I have to go now. I love you all =)

Let the Vacations Begin

While I look like crap, here is the beginning of the
transistion to becoming French.




Well. The Vacations are here! Thank the Lord!!! I know that it's only been 8 weeks in school but, I'm exhausted lol.

So, for the 10 day break, I am going to spend them with Adèle in Paris! I have no idea what we are going to do yet lol but, it doesn't matter anyways. I am just really excited to see Adèle!

While I can't wait to see Adèle, I am also a little nervous because my baby sister has to have surgery on Monday. To find a little humour in this, She can't raise her arm above her shoulder for 6 weeks. Haha. This means that her hair will look crazy haha (like mine) and she will have one hairy armpit. Hahahahahahahahaha.


Okay. When there is more things to tell you about the Vacations, I will let you know =)

I did it!!!

I am going to try to recollect my story of my 25 mile bike ride yesterday in 2 hours but, I'm not sure if I will get through it because of ...
1. the exhaustion of the fact that I rode a bicycle for 2 (plus some) hours yesterday
2. I rode the above mentioned bicycle for a total of 38 kilometers
3. I went to school today for 7 hours
4. My butt hurts



But seriously though, I biked 25 miles in 2 hours. I have the need to say it again...

I BIKED 25 MILES IN 2 HOURS!!!!!!

It actually wasn't that bad in reality. Up until the last 5 miles, it was completely flat. I hung out with Pauline almost all day long. She is really cute. I am looking forward to hanging out with her more. We talked a lot during the ride. After the bike ride, (where we were at the front the entire time!!) We just cam eback to the house and chilled. We had a potluck type of thing. It was great. Everyone from our local Rotary club was there (I was the only exchange student). Pauline and I went upstairs at one point of the dinner to look at an amazing package that one special lady sent to me from the States with a bunch of Halloween things in it. The hardest part was climbing the stairs, it was going back down!!! We played fooseball and the wii. It was great. I love spending time with the Rotarians. They are all crazy and nice and lovely to be around.

In the beginning of the ride, the funniest thing happenned. Denis's (my host dad) bike tire exploded. It doesnt really sound that funny but, at the time, it was hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing.

Here are some photos of my extravaganza...

Ciao.

la petite pauline

40 hours of my life

It has been brought to my attention that there are a few important things that I haven't written about here. One of these things that I am going to analyze now is...

SCHOOL

Firstly, I am going to elaborate on the school day. In the middle and high school, the school day depends on what classes one has and when they have them. None of this nonsense of having to come in at 7:30 for a study hall. Haha. Also, this logic is the same for the teachers. The first "period" (i hvae no idea what its called in french) starts at 8:15. Each class last for about an hour (unless in your schedule the class is 2 or 3 hours long) with about 5 minutes between classes. While those of you from Marlington may think that I am luky with 5 minutes between classes, it is necessary that you realize that my school has 5 stories (in english) and sometimes I have to climb 3 flights to go from one class to another. At 10 and 4 there are breaks called "recreation" or "des pauses". These breaks last for 15 minutes and everyone goes out the front door of the school to smoke. It is unbelieveable for me that they do this right outside the front door! Smoking is one of the grossest things ever! I know that I will never be able to start smoking. Depending on the day, the final class (for me) ends at 6 o'clock.

For me, in the mornings, tuesday wednesday and thursday, I start at 8 and friday and saturday I start at 9. Mondays are a little more complicated. Every other Monday I start at 9 and the pther week, I start at 11. IN the afternoons, on Mon. Tues. and Fri, I finish at 6 and Wed. Thurs. and Sat. I finish at noon. I'm actually pretty lucky lol. I have the normal classes for a junior who is in the Litterature truack. Each week, I have french litterature (6 hours), history/geography (4 hours), spanish level 2 (1 less than the highest level)(2hours), math (2 hours), english (highest level lol)( 3 or 4 hours depending on the week) music (2 hours), science (1.5 hours), theater (5 hours) , PE (2 hours and we're working out now. next we'll rock climb then do rythmic gymnastics and then softbal) and TPE ( a type of group research project for 2 hours). That means that depending on the week, I have between 31.5 or 32.5 hours of class. That doesn't even include lunch or the holes in my schedule. after looking at my schedule, I am at school between 39 and 41 hours (depending on whether or not I eat lunch at school Wed and Thurs. I belive that at Marlington, including everything, one is at school for less than 35 hours each week. And, believe it or not, there is soooooo much more homework here!

My classes are a mixture of very interesting, mildly interesting, rather boring, and complete waste of my time lol. But, I think that everyone has that problem wherever in the world they are. Theater class is really really interesting. We are in the process of reading/doing a play by Bertlot Brecht which in french is called "La bon âme de Se Tchoun" I love going to this class. Another interesting class is surprisingly english. While it is very easy for me, the teacher makes me do all of the homework and tests in french. I love it. It's a little difficult because I don't have the same chance to learn the vocab as the rest of the clas but, it's a great chance to expand my vocabulary. French Lit. is interesting but very hard. The actual french isn't the hard part, it's the way of doing it. There is a certain way to do the homework that is very tricky. Also, there is a cerain way to take notes and write the tests. It's a little hard for an outsider to understand all of the rituals but, slowly but surely I'm learning. the other classes are pretty much the pits lol. Music is fine and so is PE (super easy). Spanish is hard. My level isn't where it needs to be. It's not really my fault or the fault of past teachers. In reality, my level is really good for only 2 years of spanish. The problem is that for my 2 years, everyone else has 5. There is just a slight difference there. HIstory is not fun because the teacher doesn't really like me and yells at me all of the time. Hopefully it gets better. And last but not least, math. wow. It really is quite horrid. We have been working on the same worksheet with the same 7 problems for the last 6 weeks now. It's not even hard. For goodness sake it's percentages. I think that it is even easier than OGT math class lol.

Lunch is crazy! Most days, I have a 2 hour hole in my schedule to eat. To accomodate the crazy amount of students who need to eat in the little cafeteria, there are 2 lines: priority and not. If you only have an hour to eat, you get to go first. Then all of the middle schoolers eat and then the high schoolers with more than an hour. ON average, it takes a little more than 45 minutes to go through the lunch line. The food is relatively good though. You get a lot. FOr example, last week, I ate 2 pieces of nice, french bread, a salad, a kiwi, a chunk of brie (cheese) and a huge plate of spaghetti and meatballs. There are also a lot of choices. When I change families in Dec though, I think that I will probably go home for lunch every day.

All in all, school is fine. It's something to do. It's interesting enough and, I get the chance to socialize.

If you have any questions ever about anything, don't hesitate to ask.

Gotta bounce. Kisses!

Cimb Ev'ry Mountain

My life has completely changed here in France. I thought that I was active before in the US of A. Haha. I have the need to say that again. Haha. Boy was I wrong. Really. Here in France, my lifestyle has changed completely. So, firstly, I walk everywhere. Well I walk to the tram or the bus stop to get anywhere. It's absoluetly amazing. Also, I can take a bicycle anytime that I want. I feel like I have so much lore energie here in Europe. maybe it's the air. I guess that we'll never know.

This past weekend, my newfound athleticism/europeanism showed itself very prominently. I climbed a mountain. Let me say it again.

I CLIMBED A MOUNTAIN!!!!!!!

It was my first (and maybe last mountain). There was a meeting with all of the exchange students in St. Dié. St. Dié is a really cool city. It is actually the place that gave the America's their name. The first map with the name "America" is hanging in the office of the mayor. We explored the city together and then headed to our hostel to party the night away. I've made some good friends here. Kate (from Jersey), Heather (from Jersey), Jacqui (from Missouri° and Cecilia (from Taiwan). They are all really cool.

In the morning, we woke up (with like 5 hours of sleep lol and we slept a lot more than the others lol) and ate breakfast. Then we headed out to climb the mountain! I still can't believe that I climbed a mountain. It was one of the hardest things that I have ever done in my entire life, but also one of the most satisfying. It felt like it just kept going on and on forever. We kept getting closer to the top but it just felt like it would never end. When finally at the top, it was so amazing to look out and see the world below. I saw the cliche that the whole world is on my hands in the form of beautiful, God created nature.

This blog wouldn't be complete without a bêtise (joke/funny anecdote). At the start of the climb, I brushed up against a branch that I was allergic to and had a funny allergic reaction. Haha. Then, when coming back down, in almost the same spot, I tripped and landed in a mud puddle. Haha. I swear that it was like, 15 feet to the end of the hike too! While annoying, it was hilariously funny. Attached are some photos of the experience.

Enjoy!

mud puddle.

Heather, Moi, Jacqui being superwomen!!!

Partying it up with Adèle

So I know that my blogging skills are a little lax. It was so easy in the beginning to blog but now, it just keeps getting harder and harder. I have so many things to do and so little time. I am really tired all of the time and I really have so much stuff to do.

Last weekend, I was very fortunate to to have the opportunity to spend the weekend with one of my best friends (and her parents) in the entire world. Haha. No pun intended (i am on the other side of the world hehe) Yes, Adèle and Isabelle and François came to the country and spent Saturday afternoon and evening and Sunday until about 5 o'clock with us. It was so AMAZING!!! They are all so funny and crazy and cool that I can't even describe it. We had a great time. After spending the afternoon walking in the woods and meeting the most beautiful male being that I have ever seen (see below) and then we partied it up at Claire's first concert! She did such a good job. We had a great time! We slept in the same room and it was so cool. I loved having her here! I can't wait to spend the October Vacations with her in Paris!

I have to go. Again, sorry for sucking at blogging. I will really try harder.

Peace.
Claire and I rocking it out.

two crazy girls


my new french boyfriend!

The proudest moment of my life

I need to make a blog about this past weekend with Adèle but, I promise to do that in the next couple of days. But first, I need to explain to you the proudest moment of my life.

Today, well actually like, 10 minutes ago, Kaley Jo had her first real french conversation with a real french person. She spoke with my Papa here for like, 5 or 10 minutes and while the most of it was in english, she told him all of the words that she knew and he, started to talk to her. She understood what he said he told her and she talked back to her.

I am so proud of my little Kaley. She is so intelligent and smart. I am very sad that I have to be seperated from her for the next 9 months but, I love talking with her on the webcam. Every day, she becomes more beautiful than the day before. I couldn't have asked for a better sister in the entire world.

I love you soooo much Kaley Jo. Don't ever forget that!