| Welcome to Normandy |
[May 17, 2007 @ 11:06am] |
It's a jour ferier, a day with no school. Mai is absolutely crammed full of them, to the point that I only have one week left of school which is unbroken by a holiday. It's next week, and I'll be missing two days in order to help prepare for a theatrical presentation organized by my French teacher. Life is good like that.
It's also raining. In looking out the window, I realize that is not, at this very moment, raining; but it was raining five minutes ago and will recommence in another two. It isn't even real rain, it's more a spitting mist that doesn't quite warrant an umbrella, but dampens you enough to annoy you. This is normal because it's in Normandy. We have all established that it rains very often.
Today it's especially incovenient, however, because there's a foire. People lined up in the streets outside with booths, trying to sell their belongings. A huge garage sale, if you will. I'll go out in a few hours to smile at them.
I have a lot to do this weekend; German Rotarians are coming to visit my city, and one is staying at the house. I will be eating very often at restaurants, visiting a city tomorrow, and listening to French spoken with a German accent.
Saturday, I'm going on a plane ride. A tour of Normandy from the sky! Because I rock like that.
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[May 07, 2007 @ 8:53pm] |
Last night was the Presidential elections. The Presidential elections, in France, are an even bigger deal than New Years. It may as well be Christmas without the commercialism, religion, and with a heavier impact on the proceeding five years.
Nicolas Sarkozy will be the next President of France. That doesn't mean much to anyone who can read what I'm writing (aka not the French), so I won't carry on about it.
Here's to Sarkozy's shining five years. A la tienne!
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[May 05, 2007 @ 3:21pm] |
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Ca y est, I'm back at the lycée, and somehow it isn't the same. Passing 12 days in the same bus, with the same people, seeing some of the biggest things my eyes have ever captured, changed the way I see things. Other things have actually changed since I last strolled that campus; there are leaves on all the trees again, students sprawled across the lawn during their free periods, parts of the establishment reconstructed, and only one month left of classes. Not even, given all the holidays we have in May.
Other things return to normal. For instance, the two-hour History test that I didn't know about. That went something like this:
Ileea, not having known about the test, and therefore not having studied (not that she had the time to), sits down at a desk and prepares a sheet of paper for what she already knows will not quite be a response. Then she reads the question, and of course, cannot answer it.
She decides to write a small story, and is too bored to come up with something good. Having nothing else to do, she rereads the question. Well, writers, when they don't know what they're talking about, can at least sew pretty words together into a vague, nice-looking comment on the subject.
(Please note: this is harder to do when you know for certain that you have absolutely no idea how to answer the question, and you're doing it in a foreign language.)
She attempts this, and having done a tiny something, at the very least, begins trying to organize political structures that don't actually exist. There comes a point when actual research is necessary, and so she rifles through her head for stories she never got around to writing. And begins writing one. At 17h30, she hands in a paragraph of an answer and leaves.
But I'll have you know, I've actually written two SES tests and a French test. And passed.
Finally, for lunch today, I made french toast out of a baguette. (Canadian maple syrup is the best, ever, period.)
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| Guten tag! Are you ready!? |
[May 01, 2007 @ 3:37pm] |
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Nine Inch Nails |
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Guess who's back in Normandy?
That was one hell of a twelve days. There are moments from that trip, with all those crazy kids, that I'll remember forever. Here's to all of you, wherever you are now in this francophonic mess and wherever you go after. A les votre!
I took some pictures, and put a good number of them online. The curious can find them here.
On another note, the first round of the Presidential elections is over. This will not mean anything to my Canadian folk, but the results are Sarkozy vs. Segoléne. My bet is on Sarko. (As it would occur, he did not come to Bernay. I was misinformed. Bayrou was here a month ago, though. I have no idea why.)
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[April 15, 2007 @ 5:29pm] |
It's April 15th. It's 27.5 C outside. I've noticed that my posts have a lot to do with the weather. But they're warrented remarks; my last post included complaints about snow, and less than a month later, it's practically summer.
That isn't why I'm typing. I'm typing to say that I AM going on the Bus Trip! Yeah! Mini tour of Europe in twelve days! It's between the 17th and the 28th, and it's going to be awesome. AWESOME.
This does mean that I'll be missing the first round of the Presidential elections, and a visit to my city by one of the candidates. But hey. I'm going to Venice and I'm not voting anyway.
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| Walkie-Talkie Mobile |
[March 24, 2007 @ 4:27pm] |
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Pop n gum // Superbus |
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I am typing to you from the computer of my third Host Family, listening to my Host Sister's iPod, and chewing gum. I look out the window and wonder when it's going to start raining - last week was beautiful, and this week is a retour into that Normandy I've come to know and love.
(It snowed on Monday and Tuesday. Snow. What the hell?)
Happy Spring Equidox! To whom it may concern. Ahem.
This is the Host family of my counsellor, who I already know. Needless to say I am already somewhat familiar with this family, so maybe that's why changing families is not at all strange this time.
I just pick up my bags and move (and picking up those bags is work. I need to empty those a bit).
(And I never did that presentation, which does not bother me. Procrastinating also means never really being ready for things like intelligent presentations. But! I am now somewhat familiar with the politcal structure of my native country. That counts for something, no?)
In French class, we have a project comparing Macbeth - which, fourtunately, I still remember - and a French parody thereof. Ubu Roi. I laughed while reading. It was good. Now I just have to write the report thing.
What the world, needs now, is love! Sweet love! Haha, okay, have a groovy weekend. :P
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[March 13, 2007 @ 10:49pm] |
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Tomorrow morning I have a presentation on Canadian politics. Being a horrible procrastinator, I'm not ready yet, but it's only a five minute thing and most of the work I am doing is for my own comprehension. (My teacher seems interested in Canadian politics, but I doubt that the rest of my class cares very much. Some of them think it's funny that we have a Marijuana Party, and they might chuckle about the Bloc Quebecois.)
I am losing tolerance for any Canadian political party which does not clearly display it's name in French. What the hell is Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party en français? Hein? (I'll just say "environmentalists, but extreme" and let it go. They aren't very big, anyway.)
It is springtime in Normandy, which makes me glad. Springtime in Normandy means rediscovering the sun (it does exist! It does!). I spent the first half of my vacation in Poland, and the other half in Bernay, outside, photosynthesizing. Soon I'll be green and flowery again.
It also seems that I'll be changing Host families again soon. I've spoken several times with this family - given that my Host mother is also my Counsellor - and they're great people. I'm going to have fun with them.
Finally, I've almost been here for seven months. I feel something like a veteran. But I'm not done yet. Much work left to do.
Speaking of which...
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[March 04, 2007 @ 12:32pm] |
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I'm not sure, but it's pretty good. |
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Hey kids!
We got back from Poland last night. I spent three days in Warsaw, three in Cracow, visited Auswtiz, and went back to Warsaw and then took a plane to Paris. We drove into Bernay last night, and now I'm writing to tell you about it.
We flew in by plane last Friday, and stayed at my Host Brother's place. He's living with a very sweet Sweedish girl, who I grew rather fond of in a very short period of time. He also introduced me to several good Electro groups, and I introduced him to MSI.
(Check out Miss Kitten and Crystal Castles if you're into that, because I know that certain people out there are. Ahem.)
During my time in Warsaw, I was shown some second-hand clothes shops, a very nice Museum covering Poland in the Second World War and enjoyed some nice cafés. I also ate at two Milk Bars ; little cantines used during the communist era, which are not gourmand, but are a good experience if you're going to see Polish culture. I had pierogies, too.
In Cracovie we did pretty much the same thing, but with parks instead of Musuems. Auswtiz was a very good visit - everyone, at some point in his life, should see a concentration camp. But Auswtiz is huge, and we barely even saw the second part of it. One of those things you need more time to see, but having seen what I've seen, I am content.
Over the trip, I also started goofing off with my camera and took some videos. Next time I'm just going to buy a video camera (yes, I know there was a video camera at Walmart that day, and I know I didn't buy it, but it's one of those things that you need to experiment with to know what you prefer. Okay.)
I like Poland, it's a nice place. All this moving around gives me the impression that I could do this for the rest of my life.
But in the meantime I've been looking into Universities, and I have a good idea! I'm going to the University of Toronto. (I also sent an email to my Guidance Counsellor to book my courses at UCC next year. If I go back and a bunch of kids have swiped my Art class, I will be pissed.)
Hope your second semesters have gone off to a good start! I haven't sent letters because I am very bad at writing them, but am determined to get the hang of it eventually.
Ciao!
(Also, "Varsovie" is the French name for Warsaw. I get them mixed up.)
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| Na zdrowie! |
[February 24, 2007 @ 5:59pm] |
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I can tell that my writing skills are dimming when I can no longer think of a good way to start a blog entry. This first paragraph is meant to make you chuckle and capture your attention span, and ought to finish by cleverly mentioning that I am in Varsovie, Poland.
Instead, I'll just tell you that I am in Varsovie, Poland, that it is cold and snowy, and that I like it here.
It's actually something like -10 celcius, which is cold, but not abnormal to my Canadian skin. I spent the entire day outside in my jacket and my scarf, with a handful of French people in puffy jackets, with gloves, bonnets, scarves and thick sweaters, who spent the entire week advising me to pack for cold temperatures.
(I don't live in an igloo back home, but I'm used to this climate. If I never wore the marshmellow coat for my mother when I was ten, I'm not going to now.)
So we spent the day all bundled up and touring this brisk, white capital, and I've seen some snazzy things (Polish squirrels are very cute. They're even cuter than Canadian squirrels.) I also had the first caffeinated drink and over a month, but am not feeling very caffeinated. It was a cappuchino, and kind of watery, but it was good (I took three little packets of sugar from the café because I liked it).
Do widzenia!
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| I'm not even going to try to think of a good title. |
[February 19, 2007 @ 10:24am] |
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Nickelback |
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Today is February the Nineteenth. This means several things. Firstly, it is a monday. It is the monday before the vacation, which means that students in the Academie de Rouen have one week of school left (and tomorrow is yet another strike, so there you have it.)
Except for Ileea, who has four days left, and then she takes an airplane to Poland on Friday.
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
This weekend I went to Rouen again. I like Rouen; it's big, pretty, and there are many things to do there (I am so very going to University in a big city). I spent two days there with another Exchange Student from Oklahoma - who is very sweet and altogether excellent - and met some English teachers, all foreign, including an Englishman who doesn't like English tea. Sacriledge.
I also saw the new Hannibal movie (in English! I didn't know it was a showing in original format. It's alright, if they'd put the German and Russian accents into the French version, I would have had some trouble, and I still don't like dubbing. It bugs me). The actor is not Anthony Hopkins, but he did a pretty good job. Gnaaa I want to see it again!
Okay. Have fun! Ciao!
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| ArMen |
[February 05, 2007 @ 12:27pm] |
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Queens of the Stone Age |
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Hey kids!
I've been out.
Doing things.
Which sounds much plainer than it is.
You would all like this:
http://radioblogclub.com.
I like Avenged Sevenfold, Queens of the Stone Age, and Cake today. I've also found new bands! You can't see how I groove right now.
So I'm posting an idle message
to say that I'm still around.
Love you all, go have a party.
I'm going to go eat
and take my classes.
I'll send you letters and postcards,
so you'd better send some back.
Ciao!
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| Il ne faut jamais écouter les fleurs. |
[January 22, 2007 @ 11:37am] |
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Recently, I think I've learned more about North American culture than I did when I lived there. It's being away from things that makes you realize what they are, because you never really understand what you're standing in until you've pulled your leg out of it and looked at it. It's an offshoot of one of those "didn't know what you had until you lost it" situations, but more an observation than a sentiment.
Firstly, the theme of "good vs. evil" is very American. Anyone can see that by watching an American film, or listening to George Bush for thirty seconds. Fast Food is American, but I already knew that. Emo is blatantly American.
And here I'm characterizing my culture with negativities. (Not to mention that in doing so, I'm bordering on hypocrisy. I resent MacDonalds, but I won't deny drooling at the smell of a Big Mac). We have good things, too, but the bad things make for more interesting conversation.
Tim Hortons, for example, is very Canadian...
---
I've taken up swimming and biking. I'm not exactly accustomed to physical excercise (as you ought to know), so on Sunday afternoon, when we're biking uphill, for more than three minutes, against the wind, I have a bit of trouble.
My Host Father's been doing this for much, much longer than I have. This means that he goes much more slowly for my sake, because if I tried to keep up with him at his own pace, I would be killed.
So here I am, just having finished a slope, and still having to push to keep going against the wind. I have my scarf in my hand, because I'm hot, I'm panting like a dog in the desert, and swearing under my breath; and he starts whistling, and biking without hands.
I would laugh if I had enough air to breathe with.
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I've been quickly loosing interest in Harry Potter (even if it's in another language, I get bored reading the same thing twice). That's okay, because my French teacher gave me a book called "Le Petit Prince", and it's one of the best things I've ever read. Moreover, it's actual French literature, not just a translation from English.
It's bloody awesome. I would recommend it to you, but you'd need to learn French first. But it isn't hard French, hence the reason I can read it.
And, finally, I meant to say this a month ago, but I've finally realized why it's called "Eau de Toilette." And I was so proud when I did.
A Suivre
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| Ah merde, les Gendarme. Attente, on se cache... |
[January 15, 2007 @ 11:44am] |
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Happy New Years, guys. It's 2007 and they haven't stopped us yet, so I'd say we're doing alright.
I don't follow New Year's resolutions, because I believe that people ought to make resolutions as they wish, and not just once a year because it's ending. However, since we're on that note anyway, now is a good time to mention my new resolution: less internet.
I'll update the blog once a week or so, and check my email to make sure that no one is dying. I'll be sending letters instead of emails. (Bassically, I'll be doing what I said I'd be doing in September.)
I haven't got too much to say right now, so I'll just give a rundown on what I'll be doing in the next little while.
My Host family has a house in Bretagne, and we'll be going there for a weekend at the end of the month. At the end of February, I'll be going to Poland with the family, because my Host Brother is studying there. Then there's the Bus Trip, after that, in April.
In the meantime, I'll be learning French, and I'll be off to do that now.
Ciao!
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| Djeena's Circus is back |
[December 23, 2006 @ 6:39pm] |
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Dominic the Donkey |
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Hey lovelies!
Just dropping in to wish you all a Happy Holiday! May you be filled with all the warm spiciness of cinnamon and hot wine on a snowy day! May you all be well-stuffed with turkey and chocolate, and laugh heartily over interesting conversations.
(Haha, this song is still funny.)
As for me, I'll be dining well on traditional Normand food, and visiting the family and friends of my Host family. I suspect I might be going to Paris for a weekend this vacation; I'll write something about it if I do.
Feliz navidad, et bonne fete, mes cheries! Je vous aime!
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| I keep coming up with good titles, and then forgetting them. |
[December 15, 2006 @ 8:57pm] |
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There's Christmas music in the streets. Perfect evidence that it's the last day of the week before the week before the vacation, with nine days to go until Christmas.
Hey. Where'd the time go?
I ought to have my little Holiday gifts sent out by Monday or Tuesday; hopefully you'll get them before New Years. Haha. I'm sending them all to my house, though. So the rest of you have to go visit my family, or send one brave solider among you to collect them, or something to that effect (I fed the Dragons before I left, but I don't know if the Ghouls have eaten this month. And watch out for the pit holes, they've probably been festering a bit.)
Tomorrow I take the train to spend a weekend in Rouen. (The trains are a nice. The train system here branches from Paris to practically every region of France; it's cleaner and safer than constant car use. It's also perfect for people-watching, which is a well-valued past-time.) It's a big reunion of all the Exchange Students in four or five districts. I'm unsure of the schedule, but I think it involves ice-skating and a Christmas bazzare.
A plus!
P.S: I've been updating more recently. Don't worry, it's not because I'm not being integrated into the culture, or anything. The internet (with access to livejournal, bloody firewalls) just flows more smoothly into my schedule, and this is funner than emails.
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| Oui, oui, il neige en Canada. Non, moins que ça. |
[December 11, 2006 @ 12:45pm] |
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Simon & Garfunkel |
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Two weeks before the Holidays - I said that in English class, and was corrected. It's actually twelve days. Less than that, in fact, given that half a day has passed since then.
To take up where I left off last time; I live in Bernay now, which means that I live in the same city as my school. In other words, when I have four hours of no class on Monday, I can go back to the house.
The day is much shorter now in lieu of this.
So, instead of a constant agenda between 8:00 and 6:00 - whether I have two hours of class or nine - I can go to and leave the school according to what I've to do. I can also sleep in until 8:00 (that's later than I get up in Canada. At least, later than I'm supposed to get up in Canada.)
This also means that school is a lot more like college. The schedule changes each day, genuinely for me now, and I prefer this.
School as a whole is improving, since we're on that topic. I can mostly follow what's going on - my biggest problems are my short attention span (no, crossing the ocean does not make it easier to conentrate); and the fact that I didn't know what was going on in September. I'm starting new topics in most of the classes, so the latter isn't really a problem. And the former is a work in progress.
From this, one can deduce that my French is coming along. J'apprends peu a peu, et je pense qu'à la fin de l'année, je vais parler suffisament (you'll probably be more impressed by that than you should be. I can't spell and my grammer is still screwy. Ah well, no one knows that. Pretend you didn't read this part.)
Ah. Now I know what it's like to be illiterate. I haven't known that state since Second Grade. Even when I speak in English, I read a lot of the words in my head before I say them, and reading is a past-time. Right now is sort of like glimpsing the other side of the field.
Hey, and I've started Harry Potter in French. Everyone here who wants to learn English reads Harry Potter in English. So I'm doing the reverse! Go me.
Whelp, I'm sure that will suffice for now. Yesterday I went to Paris again - my older Host Sister goes to University there, and we took her back to her appartment. I might spend a weekend there over the Holidays, and this weekend I'm going to Rouen. It's nice always having something to do; I get bored a lot less often.
Also, whoever encouraged me to go to Europe for the chance of seeing multiple countries (I think it was you, mum); you were right. I live in France, I've been to Belgium, I'm going to Poland in February, and then I've got the Bus Trip.
I've seen more in Europe that I have in Canada.
Alright. C'est assez, I'm going to go eat lunch. Hope you're all getting settled into your Holiday spirit! It's getting pretty jolly over here. :D
A suirvre!
(That means "to be continued", by the way. Me? I'm not showing off... )
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| Parce que la monde bouge |
[December 03, 2006 @ 5:32pm] |
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Constantino... in my head. |
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And now we're in Bernay!
You know how I move my bedroom around every few months, just for the change? That isn't necessary anymore (that Gypsy blood is doing me good right about now, methinks).
Now I live with the Buffets (I'll send out the address soon, no worries). The house is an old, Normandie style one, and it has parts from the 17th and 18th century.
The basement-like portion has a floor that dates back to the 7th century.
And I thought the house in Chatham was old.
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Welp, three weeks until the Christmas Holidays (and Christmas, for that matter), and the city is all decorated for the holidays. I went for a walk Friday morning to see the main street; it was still a little dark out, and the lights were all on. So it's Christmas in Bernay.
And now! I'm going to go practice my violin for the first time in... a while. Or play the piano. Or draw. Or watch that movie... I haven't decided yet. But whatever I decide to do, I know I'm going to enjoy it, and I look forward to doing it.
... I almost touched on something poetic there, but it got away from me. Ah well.
A suivre!
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| C'est quand le bonheur |
[November 23, 2006 @ 8:56pm] |
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Tryo! |
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Tomorrow is three three month anniversary of the day I arrived in France (and I am just remembering this now). So it's been three months, and I'm still alive. I speak a little French. I eat baguettes. I walk in the rain. Life is good.
And this time I bring pictures!
This is the city that hosts me. I don't live here yet; I'll live there at the beginning in December, and stay there for the rest of the year. My school is here, too. Not a very precise image, mais voila; bienvenu à Bernay.
Mont St. Michel.
... It's a castle.
... and it's awesome. (I have other pictures of the whole thing, but you can find those anywhere. I figured it would be more interesting to give you a picture of what's inside. It's mostly just shops and an abbey, but it's still a castle, and it's still gorgeous.)
This is Bruge! Bruge is a very beautiful city in Belgium. I have never been anywhere more marvellously picturesque in my life. This is a piece of it.
I just like this picture (dude, I've seen these things lay down. I don't think they're actually cows. Have you ever seen a cow lay down before? I didn't think so. :/)
~ A suivre
(P.S: Mum: I would load these up to the photo album you made, but I don't know how to. XD;; But at least they're up.)
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| MUTUS NOMEN DEDIT COCIS |
[November 09, 2006 @ 9:13pm] |
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Two months down and so little documentation. Ileea, my darlings, is either very busy or a little lazy (a combination of the two is closer to the truth).
Either way, it's been two months with so little documentation. So, let's get cracking.
It's been four days since the end of the Toussaint vacation. Eleven days, mes amis, with no school. Don't give me that look; school hours are long enough that we deserve a break. And a good break it was! I went to a fair in Rouen, toured Paris, and saw the coast again. I also slept in, but that's a given.
It's also bloody cold here. It's the kind of cold you have when you live this close to the coast; which means it's cold, but there's no snow (that isn't correct; it might snow twice this year. In January.) It's supposed to rain a lot, but I've been told that it's stopped since I got here.
... Tell Mother Nature that she's not being fair, please.
But despite the effects of coastlines and screwy global weather (and sometimes in lieu of them), I'd say I'm getting along alright. I speak a little French now (but living in France for two months and not learning any French would have been harder). Vive le Français. I eat a lot more cheese than I should, taste wine, and try to understand what my teachers are saying. I can't wait to understand French class; I can already tell that I'll like it. It's kind of like English class, but in French.
I've also learned card tricks. Fweeeeeeeee.
It's also getting close to Christmas time. Yes, it's the ninth of November, and it's already getting close to Christmas time. I've already got carols in my head. Oh, the weather outside is frightful...
And now I think I'll share a story, since that's what I like to do.
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The French like bread. It's very good bread, the bread that they eat, and they eat it with just about every meal. So much so that when you say you had lunch, they assume you ate bread with it. This being a staple to them, they have little shops called "Boulangeries", which are shops devoted to bread.
So, basically, they've got bread stores.
This is new to me, and I find it fascinating.
For the Anniversary of François and Danielle - which was over a month ago - we went to a Pizzeria, and we were discussing the little cultural things that seperate France from other countries. Laurena, who just got back from Australia, smiled and mentioned the bread. I laughed, nodded, and elaborated.
The bread in Canada (and the USA, and Australia), I explained, is different. It almost always comes pre-sliced and in bags; and, most importantly, we have no Boulangeries.
Danielle, who seemed a little surprised, asked me where we bought our bread, if we didn't have any Boulangeries.
Well. At Grocery Stores, with everything else.
...
Wel, it was funny.
-----
Toodles!
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| Once upon a time, by the shores of Cancale... |
[October 18, 2006 @ 5:33pm] |
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I've recently remembered how accustomed I am to blogging.
So I logged on to make a blog entry.
... As, I'm sure, you can see.
This is a true story. It didn't happen in Chatham. Nothing happens in Chatham (10 points to the person who can explain the last two sentences). It happened in Bretagne, the region of France that I visited this past weekend...
I was sitting in the back seat of the car with my host family. We had just finished visiting Dindan, and were returning to Cancale - where we were to eat and sleep - when Laurena and I began discussing the evening to come. I had inquired as to what was planned, and the conversation had turned to the subject of oysters.
A few of the men in the company - François, the Rotary President and another Rotary member - wanted to have a few oysters before dinner (though we also had oysters before the entrèe that evening). I was accordingly invited to try them, if I so wished, and never having done so, I ascented.
Oysters are a specialty in Bretagne, Laurena explained, much like savoury crepes. They're also traditionally eaten in Normandy for Christmas, along with cidre and salmon. There are two ways to eat them; cold, and cooked. Tonight we were to eat them cold.
"You have to try oysters at least once in your life," she said. I agreed with a nod and a hum.
"But you have to know that they're alive."
And that, my friends, was the most dramatic way that anyone has ever said anything to me. The shock of it made me laugh a little, and even now, I smile.
So I tried the oysters. I ate six of them, and though they taste good, I think I've had enough for now (which means until Christmas). It's sort of weird, because you tip it back into your mouth, and it's kind of goopy, and you chew it once...
... Well, you have to try it one time.
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6_hours's journal
