So I haven't blogged for about two weeks now, but there has been a lot going on. I am changing families for reasons that can be discussed on a one-one basis, ain't here to be acting like "dat DTOWN drama". For the last week and a half or so, I have been living with the Rolle's. They were life savers! Friday Oct. 22- Left school with Emmanuelle, a girl in my class and Martina, another exchange student, for the week.
This past week I've done a lot. I thought I posted a blog about what I did two weekends ago, but I guess it didn't go through-damn internet. The first weekend I was here I went to the birthday-day of the grandfather, 80. The grandfather has 7 children (Emmanuelle's mom being one of them), and all the grandchildren.
That day, 5 of the kids were there, with their children. We sat at a table for six hours. There was not one time when I didn't have a delicious plate of the mystery meal in front of me. Six hours of sitting and eating- vive le france! Everyone sat that long too, kids got up now and then, but were mostly at the table. It was appetizer after appetizer, then the entre, then cheese, fruit, then dessert, more dessert, and more, oh yeah, coffee. With every meat, or food really there is a different wine. I got to taste allllll of them! There was one man there who was like "A petit peu" which means a little bit, that turned into a little bit of everything- which ends up being a lot. When I would think we were done with eating, someone else would bring another plate of something. For dessert I had THREE. Not helpings, three different desserts served to EVERYONE on a plate (no bailey on a piece of wood)!!! It was creme brulee (sorry I don't have accents on my computer), chocolate mousee, and a slice of cake of your choice-pear or apple. Amazing. I ask myself EVERYDAY how people here stay so skinny. I have yet to find the answer.
Once we were FINALLY done and people started to leave, I thought we were too. I was wrong! The Rolle's stayed with the grandparents and ate ANOTHER meal!!! Although it was MUCH smaller than the others, I had just ate for 6 hours. I was amazed they could even fit another piece of food down their mouth..
As I was sitting there listening to the adults talk I figured out the grandfather lived through WW2 under Hitler's rule. COOLEST THING EVER. Well, not cool to have been under his rule, but to have survived and be able to talk about it is awesome. So Martina and I started asking questions. I found out that the Jewish didn't have ID cards so when they were asked to pull them out, that's how they were automatically sent away. ATTENTION: if you had a dark complexion, dark eyes, dark hair, didn't mean you were off to the camps right away. That is a false thought that floats around. The people in the North of France were obligated to give the Germans something every month, if not you were shot immediately or sent off to camp. Farmers stuff like milk, eggs products, etc. A lot of the people who were the guards at the camps were there to save them and their families lives. Talking to him was really cool. In the US there isn't someone I can talk to about WW2 and Hitler who actually lived under his thumb. I got to! To me, that is amazing.
Another thing I did this week was go to the Sea. The closest point I can get to home without getting on a boat!!! I really want to go to London before I leave. It is only an hour and a half Ferry ride!
The Friday before Halloween was cool. In the afternoon I went with Martina, the mom, the older brother and the younger brother to an actual WW1 battle ground. Trench warfare was what was used in WW1 and it was all trenches. It was cool to be somewhere where history actually took place. I know in the US I can go where the Civil War was fought, but here I can actually SEE where it took place. It was where the Newfoundlander's fought or something like that. I don't know much about Wars. When we got home, Emmanuelle had friends over and we dressed up and attempted to go trick or treating! I miss Halloween at home! It isn't big here at all. It's mainly for the little kids and people trick or treat during the day!
Halloween day I went to the Sea again (Their great aunt lives there). And we went to another family meeting/gathering, thing for another birthday. That time only 3 hours at the table. The food was mainly seafood. Not my favorite. So I tasted everything and what I didn't want I pushed all together hoping it would look like I ate a lot. I know I didn't trick them though.
Well, here I am today. Sitting at a desk listening to music because I'm homesick. I move today. BUT I don't know when I will get all my stuff-when I do it's going to be a pain in the ass because of how much I have...I don't know where I'm going, I don't know what I'm doing, but I guess that's the adventure in all this...
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
C'est la première fois.
Today, for the first time according to my host parents, the trains have been blocked. Everyone always dreams of the trains being blocked when you're standing outside, in the freezing cold, whipping wind and black sky. But that little light down the tracks always seems to glow, getting bigger and bigger as it gets closer and closer. Not this morning. After waiting about 7 minutes outside, assured I had frost bite on my toes, Heloise and I returned to the car. Thankfully, her dad drove us this morning, usually we take the taxi. We sat in the car until 7:21. The train was at 7:08.
Le train était en retard-the train was late. No, it wasn't. Il ya un blocus à la gare- There is a blockade at the train station.
When we first got in the car, my host dad got out and stood by the train tracks, with everyone else. Heloise and I sat in the car confused. At 7:20, everyone started walking back to the cars. No train today.
The strikes are gotten to the point where no one can get to work or school or anywhere for that matter. There is no gas, there are no trains, there are buses, but limited and there are blockades. Know what that means? If you are lucky and have gas and don't care to waste it (because they have stopped making it), to bad, the city is blocked off. No way in, no way out. If you live in the city and thats the only place you have to go, awesome, but you'll be stuck in the middle of the strikes. Today a village about 5km away, very close, like 3 miles or something, has run out of gas. No more, all gone. Guess what...that's where we get our gas from. Guess what I'm doing saturday? Driving to the Swiss ALps. Guess how far it is? Over 700km. With what gas? You tell me. I have an idea! We could take a train! NOPE, blockade at the train station. We. Are. Stuck.
Tomorrow the government can decide to change their decision about the retirement age, or keep it. IF they decide to change it rioting, striking, and blockades will end, hopefully. IF they turn a blind eye and continue on with the pension and retirement age issue, it'll only get worse...
Le train était en retard-the train was late. No, it wasn't. Il ya un blocus à la gare- There is a blockade at the train station.
When we first got in the car, my host dad got out and stood by the train tracks, with everyone else. Heloise and I sat in the car confused. At 7:20, everyone started walking back to the cars. No train today.
The strikes are gotten to the point where no one can get to work or school or anywhere for that matter. There is no gas, there are no trains, there are buses, but limited and there are blockades. Know what that means? If you are lucky and have gas and don't care to waste it (because they have stopped making it), to bad, the city is blocked off. No way in, no way out. If you live in the city and thats the only place you have to go, awesome, but you'll be stuck in the middle of the strikes. Today a village about 5km away, very close, like 3 miles or something, has run out of gas. No more, all gone. Guess what...that's where we get our gas from. Guess what I'm doing saturday? Driving to the Swiss ALps. Guess how far it is? Over 700km. With what gas? You tell me. I have an idea! We could take a train! NOPE, blockade at the train station. We. Are. Stuck.
Tomorrow the government can decide to change their decision about the retirement age, or keep it. IF they decide to change it rioting, striking, and blockades will end, hopefully. IF they turn a blind eye and continue on with the pension and retirement age issue, it'll only get worse...
Thursday, October 14, 2010
C'est la piscine. And les grèves update!
Translation: It's the pool.
Last night I went swimming for the first time in a while. The moment I walked in the chlorine smell hit me and it was like being at home again. At that moment, I got a wave of homesickness but luckily it went away. I walked in and there is a group of people, about 25 or so, standing around doing the kiss on the cheek "bisous" thing. Odd-but here, not at all. As I walked in, everyone was staring at me and my host mom introduced me as the "petite americaine". Translation: little american, also known as the exchange student. I "bisous"(ed) everyone and make small talk with some lady who is taking Route 66 on the West Coast this summer. She wanted to know all about it. Unfortunately I've never really been anywhere on the West besides Washington State, and Cali. So I'm sure she thought I was stupid when I said "Sorry, I have no clue" "Desolee, je ne connais pas". I talked to the coach and my host mom made it clear I was there to swim laps, not scuba dive-Yeah "C'est cleare"
My host mom flaged me over and I walked to where she was-leading me to the locker room. It was right next to the front desk, which resembles the front desk at Pullen Park. In front of the door there were 3 boxes. My host mom began taking her shoes and socks off, so I did the same. She placed her shoes in the box and flagged me to continue through the door with her. I walked into a room with a door behind me and a door to my right. The room I was in was a changing room, but next to me was a mini changing room (for people like me, who aren't about being nakey infront of everyone and their cousin). I get dressed into my suit and my host mom and I walked to where the showers are.
It was a series of hallways then I was presented with the showers-which you had to "do" before entering the pool (like centeral-get wet enough so they know you "took a shower"). The showers were both sexes. Yes, men and women shower in the same place, odd-for me at least. I did my awkward spin under the shower head hoping I wasn't being watched-by both men and women, even though I know I was. Not only because I was American, but because I was probably the youngest there, yeah I was the youngest. I walked to the other side of the pool with my host mom. The pool had NO lane lines and NO flags. It reminded me of a pool I went to right after Davie was born-I'm pretty sure it was a trimeet or something, very small, but very similar to last night. Anyways, there were people in the pool with there scuba masks (which the coach INSISTED on me trying, but I refused). For a good 25 minutes people sat in and around the pool talking, again.
*I found the talking is a very common thing to do at the beginning of a gathering (swimming, school, work, etc. Except I don't do it at school because I'm ALWAYS late-kill me.)
While everyone was talking I decided I was going to swim. Did a good "50m" and was like "oh buddy has it been a while". Once the coach got there he told us our "150m" warm up and we went off. OK, remember how I said NO lane lanes? Yeah, disaster. Apparently, you swim on the left lap 1, right lap 2, middle lap 3. And like that continuously. Thanks for the memo everyone! I ran into everyone and was SO confused. I think the lane line thing would do everyone a hand. We ended and the coach told me I needed a scuba mask-NO thank you. He insisted and made someone get it for me-pointless, cause I didn't use it. My host mom was laughing because she knew I didn't want to, and understood it was because I have been trained with the simple "petit" goggles, as she called them. The nice lady who did me a pointless favor handed me the goggles, no, mask, and got back in the water. We swam a little more and ended up on the deeper side of the pool. We got out and were jumping in with the mask off and putting it on underwater and having it good and on when you came up out of the water. WHAT? impossible. I pretended I understood and just jumped in with my mask on when no one was looking.
Towards the end of the "practice" (in parenthesis because I'm not sure what I was practicing) they started doing stuff with fins. I don't like fins. Even the "TRES VITE!" didn't convince me. The coach didn't care what I wanted, he wanted me to wear fins (keep in mind we already told him, just laps, yeah c'est cleare my ass). My host mom, a man and I went looking for fins, I thought I'd gotten lucky until the kind man, whom I was not happy with at the time, because he was actually searching for fins while my host mom and I were pretending, found some. Walked back to the pool, fins in hand, got in, put them on and went. I hate fins, can I repeat it one more time? I HATE FINS. Thanks.
Practice ended. I walked to the locker rooms and got my shampoo and conditioner-apres shampooing. Awkwardly I stood and took my shower while everyone around me was joyfully letting it all hang out-boys and girls. WELCOME TO EUROPE. After my awkward 5 minute shower that I rushed through, I changed. As I walked out of the locker room there was a man standing holding a tray with who knows what on it. It was food though. It was some cracker thing with something on it-even though it kinda was slimy and gross, it was good. After swim practice a man stands with a metal tray like a waiter and gives you food? SO weird!!!
PS: Update on "les grèves": Went to school today. One train in the morning-PACKED and was late to school. Rode the bus from the train station-COVERED in eggs. Haha, the bus got egged!! During English second period there was what sounded like cannons going off and a HUGEEEEE line of kids marching in the streets-oh how I wished I was in the middle of the action. Then after school my host dad told me my "host aunt's", who is a teacher, car was egged too by students today. Although it would be awesome to egg a teacher's car, it's really sad that teachers and people are getting treated this way!!
Last night I went swimming for the first time in a while. The moment I walked in the chlorine smell hit me and it was like being at home again. At that moment, I got a wave of homesickness but luckily it went away. I walked in and there is a group of people, about 25 or so, standing around doing the kiss on the cheek "bisous" thing. Odd-but here, not at all. As I walked in, everyone was staring at me and my host mom introduced me as the "petite americaine". Translation: little american, also known as the exchange student. I "bisous"(ed) everyone and make small talk with some lady who is taking Route 66 on the West Coast this summer. She wanted to know all about it. Unfortunately I've never really been anywhere on the West besides Washington State, and Cali. So I'm sure she thought I was stupid when I said "Sorry, I have no clue" "Desolee, je ne connais pas". I talked to the coach and my host mom made it clear I was there to swim laps, not scuba dive-Yeah "C'est cleare"
My host mom flaged me over and I walked to where she was-leading me to the locker room. It was right next to the front desk, which resembles the front desk at Pullen Park. In front of the door there were 3 boxes. My host mom began taking her shoes and socks off, so I did the same. She placed her shoes in the box and flagged me to continue through the door with her. I walked into a room with a door behind me and a door to my right. The room I was in was a changing room, but next to me was a mini changing room (for people like me, who aren't about being nakey infront of everyone and their cousin). I get dressed into my suit and my host mom and I walked to where the showers are.
It was a series of hallways then I was presented with the showers-which you had to "do" before entering the pool (like centeral-get wet enough so they know you "took a shower"). The showers were both sexes. Yes, men and women shower in the same place, odd-for me at least. I did my awkward spin under the shower head hoping I wasn't being watched-by both men and women, even though I know I was. Not only because I was American, but because I was probably the youngest there, yeah I was the youngest. I walked to the other side of the pool with my host mom. The pool had NO lane lines and NO flags. It reminded me of a pool I went to right after Davie was born-I'm pretty sure it was a trimeet or something, very small, but very similar to last night. Anyways, there were people in the pool with there scuba masks (which the coach INSISTED on me trying, but I refused). For a good 25 minutes people sat in and around the pool talking, again.
*I found the talking is a very common thing to do at the beginning of a gathering (swimming, school, work, etc. Except I don't do it at school because I'm ALWAYS late-kill me.)
While everyone was talking I decided I was going to swim. Did a good "50m" and was like "oh buddy has it been a while". Once the coach got there he told us our "150m" warm up and we went off. OK, remember how I said NO lane lanes? Yeah, disaster. Apparently, you swim on the left lap 1, right lap 2, middle lap 3. And like that continuously. Thanks for the memo everyone! I ran into everyone and was SO confused. I think the lane line thing would do everyone a hand. We ended and the coach told me I needed a scuba mask-NO thank you. He insisted and made someone get it for me-pointless, cause I didn't use it. My host mom was laughing because she knew I didn't want to, and understood it was because I have been trained with the simple "petit" goggles, as she called them. The nice lady who did me a pointless favor handed me the goggles, no, mask, and got back in the water. We swam a little more and ended up on the deeper side of the pool. We got out and were jumping in with the mask off and putting it on underwater and having it good and on when you came up out of the water. WHAT? impossible. I pretended I understood and just jumped in with my mask on when no one was looking.
Towards the end of the "practice" (in parenthesis because I'm not sure what I was practicing) they started doing stuff with fins. I don't like fins. Even the "TRES VITE!" didn't convince me. The coach didn't care what I wanted, he wanted me to wear fins (keep in mind we already told him, just laps, yeah c'est cleare my ass). My host mom, a man and I went looking for fins, I thought I'd gotten lucky until the kind man, whom I was not happy with at the time, because he was actually searching for fins while my host mom and I were pretending, found some. Walked back to the pool, fins in hand, got in, put them on and went. I hate fins, can I repeat it one more time? I HATE FINS. Thanks.
Practice ended. I walked to the locker rooms and got my shampoo and conditioner-apres shampooing. Awkwardly I stood and took my shower while everyone around me was joyfully letting it all hang out-boys and girls. WELCOME TO EUROPE. After my awkward 5 minute shower that I rushed through, I changed. As I walked out of the locker room there was a man standing holding a tray with who knows what on it. It was food though. It was some cracker thing with something on it-even though it kinda was slimy and gross, it was good. After swim practice a man stands with a metal tray like a waiter and gives you food? SO weird!!!
PS: Update on "les grèves": Went to school today. One train in the morning-PACKED and was late to school. Rode the bus from the train station-COVERED in eggs. Haha, the bus got egged!! During English second period there was what sounded like cannons going off and a HUGEEEEE line of kids marching in the streets-oh how I wished I was in the middle of the action. Then after school my host dad told me my "host aunt's", who is a teacher, car was egged too by students today. Although it would be awesome to egg a teacher's car, it's really sad that teachers and people are getting treated this way!!
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