Right after February vacation I had the "BAC blanc"
which is a practice for the real "BAC" at the end of the year. It's a lot of work looking over notes and refreshing my memory over everything we've learned since September. It's especially difficult when I try reading my notes from September, October, November, because my French wasn't very good in the beginning. Luckily I have improved a lot and my notes taken later in the year are much easier to read.
March was not too eventful, going to school and doing homework, and otherwise not too much else. I have a couple friends who wore green for St. Patrick's Day, but otherwise the French don't celebrate it, or really know what it is.
April 1st - poisson d'avril!
April fool's day exists here, but it's a little different.
People go around putting paper cut-outs of fish on the backs of people. The point is for the other person not to realize and go around with a fish on their back the whole day.
Easter is more or less the same here. They seem to have the same traditions, like the easter bunny bringing chocolate, and searching for eggs in the yard. Although we didn't search for eggs because it was raining out.
April vacation!
I was very lucky and got to spend a week in Paris and the following week at the Ciotat, which is near Marseille in the south of France.
I was with another AFSer, Angelina, which was great because visiting a new place with someone else is a lot more interesting than by myself.
We visited:
> The George Pompidou Center (modern art museum)
> The Louvre
> The Notre Dame
> The Trocadera / Eiffel Tower
> Concorde Place
> The Place of the Bastille
> Verseille
> The Garden of Luxembourg
> The Défense
> The Moulin Rouge
> Montmartre
> The Catacombs
> The National Library of France
> The "Invalides"
and otherwise we walked around different places in Paris.
for the second week we were often at various little beaches. It is so beautiful in the south of France. The mediterranean sea is so beautiful. The water is a shade of aquamarine. It looked so inviting, but the water was quite cold. I went swimming one time, but didn't stay in for long.
Another amazing vacation.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
February vacation
So for February vacation I got to stay for a week in a city near Nantes.
I was with a wonderful family. They were really friendly and I enjoyed seeing a new region of France. The West coast of France is really beautiful and makes me think of Maine, which I think isn't a coincidence, because the depatment is called "Maine et Loire."
I got to visit a couple castles, and an art museum. I got to see the castle at Pornic of the infamous "barbe bleu."
I discovered that my name originates from the region right next to where I was! Yvette is the saint of the poor.
I ate a gallette for the first time. (It was delicious).
It's something kind of like a crepe, except brown in color, and it's not something that's meant to be sweet. Inside you can put cheese, ham, eggs, etc.
I visited La Baule, one of the biggest beaches in Europe. We didn't go swimming of course, because it was too cold and windy. Although we did see a few windsurfers.
I really enjoyed my vacation and am very greatful to have come to France with AFS, because without AFS I am not sure I would've been able to visit so much of France.
I was with a wonderful family. They were really friendly and I enjoyed seeing a new region of France. The West coast of France is really beautiful and makes me think of Maine, which I think isn't a coincidence, because the depatment is called "Maine et Loire."
I got to visit a couple castles, and an art museum. I got to see the castle at Pornic of the infamous "barbe bleu."
I discovered that my name originates from the region right next to where I was! Yvette is the saint of the poor.
I ate a gallette for the first time. (It was delicious).
It's something kind of like a crepe, except brown in color, and it's not something that's meant to be sweet. Inside you can put cheese, ham, eggs, etc.
I visited La Baule, one of the biggest beaches in Europe. We didn't go swimming of course, because it was too cold and windy. Although we did see a few windsurfers.
I really enjoyed my vacation and am very greatful to have come to France with AFS, because without AFS I am not sure I would've been able to visit so much of France.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Jan-Febr-uary, because I have been busy and now have to write about two months
Well the new year started off great!
I can speak French, I'm in France, and I have so many wonderful friends and a wonderful host family!!
I spent the new year with a group of friends. We had a good time playing some rather theatrical games.....it makes sense seeing how many take theater class (including me).
I can speak French, I'm in France, and I have so many wonderful friends and a wonderful host family!!
I spent the new year with a group of friends. We had a good time playing some rather theatrical games.....it makes sense seeing how many take theater class (including me).
Also in January I learned how to make the "gallette" for the "gallette des rois." Inside of it is a little hidden figurine. Whoever ends up with it is the king (or queen) for the day and gets to wear a crown.
January 13th was the celebration of my name!! The day of Saint Yvette! I never even knew this existed before, but it was nice hearing my family, friends, and even history and theater teachers tell me "joyeuse fete!"
I visited a city in Germany for the day with some friends. It was a little difficult since I don't know any German really, except for a few words. Oh well. It was nice hanging out with my friends, anyway. It was also pretty funny when we tried to order milkshakes and ended up with a tiny scoop of ice cream.
Apparently they've had a lot of snow here in comparison to previous years. Although I come from Maine, and for me it doesn't seem like a lot. I was glad to see the snow, though. Without snow it just doesn't seem like winter.
The next post will be about february break, I'll try and write it soon!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Pictures of course
Passing through Switzerland on our way to St. Tropez
The view from our room in St.Tropez
The pool...which I swam in almost every day
Port Grimaud, I think it's absolutely beautiful there
La Gendarmerie Nationale!
Hiking...eating lunch on the steps of a chapel....hiking
Grimaud again, I love the flowers! I love how there are so many flowers growing in France in general, it's wonderful.
Bowling for my birthday! (the bowling ball never made it to the end, so we used another one)
The two most amazing cakes I have ever seen. They tasted good too! I still can't believe my (host) mom isn't a professional cake maker. I guess French people just know how to cook, which makes sense, seeing as they're known for their cuisine.
Ok now my measly pumkin pie is dwarfing in comparison.....If only there was a way for everyone to know what it smelled like fresh out of the oven!
Friday, December 4, 2009
November, the month des anniversaires!
Month of Birthdays a very fitting title, I think.
First up, me, of course.
November 7th.
I recieved so many wonderful gifts too! I was honestly very surprised at so many birthday wishes and presents.
I got presents from both families (in the U.S. and France), presents from friends in Premiére and Terminale at school, presents from the neighbors, and so many happy birthday wishes! I am glad to know so many people care about me. I'm also glad that it didn't make me homesick, because I realize something like that really has the potential to bring on thoughts of family and friends who are currently far away.
I think everyone for making my birthday such a special event here in France.
Following were the birthdays of Clémence, my host sister, now 7 years old. The brithday of Fred, my host father, and the birthday of the great grandmother.
The weekend after my birthday there was a party for Clémence, Fred, and I. Lots of family members showed up. Muriel, my host mom, made two absolutely gorgeous and absolutely delicious cakes!
November 19th
I made a pumpkin pie!!!!!!!!
In honor of Thanksgiving and for my English class with the assisstant I made a pumpkin pie. I've got to admit that it wasn't very easy. I had to convert mesurements and temperature, and make some other alterations to the two recipes I was using to male the pumpkin pie. After taking most Wednesday night to make it I finally finished. It smelled so good and I was very tempted to eat a slice right then! Luckily, I have good self-control.
I brought it to class that Friday and shared it with my class. I think they all enjoyed it. Personally I found it a little watery, the taste wasn't as strong as usual, but I think this is for the better. I've discovered that sometimes it's better when foreign food has a mild taste than a strong one, because it's something new and eating something new with a strong taste can be a bit shocking.
Overall I was very proud of myself.
Also I got to explain the history of Thanksgiving, including the fact that my ancestor, Constance Hopkins, was one of the very first pilgrims, one of the people who ate the very first Thanksgiving dinner with the Native Americans.
I know that there is more that I want to say, but I can't exactly remember what right now...
So for now the end of yet another post.
First up, me, of course.
November 7th.
I recieved so many wonderful gifts too! I was honestly very surprised at so many birthday wishes and presents.
I got presents from both families (in the U.S. and France), presents from friends in Premiére and Terminale at school, presents from the neighbors, and so many happy birthday wishes! I am glad to know so many people care about me. I'm also glad that it didn't make me homesick, because I realize something like that really has the potential to bring on thoughts of family and friends who are currently far away.
I think everyone for making my birthday such a special event here in France.
Following were the birthdays of Clémence, my host sister, now 7 years old. The brithday of Fred, my host father, and the birthday of the great grandmother.
The weekend after my birthday there was a party for Clémence, Fred, and I. Lots of family members showed up. Muriel, my host mom, made two absolutely gorgeous and absolutely delicious cakes!
November 19th
I made a pumpkin pie!!!!!!!!
In honor of Thanksgiving and for my English class with the assisstant I made a pumpkin pie. I've got to admit that it wasn't very easy. I had to convert mesurements and temperature, and make some other alterations to the two recipes I was using to male the pumpkin pie. After taking most Wednesday night to make it I finally finished. It smelled so good and I was very tempted to eat a slice right then! Luckily, I have good self-control.
I brought it to class that Friday and shared it with my class. I think they all enjoyed it. Personally I found it a little watery, the taste wasn't as strong as usual, but I think this is for the better. I've discovered that sometimes it's better when foreign food has a mild taste than a strong one, because it's something new and eating something new with a strong taste can be a bit shocking.
Overall I was very proud of myself.
Also I got to explain the history of Thanksgiving, including the fact that my ancestor, Constance Hopkins, was one of the very first pilgrims, one of the people who ate the very first Thanksgiving dinner with the Native Americans.
I know that there is more that I want to say, but I can't exactly remember what right now...
So for now the end of yet another post.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
an addition of forgotten sidenotes
I've realized their are a couple things I meant to mention in the previous posts that I forgot about at the time of actually writing previous posts.
Just to prove the point of how uncelebrated Halloween is here, I forgot to write about it for the month of October.
It is not very celebrated, or really falltime in general....
There are barely any kids that go out trick-or-treating
No "haunted hayrides," over-decorated lawns full of fake spider webs, witches, coffins, etc.
No running through corn mazes, picking apples in orchards, or apple cider
The leaves do turn different colors and fall here, but there are a lot less trees. So it's not really possible to rake up a big pile to jump in.
It's not that I think it's bad they don't do any of this. It's just interesting discovering how things are so different. I am not sad to be missing it this year, because I know when I return I will be able to do all of those things again. Also once I return I'll be able to tell my host family more about it. All in all I enjoyed being in the South of France for Halloween.
The second thing I've been meaning to mention is about the French language. Even by the end of the first month my ideas and how I think about the French language has changed. I have an analogy but I'm not sure if it will make much sense to anyone else....
When you start speaking and hearing a foreign language everyday your mind starts to change it's ideas about the words.
Suddenly you find yourself almost giving an identity or certain emotion to a foreign word. It's not just "this is the word in French that means this in English"
It's more like "this is another way to say the same thing," just a synonym, just expanding my vocabulary.
For example when you change your level of vocabulary. When you're talking to a little kid you use different vocabulary than if you were writing a college essay. In this way it's almost like speaking a different language.... you change the words you use to be understood in different situations.
Also, in an attempt to better explain what I mean about the "emotions" or "feelings" that foreign words take on, I will try to give an anology.
Giving an identity to a word, is like relating a name to a person.
For example, I'll use the name "Bob."
You might love the name Bob or you might absolutely hate it.
But when you meet a person named Bob, you don't think "I hate this person because he's named Bob" or "I love this person, because his name is Bob"
Instead you think of the personality of that person. When you hear the name Bob, in reference to that person, the personality is what you think of, not your personal opinion about the name in general.
So maybe the concept is a little convuluted, but I hope I have at least conveyed it in a way that people can at least partially grasp this notion.
I will being writing another post when I can about the month of November and be adding some more pictures too.
Thank you to all who continue reading my blog.
Just to prove the point of how uncelebrated Halloween is here, I forgot to write about it for the month of October.
It is not very celebrated, or really falltime in general....
There are barely any kids that go out trick-or-treating
No "haunted hayrides," over-decorated lawns full of fake spider webs, witches, coffins, etc.
No running through corn mazes, picking apples in orchards, or apple cider
The leaves do turn different colors and fall here, but there are a lot less trees. So it's not really possible to rake up a big pile to jump in.
It's not that I think it's bad they don't do any of this. It's just interesting discovering how things are so different. I am not sad to be missing it this year, because I know when I return I will be able to do all of those things again. Also once I return I'll be able to tell my host family more about it. All in all I enjoyed being in the South of France for Halloween.
The second thing I've been meaning to mention is about the French language. Even by the end of the first month my ideas and how I think about the French language has changed. I have an analogy but I'm not sure if it will make much sense to anyone else....
When you start speaking and hearing a foreign language everyday your mind starts to change it's ideas about the words.
Suddenly you find yourself almost giving an identity or certain emotion to a foreign word. It's not just "this is the word in French that means this in English"
It's more like "this is another way to say the same thing," just a synonym, just expanding my vocabulary.
For example when you change your level of vocabulary. When you're talking to a little kid you use different vocabulary than if you were writing a college essay. In this way it's almost like speaking a different language.... you change the words you use to be understood in different situations.
Also, in an attempt to better explain what I mean about the "emotions" or "feelings" that foreign words take on, I will try to give an anology.
Giving an identity to a word, is like relating a name to a person.
For example, I'll use the name "Bob."
You might love the name Bob or you might absolutely hate it.
But when you meet a person named Bob, you don't think "I hate this person because he's named Bob" or "I love this person, because his name is Bob"
Instead you think of the personality of that person. When you hear the name Bob, in reference to that person, the personality is what you think of, not your personal opinion about the name in general.
So maybe the concept is a little convuluted, but I hope I have at least conveyed it in a way that people can at least partially grasp this notion.
I will being writing another post when I can about the month of November and be adding some more pictures too.
Thank you to all who continue reading my blog.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Octobre - almost 2 months here
So my adventures for the month of October consisted of the following:
Learned lots of new words:
Most of them are related to violence. This is because I am reading Candide by Voltaire. One of the functions of the novel is to show the horrors of war in order to show people that there isn't any glory in killing people. Sometimes it gets a little more descriptive than I'd like. Although, I am proud of myself for reading up to chapter 16 so far.
Went to Metz:
The first AFS orientation after being here for a bit. It was wonderful. I really enjoyed meeting up with the friends I'd made at the Paris orientation. I also made some wonderful new friends. We had a lot of fun attempting to draw a map of France. Also we played some fun games, like pretending we were amoebas and playing "pierre, feuille, ciseaux" to move up to a higher status/life form. I was horrible the first time, but it was fun anyway.
Went to a "Bal Folk":
This was really interesting going to. I got to here the folk music typical in the different regions of not just France but Europe in general. Typical music for parts of Italy, Spain, Russia, Ireland and other countries were played. I tried my best to learn the dances of the different regions. Unfortunately I was quite tired, and lapsed in and out of being a good dancer. My mind just couldn't hold concentration after "un, deux, trois..." But it was quite late so that was probably why.
Made more friends:
Still making lots of new friends. Everyone is so nice here! (I believe I've said this before.) I love talking to my friends throughout the school day, whether it's before classes, during lunch, or after school waiting for the bus. It's funny still having some people come up to me and say "oh you cut your hair!" The school here is definitely bigger and I don't see some people as often.
Took some actual tests in almost all of my classes:
I didn't really recieve grades as much as "bien" or "bon travaille." My host mom was impressed, so I know I'm not doing too badly, because she's a teacher too... I'm just relieved the teachers are nice and understanding.
Met an American!
Their is a new teacher's assisstant for English class. She has lived in New York for 15 years but originally was from Peru. It was very funny when, after half the class introduced themselves, I said "My name is Yvette Alexandrou. I'm 16 years old and I am an American foreign exchange student." The whole class was laughing and especially the teacher's assisstant.
Went to a track meet:
My host siblings competed in a competition of "athletisme" for the day. It was interesting to watch all the different events. Seeing all the kids crowd around the scores after reminded me of being on the swim team, because all the kids do the same thing at swim meets.
Saw a french version of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream:
So, what can I say about this? Well, it was long, and a farce. Basically, four hours of rapid French to tell quick jokes was not processing so well. I did enjoy the scene pictures created though and all the costumes kept things more interesting. Every time a character came out they would be wearing something different. In French, though, the rhyming of the lines doesn't work anymore, so I did miss that.
St. Tropez!
For "Les Vacances De La Toussaint" my host family and I went to the South of France to St. Tropez. It is most known for the famous movies of the "gendarmes," policemen. The Gendarmerie Nationale is located there. We went to visit it and of course took pictures. The whole week the weather was wonderful and it was between 20°C-27°C or for my friends in the U.S.A. about 70°F-80°F and it was always sunny. We went for long walks throughout the week and of course spent time at the pool. I also got to go swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, which for me, was very exciting. St. Tropez and the bording towns remind me of what I'd expect California to look like. There are palm trees, the sea, mountains, vineyards, and of course some very wealthy people living there. Also on the car ride down we drove through Switzerland and I also got to see Mont Blanc (from the distance) but it was all very beautiful. I loved seeing all the castles on mountain tops throughout the journey to the south. To sum it all up, I really enjoyed vacation. Seeing new places and things and spending time with my (host) family was great.
Learned lots of new words:
Most of them are related to violence. This is because I am reading Candide by Voltaire. One of the functions of the novel is to show the horrors of war in order to show people that there isn't any glory in killing people. Sometimes it gets a little more descriptive than I'd like. Although, I am proud of myself for reading up to chapter 16 so far.
Went to Metz:
The first AFS orientation after being here for a bit. It was wonderful. I really enjoyed meeting up with the friends I'd made at the Paris orientation. I also made some wonderful new friends. We had a lot of fun attempting to draw a map of France. Also we played some fun games, like pretending we were amoebas and playing "pierre, feuille, ciseaux" to move up to a higher status/life form. I was horrible the first time, but it was fun anyway.
Went to a "Bal Folk":
This was really interesting going to. I got to here the folk music typical in the different regions of not just France but Europe in general. Typical music for parts of Italy, Spain, Russia, Ireland and other countries were played. I tried my best to learn the dances of the different regions. Unfortunately I was quite tired, and lapsed in and out of being a good dancer. My mind just couldn't hold concentration after "un, deux, trois..." But it was quite late so that was probably why.
Made more friends:
Still making lots of new friends. Everyone is so nice here! (I believe I've said this before.) I love talking to my friends throughout the school day, whether it's before classes, during lunch, or after school waiting for the bus. It's funny still having some people come up to me and say "oh you cut your hair!" The school here is definitely bigger and I don't see some people as often.
Took some actual tests in almost all of my classes:
I didn't really recieve grades as much as "bien" or "bon travaille." My host mom was impressed, so I know I'm not doing too badly, because she's a teacher too... I'm just relieved the teachers are nice and understanding.
Met an American!
Their is a new teacher's assisstant for English class. She has lived in New York for 15 years but originally was from Peru. It was very funny when, after half the class introduced themselves, I said "My name is Yvette Alexandrou. I'm 16 years old and I am an American foreign exchange student." The whole class was laughing and especially the teacher's assisstant.
Went to a track meet:
My host siblings competed in a competition of "athletisme" for the day. It was interesting to watch all the different events. Seeing all the kids crowd around the scores after reminded me of being on the swim team, because all the kids do the same thing at swim meets.
Saw a french version of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream:
So, what can I say about this? Well, it was long, and a farce. Basically, four hours of rapid French to tell quick jokes was not processing so well. I did enjoy the scene pictures created though and all the costumes kept things more interesting. Every time a character came out they would be wearing something different. In French, though, the rhyming of the lines doesn't work anymore, so I did miss that.
St. Tropez!
For "Les Vacances De La Toussaint" my host family and I went to the South of France to St. Tropez. It is most known for the famous movies of the "gendarmes," policemen. The Gendarmerie Nationale is located there. We went to visit it and of course took pictures. The whole week the weather was wonderful and it was between 20°C-27°C or for my friends in the U.S.A. about 70°F-80°F and it was always sunny. We went for long walks throughout the week and of course spent time at the pool. I also got to go swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, which for me, was very exciting. St. Tropez and the bording towns remind me of what I'd expect California to look like. There are palm trees, the sea, mountains, vineyards, and of course some very wealthy people living there. Also on the car ride down we drove through Switzerland and I also got to see Mont Blanc (from the distance) but it was all very beautiful. I loved seeing all the castles on mountain tops throughout the journey to the south. To sum it all up, I really enjoyed vacation. Seeing new places and things and spending time with my (host) family was great.
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