Le Rotary Francais

Tonight, I went to my first Rotary meeting in France! Sabine drove me to M. Polveche (the man in charge of the exchange students)'s house, and M. Polveche and his wife drove me to the meeting. Almost as soon as I entered, the hostess offered me a glass of wine, which I politely declined. I then went around the room and was introduced to almost everyone present.

The main points that the French want to know:

• What's my name?
• How old am I?
• When did I arrive?
• English or American?
• Where in the US? (not New York, tant pis!)
• And How long have I studied French?

I was the last of the announcements. Some of the other announcements included that the club is going to Amsterdam at the end of April (with me) and that, according to M. Polveche, I must not have a weekend filled with nothing, so the Rotary club members should invite me to spend my weekends with them. It was all very exciting. Dinner was apparently non-conventional. It was self-serve bread with pates or brie cheese. I learned that you never mix the two! Thankfully, the President gave me the Lens-Lievin Rotary pocket directory, so I know that Dominique and Christianne (who was an English teacher before she retired) Vaast kindly drove me home. All in all, I believe that it was an exceedingly productive evening! :)

Mes Livres d'Ecole

This morning after everybody from the party had gone, Sabine took me to Lycee Saint Paul to pick up my school books. On the way we met a guy in my grade named Mateo and his mom. They both seemed kind to me, but as we were leaving them, Sabine told me that Mateo is a "charmeur". I have no doubt of that. The line for the books was out the door, and Sabine and I waited two hours to complete the task. Later, we went to E. Leclerc to pick up a card for minutes for a cell phone. My number is 06 31 55 93 78! With my new phone, Sabine dropped Heloise and me off at the stables where we walked around for two hours, talking to people, watching the horses, and playing cards.

La Soiree

Last night, Heloise invited ten people over to the house for a petite soiree! I can't remember half the names, but they were all very nice. Everyone here has gorgeous blue eyes, wears grey skinny jeans and grey tennisshoes, and has side bangs. And they are all super skinny despite the amout of sugar they consumed.

After the majority of the party-goers had arrived, my second and third host families arrived to go to a Rotary meeting. So, I met the Ghysels, who are super tall, and the Helous, who are medium short. As for their children, I only met Pierre and Andrea, but they both seemed super nice.

Once the adults left, everyone decided to play a game of cache-cache (hide-and-go-seek) in the corn field behind the house. Heloise called Sabine and left a message saying, "We're playing cache-cache, so if you come home and can't find us, that's normal!" When we got outside, though, we realized that we had accidentally locked ourselves out. It was too cold for some to play cache-cache, and others were afraid to go too far back in the corn fields. In the end Heloise found a spare key, and we decided to play a game to which I forgot the name, but it was somewhat like duck-duck-goose in the back yard. After that we played a game called araignee mortale, which was quite similar to freeze-tag. In the basement we played verite o action (truth or dare). When it came to my turn, I said that I didn't care either way, so they chose a dare. They ended up asking me to say phrases in English for my dare. Easiest dare ever! I didn't get to bed until at least 3am, and they all stayed up much later.

Tadao in Bethune

This afternoon, Sabine, Heloise, and I went to Bethune. It is another medium-small sized town, but it has a Tadao station. Before we went to Tadao, we went to a supermarket with a photobooth to take id pictures for me. Then we went to Tadao, the company in charge of the buses, handed them my pictures and a form that I had completed. In return the lady behind the desk gave me my first (student) bus card with my picture on it. I now am allowed one free round-trip bus trip per day!

A Four-Hour Lunch

Today was my first four-hour lunch in France. The Pecqueurs had invited a couple, Saed (from Yugoslavia) and Lizette, and they were the cause for the occasion. The couple was supposed to arrive at one o'clock, but they did not get here until a half hour past the hour. From then until 3:15, we nibbled on hors d'oeuvres: olives wrapped in a fish-looking thing, a creamy cheeze rolled in ham, and the same cream cheeze ( I think) wrapped in crepes leftover from last night. For lunch we started with croustillons de dinde, which were excellent! I don't really know how it's made, but I think it's pretty much mashed turkey in a fried crust. Next, we had melon, salmon, and what looked like mini shrimp with mint and basil. For the main course, there were tomates farcies (tomatoes stuffed with meat and rice) and cocotte de courgette (like a zuchinni quiche). After that for what I thought was dessert, we had cheese, bread, and grapes. There were four types of cheese: muenster, compte, chevre, and tomme de savoie. For the real dessert, they served eclaires and a strawberry cake called a fraisier. I really loved the majority of it except the appetizers, zuchinni quiche thing, cheese (which was good, but not my favorite), and eclaires (which I didn't try). I did, however, try and eat the majority of everything else! All in all, it was a very good lunch, and I would suggest looking up the recepies online. Oh yeah, and we didn't finish eating and leave the table until seven o'clock!

Apparantly, according to the visitors and the Pecqueurs, I dress similarly to the French and have a Jacqueline Kennedy type style. My host sister, who does not like vegetables, spent most of the meal playing wii. I have learned that, in this family, at least, it is not necessary to stay sitting at the table once you're done eating. I do, anyways.

The Bomb Site

Canada closed at 18 o'clock so we had to leave shortly after our arrival. On our way home, though, we visited a war memorial cemetery in Vermelles where Kipling (the man who wrote the Jungle Book)'s son was buried at age eighteen. After we left that, we went to another war memorial cemetery in a bomb site. Apparantly, the bodies were buried where they were found, so there are many cemeteries in the most random places.

Oh, Canada!

We went to Canada today after Lille. No, I'm not kidding. I took a picture of the welcome sign just to show that I'm not even lying! In fact, we visited a war memorial monument in Vimy that is on a piece of Canadian territory! It was a beautiful afternoon with the sun and some clouds. All around was land that was quite hilly due to the excessive bombing at the time of the war, but it was great because there were beaucoup de moutons partout!!!

Tomber la Chemise

Before anyone freaks out, Tomber la Chemise is the name of a song that I heard in the car au retour. Anyways, it's too cold to do anything of THAT sort here. This morning we went into Lille about twentyfive minutes away. The entrance was marked by a sign notifying us that it is the Cultural Capital of Europe. I'm not so sure of that, but it is quite beautiful! It is also quite large, a fact that I found quite appealing. Today, though, we just shopped. There exists only one store that carries jeans small enough to fit my host sister. Yes, she is that small. Because Lille is so close to the Belgium border, the architecture is very similar to Belgian architecture. Today, I actually saw the sun! It was beautiful. The sky was blue, the land was dry. Then, around one o'clockish, it began to rain, but just for a tiny bit, then it just stayed gray.

Next weekend in Lille there is something called La Grande Brasserie. It's like some sort of huge market that attracts everyone from everywhere. Sabine confessed to me today that she does not like large crowds, but since it is such a sight, she will bring me for the experience, even if for a short while.

August

It is August here, like everywhere else, yet unlike everywhere else, it is cold. It is colder than Argentina, and they are in WINTER! Today the high was seventeen degrees celcius!
I began the day with a short-sleeved shirt and a light sweater.
I then elevated to a sweatshirt and fuzzy socks.
I later graduated to a light sweater under my jacket.
I am now under my bed covers fully dressed in fuzzy socks, a sweatshirt, and a scarf.
IT IS AUGUST!!! IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE 100 DEGREES! I hope my blood grows thicker soon because the sooner I adjust, the better. It's good, though, because this will prepare me if I end up choosing to attend a northern school. I finally have an appreciation for the South and its mild winters, yet with all its four seasons. Je vais crever de froid cet hiver! J'en suis sur que je vais perdre mes orteils! Mais c'est rigolo au meme temps! :)

le Lycee

This morning I miraculously arose by myself at 6:30. I do not know how I did it, provided that I had had only a four-hour nap, two hours of sleep on the plane, and five hours the night before to support me. When Sabine awoke later we went to my school, Lycee Prive Saint Paul Lens, to find out which class I should take. I am in 1ere ES taking Spanish and maybe Latin. That means that I am in the French's version of junior year, specializing in Ecomonic-Sciences. My school is more focused on math and science than litterature or languages, so they do not have the L (litterature/languages) specialization that most highschools have here. ES is the most general option that they offer. The other one is T, which is more technical and heavily focused on math and science, much more so than ES. At the school I met Mme. Pruvost who deals with the exchange students among other things and M. le Directeur among others whose names I cannot recall at the moment. I learned that there are women who focus on pronounciation/speaking (they help young people after accidents,paralyzations,etc..) who will come to the school in September to help the other American, Michael, and me with our French. I feel so stupid and helpless, but at least I am not alone. Everyone understands. The school looks much larger than Providence High School (pop. over 2000) campus-wise, but the student population is only around 1500 including some post-BAC (post-grad.) students. Something different from the US is that high school is comprised of only three years, while middle school includes four years.

Something else strange/surprising that I noticed here: I have not seen even ONE smart car! I thought they were a lot more prevalent than they actually are. Maybe they are just used in the big cities. Perhaps I will find out; I go with Sabine and Heloise to Lille tomorrow morning. By the way Heloise is pronounced like the Americans pronounce Eloise (like the storybook character).

After visiting the school, we walked about Lens for a spell. Lens is significantly larger than Vermelles, which is not saying much. Then it started raining. It has been gray with no hope of blue these two days I have been here. Then, we returned home and I took a small nap. When I awoke, Chritophe (my host father)'s parents had arrived. They were very nice. His father speaks the local patois ch'timi, so it is quite difficult to understand him (even Sabine told me that she has a hard time understanding him often). Also, Heloise's cousine, who looks to be about 8 or 9 years old, came. He is the cutest little thing!

When they left, Sabine and I left to watch Heloise, the amazing horse-back rider, play horseball, a type of basketball on horses (pretty self-explanatory). It was cold. I met the families of other horse back riders who were all very nice. One grandfather promised to teach me Ch'timi, but I told him that I had to learn French first!

The Toilet Catastrophe

There is one bathroom for us all to share. When I got in, I thought that I would rest for a bit. Sabine asked if I wanted to take a shower, but I just told her that I would take a nap. Five minutes later I discovered that I needed to use the restroom quite badly. At the same time, Heloise stepped into the bathroom and began to take a shower. That was perhaps the longest shower in the history of showers. (Or perhaps I just needed to tinkle terribly) When, at last, Heloise exited the bathroom, I rushed in and closed the door. I looked around me frantically in search of the location of the toilet. There was a laundry machine in the corner that was next to the shower that was next to the bathtub. On the opposite side of the wall, there was a sink and cabinets. The toilet did not exist! Oh, goodness! I spent the next three minutes pacing back and forth, hoping that the toilet would magically appear for me if I looked hard enough. Finally, I left the bathroom, walked up to Sabine, and asked unabashedly (I couldn't afford to be embarassed in such a matter of urgency) where I could find the toilet. It was in a separate room. Of course it was. I had waited for forty-five minutes through the shower of Heloise, dying to go, might I add, when the toilet had been unoccupied and AVAILABLE to me the entire time. At least I have a story to tell. That is the only positive way I can look at this experience. Fun Fact: The French do not flush every time.

Bonjour, Vermelles

Vermelles seems to me the smallest town in the world. It does,on the other hand, have a lot of charm to make up for the lack of size. All of the houses look very similar with a French countryside sort of charm. The land is mostly flat, save scattered mountains made of unusable coal that was deposited by the miners when this was an coalmining town. I can walk to the breadstore, but it was closed when I did so with Heloise, so instead we went to E.Leclerc, the local WalMart type store with everything ranging from food to photos to clothes to appliances, etc... Twenty minutes away, there is a place that sells organic vegetables every Thursday and we all went there and picked up a two large baskets. The back yard has a small garden and (Dad, you'll like this) three hens and a rooster!

Farewell, Paris

I recognized Sabine and Heloise as soon as I saw them. They stood among a mass of french people holding a welcome sign with my name on it. They had parked on the parking deck, but in order to go down, they first had to wind all the way upwards to the top (the parking deck for terminal 1 was shaped like stacked donuts). Leaving Paris, instead of there being signs for fast-food restaurants and other similar attractions, there were big (picture) signs for castles and national conservation parks. The first song I heard in France was the new Maroon 5 song. I was not surprised that the French are up-to-date with American music, but I was surprised that there was a significantly larger amount of talk-radio than music. I was also surprised that I stayed awake the full two-and-a-half hours of the car ride.

Rhonda

Rhonda Shavers is perhaps the most positive person I have ever met in my entire life, or perhaps I just caught her at a good time. After watching The Bucket List a few years ago, Rhonda decided to pursue her dream of becoming a flight attendant. She has flown domestically for about a year now. A few days ago, a friend of hers named Elodie told Rhonda that she would be welcome to visit her in France for a few days while Elodie was in town. Without any notice or telling anyone (except her granddaughter, of course) Rhonda bought a last minute ticket for the first international flight of her life.

When I first saw Rhonda, I did not give her much thought because, as she was wearing her uniform, I knew that flight attendants did not sit among the regular passengers. Then I saw her looking at the seat numbers and knew that she was going to end up sitting next to me. She sat down, and within ten minutes we were talking. She had already increased my happiness factor of about 100. There is no way to explain in words her excitement. The flight experience was just so surreal to her because she had never gone abroad before, and as a woman of almost sixty, she would never have thought that she would start then.

She talked about how impressed she was that I was so mature at sixteen to be going abroad, and about how she understood now what the travel bug was and how good it was that we both now had it. She told me that she would one day see me on CNN, which I thought was quite amusing, seeing as we had barely known each other two hours at that time. She also said that I looked like Natalie Portman. I had never heard that comparison before, but I was pleased, nonetheless, since she is a bright actress in Hollywood, having graduated from Harvard with a four-year degree in psychology.

I do not think I have ever seen anyone more happy about a three day trip to France than she. The great thing about that is that happiness is contagious, and her joy spread all the way down to my toes!

When we finally arrived at CDG, she waited with me at baggage claim. I eventually realized that she did not have any luggage except her carry-ons and insisted that she go on and meet her friend Elodie, who was waiting for her. I sincerely hope that that is not the last of my encounters with Rhonda Shavers, and I hope that Paris is treating her well and living up to all of her expectations. :)

The Airplane

The flight from Charlotte to Philadelphia was more or less uneventful. I had pre-ordered my seat online in hopes of a window seat close to the front 12F; however, the airline decided that it would rather place me in the middle in the back, so I ended up in seat 21E. Yay! The man sitting next to me had an accent and a red passport, so when I asked where he was raised, he told me England. (My fatal flaw is that I cannot place accents. Whether it is British, Australian, or South African, I cannot decipher the origins without asking directly.) Anyway, the man and I started talking and he told me that his daughter who had just graduated from high-school was going to Leeds University in England. (What a coincidence that I had just had dinner with Margie Pappin dwo days before who was also going there!)

Philadelphia is the airport with the cool hanging airplanes/birds (made from mini hanging airplanes/birds) that you see when standing on the moving sidewalk! I love that! I was exceedingly glad that there were forty other exchangers on my flight with me so I did not have to bear the three-hour layover alone! That being said, I was the only rising junior among the other students with whom I conversed. They all thought I was crazy for returning to high-school after this experience. They all are going as their gap-year.

My ticket for this flight was 36B. Goodness, I was sure that the airlines just wanted to torture me by putting me in the back away from window seats. This seat actually happened to be the very last seat in the very back of the plane. After a few minutes, though, I started to get excited because the window seat next to me was still untaken and I thought I might have the row to myself because the plane was full and no one was moving about in the cabin; everyone had already taken his seat. Then came Rhonda, a lady to whom I will devote an entire post at a later time because it is late now and I am tired. :D A Bientot!