Hard of Hearing

So, I had a major epic fail moment in English class. Today we studied a song by Muse, and while we were listening to it, we had to fill in the blanks. Usually, I can do this super well because usually the teacher picks a song that is more or less understandable. Well, we must have listened to this song twenty times (not really-that's exaggerating), and I had not filled in a single blank for the first paragraph! Wait...it becomes even sadder! Maximilien in the back of the class had properly filled in every single space. I'm pretty sure that he already knew the song, but still! The American should always understand English better than a Frenchperson, shouldn't she?

Puppy Love

Since TPE is officially over (I was in Italy when everyone did the presentations), I no longer have class for the first hour on Wednesday mornings, and SVT (Science) is moved from Tuesday evenings to Wednesday second period. Only today the SVT teacher did not show up to class. Instead of going to Perm, we went to the Salle de Travaille (Senior's Study Room). In Perm, there is always a supervisor, contrary to the SdT. As it turns out, my class is in trouble, and now we have to face some sort of punishment. Oopse! Since I really haven't heard anything about this except from rumors, I suspect that it either does not concern me, or that it's not too harsh. This afternoon, Pascaline Adamski (my future host mother) picked me up from school, and I spent a couple of hours at her home. Amazingly, her parents have a Maltese (like my Mia back home), and she had a Golden Retriever (like Webster at my Dad's!) I think I'll like living there. Although, frankly, I'm not ready to leave this family! So, in addition to meeting the dogs, I played a few board games with the eight year-old daughter, Emilie, I met the two grandparents (Pascaline's parents), and I met Jean-Michel (my future host dad). They all live in Eleu-dit-Leauwette. It's super convenient because if I'm lucky enough for it not to rain, I can walk to and from school!

You Go, Girl!

I skipped Pastorale this morning. Pierre told his parents that we didn't have it, so I slept in a little. Fortunately, no one else went either, so it doesn't even matter. I didn't have Spanish after that either because the teacher was absent, so I hung out in the Salle de Travaille with Matine and Sophie and just talked for an hour. After French and Econ, today was a Pedagogical day (I don't know if that's how it's said in English, but I tried!), so Somaya and I went to Carrefour Market, picked up sandwiches, beverages, and snacks, took the bus, and headed over to the movie theater! We had originally planned to go see Black Swan. I'm normally not in to the whole horror movie scene, but I really wanted to see this movie (plus, it's easier to cope with scariness in the middle of the day). Unfortunately, the movie was no longer playing, so instead we went on a much lighter topic and saw Just Go With It. It was very predictable in my opinion, but I still enjoyed it! I love how Hollywood always makes the North Carolina girl the wholesome girl with the good reputation! It's great! (Even though this 24 year old girl slept with a 40 year old she barely knew and wore very low cut tops.) They should not, on the other hand, rag on NSYNC! Is it really that wrong to still love their music?! So, there's a girl named Marissa who came with the Rotary to the NpdC in France two years ago. She returned this year to go to University in Lille (she hates it, so she's going back to the US this summer). Tonight, I saw her on X-Factor! Yes, my friend is a star singing Katy Perry's Teenage Dream on the French version of American Idol! She looked so adorable during the whole interview process, and she sang with wonderful stage presence! Yes, I know a star!

This is Buggy

So today I taught all of my French friends how to do Buggy. You write T.H.I.S on the fist part of the fingers of the left hand, draw a bug on your palm, and draw a squiggly on the palm of the right hand. You then proceed by saying (and moving your fingers at the same time) "This is Buggy Buggy says, "Hi!" This is Buggy when the car goes by." As it turns out, Buggy gets squished, and ends up as a poor squiggly mark on the right hand. Apparently this entertains not only five year olds, but teenage Frenchies as well. They enjoyed this so much so that almost all of my classmates know how to to it know, and I'm honestly frightened that a teacher will yell at me for distracting everyone from his work (even if I'm not the one doing Buggy)! Here's a Happy Birthday shoutout for my host brother Pierre!!!

BumBada! Iiiiiiiit's Trash Can Girl!

Everyone in Amsterdam speaks English since no foreigner bothers ever to learn Netherlandish. So, when I had my wake-up call this morning, I answered it in English. When I walked downstairs, the concierge said to me (in French), "You know, you really shouldn't act to be someone you're not. You don't have to pretend to be American. It's not good to lie about who you are."

Uhhhh..."I AM American!" What am I supposed to say to that?

Fortunately, he loved that answer because, like almost every young European, they love Americans! He then proceeded to say, "I hope you have/get a cute French boyfriend!"

Um, thanks, Mr. Concierge guy. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

After breakfast we toured the beautiful Rijksmuseum filled with Rembrants, Jan Steens, and Vermeers and a magnificent giant doll house that I was unfortunately forbidden to photograph.

From there, we quenched our thirst with an 11h30 champagne at Gassan, the diamond store. This was a specian champagne, though, because we each had a diamond at the bottom of each glass. Two were real, and we had a specialist among us to reveal the truth. No, mine was not the winner, but I did greatly enjoy looking at all of the beautiful gems surrounding me!

We ate lunch on a boat in the canal. Travelling by boat is by far the best way to see Amsterdam! For a town that only receives fifty days of sunlight a year, I was lucky enough to witness one of them from an aquatic angle! It was magnificent!

After lunch we toured the world of Heineken beer. It was actually a great tour! Did you know that a glass of Heineken beer has fewer calories than a glass of milk? (They didn't specify what kind of milk, though, so I'm probably guessing that it's whole milk) For those beer lovers out there, while the tour costs 15 Euros, keep in mind that you get three free glasses of beer! (No, I most certainly did not drink anywhere close to that amount of alcohol!)

Best pick up line of the day: I am apparently (according to a Rotarian) the "poubelle girl". Literally translated, it means the trash can girl. However, it's a play on words. What it really is is the "plus belle girl" or the prettiest girl. Awww!

I Am Sterdam

We all left Lens in a tour bus yesterday morning at 7h00. At noonish all forty of us Rotarians arrived in Amsterdam.

After a steak lunch, we sat back in the bus and drove around town, stopping specifically to see the HLMs (habitation a loyer modere/ subsidized housing) that are apparently the nicest in the world. They were really funky, though, at the same time!

Afterwords we had a little time to shop and walk around before going to the hotel. Without asking for anything, I ended up with a beautiful silk scarf and hoop earrings!

True fact: Only 10% of Amsterdam residents own a car. As evidenced by the millions of bicycles (many abandoned) covering every inch of the sidewalk, they have other means of transportation.

I didn't really know what to expect at the hotel, and as it turns out, I had a room all to myself!

After dinner, we toured the Red Lights District. Yes, I, the innocent, naive, however else you wish to classify me, sixteen year-old, American girl, walked around the prostitution and drug neighborhood. I, for some reason or another, have become a very empathetical person this year. However, I must say that I'm so glad I do not literally have to put myself in the shoes of the girls I saw last night. I could not help but feel a mixture of sadness, pity, disgust, embarassment, regret, and shame when I was there. Even looking back, I cannot decide whether I want to throw up or cry. (If anger were in my repetoire of emotions, I'm sure it would have also been a major factor.)

I am not ashamed to say that once the Rotarian lady next to me took my arm for safety and reassurance (more for my behalf than hers, I'm sure), I stayed attatched to her like a leech until we returned to the bus to go back to the hotel.

Encore du Soleil

After lunch today, I went with Marie and Joanne, and we laid out in the park of the Universite d'Artois next door to the high school. Hopefully, if the sun persists like this, I might get some color again in my skin!
Tonight, I'm spending the night at the Morchipont's house. They're a Rotarian family who sent their daughter Julie to Australia two years ago. They also have a son, Jean, who is also in Premiere at Saint Paul, but I had never seen him before today. I'm staying with them tonight because tomorrow we are all leaving early in the morning to go to Amsterdam!

Sun=Smiles

Today was a perfect day! The sun shone, the sky was a beautiful shade of Carolina blue that reminded me of home, flowers filled the trees, and the air smelled of freshly-cut lawns! The day was so magnificent that it was hard not to smile.
In E.P.S. we have a new P.E. coach-in-training. At least, that's the best way I know how to put it. He started last week, so today was the first time I saw him. According to all of my friends, he was a gorgeous mix of Ben Stiller and Hugh Grant. I don't know how they came up with that combination, but it was actually right on the button, strangely enough.
When I came back home, I just had to take Bello for a walk, so I could stay outside in the sun as long as possible! It was wonderful!
If I could, I would marry the sun so that he and I would never be apart! (This is ignoring the fact that the divorce rate in the US is 51%)

"It almost felt like an international flight..."

We had the same troubles yesterday in the airport as when we left. It was terrible! Since we had a flight with Alitalia instead of AirFrance, they didn't have the note about my passport in my reservation. We must have spent an hour discussing with the lady how we would return. In the end we had to change to an AirFrance flight. The annoyance there was that this second flight left at 18h00 whereas our original plane departed at 15h15. No complaints came from me, though, since I had the luck to return to France at all.
This morning I took the train back home. The first ticket that I purchased had me going from Paris to Lille, from Lille to Arras, and from Arras to Lens where I would take a bus back home. My TGV to Lille stopped mid-way and had some technical problems. So, I arrived about thirty minutes late in Lille. There, I decided to take the 13h44 train directly to Lens. Until then I hung out with Suzanna (Illinois). We didn't really have a plan of action, so we picked out a birthday present for her host brother, walked around in shops specializing in kitchen ware, and ate lunch at a noodle place in the sun.
The fact that the sun shone so brightly and that I did not even need a jacket outside definitely helped me enjoy my return to LE NORD.
When we were heading back to the train station, we ran into two groups of Rotary exchange students! I really did not want to leave then, and coincidentally I had missed the train, which had actually been at 13h29, so I stayed with them until the next at 16h58!

Borghese

This morning we started in the opposite direction of every direction that we had taken so far to go to the Villa Borghese, the most important park in Rome, and maybe even all of Italy! I love parks! Plus, the day started out with lots of sun, so that with the flowers and warmth, including the fact that I'm in Italy put me in the best of moods!

We walked around the park for an hour or two, going all around from the Galleria Borghese to the Villa Medici. When we asked for directions once, the man not only told us how to get to where we needed to go, but he accompanied us and explained to us everything we needed to know about the political and economical situation in Italy.

When we left the Villa Borghese, we headed to the Campo de Fiori where we discovered the cutest food market and sampled truffle sauce and fig jam (not mixed together, though!). We also passed by some amazingly realistic sidewalk art!

After a lunch of tomato, aubergine, and tuna bruschetta (again, they were not mixed) and soup, we went to a Leonardo DaVinci Museum. I guess I expected there to be paintings and original drawings by DaVinci there; instead, some inventors had taken it upon themselves to realize his sketches and actually create what he had envisioned. It was all pretty impressive, but there was not that much to see compared to the price of the ticket.

The only thing that I regret about this trip is not visiting more random churches. This afternoon, Grammy and I walked into almost every church we saw, and each one was individually exquisite!
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by one of the oldest caffes in Rome and I ordered a granita, which had been recommended to us by Alex the tour guide. A granita is an icy frozen coffee drink mushed in between two layers of whipped cream. (Disappointing factoid: in Italy, whipped cream is literally whipped cream; there is no added sugar.) It was very yummy, though, and this is coming from someone who does not particularly care for coffee.

Back at the hotel, we had evening tea, and at 20h30, we went back out to the Episcopal church from last night to watch an organ concert.

Il Mercato

This morning I wanted to go to the market. It was all the way across the river, and there was a race going on, so we had to take a few detours. I love getting lost when there's no rush to get anywhere because, especially in Rome, one finds treasures at every turn of a corner! In our case we ended up in a botanical garden with a lovely view of the city!

When we reached Portese in the Trastevere neighborhood, we found the largest yard sale in the entire world! I honestly think that this market took up more space than the entire town of Vermelles. We were still in the middle of it all when we realized we were hungry. There were no restaurants around, but we ended up finding a stand that made bruschetta and some sort of skewered beef. The kabob was just ok, but the bruschetta was amazing!

We got lost again coming back, but the Trasetvere area isn't as pretty as the rest of Rome, so it wasn't as exciting.

Tonight at 18h30, we went to a chorale concert at the Episcopal church here, Saint Paul within the walls. It lasted a little over an hour, and the music was lovely!

After the concert, we walked down to the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain just because. On our way back, I saw an orange tree. I love fruit, so I decided that I wanted to pick one. Being 5 foot 3 (1,61 meters) does have its disadvantages. I managed to jump and reach a branch. I shook it, eventhough there were no oranges on that particular branch. Just as I was about to give up, an orange on the opposite side of the tree fell off, and I picked it up and started to peel it. It smelled heavenly! I turned around and noticed immediately that there was a police officer right behind me! Uh oh! Fortunately, he was in a booth and had been looking in the opposite direction the entire time. We rushed away, and I popped a juicy sliver of the fruit into my mouth. However, I didn't have time to savor it because my gut reaction was to spit out the surprisingly sour nastiness. Note: looks and smell can be deceiving!

Firenze

We woke up early this morning to meet the tour bus taking us to Firenze (aka Florence!)! The bus ride took four hours. I tried to stay awake the whole time because the Italian countryside was so beautiful, but I was so tired that I fell asleep for a lot of it.

I love driving in Italy and France so much more than in the US because instead of seeing McDonalds restaurants and gas stations at every exit, I see much more landscapes filled with castles and cute little towns!

The first thing we did when we arrived in Florence was to go to a museum and look at the statue of David by Michelangelo. According to signs on every single wall, door, and window, we were not allowed to take pictures. However, since I saw at least twenty flashes surrounding me, I captured a few contraband shots and hid my camera before one of the guards could pick me out from the crowd.

Quote of the day (courtesy of a girl on the tour with me): I wonder if it was really awkward when he was chiseling out his "parts".

After staring at the "ideal man" according to the Italians (who was actually modeled after a thirteen year old), we went to see the Duomo. The church actually has a really long name, but no one remembers it. On the outside, it was the most colorful church I have ever seen with multicolored marble styled in a beautifully ancient pattern. On the inside, contrarily, it was quite plain. Apparently, the architects of churches in Florence did not want the insides of chuches to be styled so that the focus of the church-goers would never leave Jesus and God. The inside of the church did have, on the other hand, the tomb of Botticelli and one of the oldest and coolest clocks (It counts the hour in relation to when the sun goes down.) that still is in perfect working order!

We then walked to a square filled with 2 000 year old statues. Most of them were replicas. The ironic thing was that those that had 2 000 years were the replicas, while the originals were only about 500 years old.

During our free period in the afternoon, Grammy and I walked down to the Ponte Vecchio.

Afterwords we toured the market before meeting back up with the group.
Highlight of my day: While walking around in the market by myself, I passed a French couple standing in front of a stand selling candy and dried fruit. I saw a wierd, green gob of gooeyness and asked the man in French, "What is that green thing?" He responded that he had no idea. He then asked the Italian vendor in English. The vendor responded (in English) that it was a fruit in the citrus family. (Here comes the best part!) The French man then turns to me and translates for me from English to French! I can now officially try to pass myself off as French! Yay for not having a strong accent!

Tours and Sun and Such

The sun shone full force today to my great pleasure! We decided to go to the Colosseum today. Once we reached it, we realized that we had passed by it already plenty of times without realizing or noticing it! When we arrived, we were not really keen on standing in the line for an hour. Luckily, a good looking Italian man came up to us and sold us on a tour that would let us skip the mile long queue. Our guide, unfortunately, was not the handsome, well-spoken man that had sold us the guide, but a short Italian woman who spoke with a stronger Italian accent. She was still a great guide, and I thought that she was funny. The problem was that I was usually the only one laughing. I did notice that she particularly liked discussing the prostitution and orgies that went on behind-the-scenes at the Colosseum when there were not twenty men and fifty exotic animals getting slaughtered every morning. Apparently, according to her, I murdered my mother-in-law and was executed one afternoon in the Colosseum as well. Hmm, I would at least have liked to have know my mother-in-law, let alone to have known that I had a mother-in-law before I murdered her.

We had a rather quick lunch of aubergine pizza in a pizzeria nearby, and I must say that I think our pizza was healthier than the Eggplant Parmesan from yesterday. They were both yummy to the umpteenth power, though!

At 13h30, we met with David, the man who was supposed to be our tour guide for the rest of Palatin Hill and the Forum. When we arrived at Palatin Hill, he split us up into two groups, and Grammy and I ended up following the other tourguide. Alex, as he is called, turns out to be a gorgeous Scottish-Italian mix who was raised in Johannesburg and has been giving tours around Rome for at least eight years. (Sadly, he is way too old for me and married.) He was probably the best tour guide we could have requested! He explained how that Palatin Hill was originally a palace, but when the earthquake hit, the palace collapsed, and the marble and building materials just bounced over and created the Vatican.

He then diverted our attention to the ancient communal toilets where the Romans shared a sponge on a stick for toilet paper. Often, however, the sponge fell off; this created the original curse, “I hope you get the short end of the stick.” Eew and Ouch!

He then talked about the origins of the handshake being the main part of the Roman marriage ceremony, hence creating the request for someone's “hand in marriage”.

He did not actually give us a tour of the Forum, but his stories from Palatin Hill were enough to tide us over for the rest of the afternoon!

We actually liked his tour so much that at 17h30, we met up with him again at the Column of Trajan for a nighttime, off of the beaten path tour. Apparently columns like the Column of Trajan were ancient movie theaters because one would start at the bottom and climb the stairs, reading around the pillar all the while.

Our next stop was at the Church of the Saintly Twelve Apostles. I now have the urge to walk into every random church that looks plain on the outside just to witness the wonders within. This church was breathtaking on the inside.

Plus, it holds the remains of two of Jesus' original apostles Phillip and James.

Next door to it was the Franciscan monastery where we were allowed to enter because we were with Alex. There, he showed us where Michelangelo’s body was originally supposed to be buried. The Medici's stole his corpse and moved it before it could be placed into this resting place, but evidently, this was the only real depiction of Michelangelo himself!

We went next into Madonna of the Little Arch, the smallest Marian Sanctuary of Rome. Why did we go in here? Well, not only was it a church made for six people, but it was constructed to be the smallest replica of Saint Peter's Basilica. In fact, the woman in the image in the dome on top is the same woman who sits beside George Washington in the dome in the Capitol Building in D.C. because the archictect of this church left Italy and became world-renowned when he designed, constructed, and painted our Capital Building dome.

I then touched naked Jesus' foot. Yes, Michelangelo sculpted a naked Jesus that was lost for over 300 years. Today, it is the only touchable piece of his artwork available to the public in the Church of Saint Mary's of Minerva.

We finished the tour with a misshapen Elephant of Bernini, the court around the Pantheon, another column, and the Spanish Steps.

If you haven't picked up on it by now, I LOVE ROME!!!

Gasp! The View!

Today, the forecast announced rain...again! Surprisingly for us, we had sun and partially blue skies when we stepped outside of our hotel. So, we decided to go and people watch in the Piazza Navona.

The Trevi Fountain was on the way, so we decided to ensure our return to Rome and join the masses fulfilling the cliché of throwing a coin into the fountain!

Unfortunately, it started to rain on us as we left the piazza in front of the fountain. We rushed into the cutest wood-working shop on a side-street, though!

We still had the Pantheon in between us and the Piazza Navona after that, so we avoided open air and the occulus and walked around inside the Pantheon.

We finally arrived at the Piazza Navona, but it was still raining, so the people watching remained at a minimum. We did, however, meet the nicest Texan couple at the restaurant where we tasted an Eggplant Parmesan that was more cheese than anything else. I will point out that from my experiences so far, the aftertaste, if any, has not necessarily been negative at all!

From there we decided to cross the Fiume Tevere (Tiber River) to tour the Castel San Angelo. It was not the most majestic of all the buildings I have seen in Italy, but since today was the 150^th Anniversary of Italy's unification, the tickets were free!

The view from the top was MAGNIFICO (despite the gray skies)! We could see the Vatican, Victor Emmanuel, and pretty much all of Rome! Alas, the rain recommenced, and we had to reorient ourselves back to the hotel.

Vaticano

It rained today. Catherine warned me that it might, but I'm still in denial! That did not hinder our adventure; instead, we donned our touristy tennis shoes and took the bus to the smallest country in the world: The Vatican! There, we ate pasta, bruchetta, and the best aubergines in a cutsie cafe before stepping back out into the rain.

Without really knowing where we were going, we started our journey in the Basilica San Pietro (Saint Peter's Church). I took a few quick photos of Michaelangelo's shiny Pieta and spent the rest of the time overwhelmed ( a feeling that never really left all day) at the enormity and intricacies of the architecture and artwork.

I also saw the embalmed remains of one of the popes. My only comments on that were that he had very small feet, no eyebrows, and wore a Santa Clause hat.

We then backtracked into where we should have started. In the Vatican museum, I observed all of the de-penised male statues,

an Egyptian mummy with creepy eyes and hair in much need of shampoo,

the Laocoon, and the unphotographable Sistine Chapel. My first reaction to the Sistine Chapel was to think that it was overrated. I had seen ceilings and walls in most of the other rooms that I liked much better. I then looked straight upwards. It may have been dizziness, but I could have sworn that it was painted in 3-D!

Io vado a Roma! Io vado a Roma! Io vado a-Uh Oh!

I spent the night last night with the Helous. Catherine woke me around six this morning, and twenty minutes later, we left for Paris! I received the world's best bear-hug two hours later from my Grammy! Our flight to rome was supposed to leave at 3h25, so we went ahead to the airport to catch the metro to go into Paris for an hour or so beforehand. We got lost on the bus system, and then I realized that I did not have my passport! I immediately freaked out; then I calmed down because I figured that Italy was part of the Schengen area, and I wouldn't need it because there would be no border control. We went ahead and went to the gate, though, because by this time, we would not have enough time to enjoy Paris. It was a good thing, too, because I discovered that I actually did need that passport that I had left on my dresser in the Nord-Pas-De-Calais. They would not accept my driver's permit as a identification. I started re-freaking out! Luckily, I had a photocopy of my passport in my wallet! (Thank you, annoying visa process!) They just barely let me through, but I made it! After a two hour flight, we arrived in ROMA, ITALIA!

Once we stepped off the train, it took us about 40 minutes to find our hotel whereas it should have taken only four! After eating a very Italian dinner of oatmeal, Fig Newtons, and Nutter Butters, we hit the night streets! We walked straight down Via Cavour to the Forum. We then spent the next three hours searching for a McDonalds. No, I do not approve of eating there, but the concierge at the hotel tipped us off (he looked around before whispering) that it had free wi-fi.
It was an adventure! We passed Vittoriano (Victor Emmanuel) and the Piazza Venezia, the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain!
I have decided that I will live in Italy when I grow up! The weather is fabulous, the temperature is perfect, and I want to learn the language so badly! Plus, everything everywhere is so old and gorgeous!

L'Araignee

So, I still do not know which one of them it is, but last night, when I threw back my covers, I had a paper cut-out of a spider waiting for me on my bed. It's too bad for Pierre and Mathilde that I'm not actually that scared of spiders because my reaction could have been a lot more dramatic than just throwing it on the floor and falling asleep...

La Coupole

I woke up this morning from a poke in the back by Maddi right next to me. Apparently, she wanted me to wake up so she would have someone with whom she could talk. At breakfast, she introduced me to Vegemite! I think she expected me to think it horrid, but it just tasted like a bouillon cube (Viandox for all the Frenchies) in paste form! Nevertheless, I still would choose a pb&j anyday over it.
An hour later, Margentina, Tim (Aussie), Kathryn (Aussie), and I hopped into Ingrid's car and we headed over to the Coupole. The only problem was that we got lost because we followed a car that did not belong to a Rotarian. Don't fear! We found our way by reading signs and ended up enjoying the WWII rocket-ship/war museum until noonish.
After the war museum and lunch, we continued with Rotary-weekend-Sunday-afternoon tradition and gathered around and joined in song with Daniel (Mexico) and his guitarre.

Bowling Shoes, The Nut Bush, and Top Hats

Hugues picked me up from school yesterday, and at 13h30 precisely, we departed for Saint Omer with Michael and Asaki. Regarding Asaki, I was extrememly worried. As Japan is such a teensie-weensie country in comparison, I imagine that everyone must be affected in one way or another. Alas, in Asaki's case, this is more than true. The 8.5 earthquake completely destroyed Asaki's home. On the brighter side, her entire family remains alive and safe, and Asaki will complete her exchange before returning home in the summer. The problem that I have is that I do not know how to even to attempt to condole someone who does not necessarily feel comfortable with personal contact (aka: hugs). Asaki, though, like all of the Japanese, is a fighter, and I did not once see her tear or even put on a sad expression.
We were one of the first to arrive at the Malassise, a boarding school where we spent the night. After hugging every single person that arrived, we squeezed into Rotary cars and went bowling! I epic failed at bowling, finishing with 50; that's pretty sad considering that I have broken 100 the past two times I've gone bowling in France! I did have a blast, though! I bowled next to Maddi (one of the new Australians) who really reminded me how grateful I am to understand all of the French that surrounds me. Of course, we did not just talk about the exchange; we also discussed our plan to create the new sex-appeal: bowling shoes and fishnets!
For most of the rest of the evening, all of us discussed with the future French exchangers and their parents about their up-coming adventure! I also spent much of that time with Suzanna (Illinois) because we realized that the French kids really had next-to-no interest talking with us. Our discussions went a bit deeper than fishnets, and at dinnertime, Darpan joined us in our discussion, choosing to be more intimate than a voice in the crowd of the group.
After dinner, we all spoke a little about our exchange. Everyone told lengthy stories, but as I went at the end, I tried to make mine short and sweet because the clock had already reached midnight.
Yes, as teenagers, we followed that with a dance party! I started the trend at 1h00 by changing into my pj's, but I continued to dance afterwords. I learned two new dances! Maddi taught me the nut bush (an Australian line dance) and another no-named dance that involves fast-paced kicks.
We went to sleep late like we do on all Rotary weekends. I could barely keep my eyelids open, so I was one of the first to fall asleep. However, after about a minute of letting my mind wander unconsciously, I re-awoke. I had had the strangest mini-dream about an assortment of dogs dressed in tuxedos and top hats sitting on bleachers. Consequently, I had to share. I fell almost straight back to sleep while everyone in the sleeping bags around me laughed. It was so random!

Slip and Slide

I don't know what Nadine put on the floor, but it's as slippery as a banana! That's one of the brighter aspects of wearing fuzzie socks non-stop: I don't have to walk; I just sliiiide! Yes, I did spend at least half an hour this afternoon just sliding on the floor with Mathilde.

Guess What?! I was in La Voix du Nord newspaper today!

Splat...Handball

So, I had a major SPLAT moment in EPS (P.E.) this afternoon. I had to make a pyramid with two other girls, so I put my legs on the shoulders of Cloe and Florine and went into a split. They stood up, me still on their shoulders, and we held the position for a few seconds. The only problem was that we did not know how to dismount. When they started to crouch back down, I wobbled and totally fell head-first on the floor! Fortunately for me, there were a few guys around us, spotting, who quickly grabbed me and lightened my fall a tad. Everyone swarmed around me, peppering me with "Oh my gosh!" and "Are you all right?"
I was perfectly fine, and the only reason I could not get up off of the floor was because I was laughing too hard!

Tonight, we went to watch a France vs. Serbia handball tournament. The ambiance was great! The Lievin inside stadium was completely packed, and everyone wore the same free, matching blue t-shirt in support of France. Handball is a mix of basketball and soccer. Points are scored quickly, and the players bounce the balls, but there are goals like soccer goals (a little smaller) with goalies. The match was more or less equal the entire time. In the last few minutes, Serbia started ahead by one point. We tied the game in the last two minutes, and in the last two seconds, France scored the winning goal, making the croud go crazy!

No Autographs, Please!

This morning I went to Lensotel. This week so far has been odd. Usually, I only have Rotary meetings Tuesday evenings. However Monday night and this morning have been exceptions! I arrived at the hotel at around 8h30. Everyone else arrived around 10h45. The reporters arrived at 11h00, and for the following hour, I sat in a press conference with other Rotarians.
Keep an eye out for me in the Artois newspaper, La Voix du Nord, or leave an ear unclogged to listen for my name on a random radio station!
The nice thing about the interview was that I got to miss my morning classes. Contrarily, I attended Italian this afternoon. I was planning on really focusing, paying attention, and absorbing as much as possible. Nope! Instead, Nawel, a girl in 2nde (a year below me), sat next to me. On the bright side, I learned more new French vocabulary words than I have for a long time!

Dégustation

I slept spectacularly last night after going to bed at 21h00! Strangely enough, that meant that I awoke at midnight and started getting ready for school. Don't worry- I fell right back asleep and reawoke with that same energy at 6h00. The bummer is that today was the most uneventful rentree to school! All we did all day was check tests that I had not been obliged to take. So, I just sat in class doing and learning nothing.
This evening I had a Rotary meeting. At least- I thought that it was a meeting until I arrived at L'Etiquette to discover that the restaurant was actually a wine bar. So, I participated in a rite of French culture and "degusted" (that's Franglais, by the way) a champagne and two white wines in a night from Borgogne. Thankfully, I had told Philippe to come and pick me up at 9h15, so I did not have to drink/taste the following third white and two red wines. Mr. Crapet (A Rotarian) had told me that it would finish at around 9h30, but the lady at the door unhappily informed me that normally it ended at 23h00. Oopsie!

First Communion

This morning, I arose relatively early to braid Mathilde's hair. She dressed all in white, and at 10h15, we piled in the car and headed to church. The ceremony for her first Communion began at 11h00 and lasted one hour. Unfortunately for her, her outfit was light while the church was freezing!
Not surprisingly, a lunch that lasted from noon to 20h00 followed church. The list of guests included Mathlide's godmother (plus her husband and son) and godfather, two sets of aunts and uncles, and her grandmothers. Sadly, Stephanie (Meme) could not make it to the service due to the inconvenience of her wheelchair.

Une Fete de Justin Bieber

Mathilde left this afternoon to go play with Pauline, a friend, at her house. About fifteen minutes after Pauline's father had picked her up, they called the house and asked if I wished to join them. Of course I said, "yes!" Any excuse to hang out with ten year olds is good for me! When I first got to the house, I spoke with the dad for a quarter of an hour, and I started to wonder if I were just going to spend the entire four hours with the parents. Then Pauline, Mathilde, and Pauline's younger sister, Chloe, called me upstairs where we played a blind-folded version of Tag. When Chloe had tired of Tag, we went into Pauline's room where I could not help but stare at the innumerable posters of Justin Bieber. The only wall-space not covered by his face was the ceiling. I quickly fixed that by untaping and retaping a poster just above her bed, so Pauline can now fall asleep staring into his eyes.
Afterwords, we played hide-and-go-seek in the dark. Believe it or not, I hid under the bed comforter twice, and both times it took them a long while to find me! We followed that by dress-up! I surprisingly fit into a few of Pauline's costumes! I, no surprise here, disguised myself as a princess and told Chloe and Pauline that in my first life, I was the princess of Leichtenstein!
Obviously, at the home of a Justin Bieber idolizer, wearing dress-up clothes, there is nothing else to do but throw a mini dance party! So, that's what we did. We even improvized strobe-lights.
We returned home at six, but I have a feeling that I will be invited again soon.

Quote of The Day

Remember that happiness is a way of travel- not a destination.
~Unknown

Cheddar...Really, France? Really?

Today I walked downstairs into the kitchen to see, sitting on the counter, a square block of orange cheese. I knew almost instantly what it was. With more cheeses than days of the year, I am honestly disappointed that the French feel the need to import our mediocre bricks of hormonized, bright orange yumminess.
As a general rule, I have been avoiding cheese in France to slow the weight gain process and hopefully to ward off unwelcome pimples. It is sincerely a shame that in France I am going to get fat off of an American cheese!
Then again, cheddar cheese is actually English...

Party Theme: Green

Tonight I went to a political meeting with Lizette. In the bathroom before everything started, I met the speaker Eva Joly, a Norwegian-born French Magistrate who will most likely run for the presidency in 2012. The meeting concerned the European Ecological Green Party, made up mainly by liberals, socialists, and communists. (Remember that to be called a Socialist or Communist in France is not necessarily derrogatory.) The reunion lasted around an hour and a half. Afterwords, Lizette and I mingled amongst the other ecologists while drinking organic apple and orange juice. I now have an invitation to go visit the European Parliament in Strasbourg whenever I would like! If I go with Lizette and Sabine, we will probably depart early June.
From Arras, Saed, Lizette, and I returned to Vermelles and enjoyed piping-hot homemade onion soup with the Pecqueurs as the adults discussed my future marrying prospects.

Ticking Off Another Toilet Tragedy

This afternoon, Mathilde took a bike and I took a trottinoire (a scooter in French is a moped), and we rode over to Stephanie's house. She is pretty much confined to her house in her wheelchair since her foot is still broken.
We hung out there for an hour or so. Right before we left, I announced that I was going to go use the toiled. Normally, people close the door when they do their business. Don't worry-there was a door, so I did not have to tinkle in before the entire world. The problem came when I attempted to open the door. I discovered that the knob was only one-sided and that not only was I confined, like Stephanie, to her house, but I was imprisioned in the WC! Lauging with a feeling of deja-vu, I banged on the door until Mathilde came to help me out. Fortunately for me, the one side of the door-knob still connected, had it's connection point on my side of the door. It took a good five minutes, but I finally escaped!
I think my addiction to water renders me vulerable to these types of encounters. It seems inevitable that wherever I go, the toilet has it in for me!