Faire Du Kiak!

I just got back from one of the BEST Rotary Weekends I have ever had! Actually, it was a Rotex Weekend! lol We went kayaking! Which was so much fun! Here are some pictures of me and my friends trying to kayak! :D

Making Pancakes

Sarah and I are trying to make pancakes! The key word is trying! lol

"Holiday On Ice"

Sarah and I just got back from seeing "Holiday on Ice" in Lille. It was so breathtaking that I ended up buying the DVD and CD!

PHOTOS: The first picture, I took and the second, Sarah took from where we were sitting! :D

Brugge, Dinner, & Middle School

1. Last weekend, I went to Brugge, Belgium - which was soooo beautiful! Words would put it to shame, so I am going to put up a video that I took when I went on a canal ride. It will either be on my blog or on Facebook - not sure yet.

2. Had dinner with the Rotary, on Wednesday, that lasted for 5 hours - surprise, surprise! lol But it was a lot of fun and now I am able to understand and answer the basic questions (in French - of course!) "Where do you live?" "How long will you be here?" "Is this your first time in France?" and "Which do you like better: the U.S. or France?"

3. I went to the Middle School, which was so much fun because I have like a billion friends there who are all trying to talk to me in English - which is really cute! :D

4. Also, I have been working on my Rotary Jacket, so it's super cool now! I'll post a picture of it soon!

5. Going to Lille today, so I'll write more later...

The Differences!

At school, no one knew what my canteen was used for. I had to explain that you put drinks in it, when you are going somewhere or doing something, like playing sports or just going to school. That canteens are better for the environment, but I don't think they really understood - I guess canteens just don't exist in France. Also, in public places, both men and women use the same WC (Water Closet). Which means, if the WC is small without people in it, when there are people - it's like trying to cross a street in New York City - it's way too busy! And I have still not seen a public WC with soap, but I'm still looking. LOL

By the way, I am just getting over being sick, but when I was really sick: my host mom gave me a bowl of warm chocolate milk to make me feel better. In France, they normally have this with bread - which is really good! :D

Sorry, It's been Awhile! :D

Last weekend, I had my first Rotary weekend! It was a BLAST! We went on a tractor ride to the beach, which was freezing cold! I stupidly went in the ocean with my one pair of pants for the weekend - so I had to borrow my friends PJ's! The next day we went Escalading, which is when you climb and swing from trees! I felt just like George of the Jungle, except I didn't crash into the trees! LOL

Then, on Wednesday, I went shopping with a girl from Germany, in Lens. It was a lot of fun, but because I was confused she ended up waiting for me after school for 70 minutes! I felt so bad, because the whole time she had been waiting, I was at home relaxing! I ended up buying her dinner and we had a really good time together.

This weekend, I went to a surprise party for a Rotary exchange student, who goes to Lycée Saint Paul. It was at this beautiful vacation house at the beach! We partied all night! :D

-For the party, I bought this really cute outfit! I'm going to post a picture of it soon!

Smile!

This picture was taken at the Rotary weekend about 3 days ago. These are some of the exchange students from the US, except one, living in my area of France.

P.S. I'm the one making the peace sign! :D

Aliments (FOOD)

Yesterday, in Lens, I ate a sandwich baguette with ham, nuts and a banana - all in the sandwich! I urge anyone wanting to be courageous to make one at home and try it. I was surprised to find that it wasn't half bad, and that I will probably buy one again. I also had a waffle drenched in Nutelle, which was delicious! And finally, I finished my day with hot chocolate and whipped cream! Everything was wonderful, and I recommend coming to France just to eat their food! :D

Décor Anyone?!

School is very different here: there are no clocks, all the classrooms are exactly the same, there are no mirrors in the bathrooms, and no doors for the bathrooms! But it's okay because I don't have to go to school on Saturday and I have a lot of friends! I just met another exchange student, a girl from Germany, which makes 8 of us! She is really nice and speaks some English, which is really cool! Right now (this phrase doesn't exist in French), I am in the Library, which is really small and looks like it only has 200 books. Everyone is really nice to me, but I still have no idea what people are saying. And I still don't understand what I need for all my classes. Now, I'm only taking:

1. E.P.S. - which is just P.E.
2. Anglais - which is frustrating because the teacher doesn't let me talk or write in English, only French
3. Mathématiques - my class is learning stuff I learned during Freshman year! - too easy
4. Info com - which is just about computers, I think
5. Eco-Droit - I think it's a writing class, but I'm not sure
6. Hist. Géo - haven't had it yet
7. Management - haven't had it yet
8. Français - haven't had it yet

P.S. I'm going to add a picture of the bathrooms soon, so just hold tight! :D

La Braderie De Lille & Music

I went to Lille with Margaux, which was really fun because it was La Braderie de Lille! Which is basically a giant sidewalk sale throughout the whole city; people are selling whatever they want at really low prices, and eating mountains of oysters. (I think they were oysters, anyway. LOL!) And at night, they have music and parties! I had a great time, and bought a lot! I left at about 7, because I was still tired from the Rotary dinner the night before! Sarah and I watched Love Story, which was really hard to understand in French.

American music and movies and really popular over here! Everywhere I go, I hear some American artist, like Madonna or Britney Spears! Right now, my favorite songs (in French) are "C'est Ma Terre" and "Cherchez le garçon" Remix (version electro). They are really cool, and popular over here!

J'aime France!

My first full day of school was really confusing! But I have a lot of friends, so everything is good! I've been told that in the North: it's the hardest to make friends and understand the language, because they have a strong accent and talk really fast. Which is probably why I feel like I know no French, even though I've spent about 3 full years learning French! Tonight, I had my first 6-hour dinner, which was really fun! It was at the Rotary meeting, where I met a lot of the members! I had a blast! :D

School?

Yesterday, was my first day of school (and a half day) which was wonderful because that's all I could take. My host mom stayed with me until we found Mr. Polvèche, my Rotary's President. Then, I met up with the other exchange students at my school, and we were told to go to this big room (with every other student there) to find out what section we were in - by having some man read our names. I'm in 1STG2 - I'm not sure what that means, yet. :D I met this girl in my class, she is really nice and also didn't know anyone in our class. We are going to have lunch together! Yesterday was fun, but I was really confused and still don't understand anything that happened to me! Today, I don't have school (I don't know why) but tomorrow I do... everything is different here.

P.S. I watched the Titanic for the first time (in French) and still cried!

Where Do I Live?

Yesterday, I went to Lille with Margaux and her best friends. It was a lot of fun! We ended up getting some very French food, made out of bread and chocolate! It also had some raisins in it, and normally I hate raisins, but the whole thing was delicious! After we went to a store that sold funny gifts. Then, to this really old church that had been remodeled after WWI - I think. They invited me to go with them to this big party, next week, that happens throughout the whole city. Which I am really excited for! Then, came the really hard part... I would have to take the train home. So Margaux explained to me that she was going to call my host mom and have her pick me up at the train station; but Margaux forgot my host mom's number in the car - that was with her mom! So, I was met by Margaux's dad, who took me to their house, and then to my town. But we got lost, so my host mom had to come get me! It was a very long and confusing day. Plus, my mom didn't know that I would be taking the train home, so when she found out, she thought I would be nervous about it. Which I was.

It only took me 6 days to look like a French girl, and with some phrases - I even sound like one! Margaux's dad only knew it was me because I looked lost, and a guy in the train station kept asking me for directions, until I told him I was an American! I am so proud of myself! :D

Mom, Dad, Taylor or Sierra?

If you guys are reading my blogs, I love it when you leave me little comments! It's my one joy in life! :D

Does Anyone Know How To Kill Spiders?

Over the past two days, I have seen a total of five spiders, all at night. Two were in my bed and three were in the bathroom. Now, you have to understand that these spiders are like Godzilla-sized! When you kill them, you have to use a shoe because a piece of toilette paper is too small! I can't explain how scary they are! But Sarah, my host sister, thinks it's a good thing I saw so many spiders at night. There is a famous French saying:
"Araignée du matin, chagrin,
Araignée du soir, espoir."
That means, if you see a spider in the morning, you are going to cry; but if you see a spider at night, you should be hopeful.

France: A Musical In Fast Forward

I had a meeting at my school today, to meet the President and other exchange students who will be going to my school. I had no idea what the President was saying, so everyone laughed at me! After, we went to pick up Sarah's best friend and went swimming. I had a great time! We swam and used the sauna. After, Sarah had a little party with her best friends. One of them was just dumped by her boyfriend - on the phone, at Sarah's party. It felt like middle school all over again! LOL I read to them from one of the books I bought earlier and they didn't laugh! Which was nice, because I am trying really hard to learn French and I feel bad when I am laughed at. We also played Twister, and I was able to work on some French. I had fun, but I couldn't say anything because I had no idea what they were saying! They were talking so fast that it sounded like the movie/musical, Moulin Rouge, in fast forward! It was really funny!

"Shop Till You Drop!"

Today, we went shopping! I ended up spending about $550 on: four shirts, two vests, one leather jacket, nail polish, waterproof mascara, a pair of shoes, and a book bag for school! I was so tired by the end of the day! Also, I felt very special because people were telling my host mom how beautiful I was! :D I also went to my school, Lycèe St. Paul, to get my books for school. I am taking (in french):
1. Français
2. Mathematiques
3. Histoire
4. Geographie
5. Anglais - which should be really easy for me! LOL
6. Espagnol
7. Economie
8. S.V.T 6 - which is all of our American science classes put together

Day 2: Showers, Machines And Music

Well, I took my first shower in France - and man, I am going to miss American showers! Unlike American showers, the whole point is to get clean fast, not get clean and take an hour doing it! I also used my debit card to get some Euros from the bank's machine. While learning that unless you grab your card and money fast, the machine will eat it! I am so glad Sarah and her mom were there, because they were able to grab my money before I lost it. Later that day, I meet Sarah's best friend, who is very nice! We played Twister and sang along to some songs! American music is really popular here, it's about all I hear, at home and at stores. After dinner, we watched a famous French film that was really funny. Steedo, their dog, finally likes me. He will come and sit with me, when I read. He is super sweet!

P.S. I also met their cat, who doesn't like anyone.

My First Day In France

The airplane arrived earlier than it was supposed to, which was great because I wasn't able to fall asleep on the 8 hour flight. After the plane landed, I managed to get lost in the airport and because I was so tired I almost started to cry. After, I finally found my way to Baggage (I had to take a train there) where I was able to find Mr. Polvèche - he is the Rotary's district president. I ended up helping him find two other Rotary exchange students, but was starting to feel so sick that Mr. Polvèche had his friend take me to Mr. Polvèche's house (which is very beautiful). This is where I took my 5 hour nap. Finally, my host family picked me up, but I still didn't have my bags, because they were in Mr. Polvèche's other car! I went to my new house and met this crazy dog! Sarah, my host sister, thinks that he will learn to like me after a couple of days. I went back to Mr. Polvèche's house to get my bags, where I met another exchange student! She is really nice, and we go to the same school! Finally, I went back to my new home and finished unpacking with Sarah, who was dying to look at my clothes. Sarah is really helpful, because she knows English! Also, she wrote some words on a board for me to memorize, which is very helpful! After, we ate dinner, and went to bed. Sarah gave me some candy called les Betises de Cambrai, which is really good. And it also makes a great midnight snack!

Exchange Program To France

Bonjour. Je m'appelle Alexa. I have just been notified that I will be spending my junior year in France! I am so unbelievably excited. I will probably leave the United States in August, so that gives me about 8 months to work on my French, but I'm up to the challenge.