Le Rêve ♥

attention everyone: I dreamed in French!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How exciting! it was crazy. I woke up and immediately started thinking in French and then I realized that my whole dream had been in french!!!!! I was sooooooooooooo happy :D I know everyone says this means you are fluent, but unfortunetly I don't think thats the case haha. I still have a LOOOOONG way to go, but I still have time. Speaking of- today is my 5th month in France which is the halfway point. I cannot believe it. I am so proud of myself for all that I have learned and for being strong enough live in a foreign country without my family. Its been hard, but amazing at the same time.

Today, I rock climbed really well. I'm already a little sore so I can only imagine what tomorrow is going to be like.... This week has been pretty good. Nothing too noteworthy. In my french class we are working with different levels of language- meaning formal, everyday, and slang. I really love doing this because I am learning so many new words and I'm also learning what situations call for what type of speech. My friends also get a kick out of it when I tell them all the slang words I learn :) In french, the teens and some adults use a language called "verlan" THIS IS SOOOOOO HARD!!!! verlan means the inverse! for example---- in order to say something was crazy which in french is "fou" they say it was "ouf"! or for merci you can say "ci-mer" Its the craziest thing ever... c'est un truc de ouf ;) hahaha its so confusing but i'm am starting to kind of understand...
I am suppper tired today... good thing tomorrow i can sleep in!!!!!
zibou hahahha
em

paris and then not dinner and a movie, but a movie and dinner...

Today I went to Paris with Mariana :) it was cold and rainy so we decided to go to Le Louvre. Even if I visited Le Louvre everyday while I was here I'm almost positive I still wouldn't see everything. Its amazing, but a bit hard on the feet! Walking and walking. We got lost while trying to find the sortie and ended up going in circles for a bit. It was pretty funny. After the museum we just sort of wandered around the quartier and then later stopped in a patisserie for a snack. Oh goodness, at the louvre mariana and I asked this couple to take a picture and the couple answered us in english so mariana asked where they were from and they said Arizona. I told them I was from Idaho and we talked for a bit... Let me just tell you that this was soooooo hard! I never ever ever thought I would have to concentrate whilespeaking english, but today I learned I was mistaken. It was really weird. I would accidentally switch back to french and have to correct myself. I had to apologize to them and say that I have been in french mode for awhile so its weird for me to speak english now. i really don't know why it was hard today because when I skype my family its easy haha. and sorry everyone, but right now I do NOT like our accent. Its not pretty... I think when I come home I am only going to speak french because I love it! hahahaha :D

Anyway, after our trip to Paris, I went to the movies with Isabelle, her sister, and parents. We watched the new movie with Matt Damon "Au-delà " or "Hereafter." It was good, sad in parts but pretty good.

After the movie (which got over at 9pm) we went to Isabelle's parents' house for a crepe dinner :) it was yummy! I thought I was so funny that we didn't do dinner and a movie, but a movie and then dinner. In the states if our movie started at 7 there is no way we would wait until after to eat dinner! It was fun because it was such a french thing to do.

well, i'm off to bed!

emily

sunny afternoons in Paris :)

2 posts in one day... you're welcome :)
Today in Paris it was 50 degrees with lots of sun. It was amazing. Its hard to believe its january when it feels like april.... but I'm not complaining! I spent the afternoon with Mia. We went shopping a little bit more, then ate a picnic lunch by the Seine (literally on steps that led directly to the water!) and then we went to the Promenade Plantée which is a 2.8 mile pathway with trees and benches and flowers (well not so much during winter), but the coolest part is that it is on TOP of buildings!!! It used to be a track for trains, but was tranformed into a neat park type thing. It was awesome. We will definitely have to go back in the spring when everything is in bloom also because I forgot my camera this time around... but wow it was such a perfect little afternoon. Also, I found a nice coat today for only 20 euros!!! I was so excited :) I love the soldes!!!!
well, that's all folks!
emily

SOLDES et Noel encore!!!

Gahh, (what is really funny is that i just started writing this blog entry in french without thinking haha...) Wednesday in French was the start of the winter sales!!!! Meaning that pretty much all the stores discounted their winter collections. So yesterday I went to La Defense, Forum Les Halles, et Le Champs-Eylsees to check them out. It was a LOOOOOONG day of shopping and I didn't find that much, but it was still an experience :) The sales will last until February, but by then everything is pretty much gone. After the long day of shopping the Lasserres had another Christmas party, this time with their friends the famille G-A-L-P-I-N ;) et Philippon. It was fun :) I got more presents too! I got a box of ferrero rochers and an silver necklace engraved "la vie est belle" :) it was so thoughful!
This afternoon I am going to Paris to take advantage of this beautiful day!!! it is around 50 degrees here! doesnt feel like january at all....
bisss,
emily

happiness :)

life is good! what a great day :) Today, afterschool and rock climbing, we stopped at le fromagerie de Chelles. It is owned by the parents of a girl I met who wants to be an exchange student next year. She is so nice and told me that I had to go visit the cheese shop to try all the different flavors. So, we went today and her mom explained all the different types and how they were made and we got to taste quite a few too. You could really tell that she loves what she does. It was great. Did you know there are 1,000 different types of cheese in France?!?! 1,000!!!! man oh man i still have a lot more to try ;) But the shop was really cute and I can't wait to go back to try some more different types of fromage!

After le fromagerie, I got home and had the BEST surprise ever waiting for me :D :D :D :D It was a package from my family with my nigh-night and english books and junk food that I missed oh so much. It was like christmas all over again. I was SOOOO happy :) and still am. I truly have the best family ever. I miss them. This care package was the highlight of my week for sure. :D

well, there you have it! gahh i am so happy :)

xoxoxox,

emily

#100

well this is my 100th blog post from France! i am such a faithful little blogger ;)
today i had a district rotary meeting with all the other exchange students and with all the new french students who want to go on exchange next year. We didn't actually do anything except talk to the newbies and the parents a little bit. It wasn't that exciting, but I still love hanging out with everyone. funny story--- so I was not having one of my best "speaking french" days and i was eating lunch with jack and lucia and then about 6 french students and after making about a 100 mistakes in french i said "ahh aujoud'hui c'est un mauvais DAY pour mon francais..." meaning ( today is a bad day for my french) but i actually say day instead of jour!!! oh gotta love my franglais....
well, I am really tired after long rotary day. luckily i start at 10am tomorrow because my french prof is going to be gone!
bisou
emily

la galette, Le cimetière du Père-Lachaise, and other french things :)

I just got home from a nice fondue dinner with the Gabelotauds :) I am very lucky that I already know my 2nd host family well so the transition won't be too hard. During the day I visited le cimetière du Père-Lachaise in Paris with my friends. We saw the graves of Moliere, Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Frederic Chopin, et Edith Piaf. It was cool to see the graves of all these famous people and it was even more interesting to see what the graves looked like. For example, Moliere and Chopin and Edith were very classical.... Jim Morrison's on the other hand had tons of flowers, but also bottles of alcohol and cigarette butts and The Doors albums... very rock and roll...And then Oscar Wilde's was covered with red kiss marks.... so we all just had to add to it! haha thats what being a tourist is all about! kissing filthy tombstones...:)

It was another great visit to Paris :)
Another this that has been going on this week that I have failed to mention is La Galette! In January a French tradition is eating la galette which is a really really yummy almondy cake. Inside the cake there is a little trinket and whoever finds the trinket in their piece of cake is the king or queen for the day and gets to wear a crown. Its a little bit like what we sometimes do for christmas eve with the rice pudding and the almond. Its really fun and the cake is soooo good. Plus, I won! by only cheating a bit ..... :) no, but its a really fun little french tradition.
Anyway, il faut que j'y aille parce je dois me reveiller tot demain...
bisous!
em

chez le medecin.

Well, 2011 is going pretty well. School has started back up, so I'm back into my routine!

yesterday was sad because i had to say bye to Emily from New Zealand since she leaves this friday! She got here last January since she is from the southern hemisphere and their school years are the opposite of ours. It really got be thinking about how fast my exchange has gone!!!! When i met her she had the same amout of months left as i do now! and these last few months have FLOWN by. I am doing my best to stay in the moment so that i can get everything I possibly can from my exchange.
Today was a crazy day. I didnt go to school because I had a doctors appointment in this town just next to Paris in order to get my Visa validated or something like that. I was excited at first because i didnt have to go to school, but i think i would have rather gone than do what i did. First of all, it was rainy and windy and the directions that i printed off the night before were NOT AT ALL helpful... I'm sure it was hilarious for the other people to see this lost, helpless american wondering the streets trying to find the right building carrying a huge copy of her lung X-RAY. I had to ask 5 different people for directions. Finally, after walking through this really yucky neighborhood I found the office i was looking for. The first doctor that saw me was not nice at all. He was just say "stand there" "go there" "sit there" "give me your papers" "do this" and he was talking really fast, so once i had to ask him to repeat and he just sighed and acted like i was a complete waste of time. soo frustrating. After the rude doctor I had to wait a little while and then was taken to another doctor who was MUCH nicer. At first he asked what language I wanted him to talk in and i said french, but he started speaking a mixture of french and english which was super confusing. I understood his french better than his english and I think he caught onto that because by the end he was speaking only in French. thankfully haha. He asked me lots of questions about Idaho and the USA which was nice.
After him I had to wait forever inorder to get my Visa stamp saying I was healthy haha. The lady that helped me with that started out speaking French, but then saw my passport and started speaking really broken English with a few French words. example "you take your carnet avec you." I actually had to tell "Vous pouvez parler en francais si vous voulez." meaning You can speak in French if you would like!

When i was finished i walked out of the building and what did i find only ONE block away? the metro of course! oh dear. the internet had given me the wrong metro stop which led to a lot of confusion that morning... but its all good now! counting my transportation and appointment it took me 4 hours... it was tiring.
tonight i have a rotary club meeting! hope i can stay awake :)
bisous.
em

2011!

bonne année!!!
I can't believe its already 2011... and i also can't believe i only have 6 months left. but we don't talk about that! (spoagin' as my family would say... even though i don't know how to spell it...) anyway, last night was really fun. I had went to a little new years party at my friend, Valentine's house. I realized how much i had missed getting ready for dances and whatnot with my friends while i was doing my hair and makeup with Valentine. It was nice to have some girl time. Plus it had been awhile since i had seen my French friends so it was good to catch up and be in full french mode :)
Anyway, i have a good feeling about this year! Its going to be a good one... except i still need to come up with a new year's resolution! a little late, I know. any ideas?
bisous,
emily

Musée d'Orsay and others :)

Let me first start off by saying i love having a long term visa and a school card because i am considered a resident of France which means I get into almost all the museums for free :) life is good. Today i went to Musée d'Orsay which is filled with impressionist art. I loved it. The art was beautiful. There was van GoghMonet, Manet, Cezanne, and beaucoup plus. My friends and I have been trying to fit all the indoor stuff in now (like museums and what not) during the winter so we don't freeze :) even though it hasnt been too cold lately. Anyway here are a few photos I took in the museum before (and just a few i discretely took after) i saw the sign telling me cameras were interdit.
After the trip to the museum we were starving so we made our way to the Saint Michel district and went to a little creperie :) My ham and cheese crepe hit the spot.

In the same district, Jack and I found "Shakespeare and Company" which was a super cute English bookstore. We were sooo excited. We bought David Sedaris's "Me Talk Pretty One Day
" to share. (mom, i know what you are thinking--- why am i buying english books when i am in France and why am i not having the full French experience... c'est ca? haha but we were just so excited to see english books again we had to cave a little!!!) Its about when Sedaris moved to France and was learning French so I think it will be really funny :) Plus, that store is amazing. It is exactly what a bookstore should look like! It was weird though being able to speak English with the ladies working.... I would catch myself answering back in French. It is really weird when that happens....
Et voila :) J'adore tourjours Paris. I am so lucky. Its a dream come true living here. I am so happy!!!! oh and sorry about the random french words but they were the first words that came to me and i am too lazy to go find and change them into english again.
♥
em

mon Noël francais.

My first French christmas was amazing :) In fact, its not that much different from Christmas back in the states. Christmas Eve was spent cooking for the big dinner that night- I made a buche de Noel with the help of Isabelle. It is a rolled cake that is the traditional dessert of Christmas. It was really yummy.

We went to church that night which was freezing because they didnt turn the heat on... we were like ice cubes. After church Patrice's parents and sister came over for dinner. We ate and ate and ate and ate... :) we had escargots, shellfish, and foie gras pour our first dish. Then we had some sort of fowl with apples and raisons for our main course, then cheese and then our dessert. It was good :) We also had a little christmas exchange that night with Patrice's family. Before going to bed we all had to put a pair of shoes under the tree because one of the French traditions is that Santa puts the presents next to your shoes so in the morning you know whos are whos. It was funny :)

The next morning (NOEL!) we woke up at like 10ish and then opened our presents. One difference I noticed is that everyone opens their presents at the same time. there isnt any "All eyes on [so and so]" like in my family. My family was so nice and gave me really nice gifts. I got cookbooks and a personalized journal and lots more. oh and a 5 KILO JAR OF NUTELLA! hahaha that is about 11 pounds.... definitley will need some help eating that.

After opening presents we had a little breakfast of toast and jam and nutella and then we went into paris because Amandine had a horseback riding lesson (talk about dedication!). After the lesson we went to the Champs-Eylsees to visit the Christmas market and the ice sculture display. It was really beautiful and surreal to be in Paris for Christmas.

It was a really really nice Christmas and was only a little hard for me to be away from my family. It didn't feel 100% like christmas since it wasn't the same traditions and I wasn't with my family, but it was still a great christmas :)

The next day was ANOTHER christmas!!! This time with Isabelle's family. Her mom loves christmas and every year plans a themed Christmas party. This year it was Christmas around the world and the colors were red and white. Everyone had to cut out a picture of a person from a different country and make a little ornament to hang on the tree and bring a dish from another country (We brought american cookies and brownies). There were more presents there too! It was really nice of everyone to include me :)Also, my family surprised me with a candle to blow out for my 4th month in France. I had completely forgotten with all the christmas stuff going on. I can't believe its already been 4 months. wow.

Yesterday was yet another little Christmas, this time with my 2nd host family. We ate lots of desserts and exchanged more gifts. They gave me a bag full of French specialties and a really nice pen set (one is a plume which i can use for calligraphy!) to use in my new journal! it was so nice!

I am so thankful for the amazing christmas I had and for my 2 amazing French families. With the Gabelotaud's we were talking about how funny it will be to have all 3 of my families together when my family comes to France. The language barrier will be the funniest :) But i think it will be cool to because the French will be able to use their English and mom will be able to use her French (john too! haha)
Anyway, I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas!!!! only 4 more days until 2011! wow!!!!

xoxo♥

Ice skating + Lady Gaga + Notre Dame

This might have been the best two days ever :) It started off yesterday bright and early with ICE-SKATING ON THE EIFFEL TOWER!!!!!! when i heard about this i could not believe it... on the first floor of la tour eiffel there is an ice skating rink which is free! all you have to buy is the 3euro ticket to go up the tower. It was like a dream. We went early so we avoided the line and the crowds. i just kept thinking, "wow, i am really ice skating right now in the Eiffel Tower in Paris... how many people can say they have done this?" Its moments like that where I feel sooooo grateful and where i realize how lucky i am.

After a bit of skating we went up to the second floor of the tour eiffel and then hit up the christmas market across the street. i LOVE les marchés Noel! I know i'm going to miss those once christmas is over! They are so fun and festive.

And the night couldnt have ended better---- I GOT TO GO TO LADY GAGA'S CONCERT!!!! it was so amazing. She is sooo strang, but that's what makes her amazing. She had the kookiest costumes and played all the songs i love and she was actually really inspiring too telling us to never give up on dreams or never think we aren't good enough or pretty enough. She was wonderful and from what I say really down to earth too (which was super surprising since she seems so gaudy.) At the end of her show she got choked up saying how grateful she was for all of her fans and for the opprotunity to be able to show the world that its okay to be different. It was so nice. I never ever expected it from her.... and then to close the show she threw her custom-made ARMANI (!!!!) high heels into the crowd because supposedly its a tradition for dancers to throw their shoes if the audience was amazing that night.... she sais "mr. armani is going to kill me for this" Wow. i can't even explain how awesome it was....

After the concert the two girls and I stay at a Youth Hostel in Paris since it was safer than taking the trains at night. Then today, I went to Notre Dame with Sophie, Milton, Pascaline and Pascaline's church group. It was sooooo gorgeous! I was happy I got to go inside and got a tour! They had a really beautiful nativity seen in the cathedral which was really artsy. I liked it a lot.

I can't describe how grateful I am for everything I am getting to experience :) Even on days where not much happens I still feel lucky to even be in France. As amazing as these past two days have been I am looking forward to my day of recooperation tomorrow:) My feet are absolutely KILLING me.... i walked SOOOOOOOOOOO much.

anywho, im exhausted!
xoxo,

em

le foie gras.

I wish I could say that today i made foie gras, but that wasnt exactly the case haha. Today, Patrice and I went to the Gabelotaud's house for a lesson in making foie gras ( foie gras is a really famous French christmas dish involving the duck liver. its very similar to pâté). I started off making some, but got a little grossed out by working with the liver so Patrice finished the job. (notice how i haven't used "haha" yet.... seeing as i have been getting complaints...... thanks mom and katie....) Anyway, it was really interesting how it is made. Foie gras isn't my favorite dish I have tried but its not bad... I'm just not a big fan of pâté.
Anyway, i have a full few days ahead of me including a Lady Gaga concert and ice skating on la tour Eiffel!!!! so excited.
grosses bisouses,
em

Les Vacances! :)

J'ADORE LES VACANCES :)
My vacation started with a Friday afternoon spend in Paris with my darling Maria. We did a bit of shopping and then that evening met up with Mia and headed to Croissy Sur Seine to watch our friend Jack in a play! He's an american and he was in a French play! We were so proud of him :) (plus i was super jealous because he has an amazing accent and it made me miss theater so much!!!) The play was really funny. i loved it. Anyway, after the play we walked to jack's in the snow which was beautiful with the christmas lights. At jack's we had some tea to warm up and then stayed up really late just talking and what not. The next morning we all woke up at around 12:30 hahaha.... (not too strange for me ) We had a nice breakfast of croissants and pain au chocolat and tea. it was so nice. That evening the Lasserres and I went to Patrice's parents house for a birthday dinner for his sister and dad. It was really nice! We ate soooooooo much! hahaha first we started with a crap spread on bread, then we ate oysters and shrimp, then foie gras, then racelette dish, then salade, and then cake! hahaha. i had to use some moderation to make it through all the courses :) but worth it!
and then today was a really relaxing day because it snowed a lot last night we just stayed home. we had freshly squeezed orange juice and fresh bread for breakfast! life is good.... and then for our afternoon snack Amandine made waffles. yummmmmy :) i love that half my blog is filled with me talking about food.... wow.
Well, there you have it!
gros bisous!

tartiflette! miam miam :)

A great day topped off with a delcious dinner :) Isabelle made a tartiflette tonight and it was soo yummy. Cheese, potatoes, bacon, onions.... yum! I'm just packing on those kilos.... hahahaha. I try to avoid the scale as much as possible. Anyway, school was a little tiring today and i'm not sure why because I started at 12 hah. I had two hours of badminton which was fun even though I am now currently the worst in the class.... (seriously, today we had a competition and I ended up being ranked 8th out of 8 hahahaha) Go me! However, yesterday I had a rock climbing competition and I got 3rd out of the girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its that awesome? I'm not sure exactly how many girls were there, but I would guess somewhere around twenty :) It was super tiring though.
Oh and by the way, yesterday I learned that I can't read english anymore.... I was in my english history class and the prof asked me to read outloud and it was like I was in 1st grade all over again... I had to follow along with my finger and I couldnt read fast. It was terrible. And then when I got to the number 25,000 I FORGOT HOW TO SAY IT! I started by saying "vingt-cinq...." but then i realized what i had switched back to french so i can to hurry and search for the english word. boy oh boy. Also, when French people talk to me in english i automatically always respond in french... im not sure if i already said this, but one day in my class my friends asked me if i would talk to them only in english for a few minutes so they could practice and so I said yes of course. I started out speaking english, but then I automatically switched back to French when I answered them... they had to keep reminding me to speak English. I dont know why that is because when I speak to the other americans or my family on Skype I don't switch over the French haha. The life of a foreign exchange student I guess! Its kind of cool though :)
Anyway, ONE MORE DAY UNTIL CHRISTMAS VACATION!!!! (not that i've been counting hahahah)
bisous,
em

'Tis the season....

C'est presque Noel!!! :) yay! I cannot believe it! I've definitely been getting in the holiday spirit by playing tons of christmas music!!! love it. Oh, and I found out that the names of Santa's reindeer are not common knowledge here. hahaha i was curious to see if they had French names instead, but the Lasserres' said that they had never heard that the reindeer are named :) we ended up looking it up on the internet and French names exist but no one ever knows them.

Anyway, last Sunday we decorated the house for Christmas! I loved it. I just loooooove Noel. And then today at school was the famous Christmas Dinner at the cafeteria. It was interesting hahaha. I tried foie gras! I was really scared to try it, but it turned out to be not too bad. I think that the foie gras we are going to eat for Christmas will be even better since its not cafeteria food hah. Also, in my French class we had a little Christmas party :) We listened to music and ate and decorated the room. It was fun and reminded me of elementary christmas parties. Rotary has pre-warned all of us that Christmas is the hardest time for exchange students because the holidays are about being with family and its when the homesickness really kicks in, but so far i am doing really well ! :) I truely am loving France. Of course I miss everyone and its a little surreal that I won't be home for Christmas ( i don't know what i am going to do without Gramma Joan's gumdrop bars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! or mom's sausage ring!!!!!!!!!!!!), but I am really looking forward to experiencing a different country's Christmas! It will be really interesting to see the different traditions.

Bon... C'est tout :)

bisous!!!!

emm

what a great weekend :)

Another saturday spent in Paris :) its becoming a ritual now... but why not, right? anyway, a bunch of us Rotary kids were going to go ice skating the Eiffel Tower (yea, there is totally an iceskating rink on the 2nd story of the eiffel tour! how awesome right?) but unfortunetly it doesnt open until the 15th of december, so another day :) Instead, we visited the christmas market on the Champs-Elysees and then the one in front of la Tour Eiffel. I love christmas markets now! Sooo much yummy food and goodies. It was a really long day on our feet though haha. The best day of my part (still love this, fam..) was seeing the Eiffel Tower all light up and also twinkling! It was absolutely magical. At night, for 5 minutes on the hour it twinkles. So pretty......

That night after Paris, I went to Aurelien's 18th birthday party (my host brother in my 2nd family).
It was fun :) I got to meet his friends who were all really nice and actually talked to me! haha.

xoxo,

em♥

Dîner-spectacle: la Légende de Buffalo Bill!

I just got home from La Légende de Buffalo Bill at Disneyland! It was dinner and a show :) It was really cool! It was pretty much all in english which was really odd to me since it was a show in France... but i guess it made more sense being in english since it was about Buffalo Bill and cowboys. It was like taking a little trip back home to the west hahaha, except a little more extreme. We all got cowboy hats and for dinner we had chili, cornbread, and ribs! It was so exciting haha. Extremely American. Mickey and Minnie and some of the other characters were there too. Disney always makes me happy. We went with the Galpin family. They are so fun and nice. I really like them. It was also really cool to see Disney at night all light up! What a great show :) My host family is so nice to take me to do things like this. I am truely enjoying myself here! J'adore la France.

♥ bisous,

em

Lille pour le marché noël + snow day!

coucou!

Yesterday, Rotary took us all to Lille (a city in northern France) to visit a marché noël (christmas market). It was so much fun! It really got me into the christmas spirit. Christmas markets are really common in France. They are like a little flea market, but all christmas stuff like decorations, food, and presents. There were so many delicious pasteries and yummy hot drinks. I tried so many different things haha. When in France..... right? I also bought some really cool wool socks and mittens. :) they will come in a lot of handy I think. We had the whole day to do what we shopped a lot and rode this really big x-mas ferris wheel. It was so cool! We were able to see all of Lille. It was a perfect day. Much better than going to school :)

There wasn't any snow in Lille, but when we got back to Paris there was a lot! Tons of trains were stopped and so it was a little difficult to get back home, but I made it :) I walked home from the gare in the snow and it was so peaceful with the snow and the pretty lights. I love snow. Anyway, today we had a snow day (well, school wasn't canceled, but the buses werent working so most people stayed home. )! It was really really nice outside. Sunny, but with snow so I went and played in the snow with my friends who live in neighborhood. We went to the park right behind my house and had a snowball fight, made snow angels, and went sledding. It was so nice :) I felt like a little kid again getting exciting for the snow.

♥

Let it snow♥

It snowed quite a bit today, but it has pretty much all melted by now. This afternoon though the snowflakes were huge! I have never seen snowflakes that big before- even in McCall. It was crazy. I guess its not normal for it to snow that much here and especially not this early. Anyway, today was a good day :) which was surprising because it was a tuesday haha. But this afternoon the photographer who did a presentation for us a few weeks ago, came back and took portraits of all of kids in my French class. We also all had to bring in a photo of us when we were little to put next to the recent portrait. I think its going to turn out really cool. We are also each going to write something about ourselves to add to the project. I'm excited to see how it turns out. Also, big accomplishment on my part--- I finished the first Harry Potter in French! :) I know that it isnt that surprising that i understood it since i have already read it in english, but still I had forgotton a lot of parts in the book and i still understood those parts :) so yea im proud of myself. On to the next one!
It was a little weird today because I left for school in the morning when it was still dark outside and then when i was done with school it was dark outside... not too fond of the super long school days, but i got a little treat on the bus ride home because the town square of Vaires was all decorated and light up. There was a huge christmas tree all light up and a bunch of other little Noel displays around. I loved it. I love this time of year! Even though I can't believe its already this time of year. wow.
well, thats all for now!
xoxo,
em