its been awhile!

i haven't been a very faithful blogger lately. sorry!

Last week I was pretty sick which wasnt fun. I missed two days of school and just starting feeling better this weekend. So a quick overview of the past two weeks----

We have been having amazing weather here in France. I pulled out the gladiator sandals for the first time of 2011 and it was soooo nice :) One weekend I went to Paris with some of my exchange friends and we visited l'hotel des invalides and then bought some ice cream and ate it in the parc in front of the tour eiffel. I love paris in the springtime! its sooo beautiful.

That night I had a Rotary Gala- we ate really yummy food, danced, and my rotary club surprised me by putting my name on ALL the champagne bottle logos because it was the 26th of march which meant my 7th month in france! They also gave one to me for a souvenir. it was so special. That night i started to feel a little crummy which was too bad, but i still was able to enjoy myself. Anyway--- the next 4 days I was sick so they weren't too productive. This last weekend I had a Rotary international dinner (all the students had to cook a main dish and dessert from their country). I made BBQ ribs and brownies. They were a hit! I was very proud of myself. That night I stayed with Claire's family (Claire is a french girls whos leaving next year on an exchange) because it got over really late. It was fun. Her family owns a cheese store so I got to try some new kinds for lunch the next day. Talking to Claire about exchanges was so weird because I remember when I was the one getting ready to leave and asking tons of questions and waiting for information about my country/family. Now i'm the expert! I can't believe it. 7 months have already gone by. All the other students and I have made a rule that forbids talking about leaving because its too sad.....

Anyway, new subject- yesterday I made some delicious cinnamon rolls (I COOK NOW! first thanksgiving dinner, then ribs, brownies, cookies, and now cinnamon rolls? who would have guessed...?) I want to eat them all, but i know i have to share. . . .

Also, ready for the best news ever?!?!?! FRIDAY I LEAVE FOR THE BUS TRIP!!!!!!!!

I'm going with tons of students from my district and we start in Strasbourg then go to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco and then finish back in France! i'm sooooo excited. I just want to fast-forward through the next 3 days (no, actually i shouldn't say that because time is going by too fast already. ) I get back the 19th of April and then the next day I am going to l'Ile de Re avec my host family! Its an island off the west coast of France and I heard it is amazing. Nicholas (my host dad's family lives there so we are going for easter). So yea pretty much this month is going to be amazing.

well, there you go! my little update :)

bisous,

emily

fountainebleau!

This afternoon I went rock climbing at Fontainebleau! It was sooo beautiful and fun. The weather was fantastic, 70 degrees! It was nice to get some fresh forest air. It reminded me a lot of McCall. I'm not super talented when it comes to rock-climbing, but i like it a lot and i am improving little by little!
Today I conquered an orange climb which was named "assez difficile" (rather difficult!) haha i was proud of myself. Anyway, I am off to bed. ! bizzzous

Un Tramway Nommé Désir.

yesterday was a great day :) The Lasserres took me to La Comedie Francaise to see "A Streetcar Named Desir" well it was in French so "Un Tramway Nommé Désir" by Tennessee Williams. It was the first American play to be put on at the Comedie Francaise! isn't that cool?! It was really good. The actors were amazing. and I understand almost everything!!! It made me miss drama so much. The Comedie Francaise is really cool inside (i tried to take a picture of it but i got in trouble haha). Its still hard for me to believe that I am able to go to the theater in Paris. It makes me realize how lucky i am.
oh, before the theater we ate in Paris at a authentic American diner! haha it was funny :) and yummmy. I had a real cheeseburger, fries , and an Oreo milkshake! It was delicious but i ate wayy to much!
I got home at 12:30am so it was a good thing I started school at noon today! Anyway, in short it was a great evening spent in paris! MERCI LES LASSERRES!
bisous,
em

le soleil!

j'aime le soleil!!!! It was sooooo nice today! actually hot with a lot of sunshine. it was fantastic. spring is really here. Also, this morning I started school at 1pm. oh how I love France and its no substitutes teachers. I had 3 hours of class today. nice and easy.
After school, Pascaline Solene and I made rasberry smoothies/milkshakes which we drank on the patio so we could take full advantage of the sunshine. After that we messed around with the webcam on my laptop hahah we were bored.... (as you can see from the photos...) we finished the evening off my watching top chef and eating dinner.
It was a really relaxing, nice day :)
well, off to bed because unfortunetly i dont start at 1pm tomorrow.....
bisous
em

bienvenue chez moi!

Ok I finally got around to taking pictures of my new house :)

so here is a little tour for you all!

outside--the entryway and stairs---the kitchen----the dining room----the living room---my bedroom----

voila!!! its not the entire house, but a good part of it :)

bisous!

L'anniversaire de Krystel!

Today was really fun :) I spent the day with my french friends for Krystel's birthday. First we all went to her house in Vaires to eat a delicious Guadelopean meal because her family is from there. It was soooo good. I dont remember what it was called but it was a plat with rice, zucchini, potatoes, and chicken with a really yummy sauce and for dessert we had a cake called "Mont Blanc." Yummm. After that we all hung out for a bit and then went to Paris to watch a movie. It was a really fun day. I love hanging out with my friends from school (even if i still don't understand everything), they are always fun.
Sorry for the short post but i'm tired :)
bonne nuit!
emily

beautiful weather!

having lovely weather always puts me in such a great mood :) today the sun is shining and its in the 60s. and just to add to the great day i didn't have school! This morning my french class and i went to the movie theater (not sure why because the film was in english with french subtitles....weird for a french class to see) and then my teacher had meetings or something so we didnt have school for the rest of the day! its nice. I went on a nice walk with Sophie to get out and enjoy the weather.

But yea, life is good! i loving france more and more. Time is going by way too fast. I can't believe it. One month until the bus trip! i remember talking about it in september and saying wow thats so far away, but here it is! oh la.

Anyway i am all settled in my new family and its going really great. I will post pictures of the new house soon. Sorry I've been neglecting blogging! I'll try to be better.

Today is mardi gras and so we are having a crepe night! miam miam!

bisous!

em

2eme semaine de vacances!

the 2nd week of vacation went by wayyy to fast. Mariana stayed with me the whole week which was really fun :) i miss you already haha. Well, i am just going to give a quick run-down of the week because i dont feel like typing very much. One day Sophine took Pascaline, Mariana and I to the Centre d'Agriculture in Paris which was really funny haha. It was a huuuuuuge building filled with livestock--cows, pigs, goats, chickens, donkeys--- it was like the fair! Another day I went to paris with Mariana, Jack, and Jose. We visited the Centre Pompidou which was a good choice because it was raining a lot. Another day I helped Mariana cook a mexican dinner for my family. It turned out really good. We had guacamole, enchiladas, beans and flan. It was so nice to eat mexican food again. i miss it a lot haha even though in Twin its not considered authentic. Yesterday, we went to Paris to watch Black Swan which was a realllllllly weird movie. I am surprised that it is nominated for awards... to each his own i guess. and last night mariana, sophie, nicholas, i and the Lasserres had a dinner with a couple from Rotary where we ate a saurkraut dish. We didnt get home until 2 in the morning..... oh la. Anyway, there is my week! I am sad that my vacation is over... school tomorrow.... joy!
hahah
well xoxo
em

La Marmotte dans les Alpes♥

Coucou! I just got home from a week-long ski vacation in the Alps (crazy right?!) It was so much fun. We stayed in the cabin of Isabelle's grandparents, called "La marmotte" or in English "The Groundhog" :) The weather was FANTASTIC, which meant there wasn't snow around the cabin, but it was perfect because there was enough snow on the mountains to ski and snowboard. It was so sunny and beautiful that we were never cold skiing! it was great.

I invited my french friend Valentine to come with us which was super fun :) I love her. She's hilarious. Plus it was like having a french teacher with me at all times.

We went skiing at "Le Grand Bornand." Another plus to having not a ton of snow was that there weren't that many people on the mountain! My host families said that normally there are sooo many people that the lines for the chair lift took forever, but for us there was practically no wait.

Aurelien, Valentine, and I went skiing 5 of the days. It was nice. After skiing we would take a little nap and then play some games with the rest of the fam. One evening we went sledding, another we went and watched hockey and another we went to Annecy(the town I am going to live it when I'm older.) :)

The last night we all went out to a delicious restaurant where I had a tartiflette. soooooo good. It was a great end to a great vacation.

I am so grateful for my two great host families :) and now I can cross "Go skiing in the Alps" off my list of things to do before I die!

I am now in my 2nd host family, the Gabelotauds, and my mexican sister Mariana is coming to stay with us for a week while her host family is gone. Im excited because shes going to make us a delicious mexican meal!!!!!

xoxoxox

em

bac blanc!

j'ai passé le bac blanc en maths et anglais aujourd'hui! Je suis fière de moi parce que je pense que j'ai réussi! (baaa bien sur en anglais parce que c'était TROP facile- meme pas les chose de traduire donc ca n'était que en anglais. haha) et pour les maths je pense que ca va aussi. Je n'ai pas bien compris TOUT mais pour la plupart c'était pas trop dur. On verra. Hier j'avais pas envie de le faire mais maintenant je suis contente parce que je peux dire que j'ai passé le bac blanc! (meme si c'etait que 2 eprouves. c'est pas grave ;) Cette semaine j'ai passé mes temps à preparer mes valises et charger tout mes affaires. oh la. j'ai BEAUCOUP de choses.... la pire sera à la fin de mon échange parce que il sera meme plusssss.

Hier l'éscalade était annulé donc je suis allée à Paris avec Jack et Mia et Maria (comme habitude haha). on n'a pas fait beaucoup de choses... on a mangé et on faisait les cours un petit peu. Mais c'est tout!
Donc.... zut- pourquoi j'ai ecrit tout ca en francais parce que mais il faut traduire en anglais. hahaha je ne sais pas pourquoi j'ai choisi le francais, peut-etre parce que j'en ai marre avec anglais après le bac.
okay c'est parti---

I took the Bac Blanc (the practice exams for the huge exam at the end of the year) in Math and English today! I am proud of myself because I think i did well! (well, of course i did in English because it was super easy- didn't even have a section to translate so it was really ALL in english) and for the math I think i did pretty well. I didn't understand ALL the questions, but for the most part it was too hard. We'll see (not that it matters...) Yesterday, I did not feel like doing it, but now I am happy that I did because I can say that I took the bac in France! (Even if it is just for 2 subjects... I dont have to advertise that part of it) This week I have spent my time packing my suitcases and getting everything ready. I have a lot of stuff! how did i get so much in just 5 months... The worst will be that the end because there will be even more...
Yesterday, rockclimbing was canceled so i went to Paris with Jack Mia and Maria (like usual haha) We didn't actually do much. We ate a little and shopped a little but that all!
Then I go on to ask why i just wrote all that in French because I will have to write it in English after... haha
bissssouss!
em

montmatre + chez jack

this weekend was a lot of fun :) Saturday i met up with maria, mia, mariana(i have too many friends that start with m's...) and jack in Paris for the afternoon. We just hung out in Montmartre watching street performers around le Sacre-coeur. it was so much fun. I absolutely love this quartier. And Sacre Coeur is just breathtaking as you can see from the photo!
That night we all stayed at Jack's house which was really fun. I just love them all so much. After my exchange i'm going to need lots of money to travel around the world visiting all my friends from this year!!!!!

Anyway, today i was actually pretty productive even though i didn't have school. Well, i slept in which was so nice but then i went on a really long run! i was so proud of myself. I ran around the entire lack behind my house. It was probably only like 4 1/2 miles but still i felt accomplished :) Plus i was absolutely GORGEOUS today. mid 50s and sunny. it was lovely. I felt so good after my run. Also, i started the packing process since i am going to be switching families soon. Didn't get too far, but sorted through most of my things deciding what to keep and what to throw. I have no idea how i accumulated so much stuff in 5 months... it ridiculious. Packing is NOT fun.

Also, i decided to try out my dessert cookbook i got for xmas and so i made creme caramel. It has to stay in the fridge for 24 hours so we will see how it turned out tomorrow.... Well, there you have it :)

bizzz

em

oh the good life.

We finally got our class picture! haha we are quite the class :) Its kind of hard to see, but im the top left. (my head looks pointy because im wearing a black hat). Anyway, it will be a fun souvenir to have i think. Nothing too exciting happened today except that its the start of my 3 week vacation!!!! well, besides next thursday when i am going to take the bac blanc in math and english. Life is good. This week will be spent packing for both the week at the alps and for changing families. I can't believe its already time for that! Packing up all my stuff is not going to be fun hahaha. But im really really looking forward to the ski trip to the alps with both my families and with my friend Valentine :). I'm praying for snow! USA send some of your snow over to France!!!!!! well just for the week we are in the mountains.
Well, i kind of have a headache and so im going to go to bed!
bisous
em

fevrier!

wow, time flies. I can't believe its already february. sorry, its been awhile but i just haven't been in the blogging mood. so anyway, i've been doing well. This last weekend I had a Rotary conference all Saturday which was pretty boring and then they night we had a exotic food gala where all the students had to prepare a dish to serve. I was really looking forward to this because I thought I was going to eat tons of different dishes, but actually they didnt even give the students plates.... it was mostly for the guests so in order to eat we had to steal spoons and just go around trying to get what we could.... it was kind of a bummer. But there were lots of students there so it was fun to be with all of them. Also, in our district we got a new columbia and 2 new australiens who are just so nice:) its weird that I am not the new ones anymore! it feels like i just got here.

Anyway, the gala was in Amiens (northern France) and got over really late so we stayed the night in dorm rooms. And of course since it was with Rotary we had to wake up really early the next morning (which turned out to be for nothing).... We had 3 or so hours before we actually did anything so we were all a little grouchy haha. that day we split up and some went iceskating while some of us went and visited the cathedral which was absolutely beautiful. Its the biggest cathedral in France.

Overall it was an alright weekend. Not my favorite, but not terrible... We all felt kind of sick sunday after eating very well and not sleeping very well, but we survived haha. I took a 2 hour nap after school monday to recover from the weekend. Also, my 3 week vacation starts this friday so i am sooo excited! i have 3 weeks instead of 2 because next week is my school's bac blanc which is like a practice for the real bac, but still counts for a big part of their grade. Everyone is starting to stress for it. But i don't have to take it (except for in Math and English) so i dont have school except for thursday. it will be a nice little break!

also, today i got a nice surprise package from my grandparents (thanks gramma net and grandpa lonnie!) it was so exciting to get! i just made my day. I had to go get it from the post office and the whole bus ride home i was smiling and was super impatient to get home and open it!!! I just love the little joys in life like mail.

For dinner tonight the Lasserre's took me to a creperie! it was actually my first one since usually i just buy them from the street venders in paris. It was delicious :D first i had one with ham and goat cheese which was so good and then after i had a really yummy rasberry and ice cream one. it was amazing. but im stuffed now. oh well, it was worth it. Well, i'm off to bed after a fantastic day :D

xoxox

em

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