Jul 25, 2009

School news!!!

Countdown to departure: 40 days

I hope you all enjoyed my last post. I know it was a tad bit dull and not really my usual style, but this one should be better. 

I've been talking with my host family, and have gathered some information about my school! I will be going into seconde, which is the equivalent of our 10th grade. I really don't care at all that it will be "the year I just finished", I think it will be hard enough!! My school is called Lycée Louis Aragon, and it is in a place called Givors. I'm not sure what classes I'm taking, but I think I'm taking music and economics (which my host mom recommended as the easiest to take not knowing French =D). My host family is trying to get me in the same class as a girl they know named Lucie so that I'll have someone to show me around and all that jazz. Right now my host family is in Iceland, so I can't really contact them with questions. I'm super excited, though!!

I think that's all for now!

More to come later!
Sophia

PS, 
If you would like to sponsor me in France, send me an e-mail or post a reply and I'll get back to you about how to donate! Any monetary help is greatly appreciated!!!

Jul 15, 2009

Lots to say!!

Countdown to departure: 48 days

There are a million things to say, because I've kind of slacked off writing (Sorry!). I'm going to attempt to go about this in a straight forward manner, so this ought to be interesting...=)  . Here goes nothing!

Part 1: Host City
Millery, France! Millery is 12 km (7.5 miles) out side of Lyon. Lyon is 431 km ( 261 miles ) southeast of Paris and 311 km ( 193 miles ) north of Marseille. Since I couldn't really find any facts for Millery, here are some facts for Lyon.
 
Population: 445,452 (third biggest city of France)
Elevation: 659 feet
Average Annual Precipitation: 30.5 inches
Average January Temperature: 38 degrees F
Average July Temperature: 71 degrees F
Major Industries: tourism, silk, textiles, chemicals, machinery, printing
Electricity: 220 volts, 50Hz, round two-pin plugs
Time Zone: UTC/GMT+1
Country Dialing Code: 33
Area Code: 4
Known as:  "Silk Capital of the World" 
Main Airport: St Exupery Airport
Ethnic groups: North African, Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, Basque minorities and Indochinese
Region: Rhône-Alpes(Capital city)
Times shops are open: 10 am to mid-day and again from 2 pm to 7:30 pm from Monday to Saturday
Best way to travel: Public transportation 
Number of Museums: 37
Number of theatres: 20

Anything else you want to know? 

Part 2: Host Family
Mom: Sylvie
Dad: Didier
Son: Cristophe (17)
Son: Antione (16) 
Cat: Sweepy
House: Large, new
Pool?: No
School:20 minutes away by school bus
Starting school: Immediately after I arrive
TV: Yes (wow, this'll be different...)
Computer with e-mail: Yes (hint hint)

I've e-mailed my host mom a couple times, and my host brother once. They seem really nice, and I'm really excited to meet them. I think they all speak some English, so that should be useful. 

Part 3: Departure
Orientation: September 2nd
Departure: 9:30 PM September 3rd

Part 4: What happens now
So, now I spend the rest of July in summer school. No, I didn't fail! This is the English credit I need to graduate when I get back home senior year. The two exchange students my parents are hosting arrive mid August, so that should be fun! Then I leave...

Part 5: Freaking Out
Wow...I leave in less than 50 days... for a year... I'm really really excited... Like, REALLY excited....
OMGOMGOMG!! Ahhhh!

Alright, I'm OK now, haha

Eek, more to come as the day nears!
-Sophia