Sophia's Global Adventure

Sophia's AFS Adventure II: Return to AFS

2012-01-27T16:46:00.004-05:00

I leave for my semester in Costa Rica in less than a week, and I realized that I've actually told you very little about what I'm actually going to do. Sure, I may have mentioned it in passing, and then briefly described it while putting more emphasis on the fact that I'm freaking out here, but I haven't taken the time to provide an accurate description of my situation like I did pre-France. So, for those of you who are at the edge of your seat anxiously awaiting news of my upcoming trip (as I know all of you must be), the wait is over. Without further ado, I present to you

Sophia's AFS Adventure II: Return to AFS

ACTION!

Setting: The story takes place in San Ramón, in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica, population 10,710. Located in the Central Valley, this generally hilly area has year round temperatures of 70-80 degrees (Fahrenheit) year round. The area is home to one of the richest forest reserves in the country, and the city is said to show Costa Rica at it's finest.

Characters: Our globe-trotting lead Sophia returns with an entirely new host family! This time, Freddy and Yessenia have graciously welcomed her to live with them and their 5 year old son, Nathan, from February until July.

Plot: For her community service project, Sophia will be helping lead groups and teach music with Sistema Nacional de Educación Musical in San Ramón. Although conversational Spanish is probably necessary, we'll see how our young heroine fairs with a few simple words and phrases.

Release Date: Our story kicks off in 5 days, with the Gateway orientation in NYC followed by a 2 day orientation and 10 days of language instruction in San José.

AAANNNNND CUT!

-Sophia

PS, Should you want to sponsor me in this endeavor, feel free to give me a shout and I'll let you know how!

9 days

2012-01-23T16:26:00.003-05:00

OH MY GOSH, I'M SO NERVOUS!!! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?? WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO?!?!

*awkward silence*

Ahem. Let me rephrase that.

So you guys know that I have this blog right? And that I posted my way through a year in France (well, 10 months. But who's counting.)? Of course you knew that, you're on it right now. Stupid question.

Where was I going with this again?

Oh right, the whole nervous breakdown thing.

So, I've already been on an AFS exchange. And it was amazing. You can read about it in pretty much every other post here. (You can also read about my short stint as a nanny in Paris if that interests you). And AFS picked up my blog and posted it on afsblog.org to show people just how awesome an AFS experience is.

Said AFS experience was so incredible that little old me decided to delay going to college for year and up and do it again, this time with a semester community service program in Costa Rica. Which brings us to my little...um...freak out.

I am now, once again, in the position that many of you reading this find yourselves in. I'm leaving in 9 days for my program, and I don't know what to expect. Here's what AFS has given me:

I will be living in San Ramon, Costa Rica, in the Alajuela Province. I have two host parents and a 5 year old host brother (and they seem very nice).
I will be working teaching music to children with the Sistema Nacional de Educación Musical.

I've talked a little bit with my host family, I've talked a little bit with AFS, and in less than 2 weeks I will land in Latin America and wont leave for almost half a year.

Have I mentioned yet that I don't speak Spanish?

Now, for those of you reading this as an AFSer pre-departure, I can tell you not to worry, because it's an amazing experience. But it's funny how hard it is to take one's own advice. Because even though I've done this before, even though I've been spending my time encouraging people to do this, it's still terrifying when it's looming over me. In my Post-AFS life buzz I forgot about the Pre-AFS panic mode. Hmm.

But I'll blog my way through this, just like I blogged my way through France. I hope you stick around for the journey!

-Sophia

Metaphors (What it feels like)

2012-01-12T18:14:00.004-05:00

Disclaimer, his post may seem a bit out of the blue, but I've been meaning to write about this for a while so here goes...

A lot of the people I've told about my AFS experience ask me what it was like, how I got the courage to do it, etc. After trying to explain myself a few times, I came up with the perfect metaphor (at least I think it's a metaphor) for my year. It involves a little story about one of our AFS weekends...

This was one of our later orientations together as a the Collines du Rhone chapter, and we were all out on a camping adventure. I probably posted about it. Anyways, one afternoon we were out canoeing and we came to a cliff on the bank of the river. Our chaperones told us we could climb up and jump if we wanted to, and so we pulled over and de-canoed. There were two different heights, and I decided right away that if I was gonna jump I was gonna do it the right way and climb to the very top. So, I hurried over and scrambled up, impatient to have a go at it. I ran right up to the edge and looked down, at which point I said to myself there was no way in the world I was going to do that and decided to just climb back down. But as I turned around to go back I started hitting myself. I had climbed up this far, how was I going to let myself just go back defeated? So I went back to the edge, looked down, and promptly turned around again. I struggled with this dilemma for a good bit of time, each time almost doing it, turning around, and then almost doing it again. Finally, though, I got sick and tired of this little cycle. So I walked back a few steps, closed my eyes, and ran until there was no longer ground beneath my feet. It was slightly terrifying, but enough fun that as soon as it was over I was back in line to do it again.

That's what AFS was like for me. I was so gung ho about the idea that I almost immediately applied and decided to go for a full year. It didn't matter that I had never been to France or away from home for more than a few weeks. I was gonna do this all the way if I was gonna do it at all. After I got accepted, however, I was faced with the reality. I was leaving everything I had ever known behind. I was going very, very far away for a whole year. All by myself. I would think about not going, only to reprimand myself for being silly. Finally though I just had to say "Screw it" and do it without thinking. And you know what? It was the best thing I ever decided to do. Sure, it was absolutely terrifying, but it was so much fun that it didn't matter.

I wanted to throw that out there for people who are freaking out, wondering if they bit off more than they could chew. Stop thinking about it, just jump. I promise, it'll be fine.

Using the same metaphor, I wanted to post one of my college essays. I'm not sure how successful it is, seeing as I'm still waiting to hear back from schools, but I think that it fits the theme of this post rather well (and may, somehow, offer some sort of comfort to someone).

The prompt at hand is "Spanish poet Antonio Machado wrote, 'Between living and dreaming there is a third thing. Guess it.' Give us your guess."

Here's my guess:

I can’t hear anything except for the scream that snuck out my mouth before my brain could catch it. In this moment, all of the people around me have vanished. Their voices can no longer reach me. Nothing can. I am weightless.

That’s what’s in between living and dreaming: weightlessness.

It’s the moment when you’ve jumped off the rock before you fall into the water below. You climbed up to the very top, higher than anyone else went. You thought that if you jumped from the top you’d get more cheers than the others. You could practically feel the high fives you’d get once you surfaced, successful. That was your dream. As soon as you hit the water, plunged a few feet below the surface, you’d be living it. But right now, as you’re suspended in the air, you’re in neither dream nor life.

It’s the moment when you’ve gotten on the airplane in the USA before you land in France. You applied to the program, more than ready to fly away for a year. You wanted to be different, in a good way. You knew that this would be something that would change your life forever, your dream. But right now, as you look out the window at everything you’ve ever had shrinking away into the distance, you’re weightless.

I love being weightless. Sometimes it’s terrifying, sometimes calming, sometimes surreal. Sometimes it makes you scream, sometimes laugh, sometimes utter a string of expletives in various languages. But no matter what feelings it brings, it’s passionate. It’s real. It shows that you’re about to live your dream, no matter what that dream is.

It’s the moment when you start unwrapping the largest gift at your birthday party, right before you see what it is. It’s the moment when you look at the cast list of the spring musical, right before your brain starts understanding what it’s seeing. It’s the moment when you get the long distance phone call early in the morning when you you’re your grandpa’s been getting worse, right before you answer. It’s the moment when you knock on the door of your new home, right before it opens.

I’m weightless almost as much as I’m dreaming and living. I guess that’s what I get for letting my dreams lead my life. I’m waiting for decisions after applying to go to Costa Rica for half a year, I’m waiting for laughs after I tell the punch line of a joke, and I’m waiting to see what happens now that I’ve submitted my college application. Sometimes it feels like my weightless moments take over , but that’s okay with me. Because in that moment of waiting, in that moment of “What did I just get myself into?,” I know that I’m about to stop dreaming and start living.

-Sophia

Next please!

2012-01-11T08:51:00.000-05:00

I'm back in the USA (at least for a few weeks), and realized that I hadn't posted in a while. It's been great being back. Spending the holidays with my friends and family has been fantastic, and things have been generally calm in my little corner of the 410 (excluding a case of cellulitis that sent me to the ER the day I got home).

When I start to tell stories to my friends about Paris, they start off with things like "So last night I was bored, so I decided to take a walk by the Eiffel tower," and finish with something exciting like "And then he drove me home on his vespa." I'll talk about sipping espresso in a café by Notre Dame, writing in my little journal on the banks of the Seine, and dancing the night away with a cute Parisian boy in a French nightclub. My life sounds pretty much like a cheesy chick flick, the type that girls laugh about but secretly wish they lived in.

And while yes, there were moments here that I still can't actually believe happened to me, that's not how I spent the majority of my time. The majority of my time, what did all day, was taking care of a very small child. As much as I'd love you to think that I got to spend my days shopping and tourist-ing while you were working/studying/do ingsomething less exciting, I actually spent it making sure Eben doesn't fall off the play ground equipment or dump his dinner on the floor. Now don't get me wrong, building forts and reading stories certainly beats what ever other entry-level job I would have had in Towson, but it's not nearly as romantic a lifestyle as I may have led you to believe.

Still, it was a good learning experience for me. I got to see how much of a responsibility having a kid was without actually having to be a mother myself, and I learned to appreciate everything that my family has done for me over the years. I also really began to appreciate the community that AFS gives you when you study abroad. Not being in a structured work place or school meant that I had no set social setting, and that was definitely a feeling that I had to adapt to.

And now I'm spending my time getting pumped up for my next adventure! I have to be in NYC for my orientation Feb. 1 and my flight is the 2nd. Soon, I'll be off living with my new host family in San Ramón doing community service with Sistema Nacional de Educación Musical! I'm busy trying to learn as much Spanish as possible seeing as I don't speak it at all, but progress is slow. (According to Rosetta Stone, the most important things to learn to say are "Es una manzana" and "La mujer maneja el carro"...)

I'm excited and nervous, but in a totally different way from those weeks before my flight to Millery. While I'm less nervous about the whole "diving into the unknown" part, I'm scared I may be over-estimating my ability to adapt quickly. But unlike pre-France, I have no second thoughts. The trip can't come fast enough!

That's about it for now, I think!

-Sophia

Paris at Dusk

2011-11-14T09:02:00.005-05:00

Des photos!

2011-11-02T16:44:00.003-04:00

For those of you that don't speak French as fluently as I do, "des photos" means photos. Yes, I figured it was about that time when you'd want to see some actual pictures, as opposed to those oh-so-vivid mental ones I have been painting you. For those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, I'm sorry to say that these are the same pictures I posted earlier. But for those of you who aren't blessed with the gift of being my social networking friend, here are some images from my stay so far!

When I said that I could see the Eiffel Tower from my window, I wasn't making a Sarah Palin joke.

A few steps down the street will bring you right up to it!

Fall colors at the Tower

Insert necessary Arc de Triomphe photo here

And now we get to the random things I find in Paris portion of our tour...

A giant Orangina stretch Hummer limousine, all decked out for the Rugby world cup with a giant inflatable rugby ball and a buff rooster in a France jersey

1984 Peugeot Quasar concept car of the future

And, finally, a dream car picture. This SLS happened to be in a show room, so I got a good picture, but I've been getting my visual fill of Lambos, Ferraris, Porshes, Rolls-Royces, etc while out every day.

That's all for now!

-Sophia

And always remember...

2011-10-27T08:38:00.004-04:00

I used to play soccer. Never very well, except for that time when I managed to show some competence as a goalie before people started obtaining real skills, but I was on a Rec Council team every Fall. My second season, I absolutely hated my coaches. They were trying to teach us techniques, positions, and ways to actually win the game. Blasphemy, right? Actually playing correctly? Psh. But I didn't hate them because I had a strange urge to lose, I disliked that the focus wasn't on having fun. That's why I showed up on the field twice a week, to have a blast. It got to the point that I actually called them out on it once. When they said that the most important part was that we give it out all, little Sophia piped up and said "I thought the most important thing was to have fun."

I don't know where that Sophia went. Somewhere in 18 years of school, sports teams, peer pressure, and social mishaps I became more serious. Life became more serious. I've been trying to be the best I can, but forgetting to enjoy the ride. However, no matter where she went, in these past few weeks play for the fun of it Sophia has started to come home.

Where ever I look, there are 10 better versions of myself. That could be depressing, the thought that no matter what I do I can't be the best. But it's actually fantastic! It makes me stop taking myself so seriously. With the millions of people in the city (and billions on the planet), I'm just a little unknown speck. So I can do whatever the heck I want with my life and it doesn't matter! If I do something extraordinary, more power to me, people will know me for a good reason. But if I don't, no one's really going to care, they're too busy with their own lives. And it's much more fun to go laughing through life than to power walk it with your nose in the air!

So I've stopped trying so hard. I've given up "risking looking like a tourist" and have started taking pictures, very cliché pictures of the Eiffel Tower and little French cafés. I've stopped trying to look like I have important things to do and have started smiling at everything. Heck, I've even given up my self restraint and have started dancing along to my music as I go on my nightly run (which is actually more like a twice-weekly run, who am I kidding, but hey, at least I try.)

I've also made an enormous step in acclimating to Paris: I found a way to meet people. After spending weekends wallowing in lonesome self pity, I finally got my act together and went out. I'd only been clubbing once before, and I figured Paris was a good place to try it again. So I found a club, got dressed up, and went. By myself. And while I really should be used to doing things on my own by now, it was still nerve wracking. But the club had a good ambiance, and the people were friendly. And although "Do you come here often?" may not be exactly quality conversation, it was still social interaction. Which I desperately, desperately needed. I realized that night that, while it might not be the same as having BFFs, just talking to someone or dancing with them for a song can make you feel a lot less alone. It was a very fun night, and I think I might check out another club soon (tomorrow night is Friday, eh?).

My actual, day to day life is not much to talk about. I read stories, walk to the park, make lunch, all with a small boy. It's fun. I'll post if we do anything super cool together =)

In the meantime, always remember to have fun!

A bientot!,
Sophia

Un Très Joyeux Anniversaire

2011-10-15T10:37:00.003-04:00

I read an article on Lonely Planet the other day about how to be a travel blogger, or rather how not to be a travel blogger (it was actually really interesting, you can check it out here). (Also, please check out how I embedded a link right there)(Aaaanndd how I tried to make it look like I put another one in. Aren't I funny?).

Anyways, I was reading it and feeling guilty for all the faux pas in my blog, and then I realized that it really doesn't apply to me at all. Sure, I should keep the tips in mind to better serve you (whoever this is that may be reading who I care about very deeply), but I'm not attempting to build my career on my blog posts. So, with out further ado, I am going to post and run the risk of breaking rule number nine and creating something that may "stink of those WhatWeDidOnOurFamilyVacation slideshows that everyone used to dread" as the article so nicely put it.

Also, if you would like to get into the state of mind that I'm in currently as I write this, go sit in a comfy chair in the sunshine, make a hot cup of vanilla tea, and put on "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra.

My 18th birthday was Thursday, and I'd decided that if I couldn't enjoy the company of my family and friends I'd have to indulge myself in some other way. I'd been feeling a little run down. I was just coming out of my relocation funk, and I had been chasing a 3 year old around a big city all day every day. I needed someone to take care of me, just for a little bit. It was time to take myself out on a date. I was willing to go over board, since it was a milestone birthday. 3 Michelin stars, I thought to myself, I deserve that. Well, I thought to myself until I saw the prices. I widened my searches, and finally chose a restaurant called Hiramatsu, which reportedly was Japanese chefs making French haute gastronomie, and got very high reviews on various sites. I called, and soon I had an 8:00 reservation for the evening of mon anniversaire.

The day went really well, and soon I was handing Eben back to his mom and getting ready. I got all gussied up, having fun making myself look fancy with the limited options I had brought with my in my suitcase. Around 7:30 I walked out the door and hopped on a bus to the 16th. The lights of Paris lit up the night, and in my ears Sinatra willed luck to be a lady.

I found the restaurant, and went inside. After a just a moment of confusion on the part of the restaurant at the sight of a teenager standing in the doorway claiming she had a reservation, they took my coat and showed me to my table for one. The restaurant was almost empty except for a table of Japanese business men, but it was very nice. The linens were crisp, the napkins artfully folded, and there were exotic flowers on every table. The restaurant has done away with menus now has a "Menu Carte Blanche", which is a set (surprise) 9 course meal. However, they still have choices when it comes to drinks, and since the legal drinking age in France is 18 I ordered a glass of champagne (rosé) to celebrate the fact that I could.

Here's what I had, according to the souvenir menu that they gave me at the end, rolled up and tied with a ribbon. Please excuse the translations, I don't know if the names are the same in French and English and I'm getting a little help from Google...

Velouté de potimarron, crème glacé à la truffe blanche

Cream of pumpkin, white truffle ice cream

Homard Breton, pommes de terre "noirmoutier" au caviar Ociètre

Breton lobster, "noirmoutier" potatoes with Ociètre caviar

Déclinaison de cèpes, feuilleté et cèpes à la Bordelaise

Porcino Mushroom [insert translation for déclinasion], puff pastry and Bordeaux Porcino mushrooms

Foie gras de canard et joue de boef, au choux vert, sauce truffes

Duck foie gras and beef cheeks, with green cabbage, truffle sauce

Bar de ligne, crème de poireaux au coquillages, légumes "Joel Thiebault"

Line caught seabass, cream of leek with shellfish, "Joel Thiebalut" vegetables

Supreme de volaille de Bresse, raviole d'abats et champignons de saison, sauce chateau Chalon et cuisse confite

Chicken breast from Bresse, Tripe and seasonal mushroom ravioli, Chateau Chalon sauce, thigh confit

Pré dessert

Pre dessert

Poire pochée à la vanille, crème de chiboust praliné, glace caramel aux épices

Vanilla poached pear, pralined crème chiboust, spiced caramel ice cream

Dacquoise aux marrons, sauce chocolat au whisky Ecossais, feuillantine et abricot

Chestnut Dacquoise, Scotch whisky chocolate sauce, [insert translation for feuillantine] and apricot

Mignardises

Petitfours

That's the official menu of what I ate. But I was unaware that I'd be getting this little menu to take home, and since I wanted to remember what I ate I wrote it down as they brought it out. Being the attentive listener that I am, I forgot what they said I was about to eat almost as quickly as they presented it, but I guessed at it as I went along. Here's what I wrote down in my notebook as I ate:

It's lovely here. Sure, it's quiet, and a bit over polite, but if I appreciate it for what it is it's lovely. It's quiet and calm, and it feels like I'm special. I love the food so far

Amuse-bouche. A cracker with some sort of green garnish (parsley?), a pastry cheese puff, another cracker thing with some sort of raw fish.
Soup with a perfectly sized spoonful of some sort of cream and truffles.
Lobster with potato and caviar and a potato whip (texture of frosting)
Pie crust with mushrooms, white onion, ham, a really cool egg, and a cross of red wine sauce
Cabbage with beef and some sort of sauce
White fish with awesome sauce, andives? idk, potato with awesome green mousse spread thing, purple cauliflower'

The siverware is monogrammed, and I'm almost certain it is, in fact, silver. Oh, the potatoes on the lobster were from Normandy. The champagne is crisp. The butter (2 kinds!) is fresh. They thank me when they bring me a dish. It's making me really happy. PS, I forgot to mention that the lobster was served smoking, on basil infused dry ice. Yeah. So far, the sauce on the white fish is the favorite And it's tons less lonely now that there's a tad of ambient noise as people show up. Uh oh. Course 7 gets a real knife...The people will smile if you smile, and they're receptive to politeness. As they should be. OK, here goes 7.

7. Some sort of poultry (chicken?) with mushroom, ravioli (paté filled?), mushroom foam, yellow wine sauce, and spinach?

Never mind. 7's the best. I could eat this every day for the rest of my life.

8. More of whatever I'm eating, with skin, and salad

I wonder id I could get a frequent flyer card if I ate here every night. I'm so full. Dessert should be coming. I'm not sure if I'll be able to deal with this. Oh my god. This has all been so good. I love food. So much. Here comes the new silverware [they brought out a new set after each course]. So much class. I don't even know what to do with myself. OH MY.

9. Predesert. A spoonful of grape sorbet with lemon cream and lemon and lime juce on top. So. Good.
10. Oh no. Poached pear, caramel ice cream with pepper?, alchohol soaked mousse praliné with something like crème brulé on top, 3 drops of "reduction de port". Port.

Best birthday dinner possible. I think that was worth every penny I spent. OH WAIT. THERE'S MORE. Alright, legit last dish.

11. Giant macaron looking thing with an apricot and glazed chestnut. Sitting in an ocean of hot alcoholic chocolate that he just poured on it.

NO. NO. NO WAY. THEY JUST BROUGHT ME A BIRTHDAY DESSERT.

12. Macaron chocolate rasberry vanilla and a chocolate truffle. On a plate that says Joyeux Anniversaire in chocolate.

Ok, I'm quite literally crying/tearing up in the restaurant. Haha, the one waiter was just like "Aw, elle pleure. C'est mignon." to the other one. Happy Birthday to you, Sophia. No, wait, of course there's more. There's always more.

13. Another macaron and truffle. Because "sometimes the first ones aren't good".

The chef just came out to make sure everything was good.

Yeah. That was my dinner. It was really, really, really nice. And after all that, after they served me, after every single waiter wished me happy birthday (this has all been in French, bien sur), after the chef came out, after they changed my silver ware 1823764 times, after they made me feel totally comfortable being out to dinner alone, they walked me to the door, put my coat on me, and made sure I was ok to get home.

Which I was. As I walked back, in this state of total shock from the dinner I had just had, after having had the fanciest meal of my life, I turned up my swing music and strolled through the streets of Paris. I stopped on the foot bridge where I cross to get home and stared at the Eiffel tower, watched the boats pass, and laughed at loud at the magical evening I had just had.

I was by myself, but somehow I felt an overwhelming feeling of romance that made me smile from deep, deep down and dance my way back home.

Sophia

PS, I totally forgot to mention that while at dinner for my birthday, I got a lovely e-mail from AFS with the subject line "You have been accepted by Costa Rica for your community service project!"I guess I better start learning Spanish!

I had it all wrong...

2011-10-12T13:26:00.005-04:00

Picture this. You're in a car, driving in a new place, and it's madness. People are weaving in and out, there are parts where you're gridlocked in place, people are honking, no one's signaling. You try your best to drive like you should. You try to be polite and let people with more intention in their driving pass you, but they zoom by without so much as a nod of the head, and you have to swerve to avoid being side swiped. You try to follow all your traffic rules, but out of nowhere someone careens by going in the wrong direction. And the harder you try to do everything right, the more people give you nasty looks.

How would you feel? Lost, confused, probably a little ticked off. And the more you drove, the more you'd long to be back where driving was normal, where people respected you, where you knew what to do. And the more you longed to be back home, the lower your mood would get. And you'd be justified, right?

Well, until you realize that you're in the bumper cars at the amusement park and not in traffic at all. Fell pretty silly, huh?

Paris isn't the place to take yourself seriously. It isn't the place to try and drive better than everyone else. It's the place to crash headlong into the person in front of you, laughing all the while.

Paris is the place to walk around with a huge smile and leave others wondering what you're so happy about. It's the place to wear high heels with your T-shirt and jeans just because you can. It's the place to listen to Frank Sinatra and the Glenn Miller Orchestra with "Going Out In Style" by the Dropkick Murphys and "Good Life" by OneRepublic thrown in for good measure.

It's hard to see all the good in something when you aren't even looking in the right direction.

-Sophia

PS, In case that whole post was a little too vague for you, I pretty much realized that Paris has a reputation as a happy-go-lucky, romantic, magical city for a reason. And that last little bit about what Paris is for is what I did last night. And now I think that the city of lights is a pretty fantastic place to be on my birthday.

PPS, That would be today, my birthday. =)

Pizza

2011-10-07T14:10:00.002-04:00

I never got store bought pizza at home. At least it feels like it to me. Every Friday was pizza night, but for the earliest and most recent stages of my life it was always home made. And sure, there was that period for almost all of elementary school and middle school where we went to Mama Illardos and Pizza Boli's, but for some reason that never seemed to count to me. Of course, there isn't really much difference between Pizza Boli's and Pappa Johns, but to me it seemed like if my parents chose Pizza Boli's it made it different, less "real". Maybe it also has to do with the fact that we picked it up ourselves and didn't get it delivered. I don't know. Whatever the reason, the greasy, American, pepperoni and extra cheese delivered in a red box by a bored teenager is a special occasion thing.

Store bought pizza tasts like late nights and early mornings. It tastes like holidays that run to the next day and sleepovers that aren't supposed to happen. It tastes like cast parties and pool parties and birthday parties and random parties. It tastes like friendship and laughter, and it tastes like home when home is the only place I want to be.

It's officially the weekend for me here in Paris. On Friday I only have to watch Eben until the early afternoon, and then I'm off until Monday. It's been an interesting week. My three year old charge and I have gone out every day: to the American library, to a Polish playground installation next to the Seine, on the RER to a flower garden, across the Champs-Elysee to a park. It's been a rather specific view of Paris, but it's a perspective I've never had before. We eat breakfast at 9 and lunch at 12:30. It's nap time around 1:30, and I hand him back to his mom at 6.

I'm not used to this, and maybe I shouldn't say too much because I've only seen a sliver of the city, any observations right now might be too hasty and uninformed, but at the moment, Paris honestly seems way more unobtainable than Lyon ever felt. It's skinny and rich and fashionable, but not in a way that makes you think that if you work hard enough you can fit in. Paris is old money, families with reputations they have taken generations to build. It's intimidating. I've felt more homesickness this past week than I ever felt with AFS.

I ordered a pizza from the Dominos near the apartment (in the 7eme) to celebrate my first week. As left the shop, I saw the Eiffel Tower down the street, lighting up the dark sky with an orangey glow. For the first time since I got here, my stomach flipped. Just once, but it's a start.

I ate my pizza in the dark apartment, looking at the Eiffel Tower through the living room window as it sparkled and blinked in it's nightly show.

Store bought pizza tasts like smiles and happy endings. It tastes like being the winning classroom and long running girl scout meetings.

It tastes like staring out at a new city, and thinking that everything may work out after all.

When did I become a blogger?

2011-10-03T08:58:00.003-04:00

When I started this blog I really had no intention of making it MY blog, it was more for everybody else. In exchange for people helping me make my trip the best it could be, I promised them updates on how I was doing (and assurance on why I was a good investment). And then AFS picked it up, and I was like "Alright, I guess I should start putting some effort into this, make it seem like I actually believe that people will actually read this." And then people actually read it! Which was surprising. And so I resolved to post more regularly and thoroughly, because if I wanted to keep those 3-comments-per-post coming I needed to step up my game. And then, about 10 minutes after I promised that, I got bored and went to eat some cheese or do something else French like that. But, while I was still only posting like once every 213428394 weeks, I got more into my posts. I put emotion into them, which may sound totally cheesy and cliché but basically means that I was crying while writing my sad posts.

I'm not really sure when it happened, and I'm not really sure why, but somewhere along the line I became attached to this blog.

But now my year is long since over, and this blog's purpose has been fulfilled. I had thought that this would mean I would just stop posting, I'd let the blog lie in a darkened corner of the AFS master blog gathering dust, and in those moments when I was feeling especially reminiscent I might post a friendly message about how my year was still impacting me. After all, who really cares about what I've been doing while I'm being lame and just writing memoir posts.

But guess which kid got the AFS bug? This guy! Well, not really the AFS bug per se, but the travel-the-world-and-make-friends bug. Whatever. The point is that I'm now super into globetrotting, and have done (and will do) more traveling recently than I ever expected to in the past. I spent my summer in Europe couch-surfing from country to country (see last post), I'm spending the next two months in Paris with some family friends, and I just submitted my application for an AFS gap year community service semester for the spring.

As I keep going places, my dad keeps insisting that I tell my "fans" about it. And every time I kind of shrug it off with a "Ha, yeah, like I have fans." (I mean, I totally hope that I do. That would be insanely cool. And flattering. But I doubt it.) But recently I've been thinking about taking a walk on the wild side and going on his suggestions. Maybe I'm just needing a creative writing outlet since I've been out of school for a while and have no assignments, or maybe I'm just on an internet-powered self esteem kick because I found out that Blogger has a stats tab where I can see how many people have visited my blog (WOAH! Do people actually think I'm that interesting? Let's see... traffic sources....ah... people looking for pictures of the French flag...), but what ever the reason, I've decided to revamp my blog. You are no longer at Sophia's AFS Adventure, but the new and improved

Sophia's Global Adventure

(Alright, alright, I only updated the title. What ever, it was a big deal to me.)

Basically, I'm just going to be posting when I feel like it about whatever's new in my international life. I have a hunch that the only person who'll read this will be my grandma (Hi Grandma!), but it'll be good for me.

So yeah, feel free to stay tuned! (I'd love to feel like people care <3 )

-Sophia

(PS, On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was, "It's October 3rd." Bonus points if you get it)

Tangible Proof (The reunion episode)

2011-08-12T23:51:00.005-04:00

If you're anything like me, you're reading my blog for proof that everything's going to be OK in the end, now that you've decided to (or are thinking about taking) the big leap that is an AFS exchange.

Before going to France, I know that I scoured the AFS blogs, searching almost desperately for proof that I had made the right choice in deciding to go away for a year. I very, very quickly found the proof I needed. And when I came back, I poured over them again. Although still searching for assurance in a sea of uncertainty, now I looked for proof that everything I had built in France was real. This proof was harder to find, because most people (logically) stopped blogging once they reached the USA. And while that's fine and dandy for them, it's not so great for little miss nervous over here.

So, if you're a returnee like me, rechecking old blogs out of homesickness for your foreign life and just looking for someone to give you a ray of hope, look no further, because I am about to tell you exactly what you want to hear:

Everything will be right where you left it when (note that I say when, not if) you return.

The friendships, the knowledge, the cultural understanding, they're not going anywhere. And how exactly do I know? I know because I went back!

It all happened very quickly. One morning I was sitting at breakfast, musing about seeing all of my French friends, and the next thing I know my parents and I are researching el cheapo air fare and booking me a flight across the pond. I was in Europe for a month, and my first stop was chez my host family in Millery.

When I got there, after traveling from London where my flight landed through a long few days of buses and trains, I was pleasantly surprised to find a party underway in the backyard. Although it wasn't actually for me (Antoine and his friends were celebrating passing the bac), I still got to see a few people right away. It was like a scene from a movie, with bags being tossed aside as I ran to hug my friends.

After the initial excited greetings, however, it was all slightly anticlimactic. And you know why? Because within a matter of days I was able to seamlessly pick up my life where I left it! Sure, things had happened during our year apart, but we were still the same people, and soon all my friends and I were caught up and as close as ever. I stayed at my host family's house for about a week, and then spent another bit of time bouncing between friends houses. (Note to AFSers: Our exchange program friendships can save us a fortune if we want to travel. Stay in touch with everyone, and then if you ever want to travel you can couch surf instead of paying for hotels!) I got to see Harry Potter before it came out in the US (it was released in France first), watch fireworks on the 15 juillet, go to a dance, attend a barbecue in my honor, ride bikes up to a chapel on a hill with incredible views, try really good French wine and cheese, re-visit Lyon, and spend lots of time chilling out with mes amis.

I was supposed to go straight from Lyon to Osnabruck, Germany to visit Vici (the German girl who stayed with my family while I was in France), but I decided to make use of my Eurail pass and head south for a few days on my own first. I took the train to Nice and booked a bed in a hostel. Although the hostel was not at all the Ritz, I'm quite happy I stayed there. This was my first time hostel-ing, and it was quite an experience. I met people from all over the world, and hung out with them the nights I was there. Among them were a Japanese fashion photographer, a Mexican engineering student, some Canadian party guys, and an Australian wheat farmer who spends 4 months a year farming and 8 months traveling the world.

I loved Nice. The weather was lovely (except for a few torrential downpours the day I left) and the water was fantastic. I always found something to do, from dancing in the street at midnight to drinking espresso at a café in the pouring rain. I headed off to Monaco on the train for a few hours one day, and it certainly left it's mark on me. In 4 hours I saw more drool inducing cars than I've seen in my life (I saw 21 Ferraris and 5 Lamborghinis, for example, and apparently missed the 2 Bugatti Veyrons that were right by the casino), and was reminded of the fact that I could sell my soul and still not have nearly enough to play in the league with these people. It's where the richest of the rich go to play in the sun while the rest of us are left to pick our jaws up off the ground.

I made it out of southern France on a night train to Germany, and boy did that give me a rude shock. My newly tanned, beachy, warm loving self stepped off the train and was greeted with crisp temperatures and a steady drizzle. But soon I (almost) forgot about the weather because I was greeted by Vici and one of my best friends from Towson Christie (who was also on vacation in Europe). We had an action packed few days together with clubbing, hiking, and sight seeing (I got to see the Brementown musicians!), and the time flew by.

All too soon I was saying bye, and heading back to France with my belly full of spaghetti ice cream and my head full of newly learned German (Ich spreche kein Deutsch, aber haben Sie eine neue Spülmaschine?). I rode the train to Lyon, but instead of heading back to Millery I was met by Lola! (Lola was the French girl who stayed with us this year.)

I headed off to Annonay to spend my final week with her at her house. It was a blast meeting her friends (and finally understanding what people were saying again!). We went to parties, went to cafés, went shopping, and went to sleep a little too late each night. It became normal just as quickly as returning to Millery had, and it became clear how much I was going to miss my French sister next year.

That week went by the fastest of them all, and much sooner than I wanted to I was saying goodbye again. Lola walked me to the bus stop in Annonay, and I cried a good bit of the ride to Lyon. Then it was more train-ing and bus-ing as I headed to London to spend the two days before my flight at my mom's friend's house. I spent a day walking around London, and then I was on a flight back to the states.

Although I wish I could have spent so much more time in my second home, this was a great start. I got to see almost everyone I wanted to, I got to meet tons of new people, and I got to have a blast. All I can do now is hope my next trip back will be soon!

-Sophia

I don't know if anyone's around to read this, but...

2011-06-17T00:17:00.002-04:00

I'm feeling this urge to post. This is going to be entirely reflection, because clearly nothing more has happened seeing as my sejour in France has been over for about a year now.

For anyone who stumbles upon this from the AFS blog while attempting to decide whether or not to go on an exchange program, do it. And for any parent attempting to decide whether or not to let your child go away for a year (or a semester), let them. Going away like that was the best thing I've ever done, period.

10 months sounds like a long time when you're thinking about it, but it really does fly by. You may not notice it every day, but it builds up. You'll be thinking about how slowly this first week seems to be going, how it feels like you've been here for so much more than a month, and then all of the sudden you're having a going away party and getting on an airplane to go back to that place you left just 10 short months ago.

But in those 10 short months you learn more than you could ever learn in 10 months at high school. 10 months in France taught me how to be confident when confidence is far away. 10 months in France taught me how to blend in when I stood out more than anyone else. 10 months taught me how to fall in love with a culture, a landscape, a family.

Coming back, there was no more separation between who I was and who I wanted to be. I knew that I truly could become anyone I wanted to, and that I had already become someone I could be proud of and happy with. I knew that I was capable of amazing things, and I knew that I had already accomplished more than I could have ever dreamed of. I knew that no matter what life threw at me I could somehow manage to find my way.

I miss everyone there. They took me in, made me a part of their life, and in turn they became a part of mine. No matter how far away I go, no matter how long it takes me to see them again, I know that the impact they've had on my life will stay with me forever. In 10 months I made real friends, the kind I thought it took years and years to make. I gained brothers, parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, when I thought I was far away from everyone I loved.

I plan on traveling the world. During my upcoming gap year I want to immerse myself again, in a totally different environment, and see more of this beautiful planet. I want to try new things, meet new people, and hopefully change my life (and the lives of those around me) for the better. AFS took my interest in world cultures and turned it into a passion, and now it's up to me to take that passion and turn it into a life. Who knows where it'll take me, but I can assure you that where ever it does I'll be diving in without hesitation.

Until we meet again,
Sophia

Closure

2010-11-27T14:10:00.002-05:00

I'm still alive. I know it's been months that I've been home, but life has been insane. And to be honest, writing a blog post about being home isn't at the top of my list of things I want to do. But I need to do it. I need to finish this, for me. I need to find closure.

I guess the best way to start this would be to start back the day I left my host family. The night before I went to Melissa's house for a final afternoon with Melissa, Audrey, and Marion. The afternoon ran late into the evening, and it was very relaxed. Only when it was time for the very last goodbye did it really, truly hit me that I'd be leaving my new best friends in the morning and not coming back for a long time. It took an extra hour to leave the driveway, because anytime someone got in their car we would just get back out and hug some more. I finally made it home, and fell asleep for about an hour before having to leave for the bus to Paris.

Since Collines du Rhone was the largest AFS-VSF chapter we all took a long bus ride to Paris. We met in a parking lot off the high way early in the morning, and waited. And waited and waited. The bus was about 2 hours late, but no one really minded. It was a few extra minutes with our families. The bus finally came, and honestly my goodbyes to my host family were a bit anticlimactic. But if I've learned anything it's that the French adults aren't as expressive as their American counterparts. They're reserved, and it's just a way of life. So although it was a little disappointing that my host mother didn't look very sad to see me go (where as my parents told me they were sobbing when saying goodbye to the two girls that were at my house this year) I didn't take it too personally.

The bus ride was entertaining enough. All of us AFSers had really bonded over the year so it was full of laughs and story swapping. We finally made it to the hotel in Paris, and it was crazy to see the other AFS chapters. People I met at orientation in NYC, group members from orientation in Paris, semester kids, everyone was there. But AFSers are cool kids, and there was no awkwardness whats so ever between us. Because at that point we had all been able to adapt to a new way of life and make friends, we had all overcome the same challenges, and we all new how to talk to new people and make friends on the fly. We did some boring group activities to get us used to going home, and that evening we had a garden party.

The garden party was actually really fun. We went to the AFS headquarters in Paris, where they had set up a dance floor, food, a screen to watch the World Cup Match, and a wall with all the photos from everybody's application. It ran long into the night. It was fun to see the photos of your new friends, to dance to music in other languages, and to chill out one last time. The night was periodically interrupted by screams from the world cup corner over goals and protests of the South American kids to play more Spanish music, and at the end they showed a slide show of photos from the year.

The next morning people started to leave early in the morning. Every country left at a different time. This time the goodbyes had a different dynamic. Everyone was crying and hugging, just like when leaving our French friends, but laughing and smiling too. Because for all of us there was a growing excitement. Even in those of us like me that did NOT want to come home, that wanted to stay in France another few years. Because all of us were going to see people we hadn't seen in 10 months. We were all in the same boat, and it was hard to be depressed at a time like that. The Americans left fairly late in the morning, and after getting help from our friends to load up the bus we headed off to the airport.

The airport was hectic. There were so many large groups going on so many trips that nothing got done very quickly. We finally got in line, and after arguing with the airport the airline decided to let us have our 2nd bag for free (because it had been that way when we bought the tickets). We got up to security, and at that point our chaperons were like "OK, have fun, get home safe" and left. Luckily our group was pretty tight and we would wait for others and made sure everyone got to the gate safely. We had to wait for a while, during which time I ran off to a duty free shop to buy Macaroons for my parents.

We finally boarded the plane, and we soon found out it was one of the really nice ones. Not only was it one of the really nice ones, I got one of the best seats in the section. The seats all had personal TVs and games and in-flight chat systems, and my seat was in the front of a compartment so I got super extra leg room. It was VERY nice. And you know what's funny? The super amazing airline food tasted rather lacking after all year in France. The "courses" were just normal, the food was like airline food, and it was not as good as I had remembered. Oh well!

The plane landed literally right as the final of the World Cup ended. About 3/4 of my section were from Spain, on a trip to visit the US. As soon as the plane touched down they all whipped out their phones, saw they were about to win, and started pressing their call buttons above their seats so that the entire plane was filled with the triumphant dingdingdingdings of their victory.

Going through security, baggage claim, and customs was very time consuming, but eventually we made it through. I put on the flag my friends had given me and proudly stepped out into the open.

I instantly found my parents, my brother, and his girlfriend waving at me from the other side of the barrier, and as when I saw my host family the first time a knot I didn't know existed released. I was so happy all of the sudden I could have cried. I didn't want to leave France in the least, but boy was I happy to be home.

We all went out to eat and be together, and I tried to tell them all about everything. But I had one major, major problem. Every time I tried to say something to them I would say it in French. I would think I would be saying in plain English and I'd get a blank stare followed by a "....what?". It was pretty funny actually. But by that time I was jet lagged and my schedule was completely off. I slept for a few hours in the car on the way to Baltimore, but that was about it.

When I got to my house and got out of the car I was attacked by my two best friends who had been waiting in my house for hours for me to come home. It was so much fun, and they stayed for a few hours and talked. That night I stayed up until 6 in the morning, got my suitcase unpacked, and eventually crashed on my bed for about two hours.

The next day I hung out with all of my favorite people, and the day after that I left again to go to Texas and be a part of my big sister's wedding. It was great, because I got to see all of my family in Texas right away. A little while later Lola arrived from France, and she's been living with us since.

I've been having a blast in Towson. My senior year is great, and I love finishing school at 2:15 rather than 6. I've been using skills I picked up in France to make friends, and I've been able to focus and get my work done (it's easier here: it's in English! =P ) Best of all I've gotten to see all the people I missed last year and I've been able to get a fresh perspective on things.

But I still miss France more than I can express. I feel like I'm just on vacation, that I'll be headed back any day now. And it kills me to know that I'm not. Even thinking about it makes me hurt (I've been crying on and off just writing this). I've skyped with my friends, and I've even been skyped into a birthday party! Worse than that is thinking about my AFS friends. We were having such a blast, and we became so close, but it's highly, highly unlikely that we'll be able to meet up like we used too. Because some of us are in Austria, some in Finland, some in Indonesia, New Zealand, South Africa, Norway, Latvia, and so many other places. Even Erin, Annie, and I can't hang out because we're all in different parts of the country (Alaska, Vermont, and Maryland). I guess I'll just have to keep in mind the good memories for now, and save up money to see them later. And Lola's here, which is very nice, and like having a bit of last year in the US =)

So there it is. My final piece. My closure. If you stuck around to read that, thank you. If you didn't, still thank you. I appreciate people listening to my stories, and I hope I was able to help in some way. If you have anything to ask, leave a comment or something. I'd be happy to answer.

Au revoir,
Sophia

Et, ben, voila quoi...

2010-07-05T07:11:00.004-04:00

Uhh... well... happy 4th of July....

I'm writing now because I said I'd post again, but I have no strength left. Yesterday was my big 4th of July/going away party that I'd been planning for a while. So, so much fun. There were around 30 of my friends there, the vast majority from school but a few AFSers too. The first people showed up at 2 PM and the last left at 11 AM this morning. It was probably the best party I've ever had.

Saturday night it had been stormy, with thunder, lighning, and torrents of rain. I was really worried about how Sunday would turn out because it wasn't clearing up and the whole party was supposed to be outside, but luckilty, at around noon Sunday, the sun came out and he clouds vanished. I had asked my friends to come dressed as an "American", and they almost all went crazy with it. There were a band of cowboys, some american flags, a cheerleader, a hula dancer, Pamela Anderson, and even some one dressed up as me! Everyone brought something to eat, and we had a volley ball net, frisbee, a water fight, and other barbecue like things.

But the best parts were the things that my friends had in store for me. 5 of my friends, armed with a trumpet, a piano, 2 flutes, and a recorder, surprised me by performing "My heart will go on", which was amazing. Then, a little bit later, I was attacked, blindfolded, and forced into unseen clothing. The unseen clothing turned out to be an Equipe de France soccer jersey and a French flag with armholes so that you can year it around (trop classe, quoi). Then, as I was standing in shock, they dumped a pile of gifts on me. I got portrait, a joke book, perfume, and avery lovely necklace. But best of all was the book they gave me that was filled with photos and notes of/from everybody. My teachers, my class, my friends, everyone had signed it. I came to the realisation that I have the best friends ever =)

All that was amazing, as was the party, until 20:00. Because at 8 PM people started to leave. And that was the hardest part. It was a million times harder than leaving the US because now, well I'm not sure if I ever will see some of my amazing friends again. Saying good bye to everyone made me feel like my heart was ripping. Every one was in tears (I'm pretty sure we all looked pathetic).

And now that everyone's gone I just feel extremely tired. When I think about last night there's a little ache that arrives, and other than that I'm just completely worn out. It's not a sleepy tired, it's more a... well.... a feeling that I can't describe...

But this week is packed to the brim. I have a party tomorrow night, I go to Lyon wednesday morning, I have a party wednesday night, I'm going bowling thursday afternoon, I'm having a last moment with my host fam Thursday night, I'm hanging out with my best friends Friday, and Saturday at 5:45 I take the but to go to Paris. I come back to the US Sunday afternoon.

Yeah.... I'm sorry about this post being so weird.... It's just, writing is really... unappetizing.. at the moment...

But I'll see you soon enough...

Love, Sophia

Nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be this hard

2010-06-17T04:52:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, at 1:00 PM, I finished class, walked out of le lycée, and got on the bus to go home. For the very last time. Never have I so much hated the start of summer vacation. Because being out of school means that the end is very, very close. It means that in 3 weeks I'll be getting on an airplane and leaving every one here behind. But I'm not ready for that yet. I'm not ready to say goodbye. I'm not ready for it to end. For the first time I spent a bus ride home the last day of school in tears.

This year has been the most spectacular year of my life. I've met so many incredible people. I've fallen in love with a country and a culture. I've made new friends all over the world, friends I feel like I've known my whole life. I've grown close to another family, une autre vie.

And I've changed. I've changed in ways that I can't express in words. I'm not even sure if some of the changes are visible, but I'm sure that I'm not the same person I was when I left. But I'm happier with myself now than I ever was. My AFS experience let me become whoever I wanted to be. Because when you're doing something like this, you realize that changing yourself is not a bad thing, that by adjusting your dreams and projects can become reality.

I'm not sure how this post is going to be interpreted by who ever reads it, but just know that this is a seriously heart-felt reflection. It's hard for me to write this because in writing it I have to admit to myself that it's all real, that I'm honestly going to have to leave. That's where my title comes from. It's not that AFS is so difficult, it's not that living abroad is too challenging, it's just that the ending is killing me. If you're a Coldplay fan, you probably know the next line in the song, a line which taps into my deepest desire right now:

Oh, take me back to the start

But since you're reading this for hearing about France, you need to be encouraged to come. And that should be easy. My last few weeks have been amazing. I had my first piano recital in years. I played Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag, and was the only person that played from memory. My friends came to see me, and we hung around the village until midnight or so. I also had my school concert, which was fun. It was probably the biggest concert I've had. We were 200 on stage, we did 2 nights, and each night 400 people came to see us. It was really cool. Other than that I've had a few sleep-overs, went to a few parties, and have spent alot of time with my friends. Last weekend was the last AFS weekend, and we all went down to Ardèche to have a few days of canoeing and escalade/spéléo/accrobranch (rock climbing/caving/ropes course-ing). Quite fun. If you had a video of us before and a video of us now we'd all be a little chubbier in the new video, but also alot more open and confident. that's France for you.

And the three weeks that are left are going to be amazing. I've got visits, concerts, parties, and adventures instore for every moment.

The other day my friend had this as her status update (in French, of course):

Life is like a roller coaster. It takes up by surprise and it goes very fast. Really very fast. There are ups, downs, and above all large drops that terrify us. Sometimes we find our selves upside down without really knowing what we're doing there and what direction we're going in. With out noticing we're already far away the ride is almost over.

While looking for the author, I came across another roller coaster quote:

Life can be like a roller coaster...And just when you think you've had enough,and your ready to get off the ride and take the calm, easy merry-go round...You change your mind, throw you hands in the air and ride the roller coaster all over again.

That's my life in a nut shell.

I'll post one or two last updates before I leave, but I need to stop before I get too depressed.

-Sophia

It's raining, It's Wednesday, I've got nothing better to do...

2010-05-12T12:11:00.002-04:00

There must be something wrong with me. I'm actually updating my blog! Maybe someone should call a doctor...

But really, a surprising amount has happened since my last post. Well, actually not that much more than usual, but it seems like a lot when I look back. Let's see, where to start...

I'll start with that dissert I wrote last time. You know, the one that was 15 pages long. I got it back today, and I got 13/20. Not too bad of a note, actually. It's probably the equivalent of a B, but I'm not sure. The comment the teacher emphasized the most? That I wrote waaaay too much. My notes in general have stayed up. I got an 18/20 on a graded chemistry lab! (Oh, random note that you probably don't care about but that I'm gonna say anyways: We have a new chem teacher. Who looks like a goldfish and likes to pick one student in the class to stare at the whole period. Kind of stressful, really).

I've also started hanging out with friends more after school and on the weekends. I had a sleepover with some of my friends one weekend, which was really fun. We pulled out a lot of the things that were the obsession of our elementary-school selves, and I noticed it was a lot of the same as chez moi. Gimp (called scooby-doo here), marbles, POGs, jump-rope, the floor is lava, all of that fun stuff is pretty universal! And last weekend I went to a bal. Well, technically this was a diner dansant, but they're the same thing. It's a dance, ours was hosted by a volleyball team, and dinner with a bar and DJ. But the thing that I found super amusing was that there wasn't an unspoken age limit. The middle schoolers danced with the high schoolers, who also danced with the parents and grandparents. All to current music. I found it cool. (That being said, by 3 AM when we left only the high schoolers and drunkest of the adults were left).

It's started raining. And the rain cancelled both a type of tri-sport competition (bike-run-rock climb) and a rock climbing/camping weekend. That was a bit of a downer. But I've been super happy despite that, and I seriously can't believe that I only have 60 days left. I don't want to leave!! Not at all!! Like, you seriously could not believe the level of unwillingness that I have. This is my life, these are my friends, that's my family... (Not that I don't want to see all you Towson people. You still count and all but I've made so many new friends. It's hard to express myself well...) But those 60 days should be fun. I've been invited to several parties, am planning one of my own, may go camping, have 2 piano recitals coming up, have the school concert in which I have 2 solos, have plans for tomorrow, have plans to meet people in Lyon, and am just generally filling up my schedule =)

I've also invented a new game! Here, I'll tell you how it works:

Equipment:

A bike
An iPod
A camera (optional)

What to do:

Turn on iPod. Find some happy, upbeat music. Start listening.
Get on bike and start riding.
Get lost.
If you find yourself somewhere picturesque, take a picture

Advice:

Start by going up hill as much as possible, and then when you're tired you can coast back home.
Avoid going down a big hill if you don't know the roads on the other side. Because you may find yourself at a dead end and your only option is to go back up the hill (and that, my friends, is not exactly the most fun thing in the world)
Avoid singing out loud to your iPod when you don't know who's at the bottom of the hill your on if your self conscious. Because it may be a large group of people from your school who'll give you strange looks.
Roads look different depending on which direction you're going. So that fun little extra turn you took to be able to see more of the town might just take you right back to where you started.

That's all for now!

-Sophia

Surprise!

2010-04-29T11:54:00.004-04:00

Guess what, I'm gonna update my blog!! Yay!

Today is Thursday, meaning that spring break is over. *snif*. But the last week wasn't a total waste. I spent alot of time attempting my homework, attempting being the key word. In other words, I would sit down with my papers layed out, ready to work, and then do something stupid like make a paper airplane out of my DM de maths. But I did eventually get my work done. Friday I went into Lyon with another AFSer, Anni from Finland, and then went to a concert that is pretty much the French equivalent of side-by-side. (For those of you for who that doesn't mean anything, teenage musicians played at the symphony after training with the orchestra). The next day I went to another, rather more exciting concert. Yes, the day finally came to see MIKA! My friend Marion came over in the afternoon, and around 6 we left for the concert. It was paaacckkkeedddd. When the concert started we were the the center of the masssiiivveee crowd in a huuuuuuggeee (I enjoy usic extra letters) concert hall. (It used to be a slaughterhouse. Fun concert location, non?). When the first act started we began to realise exactly how badly placed we were. Litterally the only thing I saw was the shoulder of the guy infront of me. But then fate struck! It was super hot where we were, and Marion got overheated to the point where whe couldn't see anything. We made our way over to the nurses station, and while she rested I noted that the sides were an excellent place to be. We could see the screen and the stage! So, we stayed there and consequently had an excellent concert! The next day was Sunday, and I was obligated to really work on my homework. (Which I over did. My dissertation? 15 pages. The class average? 6 pages)

School this week hasn't been too bad. My science teacher has been absent, so I haven't had that class all week. I got 15/20 on a contrôle de SVT and a 14,5/20 on a DS de maths. :) Wednesday I had rock climbing, and I signed up for some sort of epicness next week where we rock climb, bike, and run. In gym class today the teacher finally gave in and let us run with our iPods, making it much more enjoyable.

The weather has been spectacular. It's HOT, and the sun is always out. That's about it for the moment. Just thought I'd give you all a little update !

-Sophia

Spring is here!

2010-04-19T03:18:00.018-04:00

Once again I come to you with my apologies for being so late. And, once again, I promise to tell you all the details of fabulous French adventure. I like the format I used in my last post; it made it easy for me to organise myself. So, who's ready for story time?

Chapitre 1: Les Vacances de Fevrier (II)

So in my last post I mentioned that I had played sports in the snow with my host brothers during the first week of the break. But what about that ever so mysterious 2nd week? What happened then? Read on to find out!

That Friday (February 19, I do believe) my host family and I headed back to the chalet, picking up a family friend at the gare (train station) as we went. When we got to the chalet we were greeted by another family already there (This was, of course, expected. It wasn't like some random creepy people who had decided to camp out in our chalet. Just FYI).

The next day I stayed at the chalet with the 2 kids in that family and played games (one my age, one a little younger) while everyone else went and did their own thing.

Sunday I got the chance to try something new: snowshoeing! Much like hiking, just on snow fields, it was quite simple. We ended up doing the same trail I did when we went hiking in October! There were several risky moments when we had to cross over avalanche trails, and at one point my host mom slipped and fell down one of the ravines! She didn't slide too far, luckily, and after much worrying she got safely up to the trail. After that we decided to turn back, and we headed to a nice little spot to eat lunch. Meanwhile we were all amused by the boy in the other family who entertained us by doing "the penguin" down each hill (sliding down on his stomach). In fact, it was so amusing that everyone decided to try, even the parents. Although, when my host mom went down she lost a snow shoe. It was then ,while we all laughed as she made her way over the field with one foot that stayed on top of the snow and one foot that sunk in just to her knees, that I realised exactly how practical snowshoes are!

The lendemain I stayed at the chalet once again, this time with Antoine and the 2 other kids, instead of going snowshoeing with the adults. We went sledding down the big hill in the back yard, built 2 snow ramps, had a snowball fight, watched movies, and played games before everyone else came back. Then, that night, there was fondue dinner (yum!).

The next day the 2nd family left, and that night some other friends and the grandparents came over for a duck dinner. There were 2 other teens that came, and together we all hung out in the loft of the chalet.

Wednesday our company changed again as my host dad, the girl we picked up at the train station , and her mom left. But, in their place, one of my host cousins came to spend the rest of the sejour with us. That night, after playing some games and watching a movie, those of us left at the chalet (myself, Laurie (the cousin), my host mom, and Christophe)went to the pattinoire to see a skating show where the ice skaters gave us a glimpse of the winter Olympics (with little sketches of skiing, bobsledding, etc).

Thursday dawned bright and sunny, and my host mom proposed a half day of skiing. So, the four of us headed off for the slopes. At the beginning we all went off together, but after a little bit we ran into some friends and Christophe left to do things more on his level. But I was quite happy with my blues and greens, and this time it passed with less drama than the last time! The weather turned ugly, though, and sometimes there was such a cloud around the slope that I couldn't see more than a few meters ahead of me! Around 5:30 or so we called it quits and went to pick up Christophe, who had left with the family friends. We ended up staying at their chalet for a while before returning to our chalet, playing a game, watching a movie, and going to bed.

Friday was not nearly as nice weather-wise as Thursday. Throughout the morning we had white-outs, rain, ice, flurries, everything. After lunch Christophe, Laurie, and I went out side to enjoy the little sun that had come out. I decided to try snowboarding (real snowboarding) for the first time in my life. I must say, I have a new found respect for anyone who can even hold themselves upright on one of those things!!!! I blame part of my failure on the fact that the board was for a lefty, and I fall to my right, but I can't blame it all on that. Christophe was very helpful, helping me get back up, attempting to steer me down the hill, and even trying to send me over a jump. I went down the hill twice before retiring to a sled. We then built a massive, massive snowman and then had a pretty epic snowball fight (involving Christophe climbing onto the roof to lance snow at us!).

Chapitre 2: Théâtre

In my last post I very, very briefly mentioned "a thing with music". Now you may be asking yourself what exactly this thing with music is. Or you may not be asking yourself that at all. Maybe tu t'en fous. But whatever the case about your inquisitive status, you're gonna find out about it anyways!

Before the ski break, all the kids who are in music in seconde were conscripted to work with a small theater troupe and to perform in a small spectacle. Well, the week before the break we had rehearsal for an hour a day, and the week after the rehearsals were around 2 hours, and Friday the 5th of March we had our little show.

Now, this isn't normal music/theater. The group we worked with tries to mix unusual instruments, unusual harmonies, and unusual topics for songs. All in all, it was a very particular taste of music, but it was fun for us anyways. We sang during 2 songs, and I even had a solo! (Although apparently I have more of an accent than I realized!!) (Note to future AFSers: You have an accent. Even if you think you don't, you do. Embrace it. You make friends with it. Because despite what the guidebooks say about snobby French, the French teens love our funny American accents. Meaning you will get mimicked. A lot. But it's not mean spirited. And, en plus, you're allowed to mimic them when they speak English)

But, continuing with the spectacle, that Friday after school we went to to the theater in Givors, ate pizza, and chilled out until 18h when it was showtime! The students only had a little bit at the beginning and a bit at the end (because, after all, it was the main group's show), but it was cool. I ended up getting home around midnight-12:30ish, and, hyped up on soda and adrenaline and unable to sleep, I watched the stars from my balcony on a calm, french night.

Chapitre 3: Ma fête!

That's right, I hosted a party. This is proof enough that AFS has given me a brand new confidence and sense of security. It's not like I've never hosted a party before. I have one every year for my birthday, sometimes for holidays, sometimes for no reason what so ever. But this was different. I hosted a party. Me, with a lack of language skills, without my friends I've known forever, without my usual standby of pizza and chips, without any knowledge of fall back icebreakers!!!!! And you know what, I'd say it was quite a success! Here's what I learned about parties in France:

Parents trust the kids enough to leave the house. Maybe it's not that parents in the US don't trust the kids, maybe they just don't trust the party atmosphere. Whatever the case, the French parents seem to feel that the parties will work themselves out and parental supervision isn't mandatory. (And yes, my dear parents, my party was sans catastrophe and sans injury. =D )
Everyone brings something to eat. Maybe it's just where I live, but at a teen's party this doesn't happen in the US. You don't start the party with a bag of chips, some burritos, a bottle of coke, and a bag of candy and finish with 7 cakes, 3 bags of chips, 2 bottles of soda, and 3 pizzas that have barely been touched.
Games can be translated. Like "Never have I ever" for example. And they provide a new energy to duller moments.
The piano is not off limits. Everyone likes to play, no one minds.
People dance. At most of the parties I've been to in the US the music plays, people listen, but it's more for ambiance. Here, it's like a school dance. You dance the line dances, you show off your new moves, you even take the slows.
The ending time is indefinite. Having too much fun? You sleep at the house. And it doesn't really need to be decided in advance, you just do it.

Chapitre 4: Mes notes

14,81 overall average. 2nd highest grade in the class.

Chapitre 5: Lyon

That makes 4 times in 3 weeks that I've gone to Lyon! The first time was with another AFSer, Erin. The 2nd with a family friend, Laure. The third with my friends from school. The fourth with my host mom. It's really, really easy to go there with the bus, and it's fun!

Chapitre 6: Vacances de Paques

So, Easter here was fun. We had the Monday afterwords off, but that wasn't out spring break. But, the 3 day weekend made a nice little vacation. Easter morning wasn't at all the same as in the US. The French don't have Easter baskets. (GASP!) Luckily, my mom had sent me one all the way from the states. I need not describe the torture that was having a box in my room for a week that I couldn't open, but as soon as I woke up Easter morning I tore back the cardboard and there it was! With Reese's eggs! Yay, peanut butter! I bought my host family some really cute chocolate eggs that were in real egg shells, and so I gave those to my host mom in the morning. Then I was given the task of setting the table for the Easter lunch with the grandparents and cousins. Every one showed up around early afternoon, and we had a typical French Easter meal of lamb. Then all the adults and Christophe went off to hide Easter eggs for an egg hunt. Now, as a little note, in France the eggs aren't plastic. They take those hollow chocolate foil wrapped eggs and hide them just like that. They ranged from tiny eggs to large ones, hidden obviously to hidden in tiny nooks and crannies. (Some people were cruel when hiding them. One of them was very visible in the middle of a rose bush. Putting your hand it and grabbing it was easy, taking your hand back out was the hard part). That night I called home for a little bit and got some news from my family, which was nice. (Note: When you're talking to your mom and every time you start a phrase she cuts you off, it's the connection that's bad. It's not that your mom really just doesn't want you to talk).

Chapitre 7: Les Vacances de printemps

Still going on now! In fact, today is the start of my 2nd week of spring break. I've been so busy this week it's not even funny! Or, more so, busy for me. Last Saturday I was invited to a soirée chez une amie. It was a last minute thing, because she got last minute approval form her parents, but it was fun none the less. We listened to music, ate, and watched a horror movie. I don't really do horror movies. (AKA, the walk from the road where I got dropped off, up the super long driveway, into the dark house, and into my bed at 3AM scared me much more than it should have).

The Sunday after that I went to my friend Lucie's house for lunch. (Those of you who follow my blog more closely than you should will notice that this is the Lucie that was supposed to be in my class to show me around.) We then watched LOL (again), which was fun. (Note to parents: Do not judge French teens based on LOL)

That Monday I played laser tag with my friends from my class. That was super fun! We played at this little place where you rent the entire arena for your group, so it was just the 10 of us playing. The first round I was ranked #7, but the 2nd round I was #1!

Wednesday I went bowling with my host cousins. I failed miserably, but it was amusing. We may do something en famille this week, too.

Thursday I went shopping in Lyon with 3 of my best friends from school. That was cool, and I hope we get to do it again soon!

Yesterday I went to the Parc de la tête d'or with my host mom. We walked around for a few hours and then went to an exposition of Ben at the contemporary art museum.

Chapitre 8: La Semaine prochaine

Next week isn't gonna be too fun... I've got a big paper to write for Monday, 3 unit tests, and a test in French that's 3 hours long.

Chapitre 9: La futur

I have like 2.5 months lefts. I can't even begin to think about it. Like, I'm gonna leave. Leave all my friends here. Leave this whole life I've created. I may never see these people again. My life has changed soo much. My way of thinking, my lifestyle, everything is different. I can't imagine going back. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Too much bizarreness going on. I've had 2 dreams in the past week or so where I've gone home, and each time I wake up almost in tears because I'm not ready yet. Maybe the cloud from that volcano in Iceland will let me stay longer.

But, until then, I'm gonna go make the most of my time here.

Ciao,

Sophia

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important update!

2010-02-13T10:16:00.014-05:00

I'm really, really sorry that I haven't updated. It's been crazy for me here (in the best possible way), and I haven't really had the time to write a lot. (To be honest, I've even neglected the journal I keep every day!) But I fully intend to write about everything I've been up to right now, so sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Evénement numéro 1: Noël

Christmas was insanely fun! Although I had a lot of trouble trying to decide what gifts to get my host family, everything finally came together. I got my host mom a cute little oil dispenser from a store she likes that makes funky house hold supplies (Pylones, in case you were wondering). My host dad was a little harder, because I only see him on the weekends. I decided to get him a nice box of chocolates from a shop that has quite a reputation (Voisin). Personally, though, I found the gifts for my host brothers the most challenging. Neither were very willing to help when I asked what they wanted, saying "I don't know", "A surprise",etc. In the I was left with the reposes "A car" from one brother and "Friendship and love" from the other. So what did I do? I went and bought the closest thing I could find on my budget: A little hot-wheels for the one and a playmobil person for the other! I also gave them some DVDs, because I'm a nice person =). (Although I've noticed that Antoine plays with his toy car more than he watches the movies!!)

The gifts were finished and under the tree the 23rd, and the real party started Christmas Eve. After going to the movies in the afternoon with my host mom, brothers, and one of their friends (each of us seeing a different film), we returned to the house to find that the family had already arrived. My host uncle, aunt, and cousins awaited us, and before long we were all seated in the salon enjoying fois gras, escargots, and other french appetizers. We then ate dinner, dessert, and papillotes until we could eat no more. Then the kids all went upstairs and played card games and board games, attempted to solve brain teasers, and listened to some of Baltimore's 24 hour Christmas station thanks to the wonders of live radio through the Internet. We finally decided it was time to stop when we noticed that we were falling asleep, which was around 2 or 3 in the morning.

Christmas morning greeted us with sunshine. In the morning we... did nothing special! No rush for the (non existent) stocking, no ripping open presents, no attempting to wake up sleeping siblings!!!! But it wasn't bad at all. I helped my host mom get the food prepared, I set and decorated the tables, and early in the afternoon the whole family showed up. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, oh my! We all stood around and chatted for a little bit before sitting down to Christmas dinner (the kids at one table, the adults at another). The food was, according to my host mom, the classic french Christmas dinner: Fois gras and salmon, then a meat (I'm pretty sure it was quail and venison)(When I didn't understand the french word for venison everyone helpfully tried to explain. I figured it out when they started talking about Bambi). It was all quite tasty, and for the second day in a row I ate way too much. It was then the most anticipated moment of the day: PRESENTS!! Unlike at home where we're always forced to wait as everyone opens the presents one by one in order of age, here they counted to three and everyone opened them all together. I got (-along with other things) some new books (in french and in English/french), a new CD (BB Brunes), some new sheet music, tickets to see Mika in concert (!!!!!!), and ...... (drum roll) a potato! Apparently, Antoine decided to give everyone a potato. With a face drawn on it in marker. No lie. After dinner we all played a game (Wanted) and tried to solve some enigmas from the new book a cousin got. It was all together a very fun holiday.

Evénement numéro 2: Ski

The day after Christmas my host dad, brothers, and I loaded into the station wagon and headed off to the Alpes (only to get stuck in HORRIBLE traffic on the way). We arrived in the night, and right away went to sleep. The next day Antoine and my host dad left early to ski, but I stayed with Christophe at the chalet and worked on homework (oh, how studious of me!). Afterwords we played a sort of "Name that Tune" because Christophe got a CD of film music for Christmas. Later in the afternoon, when Antoine and my host dad returned, I was informed that tomorrow I would be getting a ski lesson in the morning (because I'm an awful skier) and that we needed to go rent me skis. We ended up not getting the skis due to a confusion at the store, but I was getting more and more excited for my ski adventure.

Well, the day of my ski adventure arrived and I was out the door by 8:30. We rented the skiis, drove to the slopes, and before I knew it I was being introduced to Antoine, my ski instructor. (Oddly enough, it was Antoine (my host brother) who helped my fine Antoine (my ski instructor)). Now this is where my skiing becomes completely new for me. At home I ski on a nice little mountain with fake snow. Here I was in the Alpes. With real snow swirling around often making it completely white. And I swear the ride up took like 1725639192.3726 million hours. Not even kidding. (Ok, maybe I am kidding. Just a little. But anyways, continuing with the story...). But you know what? My skiing wasn't too horrible! Antoine took me on the easy slopes, and I was able to steer and control my speed and all that jazz (and I only fell like 4 times, which is pretty phenomenal for me). The three hours of lesson passed quickly, and afterwords I met up with my host family for lunch. After eating I was planning on going back out and skiing with Antoine (my host brother) and my host dad, but that's when my problems started. On the J-bar up to the slope we were going to take disaster struck! Well, not really disaster, but one of my skis popped off. So I had to get off the lift to save my ski, and that's where my break down occurred. I'm not really going to go into detail about it in an attempt to preserve my image, but I will say that it involved my trying to ski down a slope that was too hard for me, exhaustion, getting a jet-ski called to take me back to the lodge, and the end of skiing for me for he day. But you know what, it wasn't all that bad! I had already warned my family of my lack of ski experience (3-4 times in my life), and that evening I went home and watched a nice movie with my host mom called La Première étoile which made me feel better about my skiing =)

The next day the rain arrived, so skiing was not really possible. The day was spent inside playing board games and doing enigmas, and in the evening we went to a friend's chalet for dinner. There were a couple families there, meaning that there were enough people to do a kids table and an adults table. So, since we finished eating first, all of the teenagers left to go to a bar in town (all the teenagers being me, my 2 host brothers, and 3 other guys that were there).It was really nice to just be able to chill with people, and even though I didn't know the other guys I was able to have a great time! (to the surprise of my host mom. She called at the end and was all worried that I'd just been left in the corner all night).

Evénement numéro 3: Nouvel An

The day after I got back from the Alpes was New Year's Eve. While my host brothers had a massive party at the house, I was invited to a friend's place for a fiesta of smaller size. 4 people, to be exact, me included. It was with my copines, the 3 girls I hang out most with at school. I t was really fun! We did the typical sleep over things (little games, gossip, music, movies), and ended up staying up until 6 or 7 just talking. So, there's proof: French teens and American teens really aren't that different!!

Evénement numéro 4: Grève

My teachers went on strike. Again. Two Thursdays in a row. Meaning the first week I had a couple hours in the afternoon and the second week I had no class at all. Meaning, naturally, going with all my friends to McDo and then to the magasins. As a matter of fact, I've missed class a lot lately due to things relatively outside my control! Take a look, I've had:

A field trip with Escalade that took an afternoon
A teachers conference that gave us a morning
A day of planning for next year that I was allowed to skip, giving me an afternoon
A thing with Music that took everyday last week from 11-1
Snow, that keeps some of my teachers at home, giving us an hour or two
Snow, that stops the buses, giving us a day and a half
And, best of all, a 2 week ski break going on right now

Evénement numéro 5: Vacances

This week and next week make up our February break! This week we stay at home, but on Friday we head back up to the mountains for a week of skiing! (I'm gonna stick to the easy slopes this time). So far the break has gone well! Yesterday I went to the movies (Sherlock Holmes) with my host mom and Christophe, played soccer (in the snow) with Antoine, and played badminton (in the snow) with Christophe.

Evénement numéro 6: Cooking

So, I've made a few little thing for my host family. I made a massive lasagna, which, thanks to teenage host brothers, was gone in 2 or 3 days. Sunday I made some Valentine's Day brownies. And today I attempt an real, American pizza! Wish me luck!

Evénement numéro 7: Notes

I've been getting some good grades here! I got a 16.5 /20 in Geography (good), a 14/20 in History (good), an 18.5/20 in Chemistry (excellent), and, best of all

11.5/20 in English

Which, by the way, is not good. In fact, for a native English speaker, it's awful. But, in my defense, it was new for me. I have no clue what les modaux are. And, in the fill in the blank part, all my answers were correct. They just weren't what she was looking for. (But I think it's terrific. It's boring to always have 20/20 =D )(Also, I now have a smattering of people offering me English lessons. The kid next to me got a 13 and spent the entire class telling me that it would be smart to take notes and that maybe I should listen more closely to the teacher. I think he was enjoying himself)

So, that about covers my last 2 months. I've been having a terrific time, and I still highly recommend France for people trying to decide which country to come to! If you have any questions or comments or complaints or ideas or proclamations of love for the blog or what not, feel free to say something! I'll try my best to keep updating more frequently!

A bientot, Sophia

J'arrive, J'arrive

2009-12-11T13:15:00.006-05:00

OK, I've been a horrible procrastinator and have completely neglected blogging. Please forgive me! But I'm here now, so let's begin.

First of all, I didn't get to go to London. It's sad, I know. Let me explain. The weekend before I was supposed to leave I wasn't feeling my best. I had a cough and a headache, but I just figured "Hey, it's cold season". But, not wanting it to get worse, I took care of myself. I drank lots of water, didn't spend to long in the cold, and took a nap in the afternoon. I thought that would take the edge off, enough so I could maximize my London time. Sadly, it didn't work. I woke up Monday morning feeling awful, and when my host mom had me take my temperature I was up to 103. 6. But I wasn't to be beaten that easily! I took some medicine, stayed home from school, and did everything I could to get my temperature down (went back to sleep, didn't move around, took a luke-warm shower, the whole enchilada). By 3:30 I was down to 98.9, and I was confident that if I just took some medicine with me on the trip that I'd be good to go! .... Well, it wasn't that simple. My host mom had already called the school, and the school said that I would need a doctors note to go on the trip. ... OK, I thought, this complicates things. After all, how ... But then my host mom called back and said she had managed to get an appointment scheduled for that afternoon! At this point I was getting excited. I'd most likely be able to go!! Around 4 my host mom comes and takes me to the doctors office, and I thought I was exhibiting all the signs of being better. Much to my dismay, the doctor thought otherwise, insisting that any improvement was just due to the medicine. Furthermore, she refused to allow me to go on the trip. Yeah, I was pretty disappointed (to say the least). But the story gets better! (And by better, I'm being sarcastic and actually mean that it just gets altogether more depressing for me). Being a teenager, I decided not to re take my medicine that evening (the idea being that if I was going to be sick, dammit I was going to be sick). Well, the next morning I woke up feeling.... (dramatic pause)... fine. No fever, no cough, no headache. And the day after that? Fine again. Yep, that's right, I turned out only to be sick that one day. (The only upside being that the doctor had excused me from half a week of school, so I got to chill at home). (Yeah, yeah, I know. I should be thankful I wasn't really sick, thankful I didn't feel horrid for a longer period of time, thankful for my good health. But, hey! I'm a teenager! We see things the way we want to, and right now I want to sulk about not being allowed to go to London). (On the other hand, the entire class came down with la grippe that week. One day, with the combined absences of London and illness, there were 17 kids missing from my class alone).

But, other than that episode, I am continuing to love France. School is going really well. My grades are improving (my average for the first trimester is 13,4/ 20, which is actually quite good here) and I'm understanding more than ever. And I'm having a fantastic time with my friends and host family!

A couple weekends ago, I went to la fête des lumières in Lyon with Annie. During the weekend of the fête, buildings across town have light shows, projections, and animations. We started up at the basilica in Fourvière, which had a synchronised light and bell display and a large sign in lights that read "Merci Marie". The lights turned on at 6, so around 6:30 or so we started the walk down hill to the rest of town. The lights were fantastic! There were different kinds of lights, too. There were lights that were just simply colors, and then there were projections where they used the buildings like big movie screens. And it was possibly the most crowded place I've ever been. We would get stuck in traffic jams (that, mind you, were just foot traffic) in which it would take 15 minutes to go 50 feet. But it was incredibly cool, and it changes every year.

I've also been taught in the ways of the blocus. For those of you who are wondering what the heck a blocus is, allow me to explain. A blocus is a type of protest. In the US we pride ourselves on our right to free speech. If something isn't going the way we like, we have the ability to speak up! If we want to protest, we sure as heck can! The only problem? We don't really do anything. We get all annoyed, spend a lot of time yelling about how wrong something is, and then let it go. Or, if we're REALLY angry, we arrange community meetings, we write letters, and we put up yard signs. The French, on the other hand, protest. One of their favorite forms of protest is la grève (going on strike). There was a train strike, which made my transport to and from Grenoble quite challenging (seeing as my trains kept getting canceled). There was a bus strike, which meant getting into Lyon was crazy because of all the added cars. There was even a teacher's strike, which was pretty fantastic for us, the students (except for the fact that I woke up at 6 AM rather than 9 AM for nothing). But the protesting doesn't stop at the adults. Currently, there is some sort of school reform going on, and the students aren't happy about it. So what do we do? We protest, of course! And the form of protest most loved by the lycéen? Blocus! Simply put, a blocus is a blockade. In theory, the students barricade the school, making it impossible to enter. (In reality, it's not IMPOSSIBLE to enter the school, but you have to face an ocean of booing and general disapproval.) A crowed, thus, assembles in front of the school gates. Since it's December, alot of people are less likely to wait in front of the gates and just head home, but there are still people who wait. And it's not just a crowd that you have to battle to get inside, it's a literal blockade. In our case, dumpsters were moved in front of the main entrance to the school. And, as always with protests, things can get a little crazy. Some one came out and announced that we were moving inside, news that was gratefully accepted by many (IT WAS FREAKING FREEZING). But as we started to move inside, there was a mass movement further away from the building. We checked it out from a distance, and apparently someone lit either a car or a tree on fire. (We were too far away to tell). (Thanks to the many fire extinguishers on hand it was quickly put out.) Afterwards, the remaining crowd (meaning those that hadn't gone home or given up and gone to class) assembled in the atrium-like area at the back of the school. The "leaders" of the blocus started talking, but they got chased off their stage, the stairs in the atrium, because it's forbidden to students. Now there's the key- although they were protesting, they didn't just ignore everything. They made sure they still had the right to what they were doing. But, of course, they didn't stop. They just continued their speech on the floor. And so the protest continued, but in the warmth of inside. And there were still a good number of people, despite the fact that a million people left. All in all, it was cool to see the students organized like that. And I'm left to wonder why kids in the US can't get organized like that...

What else... it's almost Noël! There have been a lot of things leading up to the holidays. At school on Thursday there was the holiday meal. Now, in Towson there's a holiday meal around this time, too. You know, the one we have every year: cubed "turkey" on white bread, school mashed potatoes, limp green beans, and a free ice cream sandwich. Sounds tasty, no? So, you can imagine my confusion when the kids at school were actually excited for the holiday meal. (Like, it even made the Facebook status the night before). Well, as it turns out, the French take their holiday meal seriously. First of all, they gave all the students 2 hours to eat (deleting all classes within those 2 hours). That alone was cool, but the meal was... not at all like Towson. You got:

Foie Gras or Smoked salmon and toast
Chicken (real chicken) with mixed greens and some sort of little potato thing
Bread
A good quality yogurt or cheese
A little chocolate cake
Clementines
A coke
Papillotes (little chocolates with a message inside)

All that for 3.50 euros! And I found it quite tasty, despite the claims that it wasn't the "good quality foie gras" and that "the chicken wasn't really hot". Also, I decorated the house with my host mom! Although different from what I do at home, it was fun! Since I don't have a large banister in Towson, and my host family does, it was fun to make a greenery garland and string it up like in all the holiday children's books. And we have a very cute little Christmas tree, too. And, just in time for the holidays, it snowed a little. Not very much at all, but enough to cover the world in white. (And enough to spark snowball fights at school!) On Friday school let out for everyone at 4, and that started winter break!

I just got back from a weekend with some other AFSers in Lyon, Erin and Laura. We walked around Lyon a lot, did some Christmas shopping, went to the movies, and went to the Marché de Noël in Lyon. I also discovered the joys of public transportation. I had previously thought that a trip into Lyon would be something that would involve much advance planning and inconvenience on the part of the person who would have to drive me. But I now know that there's a bus that goes straight from the center of Millery to the train station Perrache in Lyon, and from there I can catch a bus or the metro and go anywhere in Lyon. And it's all really easy to do, so I may go into town more often!

That about covers the more exciting parts of my life. If I think of anything else I'll tell you! And to all my family and friends who I'm not seeing this year, just know that I love you all very much!

Happy holidays, everyone!

Sophia

Half way through my third month...?

2009-11-21T06:37:00.003-05:00

Woah, hold the phone, this is my THIRD month? As in the one that comes AFTER second? Trop bizzare. Yep, life here is zooming by like nobody's buisness. But it's odd, because if you were to look at my schedule it wouldn't look like I do anything. In the US I have choirs, dance classes, plays, voice lessons, babysitting, soccer, and tons of other things that completely fill up my life. But here, the only set thing I have is my piano lesson on Saturday. Yet, despite this lack of scheduling, I always feel like I'm always busy. I guess AFS is a full time activity =)

Let's see, what have I been doing...

This week my French teacher has been absent, so my friends and I planned a trip to McDonalds on Friday because on Fridays we have a double period of French right after lunch and would thus have 3 hours of free time. It was really fun, and my first trip to McDonalds in a really, really long time (thanks to my health-conscious parents). For those of you planning on going to France, here's a tip: If you hear someone talking about "Mac Doe", it's not some odd French thing. It's just the odd, err, different French name for McDonalds. ANYWAYS, The McDo in question was about a half hour walk from the school, so it was a good thing we had do much time, in a shopping center off the high way. And it was probably the classiest McDonalds I've seen in my life. It had two levels and a Artsy style interior with fake leather chairs and earth tones. And it worked diferently than in the US. There was a lady standing around, and you gave her your order and she printed you a little ticket. You then would take the ticket up to the counter, where they quick grab all the parts of your order and you pay. Also, you needed a code to get past the entrance to the bathroom... Afterwards, since we were in a shopping center, my friends and I looked around a bit before heading back for the final two hours of school.

What else... The weekend of Halloween I went to a town near Grenoble to stay with another AFSer, Annie, for the weekend. It was alot of fun to see how other AFSers lived. I noticed that even though we all have things that are similar, each experience is incredible unique. I find that incredibly cool, though. I love how AFS can give these wonderful experiences that are as unique as each of the participants, that can't be duplicated, but are all amazing. That weekend was my first Halloween without Trick-or -Treating, but it was pretty fantastic nonetheless.

Isn't Fall in France lovely? Sights from Halloween weekend

I spent an evening in Lyon the other weekend. My host mom went to a movie with a friend, so I shopped around the Rue de la Republique (The main shopping street) for a little while bu myself and then met up with my host brother, and we wandered around for a while. It was fun to have a "Saturday night out" like at home, only French-y.

It's funny, retelling my adventures makes me realize exactly how fun they were. It's like, when they're happening I don't realize that I'm having the time of my life, it's just having fun, but when I type them I realize "Hey, that was a real AFS moment!". Haha, I guess that's actually a good thing! I've left the phase where I notice every conversation and revel at the fact that there's someone who wants to talk to me, and I've entered the "Life is normal. Good, fun, and normal" phase. =D

On Monday evening I leave for London for 3 days! The school put us in host families for our stay, and I'm with two of my new friends in my family! This ought to be a good test of how much my courage for meeting new people has increased... wish me luck! I'm super excited, and I'll obviously do a post when I get back.

Speaking of posts, I've remodeled them! I've gone back to my old posts and added appropriate pictures, and I plan on putting pictures with my future ones! I think this will work better for presenting my adventure! As always, you can check my photos on my FlickR. There's a link to the side, but if for some reason that doesn't work it's: SophiaKH.fkickr.com

A bientot,

Sophia

I <3 Paris

2009-10-29T12:18:00.005-04:00

I have discovered yet another awesome thing about France:

Fall Break

That's right, a week and a half of no school at the end of October! I love France just a little bit more now. Since this vacation exists not only for me and my host brothers, but also for my host mom, we took a trip to Paris for a few days. I'm going to call this my first trip to Paris even though, yes, I did spend a few days there at the very start of the trip. Why am I not counting orientation as a trip to Paris? Two main reason. The first is that we were confined to the hostel for the vast majority of the time. The second is that frankly I was too nervous to take anything in. But not this time! This time I enjoyed Paris to the fullest!

It started on Sunday evening. My entire host family (both parents and both brothers) and I caught the 7:15 TGV (high speed train) out of Lyon, and around 2.5 hours later we arrived in Paris. Since my host dad works in Paris during the week he has an apartment, which is where we all stayed for the trip. Not much happened that night, but I was still super happy to be in Paris!

My host dad didn't have a vacation, however, so the next morning when we woke up he was already gone. The day dawned sunny and warm, a perfect day for sightseeing. My host family and I caught a train to the Eiffel Tower, where we were then met with the task of waiting in line.

The Eiffel Tower

Even though we were in the considerably shorter line for the stairs, it took us about an hour or so to get to the entrance. The view was sufficient to make all that waiting and the stair-climbing that followed worth it though! From the first platform you could see a long way, and from the second you could see even further. It was also amusing to attempt to place people by country based on what you could hear of their conversations (I think I managed to find all the Americans!). We stopped at the second level because, as spectacular as the view may have been from the top, the line would have cost us another 2 hours. After we finished at the tower we made our way through the souvenir vendors ( Key chain, only 1 euro! 1 euro!!) and caught a bus to Monmarte.

1 euro!

We bought sandwiches and ate them in front of Sacre Coeur, and then climbed to the top of the hill.

Sacre Coeur

The area was filled with musicians, painters, tourists, and people with crazy Chinese yo-yo skills. My host mom got talked into getting a caricature of the 3 kids done! After Monmarte we headed off in search of music shops, and then, after not finding them, did a bit of shopping. Later that evening my host parents went out and the three of us kids stayed back and watched a movie.

The next day was equally exciting. Again, we didn't see my host dad in the morning, and after breakfast My host mom, one host brother, and I took the metro to the heart of tourist heaven Paris. (I'm not sure what my other host brother was doing that day, but we didn't see him). We walked down the Champs-Eysées, and stopped in a few stores. There was a huge line in front of the Adidas store because Lionel Messi was going to be there, and when we came back by later in the day it was about 2.5 times as long as the line for the Eiffel Tower, no joke. We climbed the Arc de Triomphe, and the view from the top of it was incredible.

View from the top of L'arc de Triomphe

We took a bus back through Paris and got out at the Musée d'Orsay. We had lunch in a little café and went to see Notre Dame, where we met up with one of my host brother's friends. We walked around a while, got ice cream, and then did a little more shopping at a semi-underground shopping center.

Notre Dame

That night my host parents went to the theater and dinner, and the 4 of us (My 2 host brothers, the friends, and I) stayed back, ordered pizza, and chilled.

Wednesday, my host family (again sans host dad) left to go to the Cité de la science, which was a bit like the science center in Baltimore. We ate lunch there, and then headed to the Cité de la musique, which was a music museum! It was very cool, with an audio tour and tons of really rare instruments (like an Octobass, which is like an upright bass only around 10 feet tall). They also had a very cool Miles Davis exhibit and, at 8:00 PM, a jazz concert. The concert was amazing, and the 2 hours it lasted passed super quickly. We (we being my host family and some other people who were there with us) went to dinner after the concert, and then took a taxi back to crash for the night.

Thursday, we woke up early because my host mom, host brothers, and I were taking the 9:00 TGV back home. We grabbed breakfast at a bakery along the way to the train station, and that was it.

I really, really enjoyed Paris. It was a nice change of scenery, and I got to see all the things I learned about in 8th grade french class!

-Sophia

Alpes, anniversaire, and another blog update!

2009-10-14T15:28:00.009-04:00

I've had quite a few things happen since my last post! Actually, it's really only been two major things...But none the less they have been major (for me)!

The first of the two was first trip to the Alpes (yes, in French Alps is spelled with an E). Last Friday I packed a bag and headed to my host family's chalet with my host parents and one of my host brothers (Antoine). My other host brother (Christophe) stayed home because he had too much work. After 2 hours in the car, we arrived in the town of Sainte-Gervais in the mountains. The chalet was actually up higher than the rest of the town, so I got a very nice scenic view while we drove to the house. When we arrived, there was no one else there. Soon after though a second family arrived with a younger daughter and two sons around my age (I think one was the same age, one possibly a year older). We all ate dinner, and then all of us kids headed off to play a rousing game of Harry Potter Uno. The next day dawned cold and rainy. There were times where all you could see out the windows was a white cloud that enveloped the chalet!

Living in a cloud

Another family arrived in the morning. This family had a very little boy and two daughters who I think were just slightly younger than me. After a lunch together, all the parents left for a hike in the mountains. After a bit of homework, all of us at the house chilled out. We watched two movies (A French movie, Cyprien, and an American movie dubbed in French, Hitch), played a round of HP Uno, and played around on the keyboard. Later in the evening the parents returned, and after dinner everyone left for a hike in the night to hear the mating call of a deer (although that may very well not have been the purpose. I didn't really understand what they were saying, haha). But what ever we were searching for didn't show, and one again the kids headed back to the house while the parents enjoyed the outdoors. Although it was very dark, slightly chilly, and there were hidden puddles everywhere, there was a break in the clouds and the night sky was stunning. It was very close, if not equal to, the sky in the BWCA of Minnesota. I think we managed to hike above the light pollution, which was incredible. You could see thousands of stars!! Once we made it back to the house, all the kids headed up to the little loft to play a game called "Service Compris!". It entertained us until midnight!

Sunday proved to be stunning!

Although the weather was still a little nippy, the sun was shining and there was barely a cloud in the sky.

The weather on Sunday

After breakfast, the parents announced they were going to do another hike. All of the other kids stayed back, claiming schoolwork, but I decided to go. I'm pretty sure that was the right choice!! The hike was long and challenging, it's true, but it was worth it! 3-4 hours of hiking uphill in the French Alpes brings absolutely stunning views! We hiked above all the clouds of the towns below, ate wild blueberries, saw the sun hit snow capped mountains, and if I ware a little bit taller I think I could have touched the sky! After 3 hours of upward motion, we went down a huge hill and then it only too 1.5 hours to go back! (When we got home I found out that "homework" consisted of a little actual work, a movie, and some games.)

At the top

Heading home

The second major thing to happen was my birthday!! On Tuesday I turned 16, and I must say the birthday was fantastic (and totally different form any other birthday I've ever had). It started off by my waking up too early due to that sense of birthday jitters (I was quite excited! Sweet 16!!!!). To pass time I listened to the excellent mix CD some of my friends sent me for my birthday, read and re-read the birthday cards I had gotten in the mail, and dove into the world of magic at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (aka read Harry Potter). Finally, it was time to get ready for school. After a few little happy birthdays from my host family, I headed off to school. In my excitement for my birthday, I apparently ended up alerting half my class that today was my anniversaire, so in school I had a warm welcome! I'm not sure whether I got more wishes in French or English (many people in my class are very excited at the chance to parle anglais). To save time (and because you probably don't want a super detailed play by play of my school day) here are some of the highlights of the journey:

My friends alerted the Vie Scolaire that it was my birthday, so a birthday announcement got put up on the TVs in the hallway.

I got happy birthday (in English) sung to me 5 times, two of which got cut short due to a teacher saying they were singing too loudly in the halls

School started at 1 PM! My only morning class (chemistry) didn't happen due to the prof being absent, so my classes started after lunch. And I only had two classes: Bio and music!

The cantine had Fries and "steak" (a hamburger w/o the bun). I like to think they did it because it was the American's birthday

I got finished at 6, and around 7:30 my host mom called us down for dinner. Guess what we had

Sushi!!

I had mentioned once that I loved it, and my host mom actually went and bought sushi for my birthday dinner!! It was the first time either she or my one host brother who was there that evening (Christophe) had ever had it. They thought it was highly amusing that I ate it all with chopsticks, but I thought it even funnier that they ate it with a knife and fork! After a very satisfying dinner, my host mom said there was a little dessert, but before that she had a surprise for me. She said (in French) that since I was turning.... (16, I replied) ... that she had 16 little gifts for me (to which I replied, .........!!!!!). Some of them were like a bookmark or a pen, but I got the new Mika CD, a cookbook of brownies, and quite a few other lovely things! It was really fun, and all I could do was smile broadly and say over and over again Merci beaucoup!. After the gifts she brought out a little chocolate cake. In France you blow out the candles, but there isn't a song that goes with it. Well, the cake was amazing, but we learned something very important: Blowing out candles on a cake covered in cocoa powder= showering the table with cocoa powder!! It was incredibly fun, and an amazing sweet 16.

In other news, I am officially (assuming my visa and what not allows it) going to London in November! My friends are also going, so it should be super fun! I also had to ask for help in English today (to top it off I had to ask the kid the teacher put next to me in hopes that I could help)! But it was translating the English document into French, so I think it was justified.

I think that really about covers it. I hope everyone is doing well!

-Sophia

English, French, and everything in between

2009-10-06T13:59:00.006-04:00

In rereading my last post, I realized it was a lot of reflection on the month with out a lot of details on what I've actually been doing. If you enjoyed that little foray into my thought process, super! (PS, super is to be pronounced the French way: Pronounced like sue-pear with the emphasis on the second syllable). If you prefer it when I describe in detail what I've been up to, then you're in luck! I have quite a few things to raconte.

Chapitre 1: English

This past weekend was my first AFS get together! On Saturday, after a piano lesson and a trip to the town festival to watch a demonstration of grape-pressing, my host mom dropped me off in Anjou for a weekend with AFS.

At the orientation site

As soon as I got there I saw someone from the NYC and Paris orientations, and we immediately started talking in English. WEIRDEST THING EVER. I couldn't do it! It took me about 15 minutes before I was able to have a fluid conversation. I never would have thought that one month would make such a difference on language skills. I mean, I knew that it would greatly improve my French, but a quarter of an hour just to be able to communicate in my native language? I can only hope this means that I'm adjusting well to France! Anyways, after I got into the swing of things it was amazing being able to actually (correctly) express myself. And it was hilarious to find out what there is in common between the actions of the AFSers (For example, drinking water. It's not just because we're thirsty, we use it as an excuse to move around the house, an excuse to wait and see what others do so we can copy them, and just as a way to avoid awkward situations in general). We broke into small groups at the orientation, and we did activities to reflect on what we've done and project what we wish to do in the future. The groups had people from mixed home countries (mine had 2 other Americans, a boy from New Zealand, a girl from Thailand, and a French girl who was going to go abroad), and it was cool to see how that affected what they missed. After the groups, we played games (a kung-fu game, and a round of something like duck duck goose involving a key) , did energizers, and talked a lot (in English). After dinner, a lot of us hung around and did riddles. The room assignments of the night were completely mixed up by country, and my roommate ended up being a girl from Norway! The next day brought more games (something similar to capture the flag, something similar to sharks and minnows, ans something involving a cowboy hat), more energizers, more English, and a picnic with our host families. By the time my host mom and I left, I had arranged to hang out with AFSers, written a letter to myself, and completely transitioned back into English.

Group shot

Chapitre 2: French

Needless to say, it was difficult to go back to French. However, surprisingly, it was not as hard as it had been to go into English. School has been a little more tiring the past two days due to the switch, though. But the weekend really rejuvenated me, and I have been in better spirits than I was before the weekend. School has passed well, and I've had a lot of fun (in French, none the less!) with my friends at school. I've also realized that when introducing myself, it speeds up comprehension if I attempt a French accent for things like the town name (although, my accent is not really that great, haha). My host mom suggested that tomorrow we start English lessons at the dinner table, so that should be fun.

Chapitre 3: Everything in between

Hmm.... I've been getting decent grades in school (12/20 in History isn't bad considering I don't speak French). There is a very good chance I am going to London in November with school! There was a lottery, and the first 10 people get to go. I was the 11th, but the teacher says that I will most likely get to go! I'm reading the 7th Harry Potter in French, which is proving quiite challenging (Severus Snape = Severus Rogue, Muggles = Moldus, and it took me about 3 chapters to realize Poudlard = Hogwarts). And I think I've almost completely overcome embarrassment at making a fool out of myself (After all, when you've put yourself in a situation where communication skills are lacking and you don't know anyone, you learn to overcome humiliation pretty quickly).

Until next time,

Sophia

A new month begins (+ photos!)

2009-10-01T12:36:00.007-04:00

My agenda says today is the first day of October, but I'm not really sure I believe it. Because if today really is the first day of October that would mean that I have been in France for almost a whole month, and it definitely hasn't been that long...has it?

But seriously, it really is hard to believe that it's October. Time moves differently here, differently this year. I can remember exactly what they told us at the orientation in New York ("Dump your boyfriend and have fun in France"), the days in Paris feel like yesterday (I wonder what everyone I met has been up to?), and I can play the host family meeting like a movie (Saying goodbye, saying hello). But I can't tell the difference between what happened last week or my first week. There are days for which I remember exactly what I did, exactly who I hung out with, and how may minutes I waited for the bus. But I couldn't tell you what days they were. Everything moves so quickly, but at the same time incredibly slowly. I'll be half way through a Tuesday and wondering how long the class could last, and next thing I know I'm finishing on Friday.

But that's not to say I'm not enjoying every minute of it! Sure, there'll be moments where I'm sitting in class and I feel a pang of logning for everything to be in English. And there are definitely times where all I want is to see my friends in the US. But everyone here is so great, and it really doesn't take much to change my attitude completely. A moment of understanding or a good smile and I'm ready to go! I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true. I'm realizing that with time going this quickly there is no time to feel sorry for myself. And what is there really to feel sorry for? I'm in a beautiful country, I'm surrounded by nice people, and I'm out there doing the thing I've been waiting for. What's bad in that?

The people are not the only great thing here. The food here is also wonderful =) One of the cool things about eating here is it's always at regular intevals. You have breakfast before you go to school, lunch around 12, a snack when you get home, and then dinner around 8. And people take eating seriously! Haha, let me explain that. In the US, people seem to eat sometimes for the sake of eating. You eat breakfast because your mom says you should, lunch because what else are you going to do then, and a snack because you're bored. (OK, I know that's a little exaggerated, but you get the point). But here, you eat because you're hungry. They seemed to have mastered the art that is figuring out when you run out of fuel. You eat a small breakfast when you wake up, and then 3 hours later noon your hungry again. Lunch is fairly large, so it can hold you for the 6 hours you may have afterwards. Then, you're hungry when you get home. You eat a snack that holds you 2 hours or so, and then eat a fairly large dinner. By the time you wake up in the morning, you're ready for breakfast. And lunch and dinner each have a few courses. A typical lunch (at least for me) is a hot meat/fish, a vegetable (Sometimes it's french fries. I have no idea why they say the US supersizes it's junk food, because while in the US we get like 15 fries at lunch, the French get an entire plate full. Which they then proceed to eat with a knife and fork. Kind of starange, lol. ANYWAYS...), a yogurt (Nature= plain. That's why they have suger packets next to it), bread, and a dessert (they have good desserts). Dinner is pretty much the same.

So what have I been upto in this blur of a month? I've visited Lyon twice more. (The first time my host mom and I walked around the old part and took and inclined railroad and then a steep path up to the top of a large hill where there was a roman theater and a basilica with a stunning look out point. The second time my host mom, host brother, and I went to the Parc de la Tête d'or, which is alot like central park in NYC.) I've met some of the family and friends of my host family. I've met more people at school (including one person who always asked the girl I was with to translate her question, and was surprised each time when I answered before it was translated =) ). I've started piano lessons (Solfege is slightly different in French. Just enough to make me utterly confused for about 30 seconds each time my teacher asks me a question). I've managed to score some points in gym class (despite my complete and total lack of basketball skills). I've taken somewhere around a trillion pictures (Wait, wait, I'll get to that...). And I've spoken French more than I ever have in my life.

Speaking of French, it's time for random French things that you may find interesting:

Water fountains: Do not exist (atleast not in school). You stick your head under the faucet if you're thirsty. I'm not even lying.
4 wheelers: Quite a few to add to the population of motorcycles and scooters. However, they often are driven soley on the back wheels. Showing off much? Nahhhh....
French cars: The French are very proud of their cars. While the US auto companies are having a problem with Americans buying Asian cars, the French are quite happy with their Peugeots, Citroëns, and Renaults. It took me a week to find a non French car. It took me another 2 bfore I saw an American one.

Bikes, rollerblades, and scooters (Razor-style ones, not Vespas): Used by all ages. They have really snazzy bike rental things in Lyon. I can really rescribe them, but I'll try and get a photo of them. The only thing I can think to compare them to at the moment are those cart-rental things at airports. Roller blades are really popular, too. If they've fallen out of fashion, the French haven't heard. There are people roller-blading all over the city. There are also people scootering everywhere. And not just little kids like in the US. Pre-teens, teens, adults, everyone.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, photos! I've managed to get my photos onto FlickR, but the app on Blogspot for Flickr isn't working. So, here's what you gotta do. Go to

http://www.flickr.com/SophiaKH

If you click on the icon that says "Septembre", you'll get the stream in order.

Here are a few of my favorites from my recent trips to Lyon:

Flower at the Parc de la tête d'or

Stature at the Parc de la tête d'or

Another flower at the Parc de la tête d'or

Inside a cathedral in Lyon

A street in Lyon

I think that about covers it!

-Sophia

To answer some questions

2009-09-26T02:31:00.002-04:00

So, I've been reading the comments on my posts, and I figured it's about time to answer them.

1) To all of you who have given feedback, thank you so much! It means a lot to know that I'm able to help you guys =)

2) Some one asked how many years of French I have taken, and the answer is 4

3) School is definitely challenging, since it is, well, in French. But it's not as scary as it seems. Classes that focus mainly on texts (like History and French) are definitely, for me, the hardest. However, failing a quiz isn't a big deal at all, and if you ask the Prof questions you'll find that they are happy to explain and definitely want you to understand! Subjects like Math and Science will be tough too, but not necessarily on the same level. Numbers are the same, so the things you know from home will easily transfer. Also, get a pocket dictionary!! I use mine sooo much! I thought it would be embarrassing, but it's really not, and it makes it a lot easier to understand things!!

If there are any questions I didn't address, or any thing you can think of to ask, fell free to post a comment and I'll try to answer it!

-Sophia

Safe, sound, and in France

2009-09-16T13:33:00.007-04:00

I made it!

I really don't know where to start with this post. So much has happened in such a short period of time. I've been in France for all of a week and a half and yet....it seems like I've been here for so much longer. Maybe if you hear about said week and a half you'll understand...

Our story starts on a Wednesday, Wednesday September 2nd to be exact. On Wednesday, after a short visit to NYC, I was dropped off for orientation. Saying goodbye was not nearly as hard as I expected (probably because I had already had my going away party and was so ready to go), but it was still difficult. For the rest of the day Wednesday and the first half of Thursday I talked with AFSers from all over the country who were going to France, Spain, Austria, South Africa, and possibly some other places. We watched a film that followed some AFSers, which was actually really interesting. Group orientations were held with all the France kids, during which we were supposed to learn vital information about the exchange. However, be it due to AFS's many other orientations or an excess of excitement, it didn't do much except make for a very long and tedious day.

But all that boredom payed off (and not only because I learned new card games). At 5:15 on Thursday, after all the other groups had already left the hotel, the 53 France kids headed off to JFK international airport and....waited some more. Finally, the time came to board the plane. I sat in the second to last row, and in a plane that huge that is a loonng way back. About an hour into the flight, we realized that the $10 AFS gave us at the airport for dinner was unnecessary, because Air France feeds it's passengers (even in economy) very well. The flight attendant even seemed slightly offended when we asked if it was free ("But, of course!!"). After the meal (which had like 5 "courses"), I managed to fall asleep for a good amount of time, and I awoke to breakfast (which, honestly, was a bit of a let down after dinner).

The plane that took me to France

When we arrived in Paris at around 10 AM Friday, everything went very smoothly. Customs was so simple I didn't even realize what it was (I went up to a window, handed them my passport, got it back, and kept going), and my large, silver suitcase was very easy to spot. After we left the baggage claim area, they split the semester kids from the year kids. I don't know what happened to the semester kids, but us year kids got taken out to a bus and driven away to the hostel-ish place we were staying at (getting a fleeting glance at funny French cars in the rental lot as we left).

The room at the hotel/hostel

The hostel was not in the picturesque part of Paris, so I didn't get to see any famous monuments on my way there, but I still enjoyed looking out the windows and marvelling at the fact that I was, really and truly, in France. When we arrived at the hostel, the 5 of us (all American, all heading to the same region) in room 215 couldn't get into our room because it was in the process of being cleaned. So, we headed down to the cafeteria for lunch. We got to meet a lot of people from all over the world, which was really fun. We finally got into our room and settled down a bit (and by that I mean took very long naps), and when we were finished we went and met more people. We did energizers with girls from Germany, compared accents with girls from New Zealand, and discussed how cold was cold with a girl from Canada (which is very interesting, having the other members of the discussion live in Alaska and Vermont). There was a meeting in the evening, and then it was off to bed.

Making friends in the hallway

Saturday morning dawned, and after breakfast we split into small groups (7-10 people) for orientation. The orientation was actually very interesting. The difference between AFS USA and AFS VSF (France) is that the volunteers with ASF VSF are young people, not older like those of AFS USA, and therefore run very nice orientations. Our group leader had finished his exchange to Wisconsin 2 years ago, and I think the other volunteers were about the same age. Anyways, we did a little activity to address our hopes, fears, and solutions, in which we realized that A) everyone had the same hopes/dreams/solutions, and B) everyone knew the AFS mission statement. After a morning in orientation discussing what was to come (sprinkled with anecdotes about our group leader's exchange), the afternoon was most anticipated: the tour of Paris.

At the Eiffel Tower

Admittedly, the tour was while on a bus, and the only place we got out was at the Eiffel Tower, but still! It was Paris! And finally (actually) seeing the Eiffel Tower was fun. It is, for lack of any other adjectives, large. Sadly, our group managed to miss the group picture, but ce n'est pas grave. There was an orientation that night about leaving in the morning, and then another night of much needed rest.

Sunday was the big day. We woke up at 5:30 and, since the group going to the Rhone region was so big, loaded into a bus (rather than a train) a little past 7:00. The trip down took a long time, but we stopped for a while for breakfast, stopped for a while for lunch, and stopped for a while for an afternoon snack. It wasn't until we arrived at the meeting place that I realized that the feeling in the back of my head (and the bottom of my stomach) wasn't boredom or disinterest, but rather nerves (and boy was I nervous). They told us to smile and look happy when we got off the bus, and I was forcing myself to look happy so much so that my face began to hurt... Luckily, there were only a few people meeting us where the bus dropped us off. As it turned out, the meeting was actually up a large hill the bus couldn't go up. When we finally made it to the top of the hill, we filed into a little courtyard where all the families were waiting. I searched and searched for my host family, and I finally spotted them. I know this sounds cheesy and very movie-like, but I swear it was like a patch of blue sky that interrupts a rainstorm. The knot in my stomach released, and I was met with a wave of happiness/relief/excitement/I don't even know what. The volunteers called out an AFSer, then their family, and then they would meet in the middle and have their picture taken (while the onlookers clapped and newly made friends said goodbye). After a quick hello, photo op, and suitcase find, we headed off to the car to go to my new home. (Oddly enough, out of all the funny French cars they could have had, they had the same Volvo station wagon I have in the US, but in a different color and with a stick shift).

Driving home was incredible. The area of France I am in is gorgeous, the town is beautiful, and it is all so vastly different from Towson. The house is lovely, and have a very nice room (painted in my favorite colors) with a nice little balcony. My host family is very, very nice and very understanding of my limited language skills, speaking slowly to me and repeating important parts of conversations I probably missed.

My new French Room

I didn't, however, have a ton of time at the house, because Monday brought school. I rode the bus with a boy from the town who was in my grade, and he introduced me to a girl who is in my class. The first day I understood very, very close to nothing, and it's a good thing Emeline was there to show me what to do/where to go. Luckily, the first day of school is the same all over the world, with petty paperwork and class expectations. However, even not doing very much work, I caught on to something very different for me: The French take notes. Now, that's not as obvious as it seems (and yes, I do take notes in school normally). In the US we do worksheets. Teachers pass out papers if they need to say something. Important facts, questions, and homework are on dittos. In France, however, all this is dictated. It is the student's job to write it all on notebook paper (which, by the way, has lines going in both directions). And French notes are perfect. They use rulers for perfect underlining, different colors to denote importance, perfect outline format, and never miss a word.

The rest of the week is a big blur. I've been introduced to a lot of people, all of whom ask: 1) Does she speak French? (In French) (The answer is always, un peu), 2) Where in the USA are you from? (In English) (Do you know Baltimore? No? It's close to New York. Yes, I've been to New York), and 3) (to the person I'm with) How do you say "How long are you here for?" in English? (In French) (And then they're surprised when I answer the question in French)

School in France is very different from school in the US. It's kinda hard to explain with out an example:

Monday
Start: 9 on an A week, 10 on a B Week
1 hour of Economics on an A week, 2 on a B week
2 hours for lunch
1 hour of math
1 hour of History/Geography
1 hour of French
Finish: 6

As you can see, they have A weeks and B weeks. So, not only is the schedule different every day, it is different every other week. Secondly, 2 hours of lunch. Very Nice, very nice indeed. And lunch is pretty snazzy. You go up, slide your card, which allows you a tray. On the tray you get: A desert/ fruit, a cheese/yogurt, a cold starter (salad), bread, a hot meat/fish, and a hot vegetable. It's all real dishes and silverware and you get a glass and a pitcher of water per group of people eating. There is a break at 10 and a break at 3, and most days I have a free period due to a lack of 2nd foreign language. If the teacher isn't there, you don't have class that day. If you don't have anything happening at some point in time, you can leave school grounds (go into town, go outside and smoke, etc). It's pretty chill overall.

But, like I said, the week has been a big blur. A big blur of French, interrupted by a 20/20 on an English quiz, a New Moon trailer, and glorious sunshine.

Over the weekend, a cousin who is studying in Lyon visited, and in the process I learned new words (French I'd hear around school), learned a new card game, saw a French movie (LOL Laughing out Loud), and saw a little bit of Lyon.

Some interesting things about France:

-Fountain pens: Yeah, people use them

-Erasers for said fountain pens: OMG, COOLEST THING EVER!!!! I have no clue why they aren't in the US. They have 2 ends: Efface (erase) and recrit (re write) and they work like magic!

-Kissing on the cheek (greeting): Very french, but very normal. It's kind of funny, if someone sees a group of people they know, they don't wave, they go over and kiss every one of them. But it's like hugging here, just a greeting (no romance)

-Keyboards: The q is where the A should be, the ; where the M should be, 3 keys on each of the number keys, a shift required for a ., and an ! key

-Buses: So they take public transport buses and put them on school routes for the morning and afternoon. But their public buses are our coach buses (without a bathroom)

-Motorcycles/scooters: They have a designated shed at the school for them. French kids drive them. Very quickly.

-Walls: Not as obvious as it sounds..... People don't have nice little fences around their yards. No. They have 8 feet high stone walls. With gates

-Donkeys: Live next door.

In conclusion, life is good. I'm enjoying France immensely, total immersion is doing wonders for my comprehension, my speaking is getting better, and everybody here has been super, super nice.

That's all for now, I think!

-Sophia

2 Weeks Notice

2009-08-10T14:48:00.009-04:00

Countdown to departure: 14 days

Since I returned from Texas last night, I figured it was about time to update my blog! A few things have happened since my last post.

On the 10th I went to the French Embassy in D.C. to get my visa. The Consulate for my region is in the Embassy, so that was cool. I haven't gotten my visa confirmed yet, but it seemed to go smoothly! I hope it worked!

On the 11th I officially un-enrolled from school. Does this make me a drop-out? I hope not, haha!

On the 13th Riho arrived and on the 15th Vici came! They're both great, and I'm sad I wont get to spend the year with them. Although, I'm insanely excited to meet my own host family now!!

Today, we took Riho and Vici to sign up for classes . They are now both officially students at Towson High School!

Coming up are a smattering of going away/welcoming festivities, and then I head to the beach for a few days!

I talked to my host family, and I will be taking math, French, history/geography, biology, physics/chemistry, gym, music, economics, and (wait for it) ENGLISH!! It should be kind of funny to see how French kids learn English!

Two weeks to go! I'll let you know if anything happens!

-Sophia

**UPDATE- 8/22/09**

I got a letter from the French Embassy saying my visa had been approved! Phew....

**UPDATE- 8/27/09**

I went to the consulate again today, and actually got my visa!! With exactly a week until my flight leaves, the day is nearly here!!

Getting closer to departure

2009-08-06T13:44:00.004-04:00

Countdown to departure: 28 days

It's down to less than one month before I leave! Nothing new has really come up, but I figured it was time to post something new (so that I can get in the habit of actually updating this thing).

I took my final exam today, so I'm done with summer school! Now I'm being kept busy helping get the house ready for Vici and Riho, the two girls who my parents are hosting when I'm in France. There are some cool welcoming/going away festivities planned, so that should be really fun. I'll be taking one final vacation to visit family, and then it's just a matter of days before I depart!

People keep asking me if I'm excited/nervous/scared, and I'm not really sure how to answer that right now. Earlier I was a mix of super scared and super excited, but now I'm kind of passive. I think it hasn't "hit" me that in less than a month I will be leaving for an entire year. My mind knows that I'm really doing it, but I'm not to sure my heart is entirely convinced. I mean, I'm still so excited. I'm just not really as shook up as I was. Oh well...

I also saw that AFS posted my blog on their main AFS blog, which is exciting! If you want to see the main AFS blog, the address is:

www.afsblog.org

(It's also in my profile)

I hope you like the new layout, I'm pretty sure this is the way I'll keep it (it's my favorite so far)! Sorry I keep changing it...

So... I think that about covers it for now. If anything happens, I'll let you know =)

-Sophia

School news!!!

2009-07-25T11:36:00.003-04:00

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!!!

Lots to say!!

2009-07-15T16:47:00.008-04:00

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

Pre-Departure Orientation(s)

2009-06-09T20:37:00.008-04:00

Countdown to departure: 84 days (Assuming I leave September 1st)

This weekend I attended my pre-departure orientation. Actually, I attended my second pre-departure orientation. Why did I attend two? Where were they? What the heck is a pre-departure orientation? Read on to find out! (See that, that's called a cliff hanger. You could stop reading now, but you'd never know the full story. And why would you want to put yourself through that?)

A pre-departure orientation (PDO) is exactly what the name would suggest. The PDO is an orientation that happens before one goes on their AFS exchange, and it is a chance for volunteers, returnees, sendees, hosted AFSers, and parents to meet and prepare for an exchange. It is required that you attend one, but it's not a burden or anything. The PDO really helps shed light upon the exchange process and prepares you for a safe and meaningful adventure.

The first PDO I went to was for the Baltimore Area AFSers and was held at Goucher College. It started at 9:00 AM, but luckily included breakfast! There were some opening remarks by volunteers and and a professor at Goucher who had done an AFS exchange as a teen, and once they were finished we broke into small groups. In the groups (which included parents) we discussed our goals and anxieties surrounding the exchange. Then we regrouped, with parents in one room and exchangers in another. Once regrouped, we broke into groups of 6-7 and acted out little scenarios of tough situations in order to make sure we knew how to be safe. My group included a girl going to Austria, a girl going to Peru, another girl going to France, a returnee from Thailand, a girl here from Egypt, and a girl here from the Philippines. It was really fun. However, I had to leave early to sing at graduation (congratulations class of 2009!).

Since I hadn't completed an entire PDO, I had to attend another one last weekend. This one was held at the 4-H conference center in Chevy Chase because it was for the DC area. This one started at 12:30 PM, and had snacks rather than full meals. I came in to a rousing game of "AFS Bingo", which was used to get to know the people around you. After it all settled down, we listened to a speaker (a former AFSer) and discussed what AFS is and is not (it is a chance to broaden you horizons, it is not a vacation). Then the parents left for another room and the sendees, returnees, and hosted students stayed as a group. We talked about what they called "The W".

"The W" goes something like this: You start off on a "sugar high". You're the new kid, you get attention, you're doing new things, it's all good. Then you slip into culture shock. You don't know anyone, you don't speak the language, your novelty is wearing off, and you're miserable. Then you go into recovery as you make friends and learn the language. Before you know it, you're coming home. You're back on your "sugar high". You're gonna see everyone back home, you're a novelty again, you get lots of attention, and all seems good. Then you slip into reverse culture shock. Things have changed, you have changed, you feel out of place, and people grow tired of your stories. Then you go back up in recovery, as you reintegrate into society. (It was layed out on a graph by emotion, making a W).

After discussing "the W", we broke into groups of three to once again do danger scenarios. My group had a girl going to Iceland and a guy going to Switzerland. After the danger scenarios, everyone regrouped and we watched a video called "One Word". You should watch it, too! Not only is it really fun (at least, I think so), it also shows what an exchange is like (kind of...):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q8-1Z6mOyg

Afterwards, I got a snazzy AFS bag and a yellow luggage tag, which is AFS's "thing" and makes me really happy to look at. I also learned that a language barrier will not keep you from having a great exchange. One of the volunteers said she went to Belgium knowing only 3 words of French: Oui (yes), non (no), and quoi (What?). She told us how someone would ask her a question, and she would say "Oui". If they gave her a strange look she would try "Non". If that didn't work, she would be like "Quoi?". So now I'm feeling more confident about my language skills, not in the sense that I know enough, but rather that I can learn and will have a great an amazing experience in the mean time (although thankfully I know more than 3 words =) ).

The entire PDO process just made my exchange so much more real, and now I'm full of conflicting emotions. I'm really, incredibly, indescribably excited, but at the same time also really, incredibly, indescribably scared. Hopefully I'll figure it out before I leave =)

À Bientôt,

Sophia

Welcome!

2009-05-25T18:57:00.005-04:00

Congratulations! You've managed to find your way to my new blog! You may be wondering why I started a blog. It's not because I have developed a sudden passion for internet ranting, and it's not because I want to become an internet celebrity (although that could be pretty cool...). It's actually because I'm going to France for a year! Next year, instead of attending THS (Home of the golden general Michael Phelps), I will be living somewhere in France.

Here's the deal:

Last year I applied to be part of an AFS International exchange program, and I got accepted!! AFS (American Field Service) is an organization that connects students from all over the world through semester, year, and summer exchange programs (I'm doing a year program). I will be living somewhere in France with a host family, going to a French school, and learning the French language and culture through total immersion. I will also be oceans away from everybody at home, which brings me to this blog.

Since this is such a cool experience, and since I want everybody in the states to experience it with me, I'm starting a blog! It will be my way of sharing details of my adventures with you all. I'll post updates on the status of my program, the status of my day-to-day life, and the status of my sanity. Check back for developments soon.

Until then,

Sophia