"tous en greve mardi 16/12- 8h30 devant ango"

Currently I'm sitting in the lounge of the Mercure Hotel. It's Monday, 11 AM. I should be in school, but I got there and all the entry's were blocked. Hahah. There's protests that have been going on for the past two weeks at all the schools in France. Little Nicolas Sarkoz decided to reform all the schools and remove art classes, theater, etc. Basically any options. He felt there were "unnecessary" and is also booting out about 50+ teachers at each school. Needless to say, everyone is pissed off. Its normal here for students to rally and protest...and of course I wanted to join. I told my host mum I was going to protest with my friends Thursday. The response I was given...
"That's forbidden, it's not your place,
you aren't French..."

So today, as much as I wanted to blockade the school with all the students and teachers, I ended up sitting in the Hotel of my host dad drinking coffee and reading all the magazines I've already read. But I'm content, no school tomorrow and Wednesday also and the 2-3 week Christmas break starts Friday!#


This weekend I ventured to the Discotheque, 'L'Excalibeur' AKA- dance club. It was fun, I danced like mad all night and it was 'Neige' night so there was soap bubbles everywhere as artifical snow. Soooooooooooooo fun.


Miss you all.
Christmas is going to be weird. Really weird.
I'm leaving Saturday morning to go on vacation with
a family I sortof/kinda don't know at all. Mentioned
them before.. I was inlove with their son that left for Argentina for exchange. But, I'm visiting Omaha Beach and all the American beaches from D-day and the memorials. I'll take pictures and post them, I promise.
]








Here's a couple of pictures:
1-3 My 2nd house! Its gorgeous.
4) Me in the Mercure Hotel, being bored.


Gros Bisous,
C.

ecoutez,s'il vous plait!<333

everyone and anyone,


i am asking, please to send me money for christmas!
give it to my mum or dad pleaseeeee, im begging you.

im a poor foreign exchange student that's
freezing in this bitter cold winter in france
and i need to buy a super warm coat,gloves,boots,
socks,sweaters,etc because i keep on getting sick
because im so cold.

it really would be much appreciated.
christmas is going to be really weird
this year.. i feel like it doesnt even
exist over here.



bisous, love you all<333


christina




PS-
mum, try emailing me sometime-
it would make me feel a lot better.

crisp air

Last week was a 2 day week of school. The week before that there was also no class. Why, I have no idea. But of
course for anyone the idea of not having to sit through hours listening to quickly spoken french is amazing. For
the vacation the first Saturday afternoon I went to sleep over a girl's house (with a couple other girls). My first
French sleepover, with people I didn't know. Genius..not. Those girls were nice, but they weren't for me. We sat
and gossiped about people all night, and then proceeded to eat dinner with her family and later on watched.. Disney
movies? Needless to say, I felt like I was 4years old again, at a 'slumber-party' with my cousins. And they documented
it. With horrible pictures of me. On the internet. On Facebook. I definitely un-tagged myself out of the pictures
trying to erase my memory of a dreadfully boring night. Once again, Claudine planned something for me. A trip to the
Pyrenees; which are the French/Spanish mountains with a Rotary family, me only knowing the dad a bit from the weekly
Wednesday night meetings. Monday morning I arrive downstairs dreading the trip. Claudine told me it would be freezing,
it would be snowing, and Nicolas(the dad) told me there was limited space in the car and to bring a tiny tiny suitcase
motioning with his hands the size of my purse(which can pass as a suitcase, I know). Somehow I managed to pack 3/4's
of my clothes into my carry-on. Good thing for me, because when I arrive back home I know I'll have 50% more things
than what I came with. Anyways I go downstairs to meet Nicolas and his family. His wife's name is Isabelle(Iza), and
they have 2 kids- Emma;7 and Jean;4. They were really nice.. but I still didn't know how I felt about them. The journey
was 9 hours long from the North of France, to the very South. Great, eh? The 2nd largest country in Europe takes 9
hours to get from one end to the other.Gotta love Europe. After the car ride and many rest-stops, I had a lot of bonding
time. Iza and I looked at all the Tabloid magazines at the rest stops and shared our love for Coca Light (Diet Coke).
Emma, Jean, and I shared gum and my chocolat noir(dark chocolate) that Claudine packed for me. I found, that we all
got along just fine. Jean slept on me, and I watched Casper about 10 times in a row.
We arrived eventually,In our destination spot- Madiran. This is where Nicolas' grandmothers house is. And Grammie,
great house! Great size, very comfy. I got the honor to sleep in the grandmother's old part of the house. Half was
new/half old. And it definitely smelled like that typical scent you smell on all grandparents.. but it was gorgeous
nonetheless. they felt bad putting me in the old part to sleep.. but secretly- I loved looking at the antiques and
I loved the decor.And outside of the house it was complete serenity. No noise but the occasional sound of a cow bell
ringing from the pasture in the front. In the mornings I would wake up, look out my window and see a couple deer.
Then I'd take a coffee and sit outside and you could see the mountains clearly. It was a sight I'll never forget.
Emma,Jean,Iza,and 'Nico' were my new family. I loved them to death. Madiran is known for its wine and Nicolas and I
would go to the Chateau every day to go wine-tasting and grab a couple bottles for the night. This happened more
often when Nicolas' cousin arrived with his wife and 2 kids. The 2 boys, Benjamin and Alexandre, were twins and 8 years
old. As you can imagine, I was swarmed with questions from the little ones all the time, but they were so cute that
I didn't mind a bit. They were so sweet to me and drew me tons of pictures. But as of now, the house was swarming
with noise. All the time something was going on, but I loved it. The chaotic life compared to my dull life in the
house with 2 older personnes. These nights were spent drinking a lot of wine in front of the fireplace and talking.
Iza,"I remember last year I drank too much wine and I was so embarrassingly drunk!" Two minutes later: Iza,"Christina
I'm drunk, I'm really really sorry." It was a great vacation, and much needed. I wish I could throw all my experiences
on this blank slate, but I know its not that interesting and my attention span can't even hold it. Let's just say,
I wish I lived with them. Iza and Nico and Emma and Jean. But in place of not living with them, I MAY be going to
Brighton,England for a weekend with them.. and also Paris for a weekend. That would be heaven. Bisous, Christina.

vacance

To my knowledge, I won't be able to reach a computer for the next week. Tomorrow morning I leave for the Pyrenees for a week vacation with a family from Rotary. They told me to pack really light, and my carry-on is therefore filled to the brim with clothes because it is South but in the mountains. Unfortunately my computer didn't make the cut so I'll talk to you in 1 week. Bisousssss!

C.

"nespresso is the chanel of coffee"

this sunday- i went to paris. PARIS.
it was pretty of course, but the city of love
is really not the city of love, in my opinion.
it was very,very crowded. it was sunday so most
of the shops were closed. but i definitely window
shopped. chanel, yves saint laurent, chloe, colette,
etc. it was so depressing. but i finally went to a
starbucks. that was disappointing. no pumpkin spice
lattes. i had my heart set on one, but i had to settle
with a peppermint mocha. hmph. but hahah i was waiting
for my drink, and the bartista says to me:
"you are so beautiful. you are gorgeous. will you marry me?"

i just about died, i told claudine and she was cracking up.
i guess in some ways, paris can be the city of love after all.
but, to clarify things here's some pictures :)













these pictures just about sum up Mont Saint Michel. I went there about 3 weeks ago for the weekend, for Rotary. There was about 150 exchange students together, and almost everyone spoke English. It was a good time, but after walking through the muck and the ocean for 4 hours, it got brutal.

"you say i'm a dreamer, but i'm not the only one"

D'accord, so I keep on having busy weekends. I apologize once again for not keeping you updated. I feel awful. But every time I go to update my blog/emails/comments,etc. I'm off to set the table, or out of town. Of course, that's good that I'm going out.

Friday during lunch hour, Charlotte from my class invited me to lunch to her best friend's house. I accepted, of course! We walked into Dieppe and man- it was a long walk. We had sandwiches, cheese, and crepes. Behold, crepes with nutella! Yummm. We had a good time, at least-I tried to have a good time. She has a bug-eyed Maltisse and its so ugly its funny. A cat tried to get into the yard from the neighbors and we lured it in with sausage and the dog chased it up a tree. Hahah. The rest of the time was spent with them, attempting, to make voicemails. It was funny- even for my lack of understanding.

Friday night, failed to do anything.

Saturday, I had no Art Plastique! As i was supposed to go to Paris- we failed to do so. Yes, I was SO disappointed. But I'm going over the next holidays. AHHH. But Claudine&I, as usual, headed out for Shopping Saturdays. Now Didier, does NOT do shopping. The weekends for Didier are strictly his recreational time: Gardening. Hahah. Well of course with all of the love&care Didier puts into his lush grass and perfectly trimmed bushes it is a mini Versailles garden. But its just so humorous watching him. Because like all French, he is extremely proud of it and if I were to point a finger at a wilted flower... Well, I don't think that finger would exist ever again.
But anyways, as Claudine and I said our 'Goodbyes' to the laboring Didier, we were off to Rouen. Wow, I didn't realize how big it was. Claudine and I went to McDonald's for lunch. Oh my God- American food! But in France, there's no dollar menu- or un Euro menu for that matter. 6euro for a Happy Meal! Ahh, but it was heaven tasting greasy, cheap food that I adore. Well, the end of that. We walk out, and I spot a lady with and H&M bag.
Me:"Claudine,Claudine! Tu Cognee(sp) H&M?"
Claudine: "H&M?"
Me:"LOOK!"
She proceeded into a shop and asked the workers if they knew where it was. Aha! They did. So Claudine and I took the tram(like I said, Rouen is big). Oh, and P.S.- This was my first tram ride.

I was finally there, in H&M heaven. Clothes I know I like! Yessss. I saw my pants, Kristina's shoes, my shoes, Elaina's hat. Ahh,beautiful. I ended up buying Elaina's hat, in tan(you know I secretly wanted to steal that,Lanie), a grey& black cardigan(typical), my H&M pants in black, and knee high plum socks. Cuttte. Around 50euro for it all, but sooooo worth it. Oh, and I exchanged all my $$$ into euros now. I'm so poor, I hate the exchange rate. Then Claudine let me go off on my own and I went to a vending machine to grab an Orangina and another drink came with it, hahah. 2 for 1! But of course, something had to happen. I opened up the Orangina and it exploded everywhere. It was embarrassing,oops. My hands were sticky from then on. We went back tothe center of Rouen and I got to go on my own again. I found another Vintage shop dedicated to America. Wrangler jeans, Fur coats, Cowboy boots galore, flannel shirts. Chesa, you would've loved it. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to really look and I was PO'd. All the good vintage shops I find in Rouen I can never find again! Ahh, it makes me mad. But, I've been looking for the perfect dark blue nail polish, figured only Chanel would have it- and believe it or not,they did. The perfect shade. I can't believe how excited I get over nail polish, and that I'm talking about this in my blog. Pardon.

je suis malade

I don't know how ones mind can be in so many different places at once. One second, I'm thinking about how to translate what someone's saying in French. The next, I'm thinking about the book I am reading- in English. Then, I'm back to trying to speak in French, while I'm thinking in English. If one has never experienced this, it is so terribly tiring. I don't think my host parents have come to realize this, that my brain, my body- are not adapted yet. Things take time. So, in their defense to me not being able to understand them after reading a 700 page book in English, is glaring at me in the eye and speaking only in French to me, while talking about me. Right in front of my face. This, I don't like. At all. You know when you go on vacation to the south, probably to Florida, and the Mexicans are talking about you and you know it- but can't understand? This happens to me everyday of my life here. It's quite a let-down, and it thoroughly upsets me. This completely swung my day around today. And let alone being sick, and stuffed up in a car for 6 hours. Oh, and going out to eat to an expensive restaurant. I ended up eating things I dislike a lot, and ew, I wish they didn't give me an English menu because I really didn't want to know what I was eating. I had some weird jello/meat thing. Then, I had bird juice/soup. Oh lord, the things I'm eating over here. And while leaving after eating anywhere here, I am always hobbling and wobbling because I ate so much. They eat SO much here.

Friday night, I sat and read the last Harry Potter book, a second time, in English. A boy at school gave me it to read in our French class, because it is not a language class, but rather a literature class. This results in old,old French, much like Shakespeare, that's very boring. So the teacher gave me permission (at least I was told that) to read a magazine or book during her class, and I failed to bring anything the first 2 weeks. Oops. Thank God for reliable people, unlike me.
Hahah.

Saturday was our journey to the great Brittanie. I have no idea how to spell that, so.. yeah. I know I just completely butchered that word. We were going to a wedding, and I was not the least bit excited since my last wedding here was so incredibly boring. 5 or 6 hours in the car, starting at 8AM- whooo. I am very used to this from home vacations, and I had the ENTIRE back seat to myself, so I was content with my Harry Potter book and nap times. We stopped at a rest stop, it was so mesmerizing. Hahah. I was so excited to go to a rest stop! I ran to the candy ailes and looked up and down, seeing what was from America and what we didn't have. I bought my first Red Bull here. God, I missed them. And a giant Twix bar. What can I say, it's delicious for breakfast. Nothinn' like some sugar to start off your day. Hahah.


We arrive at the hotel at 2:30, check-in and I realize- we have 2 keys. I GOT MY OWN ROOM! Ow,ow! I was sooo excited, because I've been joined at the hip with them since my arrival in France and now I could relax all on my own..
But, we weren't at the hotel long. I think in total we were there 6 hours. 5 of which I was sleeping. Oh well.

Then, we're off to the wedding. I was completely dreading this, because it's all catholic. Which equals: A LOT of hymns, stupid motions that I don't do, and dragged out ceremonies. But it wasn't bad. The church was gorgeous, and I was giving the priest statues dirty looks the entire time. No worries though, I was just bored. I was trying to figure out why Jesus was rarely seen in the church when there were a bajilion Priests, in Gold, all over the place.

We went to the after-party. You know, the last one I went to is my only comparison.. so I wasn't having good judgement on anything. We show up, and I was like "AH.This is just as stupid as the last one". But my host mum, being the little charmer she is, shoved me up and threw me away to these English speaking people. I was happy to hear English, but was so embarassed. They're like, "Oh,hey" And me, "Hey guys," "my host mum just likes to drop me off at people's doorsteps, she likes to get rid of me." Ha, but they didn't care. They were hilarious. As I was thinking they were from England, I asked, and they were from Germany, Norway, and Australia. Loved them all, and I wish I remembered their names. But, as always, it was a rich wedding. Lots of fancy food, ate the sushi rolls though (they were gross) and had lots of champagne. It was time to go into the tent, (it was an outdoor reception) and I went to go sit with my host parents- but I was assigned otherwise. I got placed at a kids table, with everyone around my age or older. So nice. Everyone was amazing, once again, and we had a gooood time. Once eating and everything was over it was time to dance. Yesssss! Whoo. I lose track of time here, because for one- my phone always dies. I don't really know why it does, but its ALWAYS dead. But at around this time, it was 1:30AM and I wasn't stopping yet. A boy that I was staring at(Oops), at the wedding came up to me and started talking in perfect English. We talked Forever. He found me after I was dancing and we went outside. His friend came up to me and wanted me to stay the night, and I SO wanted to because all the Aussies and Germans were staying too. So they decided to try to convince Didier. HA. It was, as I expected, complete denial and I sensed a bit of rudeness. Actually, a lot. He was really mad, but it wasn't my idea anyways. Hahah. But the boy I was talking to lives right next to Paris, and he wants me to let him know whenever I'm going so I can meet with him. Jackpot.

But the night was well. Didier and Claudine called the party quits at 3:30AM. I could've kept going 'til sunrise, but Oh well. The bed at the hotel was sooo completely comfy.


Oh, and PS.-
I might be switching my blog address because this fails to post pictures anymore, and I know you guys would love to see pictures. I'll let you know when I change it.



PPS-
Vincent is ACTUALLY leaving this Tuesday. Psh.



)))):





bisous:*

"we're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year"

salut,salut,salut!
O.K. apologies in advance for not responding to anyone as of late. My weekend was very busy with no time at home. Friday I really have no idea what I did..I think I went to Dieppe or something. I finish school on Fridays at 5PM, so I get home at around 6. Saturday, I had Art Plastique 8-11 at school, then went to Rouen. Mmm, it is where I wish I lived here. Lots of shopping. My favorite stores there were Hermes and Printemps. Oh my God. I wanted to buy all the Viktor+Rolf sweaters, jeans, and purses. But unfortunately, a sweater goes for 230 euro a pop. Then Hermes. Ah, it wasnt open, but the displays. Soooo expensive. I walked around the city as much as possible, and finally found vintage shops. The vintage shops have Hermes, Lacoste, YSL, Chanel,etc, etc. Wonderful. I wanted a Hermes scarf- but it was 180 euro. Even the vintage shops are expensive, so this sortof angered me. When Claudine and I left Rouen we went to the house then ventured to Dieppe. We went to see the kite festival at night, then went out to eat at Tex Mex. Tex Mex is in American I think. It was supposed to be American/Mexican food. I was so excited for a quesadilla(SP). I get my quesedillas(SP,again). They are a flour tortilla, covered in cheese, with spicy marinara sauce on top. Inside,behold- Ham, Lamb, and Beef. Ew, weird. I was extremely disappointed. Afterwards we went back to the kite festival. I thought the night would never end.
The next morning, once again, I wake up bright and early. Nevermind the bright part, it was definitely still dark out. I had a Rotary meeting. My first, actually, with all of the exchange students. In our car, we had Andre, his wife, Claudine, Didier, Vincent, his mum, and I. Vincent is the boy I was talking about before. (He finally got his guarantee form& is off to Argentina in a couple days, but the Rotary here is so strict that it was "obligatorie" for him to go). Anyways, the drive there was 2 hours long. Ahhh. It was so long. But we get there, it was in a small town hotel. Very interesting. I met some people, almost every kid speaks English so it was quite amazing. Then, I see Elizabeth, the Australian girl that goes to my school, crying. She, along with 5 other people were getting sent home. Like I said before, Rotary here is VERY fricken strict. No second chances. After having very,very mmm. Personal talks with some Rotary kids we were leaving. Yes, and btw I am going to a lot of places with Rotary. Such as Mont Saint Michel (if you know anything about France you know Mont Saint Michel) and mmm, far away places. Hahah. We were going home, Vincent and I were talking and walking together and all the girls (Claudine, his mum, and Andres wife) were talking about us such as though we were flirting (which is possible) but we sat in the back of the Land Rover together and Claudine kept on turning around and winking at me. It was hilarious, I couldn't stop cracking up. So, finally I fell asleep in the car. I wake up because my water bottle fell on my lap and I look to the left, to the right- Didier almost hit a police car, look to the left- BAM! We hit the car next to us. What a rude awakening. My 1st French wreck. There was little damage, but A LOT of yelling. Vincent and I stood on the side of the road and talked, and I talked to some British old ladies. We were once again in Rouen and went to go get a drink to 'cool off'. Finally, we go drop off Andre, Vincent, blah,blah,blah. There's too many of them. I will never see that boy again. Ah,zut! But,I am going to southern France for a weekend with his parents. And Saturday I'm going to Paris!<333


An update:
Once again, Vincent is not leaving for awhile. He now is having problems with his Visa. He needs to get a new one, and they take forever so who knows- he might be here til Christmas. The poor boy. And I'm NOT going to Paris this weekend, next weekend. I have a wedding to go to on Saturday, and then Blah. I dont know. I've already been to a French wedding and they're weird and extremely boring. But Mumsie, I'm going to Paris! Send me $$$$$ (((:


lots of love<3

borrowed legs

blah,blah,blah. im sitting in biology class and my teacher reminds me of a frog. or maybe a rat. hahah. i cant figure it out. but i was looking at my nails, my cuticles! ew! im such a girl. but my physics teacher was not here today so we had no class. soooo me and some girls went to the bar to get a cappuccino and it was nice. leaving school because theres no teacher is fabulous. apparently here, they don't have substitutes. but yesterday once again i missed my bus. i waited in the rain for 2 hours, my phone was dead so i couldnt call my host parents. a boy waited with me, he had no minutes so i tried texting my mum but apparently she doesn't have texting. finally, i caught the bus. i got home from school at 7, i was absolutely freezing and wet. my host mum was extremely angry. she was going to call the police. but, i tried explaining to her what happened and she thought i went out into the city. i was miserable. then, i looked on the stairs and saw a package, covered in starbucks stickers, addressed to me. bill from starbucks sent me a package! i ran upstairs and opened it: a shirt, a pen, a magnet, gum, mints, stickers, 3 starbucks cups, and biscotti, cookies, nuts ,etc. were in there! oh my god,bill- you have no idea how grateful i am. i ran downstairs to show claudine and the response i get, " i am very angry at you." Oh, o.k. claudine. this host family is so amazing to me when i am a perfect little angel, but if i make a mistake i feel like i'm in a prison cell. i dont even feel welcome eating there, let alone living under their roof. and this happens a bit too often for my liking. i just want to have a good time! but nonetheless, things are ok now. i'm happy. a girl, lea, from my class is going to show me the bus today. thank god. because my neighbor, marie charlotte, once again is not at school and was supposed to take me home.

XOXO,bisous!

"voila!"

School is very boring. I am extremely tired because of a few reasons:
Yesterday, school ended for me at noon(midi). My host mum came to pick me up. I thought we were going home to eat lunch, and then going to Dieppe to get our hair cut.(Claudine's dad is a hairdresser). Apparently, my translation skill is ridiculously off. We went straight to Dieppe to eat in one of the many beach cafes. I got croque mousieur(sp) and Orangina. It was sooooo nice out yesterday, especially eating on the beach. The kite festival is right on the boardwalk, so we could see all the kites and the beach at the same time. C'est belle. Thenn after we were finished eating we walked to the kite festival and went to a bar to get coffee. Claudine then told me that I can go off on my own and I had to meet her at 4PM. It was 1:30 then. While I was so surprised that she let me go off on my own, I had nothing to do. I have number's, but I don't charge my phone because it's normally useless. So I went to walk around for 2 1/2 hours. Blahhh. The shopping in Dieppe SUCKS. I went in a number of stores- did not find one single thing I liked. The purse store that I've been wanting to go in was once again not opened(later on we drove past and it was open!!) The only stores that interested me were the huggge perfume stores and the bookstores. The perfume stores interested me because there were a lot of european perfumes that are very hard to find in the US. For example, Opium by Yves Saint Laurent. Unfortunately, it was very strong and potent. Not for me. Then I went into another cosmetics/perfume store and ended up buying Greenland made Raspberry Body Butter. It smells like heaven. But my host mum believes I will attract every bee in Dieppe, but before I was using scentless- but scented body lotion that smelled ungodly. Ew. Oh btw, in this store I accidentally spoke in English to the lady that worked there. Oooops. Oh, and I almost gave in and bought Burberry Beat. But then I thought about being money-less when I'm in Paris and want to buy everything.. Thank God for my tiny bit of self-control. I also, finally, bought my FIRST Vogue Paris! 4,90 euro! Soooo much better than the $15 price at Barnes and Noble. For the rest of the time in Dieppe, I searched for vintage shops... couldn't find any. And walked around. Quite boring, but yet- very relieving and rejuvenating. Freedom is so nice. Oh, and before school I walked to Dieppe with the boys, had some Red Bull, and played air hockey.. I lost.

After this, I met Claudine and we went back home to Varengeville. I then went with Didier to pick up the 2 Rotary people that were at the kite festival from India. We were going to the Rotary meeting. The one man kept hitting on me. They spoke English so I was the translator. Now every rotary meeting, there is a board with 4 choices for each dish, and you choose which ones you would like. A man helped me pick out what I wanted, but didn't specify what they were. Ohh God, my appetizer. 'Fruits de mer', I get a plate full of shells. One being snails(escargo), the second, oysters, and also large shrimp+ grey crevettes(tiny shrimp). Icccckkk. Eyes,legs,&all. I proceeded to try to eat the shrimp, horror stricken, ripping off its eyes& legs- and I rip off the front legs and blood spurts out. Eww. Andre, my coordinator, goes "Ooooh, that's fresh!" Yuck. I tried the oyster, ew. I pulled the snail out of the shell and played with it. Thank god for my next choice.. Steak and Fries. I also got my allowance from Rotary for the month, 70 euro. Dieu Merci! But all in all, I got home at 11:30PM. So school today is especially awful. And my coffee is sitting in the kitchen, I didn't have time to even shoot it this morning.

oh where,oh where

did my parents go? and my friends?
Where are you guys?!#%
So much has gone on since I last posted. See, I try to post a blog everyday
but I always try at night and end up being too tired. School is exhausting.
Even when I don't have to do anything. School has been MUCH better. I now hang
out with the kids from my class. I'm in Premiere 'L' Deux (1L2). Basically
I hang out with all guys. But, that's ok with me because they are actually
interested it what I have to say, unlike some of the girls who don't want
anything to do with me. Today in (one of my many) English class(es) I was
the lesson. Hahah. It was so weird. Like, it's amazing because I can comprehend
everything but I think people get pretty mad because I become even more of
the center of attention. And the thing is, I don't want it to be that way.
I just want to fit in and have fun- that's all I'm asking for. Anyways- the
lesson was for everyone to pair up and think of questions to ask me about
my life. When it came to the, "What do you do in your spare time in America?"
question, I brought up Bucks and my teacher almost died, I swear. Apparently
here, you can only find Starbucks in Paris and London. When I go to Paris, and
England I am going to have a hayday.. there's no question about it. (Which by
the way, I am going both! The ferry for England is in Dieppe, how convenient).


Also this boy I met yesterday at school, as I've been told, is supposively(sp)
madly in love with me. Hahahah.

I ride the public bus to school. Every morning I go to the bus stop at around
7 to catch the bus at 7:10. I never know what time it is here, because they really
don't have any public clocks. Even in school. I wondered why everyone wore watches.
Ha. So, after school everyday I pray to God my host parents will come pick me up
from school because when it comes to catching the bus after school, I am like a
lost child. About 20 public buses come to the school in the afternoon to pick up
students to go home. But each one comes at a different time, and mine- I never know
what time it comes.. or rather, I never know the time period. Yesterday I missed the
bus. But my neighbor, Marie-Charlotte took me home. Today, as I was standing outside
I was watching people get on the buses and such and to my surprise- my bus was right
in front of me. Hahahah. I'm such an idiot sometimes. My host mum said I have a small
brain.

On the bus, there was absolutely no where to really sit, so I asked a boy if I could sit next to him. He said "yes" and whatnot. So, he started playing music on his phone, and I started laughing because it was techno. Apparently, I'm too friendly. He started talking to me in French and I had no idea what he was saying. I told him I was American and can barely speak any French, but he kept on talking in French. Hmph,
oh well. I think he asked for my number.. Hahahah.



Mmm, oh yes. I went to get coffee at the bar outside of school today. The people I was with said that the bar we went to was extremely expensive. It was $2 for a decent sized cappuccino. Ha. I told them about bucks, but I don't think they understood. When you ask for a coffee here, it's in a petite,petite cup- and it's quite strong.
At a cafe in Dieppe, It was .80 euro for a coffee I think. WONDERFUL. <33



A couple days ago, I went to the annual and "famous" kite festival in Dieppe.
It was extremely,extremely windy and cold. There was tents representing countries from all around the world, and I just so happened to talk to every single English speaking person there. Hahah. So good for my French. I went to the vendor tent and got a handmade keychain from some country.. I'm thinking India or Brazil or something of that sort. But it's so cute and funny. It looks like a voodoo doll. My host mum goes, "Are you 4 years old?!#%" Hahah. She thinks I'm so pathetic.



Sorry for being so scatter-brained.
I can't really remember everything I wanted to say, and I apologize.
Pictures will be up ASAP, I promise.


And tomorrow, I start school at 10AM and get out at noon!
<3333



Bisous

1st

Yesterday was my official first day of school in France. I arrived, with my host dad so I didn't get lost, and found someone to direct me to my class. The schedules are really weird. They're called 'time tables' and are very different for everyone each day. My class will be with me all year, for the rest of the year. They're young and weird. I guess I judge too much, but as of right now, I don't really have any friends here. No one really speaks English, not even the teachers. Luckily for me, 2 people in my class speak OK english, so they sort of help me. Oh, but while I was walking in to school, I met the Australian exchange student. She was really cool and spoke perfect English so she asked me to lunch after school with her host parents(school ended at noon Wednesday). I called up my host mum and had her talk with the girl, I don't remember her name, but my host mum said NO! I thought I was here to meet new people?! I was so angry with her, you have no idea. Of course, I didn't show it. I mean I am living in her house, eating her food, occupying space. But WHAT!@!#% There was no excuse. Then she got mad at me! I didn't say anything to her. I just got in the car! Ugh. I was so upset yesterday. After school I napped because I was sooo tired from school. It was only 3 hours long so you can only imagine how tired I am after a full day's worth. It's just SO tiring trying to translate everything and learn French and, Ah. I'm just exhausted. Then, to make matters worse I had to attend the Rotary meeting with my host dad. I have to attend every Wednesday evening. And let me tell you, it is no fun. I was the only girl there. Around 35 men, around the ages of 50-72 were present. It sucked. I had to introduce myself and make a speech in French, and sit and not talk to anyone for 4 hours. Maybe that's why I'm tired today.

Today the boy and girl helping me with my classes at school ignored me because another girl from class asked me to sit with her. So, my first 2 classes I couldn't comprehend much. Finally, I went up to them and they eased up. I think they are trying to claim me for their own. And.. they're weird. They like anime, wear chains and such.. you know like how we dressed in 5th grade? Oooh, I'm so popular here.
Blah,blah,blah. But anyways school was school. It was stupid, the cafeteria food was awful, and the girl from Australia won't talk to me anymore. The two anime girls walked me to my host mum's car after school, and my host mom being the lady she is talked to them and questioned them for about 20 minutes. 20 MINUTES. Then, she asked for their numbers!@%@^@ You have NO idea how mad this made me. She chooses my friends. It's ridiculous.

But obviously, I'm having a bad day.
People have those.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better? My fingers are crossed.

snailmail!

If anyone wants to write, my address for the next 2 months is:

Mr. et Me LEJEUNE Didier
(Pour Christina Madej)
RUE MARGUERITE ROLLE
76119 VARENGEVILLE SUR MER
FRANCE



PS.
I have been trying to upload pictures.
It is very difficult and takes forever,
and half the time they don't upload. I
will post some ASAP

:*

11:11

Everyday in a foreign country, is well- foreign. My host mum, Claudine came home from work today as always and told me something about going to town to get my cell phone activated. (I don't know if i mentioned that, but yes- I have a cell phone.) So, we went to a mall of some sort. I got honked walking across the parking lot, met a nun while Claudine was figuring out how to get her iron fixed. Then we went for coffee at her friend Lille's(?) house. We went in the backyard to say "hi" to her husband and behold: A self-mowing lawnmower. It was exactly like the robot ones for the house, I think they're called robo or something. But AHHHH! it was so cute. Dad you would love it, it was the cutest thing ever. I wish I took a picture. I want to buy one and take it back home, but unfortunately I don't think it will fit in my suitcase being as though I packed to the brim. Then we went to Dieppe for an unknown reason.. I don't really know why I go anywhere, I just follow along. Today was a slow day, but I am grateful for it because I start school Wednesday and that's going to be extremely,extremely hard. I hope they don't expect much from me, hahah.

things are looking brighter.

good news for everyone: I AM HAVING FUN.
its especially good news for me. I wish I wasn't tired and posted everyday like I planned to, but I was. So, I forgot a lot of the details. My apology. Yesterday my neighbor asked me to go to the beach with her. It was actually sunny yesterday, so I accepted, plus, I had nothing else better to do. We rode bikes, and it was such an easy ride there. Biking is widely accepted here, Dieu merci. We got to the beach and it is an all rock beach. The water was freezing. So I sat with my neighbors neighbors' parents while they went in the water. Her mum went the the boulangrie and got us 'pain au chocolat' Mmmmm. Then.. the ride home. Absolutely dreadful. We had to go up this gigantic hill, it was death. Bridge, if you even saw the hill. Hahahah. I made it, though, after I was switching gears and my chain fell off, so we had to stop by the cows and figure how to put it back on. I'm becoming way too skilled over here. It's not cool. Then, I had a date with the boy going to Argentina and his parents. Didler and Claudine dropped me off halfway with his mum, and I went to one of their vacation houses. They had a pool and such. But oh my, was he cute. And wearing D&G. Luckily, the dad spoke good english so I actually had a real conversation for once. Actually, for a good 4 hours. He said I may be able to go on vacation with them to their beach house in south France, and also to the city where their other house is!@#% Anyways, it was a good night. Today, I got to sleep in. Ooooh. But for whatever reason I cannot sleep in my bed. It's too small or something. My arm was so cramped this morning because I slept on it weird, and I wake up every hour. When I came downstairs, Claudine told me to go the the magasin (newsstand) to get a magazine for myself. They made me a welcoming lunch, with champagne and such. It was really nice of them. Plus, they but an American flag out on the flagpole. I guess that's a good sign? Oh, by the way mum and dad- I haven't spent a SINGLE euro yet. They are very nice to me and buy me everything.

photographie

me in my room

view outside my room

la mer

cindi, look familiar?

my host mum's friend. we went walking.

premiere

my room

I am now currently in Varengeville sur mer, France. Apparently I got my town wrong. Dieppe is a neighboring city. I visited there yesterday, and believe me, it is A LOT more exciting than where I live. I live in a tiny, tiny village. I finally got out of the house for the first time yesterday. I went walking with Claudine, my host mom, and her friend. They both only speak French, so it was a quite difficult journey. We walked for about 3 hours, around the streets and down into the woods. They showed me where everything was, and what little there was. Haha. It started raining (as you know, it rains a TON here.), so somehow they decided we should stop at a friends house. No one there spoke english either. It is rather difficult and completely frustrating. But, we ate some lemon pie, it was amazing. It tasted like hard lemon candy in a pie. Along with tea. I accidentally said I like milk in my tea, and I thought it would be awful to turn down my own request so I had to pour some in. Not for me. I am just very secluded all the time. I have yet to meet someone my own age. My parents work every morning. Claudine til 12:30, and Dildier til 6PM or so. So I just sit around the house by myself constantly. School starts Monday. I'll

definitely keep you posted.

Au Revoir!


PS.- will post more pictures later, my internet connection keeps on going out!

im leaving, on a jet plane..

Finally! Flight details!@#%!

UNITED AIRLINES: 2 CHECKED BAGS AT 50 LBS EACH

FOR: MADEJ/CHRISTINA



26 AUG 08 - TUESDAY
AIR UNITED AIRLINES FLT:7783 ECONOMY
OPERATED BY /UNITED EXPRESS/CHAUTAUQUA AIRLINES
LV PITTSBURGH 1018A EQP: EMBRAER
145 JET
01HR 09MIN
AR WASHINGTON DULLES 1127A NON-STOP
REF: P11V9V
AIR UNITED AIRLINES FLT:914 ECONOMY MULTI MEALS
LV WASHINGTON DULLES 529P EQP: BOEING 777
07HR 26MIN

27 AUG 08 - WEDNESDAY
AR PARIS DE GAULLE 655A NON-STOP
ARRIVE: AEROGARE 1 REF: P11V9V

OPEN DATE
AIR UNITED AIRLINES FLT:OPEN ECONOMY
LV PARIS DE GAULLE OPEN
AR WASHINGTON DULLES
AIR UNITED AIRLINES FLT:OPEN ECONOMY
LV WASHINGTON DULLES OPEN
AR PITTSBURGH

avril 14th

I haven't left yet, but I figured I should at least test drive this blog before leaving. My departure date is August 26. I still am not sure what time I'm leaving yet or whatnot but it is surely coming up quite fast. 12 days. Anyways, here are some pictures of my 1st host family and house: