Well tomorrow i leave for my Euro Tour and i'm really excited. I'm leaving with the bus tomorrow and i'm pretty sure we stay in Paris tomorrow night before the tour starts on Monday. I'm going to get to see Paris for the first time and i really excited about that. I'm also going to Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Monaco so we're doing quite a bit of moving around in the two weeks. I'm ready to have the time of my life and i know i'll remember this experience forever. I'm also lucky i get to go with some of the most amazing people i've ever met. Will tell you all about it when i get back but i'm going to head to bed now to get as much sleep as i can because i bet i won't get much in the next two weeks. Can't wait to see everyone again.
Mel
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Busy, busy, busy!!!
I plan to write a blog about all the goings on of the week i just had but i'm finding it hard to find the time to sit down and write it all...i promise it's coming and i should have it finished by the end of the day but things keep coming up...haha plus i should probably do my english homework before i forget and get another cross..
Well i've finally managed to sit down and write my blog :)This week was my first week going to school from Jaquie and Bernard's and i caught the bus for the first time. I will be taking the bus (i should say minivan because that's all it is)every Wednesday and Thursday because those are the days i start school at 8am. The bus comes at 7.10am so i get up at 6am to get ready. I'm so glad i don't have to get up every day for the bus or i'd be dead tired by the end of the week. 6am is way too early to get up when you've stayed up late the night before trying to finish homework and going to Rotary meetings...
This week i went to another Rotary meeting and Claudia did her country presentation on Mexico. I was supposed to do a little presentation on my first three months here but we ran out of time so it's going in the newsletter instead. I'm quite glad except i know i have to do my country presentation soon. Cludia's presentation was really good and very interesting so i hope i can live up to the standard when the time comes for me to do mine. I'm thinking i'm going to try to acquire some vegemite for my presentation and try to get people to taste it...if anyone else has any suggestions i'd like ot hear them...my host brother, for some odd reason, things i sing really well(which is a total joke) so he reckons i should sing the National Anthem...i'm thinking that's a bad idea but i haven't ruled it out yet.
For sport at school we've moved onto badminton and it's definitely not one of my favourite sports...it comes under the category of sports with a ball needing hand-eye coordination. Since i have no hand-eye coordination i am quite "nulle", which means i pretty much suck. Claudia and i have our own little games and i do think i'm improving...i can even win on the rare occassion and at least i can hit it over the net now haha
This week at school i also got my bac blanc francais back. I got given a mark of 4/20 and i was marked as a French person because the teacher who marked it didn't know i was an exchange student. It must have seemed a bit strange for him that someone who was in L, the literature stream, had such a poor vocabulary and grammar. He didn't hesitate to write the comments all over my paper either. I was quite happy with my 4 even though the comments were a bit disheartening...another girl in my class also got 4 though so i don't know how she felt about the exchange student getting the same mark as her. I actually ended up with 11/20 though because my teacher re-marked it on my level of french etc It doesn't really count for anything for me but i'm glad i had a go.
Friday afternoon after school i went into the backyard with Bernard and Jaquie and picked the strawberries out of their backyard. It's been quite hot here this week, especially the weekend, and so we went to find all the ripe strawberries so we could eat them for desert. Picking the strawberries brought back so many memories of when i was little and i picked strawberries with my own granparents and it was nice to think about that for a little while. My host mum also makes her own ice cream with a little machine so we've had des fraises avec de la glace (vanille)for desert yum!!!
After dinner on Friday Bernard and Jaquie's son Xavier and his wife Sophie arrived with their two young kids. They travelled down to be here for Manon's 18th birthday party on Saturday night. Saturday after lunch we headed into Najac because this weekend they were having a Medieval festival. There were people dressed up in medieval costumes, they had eagles and a couple of other birds and they had markets selling things made out of leather and wood etc. It was really cool...we also walked up to the castle because there was a special tour but we got there two late so we decided to go back on Sunday. Manon's party was at Jaquie's mum's house in Najac so we went back there for dinner, cake and general partying. I met all of Manon's friends and talked to them for awhile.
My third host family were also there so i talked to them a bit more and talked to the kids for the first time. Anna, who's nearly 5, sat on my lap during dinner and showed me her little Pluto toy. She's so cute and has so much energy. Eva is also really nice and she told me she can't wait til i stay at their house. She's nearly 12 years old and we talked about school and dogs and played with balloons..i'm such a little kid. Camille was also there and she's 15, though she acts like she's about 20, and looks like it too. I had a really good time with them and i think i'm going to have a good time at their house as well.
For Manon's birthday Thierry wrote a song so we all got up to sing that...the very last verse was in english though and even though everyone was supposed to sing it everyone else stopped and it was just me...it was kinda embarrassing but Manon liked the song so it did'nt matter. We didn't get home til about 1.30am that day so i was pretty darn tired on Sunday.
Sunday we went back to Najac and did the tour around the castle. We had a guide but she spoke really fast so i didn't understand evrything she was saying but i loved looking at the castle...we even got to walk up the spiral staicase to the roof, all 120 steps. I had a super fun weekend and i'm also loving the fact that today is Pentocost so i don't have school.
I really should go do my english homework now...i have to read an extract of Desiree's Baby, answer some questions, read a biography of the author and then make up some questions...wish me luck
Also last week when i was away i received my return date...i will be back in Aus on the 15th of January which is still just under 8 months away. Looking foward to seeing everybody back in Aus on that date...until then i'm having a wondeful time here. It's been four months now, 1/3 of my year, and i'm sure the rest will fly by...at least for me.
Love and kisses
Mel
Well i've finally managed to sit down and write my blog :)This week was my first week going to school from Jaquie and Bernard's and i caught the bus for the first time. I will be taking the bus (i should say minivan because that's all it is)every Wednesday and Thursday because those are the days i start school at 8am. The bus comes at 7.10am so i get up at 6am to get ready. I'm so glad i don't have to get up every day for the bus or i'd be dead tired by the end of the week. 6am is way too early to get up when you've stayed up late the night before trying to finish homework and going to Rotary meetings...
This week i went to another Rotary meeting and Claudia did her country presentation on Mexico. I was supposed to do a little presentation on my first three months here but we ran out of time so it's going in the newsletter instead. I'm quite glad except i know i have to do my country presentation soon. Cludia's presentation was really good and very interesting so i hope i can live up to the standard when the time comes for me to do mine. I'm thinking i'm going to try to acquire some vegemite for my presentation and try to get people to taste it...if anyone else has any suggestions i'd like ot hear them...my host brother, for some odd reason, things i sing really well(which is a total joke) so he reckons i should sing the National Anthem...i'm thinking that's a bad idea but i haven't ruled it out yet.
For sport at school we've moved onto badminton and it's definitely not one of my favourite sports...it comes under the category of sports with a ball needing hand-eye coordination. Since i have no hand-eye coordination i am quite "nulle", which means i pretty much suck. Claudia and i have our own little games and i do think i'm improving...i can even win on the rare occassion and at least i can hit it over the net now haha
This week at school i also got my bac blanc francais back. I got given a mark of 4/20 and i was marked as a French person because the teacher who marked it didn't know i was an exchange student. It must have seemed a bit strange for him that someone who was in L, the literature stream, had such a poor vocabulary and grammar. He didn't hesitate to write the comments all over my paper either. I was quite happy with my 4 even though the comments were a bit disheartening...another girl in my class also got 4 though so i don't know how she felt about the exchange student getting the same mark as her. I actually ended up with 11/20 though because my teacher re-marked it on my level of french etc It doesn't really count for anything for me but i'm glad i had a go.
Friday afternoon after school i went into the backyard with Bernard and Jaquie and picked the strawberries out of their backyard. It's been quite hot here this week, especially the weekend, and so we went to find all the ripe strawberries so we could eat them for desert. Picking the strawberries brought back so many memories of when i was little and i picked strawberries with my own granparents and it was nice to think about that for a little while. My host mum also makes her own ice cream with a little machine so we've had des fraises avec de la glace (vanille)for desert yum!!!
After dinner on Friday Bernard and Jaquie's son Xavier and his wife Sophie arrived with their two young kids. They travelled down to be here for Manon's 18th birthday party on Saturday night. Saturday after lunch we headed into Najac because this weekend they were having a Medieval festival. There were people dressed up in medieval costumes, they had eagles and a couple of other birds and they had markets selling things made out of leather and wood etc. It was really cool...we also walked up to the castle because there was a special tour but we got there two late so we decided to go back on Sunday. Manon's party was at Jaquie's mum's house in Najac so we went back there for dinner, cake and general partying. I met all of Manon's friends and talked to them for awhile.
My third host family were also there so i talked to them a bit more and talked to the kids for the first time. Anna, who's nearly 5, sat on my lap during dinner and showed me her little Pluto toy. She's so cute and has so much energy. Eva is also really nice and she told me she can't wait til i stay at their house. She's nearly 12 years old and we talked about school and dogs and played with balloons..i'm such a little kid. Camille was also there and she's 15, though she acts like she's about 20, and looks like it too. I had a really good time with them and i think i'm going to have a good time at their house as well.
For Manon's birthday Thierry wrote a song so we all got up to sing that...the very last verse was in english though and even though everyone was supposed to sing it everyone else stopped and it was just me...it was kinda embarrassing but Manon liked the song so it did'nt matter. We didn't get home til about 1.30am that day so i was pretty darn tired on Sunday.
Sunday we went back to Najac and did the tour around the castle. We had a guide but she spoke really fast so i didn't understand evrything she was saying but i loved looking at the castle...we even got to walk up the spiral staicase to the roof, all 120 steps. I had a super fun weekend and i'm also loving the fact that today is Pentocost so i don't have school.
I really should go do my english homework now...i have to read an extract of Desiree's Baby, answer some questions, read a biography of the author and then make up some questions...wish me luck
Also last week when i was away i received my return date...i will be back in Aus on the 15th of January which is still just under 8 months away. Looking foward to seeing everybody back in Aus on that date...until then i'm having a wondeful time here. It's been four months now, 1/3 of my year, and i'm sure the rest will fly by...at least for me.
Love and kisses
Mel
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Life goes on
Well as most of you probably know i'm not really a person who likes change but nonetheless the time came for me to change host families. That was last weekend and a lot of things have happened since then. Last weekend was my second rotex weekend and this time i had a brilliant time. Last time it was the first weeks i was here and i was still pretty tired but this time i was really looking foward to seeing everyone again. Meg, Jess, Kim and I decided we would prepare something for the spectacular during the night and we decided to do a kind of corroboree dance wearing our Australian flags. We discussed this quite a bit because we didn't want to, as Kim so elegantly put it "take the piss", but it was something we wanted to show so eventually we worked it out and did a bit of practice. I think everyone enjoyed it as well. After the spectacular we had a disco in a downstairs room and i even did a bit of dancing which is unusual for me. I met one of the girls going to Brisbane next year and she is really nice...we talked a bit and we've decided i'm going to go visit her in Brisbane next year haha
Our disco ended at about 1am and after that we talked for a bit outside before i decided it was time for bed for me. Next morning was pretty much socialising and we talked to James and Katie two exchange students from the US. We had a good time talking about different things, and trying to teach James an Australian accent.When the weekend finished i went back to my house and collected all my things and changed to my second host family. I'm really happy here as well and i'm enjoying the privacy i get here. While it is a bit more lonely with no other kids things are definitely much more peaceful. I've also spoken much more french in the last week because my new host family don't speak english so i'm also enjoying that.
Tuesday we left for a week away and our first stop was at the house of some friends of Bernard and Jaquie. We stayed at their house for a few days and during that time i had four parents, who mainly took the grandparent role, and called me their "petite fille". During the days we went around Lodeve and saw the lake and some other typical things and at night time i sat and watched them play bridge. It's probably the most confusing card game i've ever seen!! When we left their house i got some huge kisses,a pretty yellow rose from the garden and i was called "adorable" haha i'm so lucky to have met such wonderful people here.
After that we travelled further south for a couple more days at Barcares. Unfortunately the weather wasn't very good with very very string wind but we managed to have a good time anyway. Each day we went to a sheltered beach and we played scrabble in french. Of course i lost quite miserably but i was just happy when i managed to find a word in french out of the letters. At first all i could see were english words but the more i got into the game the easier it was. While we were away i also watched a bit of french tv...I watched CSI (Les Experts in french) and it's a lot more difficult to follow in french but i usually manage because i'm so used to the format of the show.
Well we arrived home this afternoon and it's back to school for me tomorrow. It's Manon's birthday on Wednesday so i'm going to try to find her a present tomorrow and we're going to Narjac on Saturday to celebrate.
My Euro tour is also coming up quickly and i'm really looking foward to seeing everyone again.
missing evreyone
xoxo
Our disco ended at about 1am and after that we talked for a bit outside before i decided it was time for bed for me. Next morning was pretty much socialising and we talked to James and Katie two exchange students from the US. We had a good time talking about different things, and trying to teach James an Australian accent.When the weekend finished i went back to my house and collected all my things and changed to my second host family. I'm really happy here as well and i'm enjoying the privacy i get here. While it is a bit more lonely with no other kids things are definitely much more peaceful. I've also spoken much more french in the last week because my new host family don't speak english so i'm also enjoying that.
Tuesday we left for a week away and our first stop was at the house of some friends of Bernard and Jaquie. We stayed at their house for a few days and during that time i had four parents, who mainly took the grandparent role, and called me their "petite fille". During the days we went around Lodeve and saw the lake and some other typical things and at night time i sat and watched them play bridge. It's probably the most confusing card game i've ever seen!! When we left their house i got some huge kisses,a pretty yellow rose from the garden and i was called "adorable" haha i'm so lucky to have met such wonderful people here.
After that we travelled further south for a couple more days at Barcares. Unfortunately the weather wasn't very good with very very string wind but we managed to have a good time anyway. Each day we went to a sheltered beach and we played scrabble in french. Of course i lost quite miserably but i was just happy when i managed to find a word in french out of the letters. At first all i could see were english words but the more i got into the game the easier it was. While we were away i also watched a bit of french tv...I watched CSI (Les Experts in french) and it's a lot more difficult to follow in french but i usually manage because i'm so used to the format of the show.
Well we arrived home this afternoon and it's back to school for me tomorrow. It's Manon's birthday on Wednesday so i'm going to try to find her a present tomorrow and we're going to Narjac on Saturday to celebrate.
My Euro tour is also coming up quickly and i'm really looking foward to seeing everyone again.
missing evreyone
xoxo
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Time to change :(
Well tonight is the last night i get to spend in this house that has become my home and with this family that has become mine. I'm experiencing quite similar emotions to when i left Australia and i've really realised how difficult it will be to leave these people that have become some of my best friends. I feel such a strong conenction to these people and this place and it feels so strange moving again. Also, after spending the last hour and half trying to shove as many as my things in my suitcase as possible, i've realised how much stuff i have already accumulated and i'm not looking foward to trying to work out how to get all my things home at the end of the year...lucky i still have about 8 months befoer i have to think about that.
This past week has been quite busy with quite a lot of things going on. The weather here has been cold and wet this week but it's supposed to get better tomorrow for the weekend and i'm really glad of that because the cold really kills me. At school this week my class had their Bac Blanc Francais which is kinda their equivalent of the trial HSC. It was a four hour exam analysing poetry and i had a good go at it. I managed to write four pages in total in french and i think i understood the poems ok and answered the questions at least generally with the right answer...the essay on the other hand was kind of a different story since i wasn't there for most of their poetry unit and didn't know any of the texts. I've also started a geography assignment and my teacher has given me the job of researching an Australian city to present to the class. The rest of my class have to European metropoles but i get to do mine on Sydney yay!!!
Another thing that's happened this week is my host dad started to write a song for my host sister's 18th birthday. He's writing it to the tune of 22 by Lilly Allen and everyone has to sing at least one verse. My host dad has already written mine and i get to sing in english but my verse makes me laugh so much...i have to sing: I'm glad to kiss you and a happy birthday/so you become my soul sister/you know that it's true it's a very good day..lol. The other funny thing is that since being here my host family think that i sing really well and my host brother always begs me to sing for him. My family at home would die of laughter if they knew that because i really can't sing at all.
Well today, being my last day with my wondeful host family, we had a special dinner. After school we went to the supermarket and bought all the ingrediants to make ANZAC biscuits (though we had trouble finding maple syrup of all things), works burgers with bacon and egg and a tropical fruit salad. All in all i spent about 30 euros on food and my host sister and i made the food. Everyone really enjoyed it and we had a good meal and i gave my family the card i wrote for the. After reading it my host dad said he would "keep it preciously" awww haha and Aymeric made me read it aloud to see my progress in french. I had a really good night!!!
Tomorrow i'm going to my counsellor's house at 12 for lunch and then we're going to the ROTEX weekend. I'm really looking foward to it this time because it will be good to see everyone again and we always do fun activities. Sunday when i get home i change families and then Tuesday i leave to go away with them for a week. Hopefully i can unpack and organise my things there before we go away.
Today i also had to have some identity photos taken in a photo booth because when i change host families i will be taking the bus to school every day. I'm quite looking foward to this because i've never taken a bus to school before so it will be something else new to expereince.
Well it's pretty late and i'm tired so i might leave it at that...might be awhile before i manage to get back on and post because of the change of families and holidays etc.
One last thing before i go...i'd like to wish my mummy a very very very Happy Mother's Day. Mum i love you so much and thank you for everything you have done for me in my life. I can never thank you enough for helping me to become the person i am today and i could never have a better mum. I miss you so much and think about you all the time. Love you to infinity and beyond
xoxoxox
Mel
This past week has been quite busy with quite a lot of things going on. The weather here has been cold and wet this week but it's supposed to get better tomorrow for the weekend and i'm really glad of that because the cold really kills me. At school this week my class had their Bac Blanc Francais which is kinda their equivalent of the trial HSC. It was a four hour exam analysing poetry and i had a good go at it. I managed to write four pages in total in french and i think i understood the poems ok and answered the questions at least generally with the right answer...the essay on the other hand was kind of a different story since i wasn't there for most of their poetry unit and didn't know any of the texts. I've also started a geography assignment and my teacher has given me the job of researching an Australian city to present to the class. The rest of my class have to European metropoles but i get to do mine on Sydney yay!!!
Another thing that's happened this week is my host dad started to write a song for my host sister's 18th birthday. He's writing it to the tune of 22 by Lilly Allen and everyone has to sing at least one verse. My host dad has already written mine and i get to sing in english but my verse makes me laugh so much...i have to sing: I'm glad to kiss you and a happy birthday/so you become my soul sister/you know that it's true it's a very good day..lol. The other funny thing is that since being here my host family think that i sing really well and my host brother always begs me to sing for him. My family at home would die of laughter if they knew that because i really can't sing at all.
Well today, being my last day with my wondeful host family, we had a special dinner. After school we went to the supermarket and bought all the ingrediants to make ANZAC biscuits (though we had trouble finding maple syrup of all things), works burgers with bacon and egg and a tropical fruit salad. All in all i spent about 30 euros on food and my host sister and i made the food. Everyone really enjoyed it and we had a good meal and i gave my family the card i wrote for the. After reading it my host dad said he would "keep it preciously" awww haha and Aymeric made me read it aloud to see my progress in french. I had a really good night!!!
Tomorrow i'm going to my counsellor's house at 12 for lunch and then we're going to the ROTEX weekend. I'm really looking foward to it this time because it will be good to see everyone again and we always do fun activities. Sunday when i get home i change families and then Tuesday i leave to go away with them for a week. Hopefully i can unpack and organise my things there before we go away.
Today i also had to have some identity photos taken in a photo booth because when i change host families i will be taking the bus to school every day. I'm quite looking foward to this because i've never taken a bus to school before so it will be something else new to expereince.
Well it's pretty late and i'm tired so i might leave it at that...might be awhile before i manage to get back on and post because of the change of families and holidays etc.
One last thing before i go...i'd like to wish my mummy a very very very Happy Mother's Day. Mum i love you so much and thank you for everything you have done for me in my life. I can never thank you enough for helping me to become the person i am today and i could never have a better mum. I miss you so much and think about you all the time. Love you to infinity and beyond
xoxoxox
Mel
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