New Family, New Town, New Experences

 Several weeks ago I moved from Les Arcs to Roquebrune-sur-Argens. Although I haven't explored my new town much, my host dad claims that it's the best town in the world, it is indeed beautiful, but i don't know, best town in the world??I'm pretty sure that he meant to say, second best to Fayette.

So I now live with the Fernaund Family, Fabrice, Chantal,(my 'parents') and Maife(my 'sister'). My Brother is going to school in Marseille(marr*French 'r' here*-say-ugh), so i don't know him really well, but he seams nice.. My host dad Fabrice is a pretty funny guy. Everybody in town knows him through the many things he does. Most people have either been in his sport ...classes/teams(?) when they were kids, or have kids/grand kids in his current classes. Some of the kids in his sports now, are the children of people that he once taught. He also works f or the mayor, and is a volunteer fire fighter.He's really nice, and has been really helpful. Chantal works at a preschool of sorts, during the day, and is usually home by the time I'm done with school. She generally makes dinner, and is pretty darn good at it. Maife, my awesome host sister, is in her last year of lycee. It's been cool to have a sibling my age in the house. I've hung out with her and her friends a couple times, one time we went to the boit/discotheque which was pretty cool.
My new host fam and I have done lots of things.One day,after getting out of school at noon,(it was a Wednesday) , Fabrice took me on a motorcycle ride. It was pretty intense. We drove along the coast and stopped by some WWII relics /other awesome stuff, like seeing  Île d'Or, which was cool.  Then, on the way back we drove through Frejus. Randomly Fabrice saw some friends driving on a moto too. We basically chased them down .He finally got their attention and they pulled over. Turns out that one of them was a past Rotary Youth Exchange Student 30 ish(maybe, I think...I forgot when exactly) years ago!! From France to Canada!Pretty much the coolest thing that happened that week!

My host dads a firefighter, so one night before Christmas we went to the equivalent to the fireman's' ball . It was pretty nifty. Good food, good friends,... so so music!

Durring vacance I was able to hang out with my exchange friends a bit too. I went to Toulon with Tracy from one of the Dakotas,and Nice with Oneza(from Bombay) and Vanessa (from Chicago). For New Years,Oneza and I went to Katelyn's house in St.Cyr. We ate with her 'family' and family friends. The dad's close friend was from Italy he told some good stories which was cool. One was about different gestures in France( he once thought a girl was asking him to go skiing...she wasn't). It was also nice because his girlfriend had spent time in the UK, so we were able to discuss accents and what not.

And now the portion where I show you the keys on a French key board that don't exist on a American keyboard!!!!!!!!!!: § µ ù ¤ £ € ² é è ç à °
Pretty intense, right? On top of that some of the keys are mixed up. So lots of time when switching between my laptop and school computer, my hands get confused. Major difference is that , to press the numbers at the top of the keyboard you have to first hold down the shift button. So, for example, if I tried to write the number 1,234,567,890 US style it would come out   "   as&é"'(-è_çà   "  ... weird, no? While we're on the subject of numbers, I get confused in math sometimes. One big difference is that instead of decimals, they use commas. So five million, two hundred and sixty three thousand, seven hundred and twenty point seven six two (5,263,720.762) would be written 5263720,762 It kinda annoyed me when i first got here, not so much anymore, but I still think the US system (Apparently Indian too, because my friend from Bombay also talked about it) is a bit better. Another thing in math is that when multiplying , they don't always use the dot. ie: 5 times 4 written in the US (usually after you've taken your first algebra class) as: 5 (insert dot here) 4, would be written as 5 X 6 in France which confuses me when we're using variables, because if you have 4X times 5 =100 ,solve for X,it gets kinda crazy...4X(dot)5 =100 in the US might be 4X X 5 =100 in France.

 In English we've been learning about the US civil rights movement. I made a powerpoint on it because the teacher asked. I gave it on MLK day and I'm not sure the class understood everything, but it's all good.

Haiti (hi-ey-tea): Every one in France is really touched by the earthquake in Haiti. Although less, they still talk about the current situation, which, in case you've been ....I can't really think of a place where you wouldn't have heard about it... like on the ocean floor,  with no communication ...or something....anyway it's the worst natural disaster in a long time. The other night there was a telethon with a lot a famous French people, and there has been lots and lots of money donated.Haiti came up during a dinner conversation last week.  I've been thinking a lot about the rescue and we had a lively discussion about how countries prioritize rescuing their own citizens before others.  I got kind of defensive for a minute, I  said 'Of course a country will rescue their own citizens first.' . I don't know... What does it seem like from your prospective? Anyway,point is, if you haven't already donated...or if you want to donate more money, you should definitely click on the link on the right.

Burkas: The issue of the Burkas is a very hot topic these days.   I've kind of been  challenged in observing the debate and participating in one-on-one conversations. Yesterday I had a long conversation about the law in the works. Sarkozy along with lots of other people want to ban full cover burkas in public places. When I heard, I was rather amazed. How can the government be allowed to control what people wear? I understand that it's a really complicated issue, but I can't bring myself to think it's a good thing to do. People for the ban say that the women who wear them don't choose to. I sort of feel that it's the result of some people's fear of immigration and fear of Muslims in general, someone even told me that some people think that if they don't do something now, in a couple years, everybody in France would be Muslim and wearing burkas. That's seems rather extreme  if you ask me... I mean ...it would make it so, if a person wearing one walked on to a bus the driver would ask her to take it off, or she couldn't ride...that's discrimination, right? It's just really weird to me... I guess everyone has an opinion! I just feel like the burka ban would be forcing some people's opinions on to other people.  So ...I don't know all the facets of this issue, and might have some things wrong, so tell me what you think!

Well. I guess that's about it for now. I'll try to write again soon!

I hope everything is great with you!! Thanks for reading, if you have any questions, you should definitely send them, and I'll put them in. Don't be afraid to comment either!

a plus!(later)

P.S. Yesterday, me and France celebrated our 5 month anniversary.

Noel

Seeing as it's been a ridiculously long time since I've updated my blog, I figured I'd do several smaller posts about the last several weeks, so as not to have a 27 million word post.

So this is the part of the blog where I tell you about Christmas in France!

On Christmas eve I went back to Claude and Yzabel's house (my first home stay). They had some nifty decorations, including a live tree decorated with ornaments and such,(just like home). When I got there, Yzabel and Canelle were making Christmas treats, more specifically, a bûche de Noël. You may be wondering, 'What is a bûche de Noël?'. Don't worry, calm down, I'm gonna tell you. It's delicious is what it is. It's a thin cake, rolled up to make the shape of a log, and then smothered in chocolate goodness. Around Noel, all the small bakeries, and super markets sell them, but as with anything,it's best when it's homemade by Yzabel . After the chocolate covering, the cake goes into the fridge, and is then decorated with powderd sugar, plastic evergreens, and a little santa. Pretty much amazing.

So after helping a little with the cake, I went upstairs and skyped home. I of course missed my family a lot. But thanks to the miracle of the internets, I was able to see and talk with them . On Christmas eve my family always has a big party so I missed that a lot too .

After talking with my family I went back down stairs. My host aunt ,her son, and Claude's mother had arrived. We all sat in the living room, they drank champagne, and we talked and ate various appetizers(including fois gras) .

Afterwords we ate a huge dinner. The main dish was a chapon(an enormous chicken). For dessert we had some delicious Christmas log , and various candies, one of which included little noise makers, similar to booby trap fireworks.

I then went back upstairs and called my famdamily again. Around midnight, my host sister told me that they were opening gifts...I was slightly confused. When i got down stairs, there were about a hundred gifts under the tree. Apparently Papa Noël comes at midnight in France. Mel(their daughter, who's now in Missouri) was on video skype, and everybody sang along to "Petit Papa Noël" before starting to open presents.

[note: I asked around, and I guess they start opening the gifts at midnight on Christmas eve when the kids are old enough to think that santa's fake]

After heading up stairs around 3 AM ,( there was lots of new wii playing), I called my fam again, then went to bed.

Christmas day was just a day to relax around the house, hang out,play wii, skype my family and feel sad a lot...but, c'est normal .

It was nifty to be able to hang out with the Lalaus family during the holiday.

Well that's my Christmas!

P.S. : All the stores were very much into the spirit as far as decorations and what not, also most towns decorated with lots of lights and what not, including projections onto buildings.I saw video on the news of the festival of the lights in Lyon , it was awesome, they went all out with their projections onto buildings.




Time

When ever I wrote my last blog, I was just getting settled in with my new family, now, 5ish weeks have already passed! Time is so weird over here(for me). When I think that it has been 5 weeks since I moved in with my new family , it's hard to believe, I feel like it hasn't been that long. But at the same time , when I think of specific things that have happened the last couple of weeks, it feels like it's been ages...Sometimes when I think about the fact that I've only been here for four months, it's hard to believe, it feels more like a year has passed...but I don't know, it's not like time is dragging on , like in (insert most boring subject) class, I'm having a good time, it's not like the saying. Do you understand? If your confused, I see why, I don't really know what I'm talking about either! Point is, is that sometimes time throws me off.




I hope you had a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Eid, Joyous Kwanzaa, and are just doing well in general.

Thanks for reading, I'll have another post up soon, so check back!

pictures:

oh la

Lots of stuff

So Wednessday the 11th was Armistice day. The Anniversary of the end of WWI. It’s a national holiday, so instead of going to school, I helped my local Rotary.They were doing their annual tree cutting. On a member's land we cut trees to provide fire wood for the winter. Afterwords they sell the wood and give the profit to charity(i think) . After cutting logs we had a lunch with most people in my Rotary club. The lunch was pretty good but dessert was amazing. To my surprise, they brought out a huge Tarte Tropezine with candles, along with a letter chain saying “Joyeux Anniversaire’. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t stop smiling. it was so awesome. They sang 'joyeux anniversaire' and gave me gifts: a hoodie and a scarf. It made me feel at home and it made me more in love with France.

Friday was my eighteenth birthday! School was good, everybody told me happy birthday. After school was good(sorry for the lack of variety in my descriptive words), I got some packages from my ( real )family, which was great.My host family is really wonderful. We had a special birthday dinner, with cake(with candles) and cream anglais(which is amazing) for dessert , and they gave me two awesome sweaters, it’s really good, because when packing, I kinda thought it would be pretty warm all year round, and compared to Missouri, it is, but I definitely had a lack of warmer clothing. My birthday was one of the most difficult days so far. It was really hard to ‘be here’ and not think about home and family.

Saturday started off great! I got candy in the mail! Not only one package of American candy…but two! How lucky I am!Saturday after noon Yzabel's sister(my host aunt...?) arrived. She was very nice, and very similar to Yzabel,which is a good thing.Saturday night my second host family came over. Yzabel (my mom) made an amazing meal and it was nice to meet my next family. We decided that I would move the 5th of December(Saturday). They live in a nearby town , but I’ll go to the same school. It makes me sad to think about moving and changing families, but I'm looking forward to getting to know this new family. I feel so lucky to have had such wonderful people as my first host family. They really made me feel like their house was my house.

Sunday afternoon Claude, Yzabel, Cannelle, Colette(Yzabel's sister), a family friend and I , climbed a mountain (probably not technically a mountain...) in Roquebrune, the town where my énd family lives. It was really amazing. Pictures to come.

The next Saturday I took the train to Cannes and saw 2012 with Vanessa(from Chicago) and Amanda(from Nebraska). It was a great day. I don't know about you, but any day involving Cannes, friends, a disaster movie, and nutella ice cream is a success in my eyes. That evening when I got home, Mamie, Jillian, Canelle, and I went to a very popular pizza place. I had one with nearly raw egg, sounds gross, tasted delicious.

Sunday I helped my local Rotary club with their 'Loto' (Bingo) . It was a really fun day. In the morning my counselor picked me up, and we went to the banquet hall they had it in. I helped with setting up, then we had a snack. The snack consisted of about 5 different types of pate/mouse. One was really fancy(apparently), foie gras. While putting some onto my bread, a Rotarian informed me that it was banned in the US....not because of health of humans, but because of the way the ducks are treated. I guess they force feed the duck so its liver gets really big and full of fat. I felt a little guilty eating it, but I must admit, it was delicious. Here's a wiki page on it. ....Anyway, that night was the actual Loto. At the entrance you could buy bingo cards if you wanted to, but entrance was free. There were several long tables with piles of corn on them( for marking your card), and a stage with tons of prizes. If I understand correctly , lotos very popular here, 300ish people came. Some of the prizes they gave away were, ham legs, a tv, wine, dvd players, food baskets,and a payed 2 week trip to somewhere I've forgotten. I think that they raised 1000€,which is something like 1500$ for charity. It was a really fun night, I enjoyed it a lot.

Monday we celebrated Yzabel's birthday a day early so Claude's mom could be there.We had cake and candles,it was really nice.

Tuesday, there was a country wide teacher's strike, (they are usually for just one day here). Unfortunately for me, my first hour teacher was gone, but my last/2nd teacher wasn't. That means my friends and I had 4 hours of pause,your probably wondering , 'Why didn't you write your blog then Eli?'...I was wondering the same thing, guess we're one the same wavelength! Anyway, point is , that if the other prof would have striked too(due to the word check underlining 'striked' with an annoying red squiggle, I'm assuming that it's not a word...is it struck???...oh well), I wouldn't have had school.(Real cool, prof who didn't strike, real cool.) Apparently, there are 2 or 3 teacher strikes per year!That's really great, hopefully next time, I'll get out of scho..I mean , it's cool that the teachers are able to protest things they aren't happy with! (seriously, I think it's pretty cool, and not just because the whole "no class" thing).

Wednesday after school I took the train to Toulon and spent the afternoon with Katelyn. We ate lunch at 'Quick', the French version of McDonalds. It was pretty good, most French people prefer McDonalds, but it wasn't bad. In Toulon, we were trying to find a store and asked a young couple, who then walked us there , I think they were headed in that direction anyway, but it was pretty much one of the nicest things strangers have done for me. About 20 minutes before my train left, we realized we didn't know how to get back to the gare (train station). After asking about 26 different people , and running in the direction they told us each time, we got to the gare 10 minutes late and way out of breath. My train had already left, so I went to the counter to buy another ticket,(my current one was marked NO CHANGES OR REIMBURSEMENTS), I told the lady what had happened in my terrible American accent/bad grammar, and I think she felt sorry for me/she was just really nice, so she just scribled out the time written on the ticket with the new time.

Thanksgiving was ridiculously difficult. I did get to talk via video skype with my family but it (obviously) wasn't the same. I talked with my grandparents some which was really cool. My grandma talked about how she would have never believed that video calls from around the world would be posible in her lifetime. Skype is pretty amazing. Yzabel made chicken,(closest thing to turkey available).Friday night I made pumpkin pie(minus the pumpkin, plus sweet potatoes and carrots) for my family, which , if I do say so myself, was pretty good!

Tuesday was AIDS(SIDA in France) awareness day. Lots of people(including me) wore red. And there was a bake sale. I bought 2 euros worth and gave a five euro bill. They also threw in a preservatif ...which I felt awkward taking, but I think I would have felt more awkward handing it back, after I took it and realized what was in the box....


My host family's doctor told them not to get the H1N1 vaccine, and most people here are pretty worried about it, however, my doctor told me I should. You can get your vaccines at the school , so this week,(Tuesday) I went to the nurse with my friends and asked about it. She told me I needed my insurance info. The next day, when I brought it and she said to come back Thursday. Thursday she wasn't there. Friday, finally, I went to get it. When I got to the office, she informed me that I needed to call the embassy, so they can give permission...I called the embassy,( and I'm not gonna lie, I feel pretty cool saying that), and a lady said that I actually don't need their permission.... and that I made her day because I asked a new question.I guess I'll get the vaccine next Thursday.


Yesterday,(Friday), was the country wide telethon for several different disseses. At my school, at 2 PM , classes ended . The teachers and some students sold roses , food, and helium balloons with tags where you could right your name and then release it with everybody else...most people however just stood in circles , taking turns inhaling the helium, and laughing at each others funny voices. It made me laugh a little on the inside. ....*Randomish*...Wondering if this is bad for you, I just went to the International Balloon Association and they say "Helium Inhalation-it's no laughing matter"...get it , because, people laugh at the high voice that comes from helium....ha. In the evening there was a television program(that i think is a 24 hour event) to raise money. In 6ish hours they raised 7 millionish euros. My family is watching it now, and they've raised like 54 million. It's a yearly, countrywide event, which is cool.

So I've officially moved. Right now I'm sitting with my new parents, in my new house, watching tv. My new family is really nice. The house is really nice, and my new room rocks. The town seems really amazing too.

I'll be putting new pictures on picasa soon, so check them out CLICK HERE!!!


I really hope everything is going well!. If you have any questions be sure to email me! elitinkfort@gmail.com

Comment dit-on "I've been slacking on my blog" en francais?

Last week and a half
Biggest things are......
Thursday (the 29th)night i went to the Rotary dinner. It was a special night because they were (is this the right word?) inducting/introducing new members. One of the new members was my local club's first women member, which was pretty exciting. I sat at a table with members who were originally from English speaking countries, which was pretty awesome .You might wonder, why was this awesome Eli? Well then, I'll tell you. Two name two reasons.First of all I speak English with them. Secondly , I always feel better about my French , at the last meeting the chap that I met the first night, said that my French had really improved and that he wasn't just saying that to make me good about myself. (okay three reasons) Thirdly they're very nice, One lady who I just met two weeks ago, sent me a birthday card in the mail, which made my week. All the Rotary meetings are really nice.

Friday night, George (my 'uncle') , his children, "Mamie"(Claude's mom) , and some family friends came over. For appetizers, we had raw oysters, which I know also exist in the US ,(and I think I might have had once), but it was still pretty bizarre to me. The weirdest part about them,(for me), is that you eat them live...while they're still living... For dinner we had fondue, which I always thought was just dipping stuff into cheese, but i guess its also cooking raw meet in a fondue pot of oil, and then dipping it into various sauces (sorry for the long sentence, just made longer by this apology).It was ,as always , a delicious meal.

Halloween a friend, Katelyn, came from St.Cyr ( from from Philly)  by train. It's really nice, because the train station is a 2 minute walk from my house. We hung out in Draguignan for a bit, which included riding a carnival ride, which seamed pretty iffy safety wise, but i think that made it all the more fun. It was cool at the carnival, because the operators and vendors seemed to really interact with the people.  Then Katelyn and I went to the Carefour(supermarket) and bought a ton of candy. We went to the bus stop out side of the supermarket, and thought we had missed the last bus home. It's supposed to come every 20 minutes, and we waited 40 minutes and it still hadn't come.
After 20ish minutes of standing we sat down, which turns out isn't the best idea. You see after about 45 minutes, we finally saw the bus coming...but it didn't slow down. I jumped up and waved my hands, and then Katelyn and I ran (epically) down the side walk to where the bus had(after seeing us) pulled over. Phew. It was a close one. We ate with my ' family' while sporting some masks my family sent in the mail. Then we watched a scary movie (Orphan) to be halloweenish and then "the emperors new groove" ...to be awesomeish and ate lots of candy, including treats sent from home, ( did i mention my family is awesome??).
Halloween was  fun, because i got to hang out with my awesome friend, but kinda sad, due to the lack French Halloween enthusiasm...I guess it's more of a US holiday though, so i understand.

Tuesday: I took the train and met up with Vanessa, (from Chicago), in Cannes. It's quite the beautiful city. It was a really fun day. We watched a movie, walked around a lot, saw the beach. It was a really fun almost-last day of vacation. 

Thursday school started up again...(that's all i have to say about that)

Saturday Claude, Yzabel, Cannelle, and I went to Hyeres to Claude's Mother's birthday dinner. It was really nice, and delicious.

So there's the last several days.

 Now the "Raaandom Facts" portion!

-Twighlight is almost, if not as popular here as it is in the US. Everybody is excited for the new movie coming out soon. I feel loserish for never reading the series... so maybe, at some point I'll force myself to read it in French.

-It's not unusual for the toilet to be in a room separate from another room with a bath and sink

-School lunch is like 5 euros a day, it's really good, but that still seems pretty expensive.

-This up coming Wednesday, there's no school due to it being the anniversary of the end of WWI so im going to a tree cutting event that my local Rotary club does every year. It should be fun.

-The news show  shows a lot of US news. ie: the shooting at Fort Hood, fires in California, and the House of Reps voting for health care reform.

-School kids find saying cuss words in English hilarious...and i must admit, hearing they're take on the pronunciation  of curses is pretty funny! -I don't know if i should write their take on them here, but if you want to hear them that's another great reason to skype me!- Oh and, i don't think cuss words are so taboo here. Like kids say cuss words in front of (not to) teachers, and the teachers don't mind. One day a teacher had forgot her keys to her room and she said the French equivalent to F#!K ...none of the students seemed shocked. I guess that their just not as vulgar in French???

-The tree leaves don't have such awesome colors when they die, but the grape vines do.

-I might go see 2012  with my exchange friends next weekend/wednesday.

-Apparently there's a one half  military base, one half nudist colony -island  next to Porquerolles (the island I talked about in the last post). And friend and I jokingly talked going for Halloween and dressing up as normal people.

- Thanksgiving doesn't exist here...I'm gonna miss that a lot, but hopefully some of the exchange students will get together and celebrate.

-I made waffles the other day!

-Blog comments, emails, and calls make my day! ( elitinkfort@gmail.com , 660-672-4414)


You should check out my pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/elitinkfort

P.S. : I think you're pretty awesome for reading this. Hope you are well!

Wrong Stop...

I’m gonna try to think of cooler and more creative things to post ...but for now I'll just give ya a recap

Lets see...

Wednesday: Awesome. Why is it awesome you ask?? Because I saw a movie in Draguignan with my exchange friend,Oneza. After school (dismissed at 12 on Wednesdays) Yzabel took me to the Gare (train/bus station) and helped me out by telling the conductor I was American and showing me how to give him money... I felt kind of stupid for being worried about it after I saw how simple it was. The bus ride was 10ish minutes to the station in Draguignan. Oneza and I ate some lunch at a small outdoor cafe type place. Then a kid from my school showed us where the theater was. The theater we went to was a small 5ish story building where (I think) there was a theater per floor. We decided to see ‘Fame’; we figured it would be easy to understand due to the likely cheesiness of it. We bought the tickets, the lady at the window seemed excited to have English (by English I mean she probably assumed by our bad French that we spoke English) speakers, which was awesome. We climbed a really small winding flight of stairs to get to our theater. It was a smallish room with a small screen. It was kind of awkward at first because we were too scared to talk above a whisper. Luckily for us a group of loud girls came in so we were able to talk in our regular voices. When the movie started it was clear that we were right about the cheesiness. It was possibly cheesier because of the dubbing and not being able to understand every plot detail. There were lots of (English) songs which helped. The best part was when one of the ladies sang a solo. She looked like the annoying chick from Will and Grace, but we couldn't tell for sure. When she sang, it was obvious. It was hilarious because the dubber’s voice wasn't at all like what’s-her-name's voice...probably doesn't sound too funny to you...but we couldn't stop laughing.

Thursday: Due to the economy teacher's absence I got done with school at 3 PM, which is kinda crazy to me.No subs.... My host brother gave me a ride to Les Arcs. I forgot my keys to the house so I had to call him after he dropped me off. He came back and unlocked the house, I felt kind of bad about it, but he was really nice and said it was no problem.

Friday/Saturday: not too much out of the ordinary

Sunday: After lunch, Claude, Yzabel, Cannelle and I went to a beautiful lake. We played petanque, a pretty awesome game that involves throwing heavy 'boules" at a smaller ping pong sized ball. Whoever gets the closest wins. I was awful at first, me and Yzabel were a team and I felt bad for making Yzabel lose! Then 'Mamie' (Claude's mother) and Charlie (her boyfriend) arrived and joined the game. By the end I was actually helping our team (Charlie, Yzabel, and I) win. Pretty fun end to the weekend.

Monday: I took a geography test on the countries of Europe, pretty sure I aced it! I was taking the dumbed-down version, the rest for the class had to say which countries were in the EU/Applying/ ect... but still.

Tuesday: Biggest thing was, during ‘Sport’ the economy teacher came and told us he would be gone Wednesday, which meant we were only going to have class from 8-9 (Wednesdays are half days normally)..                                                                                                                                                                      *side note: In sport we’ve been practicing with javelins…something about throwing a long metal spear while a bunch of other teenagers are also throwing long metal spears (seriously,like 8 ft long)scares me…but now we're done*                    

Tuesday night we ate escargot! They were really good! They were similar to mussels, just more slimy... I liked them a lot!

Wednesday: Went to English class from 8 to 9, then Yzabel picked me up and we went to the house. The whole day it was raining, so I stayed inside, and chillaxed.

Thursday: nothing too crazy here

Friday: School was fun, because everybody was uber excited about the upcoming break. In Literature, I got an assignment to read the play Dom Jaun (in English)  and write an essay in French(of course). Unfortunately the book store wont have the book until Friday (tomorrow) .So when I get it, I'll have to read like crazy. Then school ended (schooools out forever...okay, a week and a half,but still ,woot!). Every two months of school there's is a twoish week  break, I'm pretty psyched about that!  Friday night we had raclette for dinner. Raclette is basically amazing. Each person melts there own cheese and pours it on to potatoes [pomme de terre(apples of the ground)] and various meat , very good.

Saturday afternoon we drove to Hyers(the city where Claude's mother lives). She fixed an amazing dinner(no surprise there) and we stayed the night. Sunday morning I woke up and got ready to go to the island, Porquerolles (where the exchange students,their 'families', and Rotarians , were meeting).The plan was to leave at 8:30 to make the 9 o'clock boat. At 8:20 me and Marriet (my 'grandma') were the only people up, and I finally asked her about it. She woke the rest of the family up because we,(mostly I), was worried we wouldn't make the boat. Yzabel reminded us that the time changed at 1 am...opps. I felt kinda bad, but I(like to) think that they were getting up soon anyway. Kinda embarrassing... At the real 8:30 we left for the dock. On the way we saw flamingos! No big deal to everyone else, just some flamingos hanging out in that marshy area near the road! (P.S.:It's not even summer, its October...and there were flamingos!) I didn't get to see them too close up, but it's all good. We got to the port and I met up with the other exchange students. It's cool because, even though we've only met once before, i feel like were good friends.The boat ride to the island was about 5 minutes. The island was incredibly beautiful. Click here for some general info. I'll also post some pictures. There was lots of cool stuff, like a windmill and an old fort. At then end of the day we went back to "mamie's"  place and ate dinner, then drove back to Les Arcs.

Monday/Tuesday: Hung out around the house mostly, Went shopping both days with Yzabel, Cannel, and my "cousin" who's staying here a couple of days. Monday Yzabel bought me some awesome Homer-shaped slippers!

Wednesday: Around 11 me and a rotary friend , Katelyn made plans to meet in Toulon. I took the 12:14 train and met up around 1:20. It was a slower train, but nice. It was a really fun day. Katelyn and I took the bus to the mall...slightly difficult at first. We got on the bus and waited for the mall stop...but it never came. Turns out we took the  bus that went in the completely opposite direction of the mall..oh well, we got there eventually. We hung out with Katelyn's friend, ate lunch at McDonalds in the mall, and walked around   the awesome city. It was a really fun day. I took the train home...

Funny/embarrassing/crazy story: The train left like 10 minutes late. At a stop 10 minutes after the planned arrival time i got off the train, i couldn't tell what stop  it was, because it was really dark, and my car was pretty far from the town sign. I asked a lady if we were in Les Arcs and she said no. I quickly went to the train and pressed the button to open the door. As I was pressing the button...the train began to move. It was rather movie like, me trying to open the door while the train  was starting to depart, it moving faster and faster, and me trying (more desperately) to open the door, walking along side the train...then running.... crap... I explained to the lady(who was now looking at me with a concerned face) that I got off too early and was an American exchange student. She told me that there was another  train in an hour (the last). I called my host mom and told her what had happened. She looked up the schedule and told me that the next train would be there in an hour.  If I understand correctly the platform is far from Pignans (the town), so it was kinda creepy. The building was shut up, had one light and I was the only person there.  On top of that it was starting to get foggy.  I kept thinking of scary movie scenarios . It all worked out though!  I got on the next train, and finally made it home.

The reason the timer on my camera rocks

My parents didn't seam to upset, I think they understood, which was good. We ate dinner and had crepes for dessert, which cheered me up.  Nothing like nuttella on a thin pancake burrito!

That's about it. I promise (just like I did last time) to write sooner than 2 weeks. I'm sorry, I'm quite the procrastinator.

Some more questions

How do you get to school ?

-Every morning I leave the house around 7:20 and walk (a block or so) to the bus stop where other kids who go to Le Muy from Les Arcs for school are also waiting. The bus usually arrives around 7:25 and (because there are other kids to pick up) get to the school around 7:50. Usually, I also take the bus home.

How much TV does your family watch?

-Lots of times we watch TV during and after dinner. I guess a couple hours a day, not a lot.

What do they serve in the cafeteria?

-Lots of different things. Generally a side (cold vegetables, tuna salad, slices of salami, act...) that you chose, a fruit (generally apples, pears, or plums), a dessert (sometimes yogurt, sometimes apple tarts, usually delicious), and the main course (some kind of meat or fish with hot vegetables, and pasta or french fries. The other day I had an apple, two types of cheese, a salad with baby shrimp and pineapple, breaded chicken,  ratatouille , and oatish stuff.

Do kids drink more/less than they do here?

-  No idea.I know they do., but I don’t know how much.

Check out my pictures by clicking here

Thanks for reading! Thanks for all the support, and a big thanks to my family and friends. Thanks to district 6080 and The Fayette Rotary Club, I feel so blessed to have such an amazing opportunity, I know that this will .... already has changed my life for the better.

Opps… i just lost another two weeks of France

It's been a while...I apologize. Let's see
Monday was a good day at school, not a lot of crazy things happened.
Tuesday Biggest thing is when I got to the sports area at school (at 1 o’clock) I found out the prof had a meeting with other teachers...so class was canceled.  It was the last class of the day, so I called Yzabel and she came and picked me up. When I got home, I walked to the pharmacy and bought mouthwash! I was pretty excited because it was the first purchase of something by myself. We ate dinner at McDonald's (the inside, not the McDrive) it was pretty similar.  Differences: they have espresso, with Fig sauce, a couple different sandwiches,and pastries available, plus everything was more expensive.
Thursday night I went to the Rotary meeting. At the meeting, I gave the president the banner from Fayette’s Rotary club, and district 6080’s banner, they were very happy to get them, and passed them around so everybody could get a close look.  A good night.
Friday after school, I was walking home from the bus drop off and Claude pulled over, I thought at first he was giving me a ride, but he and Cannelle were going to the doctor’s house. Cannelle had hurt her leg, (she has to wear a cast for the next 3 weeks). When Yzabel got home , she and I went to Hyper U to buy food for Saturday's picnic in St.Tropez. Originally, Claude, Yzabel, Cannelle, and I were going to go, but because of Cannelle’s leg just Yzabel and I went.
Saturday (the 3rd) Yzabel and I drove to Frejus, and went to the, (right now I can’t think of the word), boat ticket place and waited in line. Mme et M.Chabound arrived with the exchange student from India and her ‘mom’. We all took the boat to St.Tropez. The ride was great, Oneza, (from India), and I sat together and talked (in English) the whole ride, which was awesome.
When we got to St.Tropez, we waited for the other students to arrive. The first to come was Tracy from South Dakota. At that point I was feeling pretty lucky, another American, and two other people with English as their main language! Then a group of three students (all American) arrived! I was really excited, 4 other Americans! In the end, of the 10 exchange students 8 were from the US, one from India, and one from Japan. The girl from Japan’s English was much better than her French, so all of us talked English all day, which was great. Lots of wondering how similar our situations are , like:
“Do you miss hugs?”
“Do people also assume you know celebrities from America?”
“Do you eat cheese after every meal?”
“Do lots of kids make out at your school too?”

At the end, when saying goodbye, we hugged! That probably doesn’t sound too exciting for you, but I (and the other students) had been missing hugs!  I also learned that Oneza lives in a town 20 minutes from me, and Katelyn lives 45 minutes away.

Sunday Worked/procrastinated on an essay on Hamlet.

Monday School was good. After school I rushed home to see Obama’s speech on Health Care, given to a group of doctors. In that group, my mom! Pretty Awesome!!! That was very exciting for me!
Tuesday I forgot my gym clothes so had to run and everything else in jeans, not a whole lot of fun.  After school, I made plans with some of the exchange students I met the past weekend to meet in Toulon by train after school Wednesday

Wednesday after school at 1:15 Claude took me to the station and helped me buy my tickets. There was a long line and I got the tickets just in time. The train departed at 1:40 and arrived at 2:14. It was a beautiful ride and really nice train, the seats weren’t uncomfortable!

Plans changed and I didn't end up meeting up with the other exchange students.  So I caught the next train back to Les Arcs.
Even though I didn’t get to see much of Toulon, it was still really exciting to take the train by myself, and the ride was definitely worth it. It was cool that it was no big deal to change plans...just took the next train home! Wednesday, some of us are planning  to see a movie in Draguignan.

Thursday I gave a presentation to my English class on school in the U.S. Some things were really difficult (for even the teacher to understand),and not because of their limited English. Like credits and how the schedule works. Here ,you’re in a class were everybody has the same schedule and goes to the same classes together, so it’s very different. But overall it was pretty good, plus the other English teachers want me to give the same presentation to their classes.
Friday In school I met another English teacher who was from Virginia!  Pretty awesome to have another American (...I guess after 20 years she's technically French) in the school. After school Yzabel and Claude had a small Dinner party with two families, It was really nice.
Sunday Claude, Yzabel, Cannelle and I went to an outdoor type place with a maze where you had to answer questions to get through certain sections for a birthday party of friends' son (he was turning 12). There were 3 different desserts, chocolate cake (with candy  spelling 'XII' and a '1' and '2' candle), strawberry shortcake-ish delight, and apple cake, plus tons of candy.
So that's the last 2 weeks (a really short version). I still miss home a lot, sometimes more than others, (like during CMU Band Day) but it’s getting easier, and every day I feel like I'm fitting in more and more.

Tomorrow will be 7 weeks…geeze, 7 weeks, and them next Wednesday…2 months. I feel like my time here is disappearing. I’m 1/4th of the way done.. which makes me sad

I'll try to write again sooner than two weeks from now!

Hope you are well ! Salut!!!

P.S. : Don’t be afraid to send email’s(elitinkfort@gmail.com) I’d love to here what’s going on with your life. 

Plus: check out the new photos! http://picasaweb.google.com/home

You’ve Got Questions!

You've Got Questions!

Thanks to everybody who sent questions! Don't be afraid to ask more! I'll try to respond.

1.I would love to hear about your perceptions about the differences and similarities between your French and American peers. How do French teens behave in school, what are they interested in, how are they planning for the future, what do they do for fun, get along with adults, etc.?

Sorry for all the unknowns, but...

There seam to be a lot more similarities , but here are a couple of differences

-There a large variety of cliques, and the cliques intertwine more, everything isn't so divided.

-Every kid behaves perfectly in class...just kidding, the same on that respect

-It doesn't seam like how you dress is so important, but lots of the girls dress up more( like high heels ,ect;), I guess the guys too, but if you don't , it's no big deal

-A ton of kids smoke(a ton), maybe like 40 percent

-Sports aren't a huge deal here(not in the high school) the athletes aren't automatically at the top of the cool chain

I can't communicate very well, so I don't know what kids are interested in... They seem to get along with adults pretty good, it think it's the same...not sure about future plans.. I haven't 'hung out' with anyone yet, but I think a popular thing to do is go to the Disco-tech(the clubs I think?)

2. Are most American tourists that you've seen as obnoxious as we hear they are?

I just saw Americans for the first time on the boat ride home from St.Tropez. They didn't seem too obnoxious...I guess people tend to check out Paris more??

3. How is your French coming along?

Aye...I guess it's improving, I feel like it’s still pretty awful, but people tell me I've improved a lot. I think it will be awhile before I'm dreaming in French, when that happens I'll tell you about it

4. Have you found a girlfriend?

No, but people here tend to ask a lot. Plus, if I did I probably wouldn't write about it on my blog, RYE discourages romantic relationships...just saying

5. OK, that sounds good. I'll think of some. OK, I have one. How did you get so lucky?

That’s a very good question; I think about that a lot sometimes...I guess I really considered doing this when my awesome friend messaged me on facebook, so thank you so very much facebook! Just kidding...thanks Anna.

6. Has your opinion of the US--the government in particular--changed in the time you've been in France?

No

7.What is the shape of religion and Christianity in France?

I don't know a whole lot on ,this subject, my 'family' doesn't attend church. I do know that there are very few protestants , mostly Catholics, and the there is a large Muslim population(there are more Muslims than protestants) .Apparently there are some protestant churches, some of the other exchange students go,(one goes to an International Baptist service for English speaking tourist) but I haven't been to church in the past month and a half.

8. Any drama in your vicinity?

I think in a town nearby, Draguignan, there's a school of fine arts, where plays are put on.

9. Does the school do any dramatics?

I think there might be a group that meets on Wednesdays; I'll try to ask my French teacher about it soon.

10. Are you playing music there?

Nope...Unless singing in the shower counts!

11. OK here's another one: is your family there interested in politics like we are here?

Um...they were really interested when I was talking U.S. politics but I don't know...I think in general the French are not pleased with Sarkozy’s leadership.

12. Are French girls prettier or more mysterious than American girls?

I can't respond to this without making someone angry...I'd say French girls and American girls are incredibly beautiful. Mysterious? Like wearing a black and white shirt and a beret and smoking a cigarette in a dark alley?...No.

13. OK, how about this one: Do they like their health services? What's it like if they go to a doctor? Do they get a big bill?

I have no idea (personally)... I'm assuming their system is really good, they’re ranked #1 on the WHO's list. I'll try to find out more info.

14. Do they make waffles in France?? I have such fond memories of times eating waffles in Fayette.

I haven’t' eaten any French waffles. I sometimes wish I could make some, but I don't think my family has a waffle iron.

15. So what'd you eat this past week?!?!

To answer this question I'm gonna make a collage on picassa...check it out! Here’s the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/elitinkfort/FOOD#5392169252144030882

15. So what has been your favorite day so far?

Most have been pretty incredible; My first time in Frejus (my second or third day)…Going to the festival in Fayence...I think being able to meet the other exchange students and talk about what it’s been like for them might have been the best...but I'm (obviously) not sure.

16. How old do you have to be to go to a tavern / enjoy a beer?

I think 18, technically, but if I understand it's pretty easy to get into a club/bar/disco-tech if you're younger.

17. Do you have an address for people to mail you at? I'm sure you're getting lots of emails and Facebook messages and such, but I imagine it would be nice to get snail mail from time-to-time.

Eli Tinker Fortel

Lalaus

22 Avenue Jean Jaures

Les Arcs, 83460,

>p>France

17. What do the French think about the current health care debate in America?

I think it's hard for them to understand why there's even a debate...

18. I just got GoogleEarth, and I'd like to try to see your school from the sky. What is the address?

Okay, I don't know the exact address but if you search 'Chemin des Vignes, 83490 Le Muy ' in Google Earth - it's the complex right across the highway. It was being built at the time the satellite image was taken (two-ish years ago) so the area around it is all dirt.  here’s a aerial image of the school http://www.panoramio.com/photo/4727670

19. Do you eat croissants for breakfast every day?

Nope, generally I eat yogurt and fruit. The yogurt (sometimes) has this whipped cream cheese on top of it, which is yummy! Plus there is lots of cereal, and Nutella that I sometimes have.

20. What's dinner like? Do you cook? Are you learning any great recipes?

Dinner is so delicious every night! Dinner starts off with salad and dressing (a bowl with olive oil, vinaigrette, basil, and garlic, that is passed around and spooned onto the salad), baguette (generally someone tears off pieces and passes them around to each person) by it self or with meat or often duck liver pâté (sounds gross, but it's delicious).

Then, the main course. The main course is different every night. Sometimes casserole, pasta with meat, steak (frozen, cooked and tasty), and in general fish a couple times a week (this week we had stingray!). After the main course, cheese (of all different kinds, most stinky, all delicious) is served with more 'pain'. Then, there is either dessert or fruit to finish off the meal.

I try to help out with diner every night, set the table, or clean up afterwards, i also try to empty the dishwasher every once and a while.I haven’t ‘learned’ any recipes, but I try to help out…

21. Have you seen any movies? At the theatre?

No! I miss going with my family/friends in the U.S. Wednesday (like I said earlier) I'm going to a movie w/ my exchange pals. The French don't see as many movies as (U.S.) Americans.

22. It is now fall in Missouri. And it's cold. Is it still warm there?

It is still warm here, although today the Mistral Winds are starting (cold winds from the north, that are said to have driven Van Gough into insanity) and it smells like fall.

23.When were you last at the beach? Can you soak up some sun for me?

A couple weeks ago. I live about 30 minutes or so from the beach, so we haven’t gone a lot. Some days, it's still warm enough to swim, but they’re becoming more and more rare. and...yes ,if I get a chance, definitely.

24.Have you met any American expatriates? If so, how do the French feel about them - welcoming or shunning? How difficult would it be to emigrate from the US to France?

The first American I met was the English teacher. The French seam to really like Americans, the younger generation is fascinated by the culture( the music, film, and stars,) and the older generation is grateful for our involvement in WWII. I'm not sure what it would be like to immigrate, what you would have to do, (a citizenship test???),...sorry I don't know more.

26.OK, here's one I was JUST thinking of one minute before you wrote. Do you get homesick?

Nah, never...of course! I get homesick a lot. Before we left, Rotary showed us this line graph of what our mood would be like, it looked like an insane roller coaster...it was right, sometimes I can't stop smiling and then the next minute I miss home so much, it's hard not to frown.

Thanks for all the niftily awesome questions, if you have anymore, just email(elitinkfort@gmail.com )them to me or comment