The Truth

So this entry is going to be completely dedicated to the truth of being an exchange student. I'm not going to butter around the edges and say every moment is great. If you really want to study abroad, il faut que you know everything.

1) USA or HOME-COUNTRY: So, You home-country, mine being the USA, is your life. No matter how much you try to immerse your self in to culture, your habits will be what you do back home! You can try to become as French as possible, but you still will have a few "americanismes." And don't feel bad if people get mad. Like if you speak English once in a while, it IS necessary, I think, to relieve stress. If you speak English for 30 minutes to an hour a day, you will not hurt your French. I usually do, and I still have made a tremendous amount of progress in these short 3 months.

2) YOUR HOST FAMILY: Your host family won't be perfect, so try to work through it. I know WAY too many people have changed host families. Yes, I have thought about it at times, but you need to at least try to make it work. For instance, my family thinks that I am out too much and not home with them....though I am always home. I had some problems with them and they did with me. Instead of immediately telling my family back home and contacting AFS, we had an hour long talk about our problems. Now, everything is much better. Your going to be uncomfortable, but it's normal. Its not your family, so it takes A LOT A LOT of getting use to!

3) FACEBOOK: Try to utilize it as little as possible. I'm saying this cause I learned it the hard way. If you had a great day in France, your feeling very content and not thinking about your life back home, Facebook will pull you right back to America. When you see all of the things that your friends are doing back home, you will get a little home sick. I'm not saying not to go on facebook, but limit it.

4) FRENCH: The French language is extremely hard. So don't get discouraged, especially in school, since your grades will be bad! I'm taking S, the hardest course, and my average is usually like a 6/20. That isn't bad for someone who isn't fluent in French, but that actually isn't that bad for the French neither. So, just keep going and try to speak French as much as you can

Finally: You will make a lot of friends, you'll have a new family, and you'll have the time of your life!!! So, try to be French, but remember IT WILL BE HARD. No lie, being an exchange student is one of the hardest things you can do in your teen-age life. But, it still is an experience of a life time!

You dont just eat it.

So, first off I would like to say that France is the land of love, it is the land of cheese, and yes it is the land of wine as well. However, France, by far, is the land of strikes!!! I have already had 5 strikes...two of which the students had created a blocus, and I wasn't able to enter the school. I love this at first. I mean I never had school, and life was good. But now it's just obnoxious. Getting stranded at the train station cause all of the trains and buses are cancelled....Not being able to take the car because the refineries are on strike, so there is NO gas basically everywhere!....sitting outside the school to go to the one class I had, then after 5 hours of waiting, the teacher decides to be on strike...you get the gist :]

BUT on the positive side of France

Everything is going extremely well!! I love it and have made a ton of new friends. I'm not sure when the last time I posted was, so I don't know if I told you that I changed my class from L to S. So now I have a lot more school and its way harder, but I have wayy wayy more friends. Life's pretty chill right now

In regards to the title of my blog, I was talking about bread. The other day my little host brother asked me why I didn't clean my plate and I responded with cause I'm eating...? But then my host-mom responded with "Here, after we eat, you use the bread to clean your plate, but you don't have to"....so they basically use it as a sponge. Thank god I'm not required to...since I hate sauces touching my foods.

I'm going to my first discothèque on friday night....I hope. My friends asked me to go, and theyre going at 12am and we'd come back at 5 or 6 am....Sounds like fun :D I really hope my host-parents will let me, but I'm not really sure. You get my drift.

I start vacation for a week and a half this sat until the 4th of November!!! The month of October as legit FLOWN by. Really too fast..

I'll update again after vacation, so that way you can hear all my fun stories :D

Cow heart...

So, I will start this lovely blog off with the fact that my English currently sucks. Not that is hasn't before...but its worse now :p

Anyways, this week I changed my class!!! I was a premier 2 L, which is a lot of french literature and history that I dont understand. However, now, I am following the Premier 7 S, which is the hardest course you can take :D BUT, I love it because its like 8 hours of math and 8 hours of science a week! And the science here is sooooo funn! In my chemistry class, we mix potions and stuff everyday! Also, in my other science class, similar to biology, we dissect something every week! It is SOO different then my old boring literature track!!

So, today I went to Cora, the french wal*mart...even though they deny the fact that they have huge stores with everything....and bought all of the stuff that I need for my new classes. It was weird getting sized for a lab coat!! While I was there, I happened to run in to my sisters favorite movie ever and had to buy it so I could watch it in French tonight!!! "Ce rêve Bleu" et "Prince Ali" are soo much better en français! well actually, every disney movie is plus mignon en français ^^ (oh and just in case you didn't get it, I bought Aladdin)

So back to Cora. While we were there checking out, I got the nice job of putting the meat in the cart...only to see the fact that we were buying Cow heart and Cow spleen for dinner. YUM.

MAIS, my host mom bought a huge bag of french fries today and "american" steak...cause its different here...and we're having an american lunch today :D Oh yea, and she bought chocolate pudding for dessert hahaha ^^ I always think it's funny what the people here have as stereo types of us Americans. When I try something new, they ask "do you eat this back home" and I say "no we don't have it" and then usually I get the "Do you have hamburgers back at home???" But only if they really knew, our hamburgers are THERE steak. SOO SHHH.

In a grand conclusion to my blog, I need to state something that will make me sound like a hypocrite. I love America. Yes I love France too...A LOT!!! But living in a foreign country makes me appreciate what I have back at home a lot more. The fact that I can drive, the fact that everything is new, the fact that gas isn't $8 a gallon. The list goes on and on! But don't take it the wrong way, cause I really do love the life here. They're just so different, they're incomparable.

Settled at last!

So, sorry I haven't been keeping up to date as much as I would like. But if been really busy!! Everything here is going great. France is amazing, the people are great, all is swell. Of course I miss home like crazy, but each day I'm starting to think less and less about home, and more about french culture, language, and live.

School here is different, as I stated before. I don't have ANY classes on wednesdays :D and the rest are not bad! Yes, of course, taking tests and trying to explain the effect of technology on modern day society is extremely hard...and of course, Im pretty sure I failed that test, but I always get 20/20 on my math exams!!

This weekend, it was my host brothers birthday. So, last night we had a Fête four him with his friends. It was so much fun, and so different than back at home. I've realized, especially with the teenagers here, my favorite words are "oui" et "d'accord"....even if I don't understand :p

Now, today is Sunday the 19th of September, and I had my first experience of French VTT. I've always learned about it in french class...but it is nothing that you can imagine. You literally are biking through puddles of modd (3 feet deep), flying through cow crap, dodging trees....etc. It is amazing, dangerous, but FUN. Also, I started playing handball with my host brother in his club. Again, we play european handball in gym class, but it is nothing here. It is like basketball, with soccer nets, yet you play like football...since you can push and shove and all that fun stuff. AND also, tomorrow I start my swimming team. I wanted to swim so I went to the pool, and then I asked if they had some teams. Next thing you know, Im swimming with the Dole Dauphins ;]

I miss everyone at home but Ill try to update as much as possible! I have to go shower now, since i have cow crap on me from vtt. yumm.

Avec l'amore

Ryan :]

Bonjour!!!

I am very sorry for not updating a lot. But, i just got to le Deschaux on Sunday!! But. France is amazing. Everything is SOOO old where I live, 700 and something years!!! Paris was gorgeous. the tour eiffel was bigger and more amazing then one could possibly think. I stayed in a hostel with afs people and it was a once i a life time experience! The food was different and the culture took some getting use to...since almost every one smoke in france. On sunday, I took the train from Paris to Dijion. I was extremely nervous to meet my family, but they are super nice! I couldn't ask for a better placement! We had lunch with the other afsers, and then we left for le Deschaux. When I arrived, I unpacked all of my clothes...which took a while...and then I went with Antoine to a "fête de moto"...like a bike show but for mopeds. There, I met all of his friends from deschaux and they were very welcoming. However, none of them go to the same high school as me since you can choose were you go to school in France. After that I learned how to play a french game with big metal balls and a little ball, its kind of like batchi ball in amercia. The next day I had to go to school. So....high school in france is NOTHING like high school in america. I go to a lycée in dole, which is a wicked old town (im going to take a video tour of my route from the bus stop to the school...you will see what I mean ;] also Ill take pictures of the school and the village) on Mondays I go to school until 4 o'clock...but I have 2 hours for lunch! the same with Tuesdays except, I finish at 3 one weeks and 2 the following week! However, today, which is Tuesday I had class for only one hour beacuse two of my teachers were on strike. so those classes were cancelled. However, when I went to get on the bus at 12..it never came. So i waited until 2...then was told the bus driver was on strike. So I went shopping, and waited for Antoine to finish his classes at 3 so he could help me!!! It is literally the same thing as college.... I have to walk out side in the poring rain to all of my classes, because there are like 5 buildings. Also, there is a since of freedom and trust that we don't have in the US. You do what you want, you go where you want, and you can leave when you want. For lunch, if I was to leave and go to a café or go shopping, then I can. It is way easier then going to a high school in the united states.

I have never kissed so many people in my life. It goes as follows, "salut! Ça va (kiss on right cheeck, kiss on left cheeck) oui, bien et toi" to all of your friends, people you are meeting for the first time, and your family. It is way more welcoming then "hi (do nothing....walk away). When I told my friends that we don't do the kisses in America they said "COMMENT?!?!!? Qu'est-ce que nous faisons" or what do you do?! and I just said, we say hi, and if it is someone that you know well then you may hug, and they thought that was the most bizzare thing in the world. c'est ça...simplement diffèrent

Bread. It is one word. But it means soooo much in France. I literally have not gone one meal yet without eating bread. This morning I woke up and I ate bread for breakfast. Not toast, but bread with nutella and jam. With breakfast I drank coffee...but its out of a bowl here :D For lunch, I had errr oh yea bread. And it was with pork and rice. The cafeteria is like a restaurant in the USA. IT has GOOD food. It is extremely strange to me. But i like it :] For dinner I ate bread. bread. bread. The main course was cucumbers in a balsamic-creame mixture hahah it was interesting but very good!!! After every dinner, we eat cheese :] with bread. and then we have yogurt and fruit, with bread. and then finally we eat some sort of chocolate :D but there is not bread with that :[

France is amazing, beautiful, and amazing. The people are all of the preceding as well. I love everyone at home, but for now I am at home!!! I promise I will come home eventually and I wont forgot you guys :]

Avec beaucoup d'amour et bisou

Ryan

p.s. Sorry if my english is really bad and its not flowy or smooth...I havent used it that much here :] and it is bad to begin with!!!!!!

ALSO- pics to come! check my fb, merci!

Au revoirsss

So,

I leave in 2 days. AHHH I AM SO EXCITED.

But. My sister left for college and I know I wont be seeing her again until February!! Every time I say goodbye to someone else I ask myself, WHY RYAN. WHY. I did it to myself!!!!

BUT then there is the other side saying, Ill see you in 5 months! It's not that long!! Plus, Ryan, You will have the best time of your life!

So, all in all, its a bitter-sweet situation. and though I'll miss everyone, I know for a fact that I will have an amazing time.

Now all I can say to myself is Bon Chance et Bon Voyage :]

~Ry

Less then a month

I haven't posted in a long time. So, i probably should!

It is SOOO weird to think that I will be leaving America and LIVING in another country. AHHH.

Yes, I know, I do always harp on the USA and how I dislike a lot of things....but I really do love it here! We are lucky to have what we have and do what we do! I'm not saying I won't like France, because I will, but now that I am actually leaving...I will miss the USA. and I appreciate our country more then ever.

BUT, France will be amazing :] and I will have the time of my life! I'll be sure to update frequently while I am abroad!

AHHHHHH!

WOOOOOOO. SO....today, I already was having a great day. But then I opened my e-mail and it got even better!!!!! I found out where in France I will be living and with whom!

I will be living in a town called le Deschaux, it is a rather small town with a population of 800 :D

My host parents are 38 years old, and their names are Marie-noelle and Jérôme

I have three host siblings, two brothers (15 and 7.5) and one sister (12)

I'll be going to school in a near by town, Dole.

Welp, this is what I have been waiting for forever, YAYAYAY! But, now I cannot sleep :[

More then just presents for Christmas

Well,

I said in the begining of the year that I wanted the year to go by fast.... BUT I was not expecting it to go by this fast! 2 months of Christmas songs litterly came and went, and now it is almost 2010! Eventhough there were quite a few amazing presents under the tree, the best one that I recieved was from AFS. I now have only 3-5 weeks untill I found out where I'll be staying! Not only that, but they sent me my "survival kit" for France. :D

Well I hope everyone had a "joyeux noel"

Avec Amour,
Ry

:D :D :D

I have just been informed that I have been accepted into the AFS program! AND they are sending my application to France, meaning that's the country I will be going to, if France accepts me. SO, it is not a guarantee that I will be going to France, but it's a "most-likely." My app. will be sent to France in the begining of January and I should hear from them around February/March with my host town and so forth XD Let's just hope for the best!