Bienvenue Tout le Monde! >> Welcome Everyone!

I am SO excited, and do you know why? Because I am living in France for the ENTIRE year! I arrived here in Tulle, France on the 26th of August, and I will return sometime in June of 2011. I have three families that I will be living with, each for three or four months. I am attending a lycee or a high school here for my junior year classes. I hope that you will check this blog for updates on my life in France.



Enjoy!















Friday, September 17, 2010

Workin' 9 to 5, Literally

School. (l’école in French) Can you define it? I thought I could before September 3rd. School to me was the building where you spent ninety-eight percent of your time. School is where you “learn,” have “fun,” and eat “lunch.” Then in the case of Metro, my school in St. Louis, school is where you work really, really hard. Well, needless to say, going to school in France has changed my outlook on school a little bit. Actually, my outlook has changed a lot.

I’m not going to say whether or not I like it. That’s not a good place to start. A good place to start would be the location. Lycée Edmond Perrier is in the center of the city, at the very top of the mountain. I would show a picture, but the building is so high up the mountain, it’s hard to get a good shot. This school is like nothing I have ever seen. It’s HUGE. There are multiple buildings and corridors. I have a class in room 1, and in room 407. It was built over a century ago, thus the architecture is a gorgeous Versailles style.

Since it is school, I have to take classes. I have about eleven classes. No, it is not a typo. I have about eleven classes, maybe even more. The average French child, is not a student, but a well-oiled machine. I have heard things about French education, but they were understatements. In the states, I had thirty hours of classes a week. Here, middle and high school students have up to forty hours. There is a very strict program. All students in high school take the same courses in their field. I am in the literature field. My schedule is designed around history and literature. There are other fields for trades, math, and science. The entire program is built for a major test called the Bac taken at the end of high school. This test is not like the ACT/SAT. A French student cannot go to any university or college without passing the Bac. Your higher education depends upon this test. Not teacher recommendations, or GPAs. Strictly the Bac. When do you really prepare for the back? 11th grade, my grade of course! Why not? So I have been thrown into intense Bac training with all of the other three hundred 11th graders at my school. My classes are as follows:
Civics and Sociology
Literature (A LOT)
Math Specialty
Informative Math
Group Studies-History and Language
Music
Gym
Physics
Chemistry
Life and Earth Science
History and Geography
English :)
                                                             [I like that one]

This is a light course load. I was able to remove some classes from my schedule. Of course if students have forty hours of classes, the times for school have to be different as well. I start school at 8:00 am everyday, except for Thursday when I start at nine. Hallelujah! ---But, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I finish at 5:30 pm and 6:00 pm. Ahhhhh! ---But, on Wednesdays I finish at 10:00 am. Therefore, it’s give and take.

Yes the French work a lot, but they vacation a lot as well. (This when my classmates will want to sit down) In the states I had two weeks vacation for Christmas, and one week for spring break. Here, I have a total of 8 weeks vacation. I have four 2 week breaks. There are professional development days and holidays as well. There’s a smile on my face just writing this. I hope you can feel my joy through the blog. :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) [8 smiley faces]

Other topics that will infuriate my classmates: transportation and lunch. In the morning I have a ride to school, but some afternoons I have to take the bus. This would be a problem if the buses weren’t the chartered tour type buses. Yes, cushioned seats, air-conditioning, and heat. There are no yellow school buses! Then there is cantine or lunch. There is fresh bread, freshly made salad, steak, pasta, green beans, carrots, tilapia, ice cream, pears, peaches, and water on the table like a restaurant. ALL of it is edible, and ALL of it is FREE. I’m not sure if there is a school in the states with lunch like this, but if so, the tuition is too expensive. I eat just as well in school as at home.

Well that’s it for the description, on to the experience. The first day, was the most exciting and worst day of my life. It didn’t hit me at first, but when I arrived I realized that I was going to a new school. America, France, wherever, that is scary. To walk into an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people, with a semi-unfamiliar language is difficult. But, I made it through the day. And, I made it through the second, although I was late for two classes and was lost the entire day. Then I made it through the third and some of my classmates actually spoke to me. Then the fourth, when my classmates actually greeted me. Then the fifth when my classmates wanted to know more about me. Gradually, the social part of school gets better. I don’t eat lunch alone, I don’t study alone, and I have help with class and homework. I’m not alone, and that is a relief.

Then there is class. Some classes are better for me than others. I can understand math, because numbers don’t change. I can understand music, because Duke Ellington and Bach are famous everywhere. I can understand Literature because I love the subject. I can understand English because…well you know why. It’s when I get to history and geography that I have some difficulty. The vocabulary and geography of France is unfamiliar to me, and the teacher talks faster than a policy debater. (That is very, very, very, fast. Trust me) But I took my first geography test with confidence, so I must understand something.

School is not easy, which I am sure you know, but school is good. There is still pressure to pass, but the methodology here is different. The teachers don’t feel the need to check the homework; they just assume that we did it. Everyone listens to the teacher. He or she does not have to stop to tell the students to be quiet. There is a lot of class work and student-teacher interaction, rather than lectures all of the time. I feel willing to learn and willing to try to understand, because I know the quality of education being given. I love Metro, and I miss it. But if I had to take a year off away from it, I’m glad that I am spending that year at Edmond Perrier.

I know this post was long as well, but what I can I say, I like to write and inform. I have more to share, and I will soon. If you have questions, feel free to comment. As of yesterday, I have lived here for three weeks, and I am still excited for whatever is next!


Thursday, September 2, 2010

Get It? Got It? Good

Voila! I am here. I have been in Tulle, France for a week as of yesterday. There are too many emotions to explain. Needless to say I am tired, a little scared, but most of all...Happy!

Getting here was hardly pleasant. I had to squeeze my entire life into one fifty pound bag, (Mine was 48.5, hazzah!) and two carry ons. My plane went to D.C., where all fifty plus Americans living in France gathered. My plane landed in Paris the next day, (because of the time difference) and I had one more plane to Clermont Ferrand Airport near Tulle.

I met my counselor and the Rotary president at the airport. Then we began our journey to the main city. Only it was not smooth. On the way we got a flat tire. Only me. Thus, it took three planes, one car, one tow truck, and one taxi for me to finally get to my family. But, I got there, jet lagged and all.

Imagine yourself tired, confused, not understanding all that is being said, and having to meet the family that you must live with for three months. Well that's what I had to do. But...It was AMAZING! I am living with the Albinet family first. The dad is a journalist, the mom is a secretary, and the twins are in middle school. My little brothers grabbed my luggage and ran me to the car. We piled into the tiny French car and talked (French/English). We were flying in the city, and only got faster when we hit the mountains. My house is so close the top. In fact the picture to the right is the view from my backyard! The pictures below are of my gorgeous and modern house, and my room! That's right I have my own building, and no it is not the garage. : P

Most French people have a garden, but the Albinet's really have a garden. There are apples, grapes, raspberries, blackberries, lettuce, tomatoes, basil, pumpkins, potatoes, herbs, and more if you can believe it. At breakfast they walk over and pull fresh fruit off of the vine and put it right into the food. I know that there are gardens in the states, but we do not rely on them. We go to Schnucks and get what we need for dinner. But there is no supermarket within miles. They are very scarce in France. There is a charcuterie and a bakery though. They buy fresh meat and bread every other, if not every day. It is not true that the French eat less than Americans. America eats a lot of calories yes, but food, definitely not. At a given dinner, I eat three vegetables in a sauce or with rice, meat, two sides, four of five pieces of bread, cheese, fruit, yogurt or ice cream, and water. It is a lot, trust me, but healthy. I have not had one McDonald's or Bread Co. craving yet!

My days have been full and fun (vacation you know). I have climbed the hills of Tulle, (I am still recovering). I have played golf with my little brothers. I went to a market at least five times the size of Soulard in St. Louis. I went to the south of France and met grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and had jam sessions with some great French musicians. I went to a "party in the village" and literally dance the night away. I have played Uno Attack forty times, (My gift to the boys). I have played ping-pong, gone shopping, had a picnic on a lake, met students, friends, neighbors, and American nun, and petted a squirrel. Whew.

Well, I guess that's enough. I know this first post was wordy, but I figured everyone wanted an update. My next post will be about school. You can comment if you have any questions, and I will try to answer them. This was only the first week of almost 52. This is only the beginning of France, the Rotary, and Me!