Do all posts really have to have a title? Seriously...

Well, still no HUGE news in my life here in Lannion. But, as such, I've had time to notice some of the little things here that really strike me as different. As you can imagine, living in a completely different country can have some major differences. I first came here when I was in third grade and have a mother who is obsessed with French culture, so naturally I've been jaded to these major differences for some time now... But regardless there are still certain things that really strike me. So in order to explain these differences I have comprised a list.

1. Soda cans are weighted:
I have no proof on paper for this one... But I swear the weight of the cans here is different, every time I finish my soda, it feels like there is a little left in the can. So naturally I take a sip, only to discover the can is empty... I know I'm not crazy... I think they weight the bottom of the cans here to save a little extra cash.

2. Only caramel corn at cinemas:
Besides the fact that I say "cinema" more often than "movie theater" now, there are many other different things about them. Like the lack of buttered popcorn. I saw a movie with some friends last week and was surprised to get this tasty treat in lieu of buttered popcorn. I was sure that it was some special promotion or something, but no one really mentioned it. So when I finally asked if they have buttered popcorn, he replied as such: "You guys put BUTTER on your popcorn?!."

3. They really do call it a Royal with cheese.
Nuf said.

4. The kissy-thing, shaking hands, and personal space:
As I become more integrated into my school society, I begin to greet more than 2 people every day. And here there are two distinct ways to greet people. For girls, you do a bisou... or something spelled along those lines... This is nothing more than a kissing-like motion on each cheek of every girl you know the first time you see them for the day. (This takes FOREVER, and frankly the kissy sound everyone makes gets annoying after the 12th time in a row.) But for men/boys here, a simple hand shake is all you need to greet one another. Not many 'knucks over here. (Unless of course they're doing it to humor you.) I find all of this just fine, but for me, I've always been accustomed to giving hugs to people when they leave and the traditional man hug thing all American guys do. You know what I'm talking about. But then again, I suppose I get my fill of physical contact whenever a line is involved. The French must be the most impatient people on the planet, because every time there is a line to get into somewhere, there is a massive crowd of people surrounding it with little or no space between people. It's like a clown car without the car. I personally could do without this. Oh well.

Obviously there's more but those are the main points that I've noticed...

On a more positive note, I've finally consulted with my school on what exactly they expect from me as an exchange student. I'm still not sure. I guess I just need to engage a little more in class... Which I GUESS I can do. On a happy note, Spanish is no more! Soon I will be taken out of my Spanish class, which is amazing because frankly I do less in that class than in my others... That's really hard to do by the way.


Well I think that's it for now! Ill update soon...ish... At the latest, Oct 11-12th.
Talk to you all soon!

OK so it's been a while...

10 days to be exact. The reason for the delay is the lack in real news on my trip. I'm starting to fall into a groove which is good, but rather lacking in major excitement. SO. For something to tide you all over, here is a compilation of the doodles I draw in class:


Taking notes- The Max Hoeschele Method:

That, in a nutshell is how I spend my time in class. In my opinion it's more productive than staring blankly at a teacher as they talk at me.

Interesting things are bound to happen soon! And when they do, you'll know 1-5 days after!

Thanks guys!

Well... it's been a week:

Since my last post, so I think right about now is a good time to give my report! And let me tell you, it's a good one. Aside from homesickness, my trip is really starting to look up! My linguistic skill are starting to improve a bit, which is definitely a plus... I feel like the book they gave us wasn't lying to me after all. I'm making more friends in school, and getting more comfortable around acquaintances. And not to mention my frisbee practice every monday and tuesday. It's probably my favorite activity ever. I've always thought that physical activity is the one activity in which everyone can communicate regardless of language, and it holds true here. I don't speak very much with the team members, but we all seem to understand each other just by playing.

Another subject which I'm excited to talk about is my first rotary district meeting! So much fun to see all these people whom mostly I didn't know were anywhere close to me! I made friends with a lot of them, and finally got to let loose a little with slang and such. It was mad dank. (If you don't know that word, no surprise, use it in context to get definition... It's interesting to see how slang develops like a language in different parts of even just the US.) And I met some real chill 'Mur'kans!!! (Americans) It feels good to be a part of that whole exchange student subculture. We took a bus trip around the coast and talked about the upcoming rotary euro bus trips to spain and the rest of europe... Damn am I excited for those!!!

By the way: Thats me in the back right corner doing the Nixon peace sign thing. The Americans didn't have a flag, so that was our best alternative... Pretty sad I know... Also, click on the pic for a bigger version.

 On the same day I also went boogy boarding with my host family. THAT was fun as hell, I can't wait to try it again sometime.

Well that's about it for now. I want to hear from you guys!!! So please comment, and remind people to check back every now and then because I haven't forgotten about this blog yet!!

Sep 7th. Things are looking up!

I had my third day of school today, and it was so much better! Started the same, going to class... wandering aimlessly, feeling awkward. All that normal exchange student stuff. BUT THEN, people! They talked to us, and even asked Israel and I to follow. Shortly after, they ditched us... I was annoyed. But then gym class came and frankly I love gym class. One of the few places in which words aren't really needed to communicate. Awkward laughs about how ridiculous we looked doing the exercises the teacher was having us do were the only communication needed. After that was lunch, which went down smoothly due to the lack of a line. (Thank god)
 Ans after that, things continued as normal, but then again! People!! And this time they didn't ditch us. We now have friends! It's facebook official... Soon... So with our new group of friends, class sped by. God afternoon. Then... FRISBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Twas epic. Although very different than what I'm used to, I really enjoyed the first practice. The players were very friendly, and even some spoke English! I'm excited for my next practice. By the end of this year I will no longer have a bad pull called a "Hoeschele". (congrats if you get that reference) Ok, I would probably write more here, but I'm close to dead right about now. So.... Bye. =D

Sep 2nd. OMG

Ok first day of school. DOWN. And I have stories!! First let me tell you... I'm tired... I can't believe how much I don't understand French! Seriously. Maybe this will explain a little:

Anyway... Let me break down my day for you. 

I get to school, and it's probably the most chaotic scene I have ever seen at a high school in my life. Kids everywhere... No rhyme or reason, just crowds and crowds of people. It was hard to tell what was going on really. After finding out what class I had first, I regrouped with my fellow exchange student Israel, and we went to "homeroom". He seemed to be just as confused as I was. 

We get to our homeroom, and waited for maybe 10 minutes for our teacher to show up... OY. We finally are allowed in, and are introduced as exchange students. This, as you would expect, sparked the interest of the other students. But not really in the good way. They just kind of... stared at us, and laughed when we didn't understand something. They weren't mean... just.. yeah. So our teach talks for 20-30 minutes, I understand nothing... Then Surprise!!! She's a math teacher. She then proceeds to give us what i assume were the plans for the CERN. I struggle with them, and somehow manage to answer a question correctly... Yay guessing!! Class ends abruptly and Israel and I go outside.

Lunch:

Let me make this clear... Me, as an American, appreciate my personal space bubble. French teenagers on the other hand... Don't. My bubble was popped very quickly in the lunch line. There was what seemed to be 100-150 students all trying to crowd through one small door at once, this was supplemented by a presumably sadistic group of adults who would let the students though the door every now and then, laughing as the group would essentially trample each other to get the food inside. The food was okay. 

French:

After lunch, more math! this went the same as before, flew by. But after cam French class. This class was hard enough for me when it was in English... But holy... The teacher was nice enough, he tried to help Israel and I as much as possible. The project was to create what i think was coat of arms which answered  some questions about our personal lives. Mine turned out like this:

An example of how my day went... 

After this class was over, the day was done. I walked home, and here I sit... Oh wait, I have a rotary dinner tonight... Damn!

Update:
Rotary dinner was fun! I finally to speak a little bit. My mouth's basically been shut for the past week. Met some cool people and got money!!! So I'm not complaining. =D

Sep 1st. Here. We. Go!

Ok so, the past week has been pretty awesome! Lots of fun, I love spending time with my host family, and I'm starting to get a feel for things. But I'm also starting to compare my life here to that of a pet. I spend a lot of time following my owners around, eating whatever food they give me, looking at the confused while they speak to each other and perking my ears up every time I hear my name. Ignorance is grace though, and frankly I always thought my dog was pretty happy, so maybe I don't have it too bad. School starts tomorrow. Oh school, how I missed you! It feels akin to how I miss the black plague. But, life moves on. I'm a little nervous, but that's to be expected I suppose. I'm taking all language courses I think... English, French, and Italian... Italian is the one I'm most worried about. How am I supposed to learn a language that's being taught to me in another foreign language?? Oh well... I'm mostly worried about the social aspect... I suppose I'll make friends soon enough though... I hope haha. That's mostly all on my mind lately... Spending a lot of time at the beach lately... =D