July 2009 Archives
I've been talking with my host family, and have gathered some information about my school! I will be going into seconde, which is the equivalent of our 10th grade. I really don't care at all that it will be "the year I just finished", I think it will be hard enough!! My school is called Lycée Louis Aragon, and it is in a place called Givors. I'm not sure what classes I'm taking, but I think I'm taking music and economics. Read more.
AFS offers year, semester, and summer programs to France.
Today i have been unpacking and putting all my things from Germany on my wall which was kind of weird. As i remembered the things i experienced there it felt like it had been a dream and i just woke up. There were some things that i would pick up and say "Oh my God, this is from like the very beginning!". It was sad to see it all again, but also exciting. Its a weird feeling, it doesnt seem real. It all happened so quickly. And i know i can never live this last year over again. Read more.
AFS offers year and semester programs to Germany.
We spent Saturday and Sunday there. It was an older house, really cool. We went to the water park nearby and down to the ocean, set off fireworks, had a BBQ, and I saved some sand in a bottle to bring home. Read more.
AFS offers year, semester, and summer programs to Japan.
I've been with my host family for almost a week now, and I couldn't be having more fun! Everything is so beautiful here just like I thought it would be. So far I've met a lot of my host sister's friends, and they are all so nice and they ask me everything about Chicago and America. Read more.
AFS offers year, semester, and summer programs to Italy
Well, the last couple weeks in France were fantastic. I went to the lake nearby almost every day with Marion or Cloe, and I spent the last 4 days before the orientation in Paris with 12 other AFSers. The last night at the orientation was really really sad....I had to say goodbye to all my new friends I had made at Paris, and then to Miyu and Victoria, who were my closest friends in France. Read more.
AFS offers year, semester, and summer programs to France.
They other day I talked on the phone with my parents back home and while talking to them I was hit with a weird sensation. It wasn´t until after I had hung up the phone and was pondering this sensation that I began to understand what it was. I am near the end of my exchange, I only have three weeks and a few days left, and I realized that I´m no longer a stranger here, I feel totally at home and that going "home" home is going to feel quite strange! Read more.
AFS offers year and semester programs to Brazil.
Yes, it's officially over. Thats seriously hard for me to wrap my head around. Wow...Going on an exchange is an experience that cant ever be duplicated. Nothing can compare to how you feel the first month or the last. It might feel like a dream for the most part, but it will forever remain one of the most impotant years of my life. Read more.
AFS offers year, semester, and summer programs to Hungary.
One thing people drink a lot of here is something called yerba mate or terere. Its kinda like a tea but different haha. I really like the taste tho and you drink it with a metal straw, sometimes our of a cow horn. Read more.
AFS offers year, semester, and summer programs to Paraguay.
Language:
I am pleased with my language skills and my progression throughout the year. I am definitely not fluent yet but I understand pretty much everything said to me. I am now (finally) starting to grasp the terrible unmerciful German grammer. Im kind of disapointed that I didnt get it earlier... but it almost happened all at one. I had, in the words of Samuel L Jackson, a moment of clarity. Eine Moment der Erleuchtung. I literaly woke up one day and thought...oh! Now I get it! I still do make mistakes, but im a little more confident when I speak.Read more.
AFS offers year and semester programs to Germany.
1. I'm more of a child than some people ever have been.
2. I'm more of an adult than some people ever will be.
3. A new life can be built in less than a year.
4. Rowing is my constant and the people I row with will always be family to me.
5. Riding is still important and makes me just plain happy.
6. I can ski.
7. Skiing is fun.
8. To be a "normal" and "abnormal" teenager.
9. Life isn't always about the big turning points. A lot of time it's the little things that make the difference.
10. I'm lucky.
11. The thing I find most in my good friends is support.
12. I may be one of the least cooridinated people on this earth, but I can finally scull!
Read more.
AFS offers year and semester programs to Germany.
Hey Everyone! My first week was great! My school, Scuola Italiana, is not taught in Italian. Everything except for Italian class is taught in Spanish and I don´t go to Italian class so I´m working on my Spanish a lot. The school is really cool because it´s an outdoor campus. It´s really small too but all of the schools here are small and private. My grade has two classes, A and B. I´m in the B class and we have 13 kids and then I make 14. Read more.
AFS offers year, semester, and summer programs to Chile.
Well, I did it! After all the months of planning, waiting, and filling out endless paper work, I am finally in Italy! It's still sinking in that I'm in one of the most beautiful countries in the world! AFS representatives were right by the baggage claim in Laguardia Airport when I landed just like they said they'd be! After I got my bags, I began making some friends! Read more.
AFS offers year, semester, and summer programs to Italy.
I arrived in France a few days ago, along with 22 other AFS students and our student advisor, Amy Tuohy. It's a lot different than I thought it would be, at least it is in the place we're staying - the Centre Mediterraneen d'Etudes Francaises. So far, I've been to Monaco, Menton, Cap d'Ail, and Nice. I've only bought food so far, though! Yesterday, in Menton, I bought shaved ice with coca cola in it...it was amazing! It's really hot here, so it was nice. Read more.
AFS offers year, semester, and summer programs to France.
