So as I'm writing this, it is currently my SECOND day in France, but yesterday was rather busy.
In a nutshell, I didn't even leave the airport until 3:00, had a four hour drive to Angers (with two stop before we got there), arrived at my house, ate dinner, and went to bed. Not to mention that I can only use my laptop downstairs and I didn't want to retrieve it at the time.
To elaborate, I'll start with my flight. I had two and a half hours from Portland to Minnesota, where I arrived at 6:00 and had less than an hour to get to my gate before we boarded. Normally that would have been fine ,because we were so excited to get to France, but the Minneapolis airport is really nice. More like a shopping mall, really. So we relaxed, charged our phone, and boarded a MASSIVE plane. Then, we had about 8-9 hour to Paris. The plane was the biggest I've ever seen, but the legroom I had in my seat was probably some of the smallest I've ever had. Sleeping wasn't terribly comfortable but I took a pill after I ate my dinner and knocked out, so I wasn't really too concerned with sleeping.
After that, Grace, Maisyn, Jacob and I all managed to find our way through the airport all the way through passport check and baggage with no problem. We waited for a little and a handful of Rotary kids came piling through, so we joined them and exited the airport together. There, we found Rotarians and host families waiting for the students, which was a sign of relief. My host family wasn't there, but we found who we needed to.
Then, we waited. For a very long time.
After a couple hours of waiting for the rest of the exchange students to arrive, we got on a bus and were told that we would have a four hour drive, and we would be making three stops: first in Sablé, then in Angers, and last in Nantes. I said goodbye to Maisyn on the first stop and about 20 minutes later it was time for me to say goodbye to Grace and my two other Brazilian friends that I made.
After that, Grace, Maisyn, Jacob and I all managed to find our way through the airport all the way through passport check and baggage with no problem. We waited for a little and a handful of Rotary kids came piling through, so we joined them and exited the airport together. There, we found Rotarians and host families waiting for the students, which was a sign of relief. My host family wasn't there, but we found who we needed to.
Then, we waited. For a very long time.
After a couple hours of waiting for the rest of the exchange students to arrive, we got on a bus and were told that we would have a four hour drive, and we would be making three stops: first in Sablé, then in Angers, and last in Nantes. I said goodbye to Maisyn on the first stop and about 20 minutes later it was time for me to say goodbye to Grace and my two other Brazilian friends that I made.
I FINALLY met my host family! My sister Lou-An, brother I-Yan, and father Luc were there to help me with my bags. We had a quick drive home to their house, which is very different compared to mine at home.
The houses on this street are set up like apartments, but when you go inside of them, the bedrooms and living rooms are set up almost like a maze. They also have a really nice backyard with tropical-like plants and a pool. For pets, they have four ducks, three chickens, and a very friendly cat.
Upon my arrival to the house, I gave them the gifts I had brought from Portland; some homemade jam from my mum, a gift box of my favourite local soaps, a postcard with Multnomah Falls on it, and an Oregon sticker. Then I showed them my photo book that I put together of my home and life.
For dinner, we had some grilled sausages (which were delicious), steamed potatoes (which apparently were a treat), salad with my favourite vinaigrette, and, of course, baguette. The bread here is very different from even the most "authentic" French bread at home. The texture is just a little better and there's a very slightly different taste that I cannot describe. The cheese was brought out last. I can't remember what kind there was, except for the Laughing Cow cheese which I recognised. If the cheese you eat is not strong, they eat it with butter. There was one mild one and one very strong one (I liked this one the best). Then I had a delicious and exceptionally sweet pear for dessert. We then sat and talked for a very long time. I explained things like organic food and why I eat my pears like I eat my apples. It was very fun to sit and talk French with my family. My mother and brother don't know very much English at all, which is good in my opinion! My host dad reminds me of my real dad. He is very fun to talk to. And if I can't explain or understand things in French, we do it in English very briefly, then right back to French. My mum corrects me on my grammar in a very helpful way. She explained a couple of my mistakes and I told her than I understood.
Upon my arrival to the house, I gave them the gifts I had brought from Portland; some homemade jam from my mum, a gift box of my favourite local soaps, a postcard with Multnomah Falls on it, and an Oregon sticker. Then I showed them my photo book that I put together of my home and life.
For dinner, we had some grilled sausages (which were delicious), steamed potatoes (which apparently were a treat), salad with my favourite vinaigrette, and, of course, baguette. The bread here is very different from even the most "authentic" French bread at home. The texture is just a little better and there's a very slightly different taste that I cannot describe. The cheese was brought out last. I can't remember what kind there was, except for the Laughing Cow cheese which I recognised. If the cheese you eat is not strong, they eat it with butter. There was one mild one and one very strong one (I liked this one the best). Then I had a delicious and exceptionally sweet pear for dessert. We then sat and talked for a very long time. I explained things like organic food and why I eat my pears like I eat my apples. It was very fun to sit and talk French with my family. My mother and brother don't know very much English at all, which is good in my opinion! My host dad reminds me of my real dad. He is very fun to talk to. And if I can't explain or understand things in French, we do it in English very briefly, then right back to French. My mum corrects me on my grammar in a very helpful way. She explained a couple of my mistakes and I told her than I understood.
I checked my e-mail and sent a few text messages and then went to bed. I managed to adjust to the time zone really well because I was very tiered at around 8:00.
It is now 12:18 and I am sipping coffee and lounging in the living room. We're going to the countryside at around 3:00 today, so I will write about that later.
That's all for now.
It is now 12:18 and I am sipping coffee and lounging in the living room. We're going to the countryside at around 3:00 today, so I will write about that later.
That's all for now.
À bientôt!
~Effy
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