4 Months!! quoiiii????
Christmas day was my four months here! Next week it'll be five months!! I don't know what's happening! Things aren't supposed to move this quickly. I spent my first Christmas away from my family, switched host families, said goodbye to my oldie exchange student, and spent lots of time with my host families. Time is going by so quickly, It feels like I made a post on here a week ago and it's already been over a month. I hate how fast everything is moving. I don't even want to think about going home but It's already 2016 and I have to pick a date to go back to Alaska within the next couple weeks.
I've had a lot of moments lately where I ask myself why I'm doing this to myself. Putting myself through an emotional roller coaster for a year just to go back to my Alaska life in the end. I like who I am so much here, I get to read and write and work in my French book at school and I get to visit new cities on the weekends. I have met so many like-minded people and will have to say goodbye to them all not knowing when I'll see them again. I've been able to eat foods I didn't know existed and I can't wait to share the French culture with my family when I go back. I've spent a lot of time alone and have learned to appreciate the solitude instead of wonder what the other exchange students are doing. I guess I did this to myself because I knew it would be a year of massive discovery and emotional growth and that's what I've wanted for years. I feel like this is the best thing I could've ever done to myself.. It's worth all the overwhelming moments and back and forth feelings of homesickness or discomfort. It's led to so, so much good and I'm so excited for the future exchange students and all they will experience!
Valence (again and again because I love Lexi<3)
I've gotten to hang out with other exchange students a couple times in the past month and it's always such a treat. I've explained this already I think but there's no better feeling than being understood when you are struggling with something and lots of other exchange students make me feel that way! I got to see the Christmas Market in Valence where my friend Lexi lives and later that night some exchange students and their host families cam to Lexi's house and the exchange students cooked food from their home countries. The Americans made cookies and pumpkin pie (I'd never realized how strange pumpkin pie was until I had to explain it to other people. Who puts pumpkin in a pie). After that I went back to school for a couple weeks until Christmas break.
School
School is great. As in school is not bad. I've done three presentations for my classes so far so technically it's super easy but speaking in front of people in a foreign language is scary! One was about me going to Barcelona two years ago (It was like 17 seconds long and they were so proud) (They are so nice to me) another was about swimming, and the last one I did was with the other exchange student from Peru! I love when people notice my progress and help me with French and somehow people aren't tired of me always asking questions yet! Also I have a bit of a problem with not paying attention at all in class because they're usually hard to follow and reading is more interesting but lately I've been trying to pay more attention cause I know it'll help me make more progress. I am really making an effort to appreciate the even dull moments in class and it has really been helping.
Christmas Break / Vacances de Noël
I expected myself to be so sad for Christmas. I was dreading it since before I even left on exchange, it was ridiculous! I went into this break having really low expectations and I think that's partially why it was one of my favorite parts of exchange so far. My family was together in Hawaii and I was all the way here. School friends would ask if I was going home for Christmas and would be shocked when I said no. Thinking of how this is the only Christmas i'll ever celebrate like this was what helped the most. My first host family is seriously fantastic so that was obviously a huge contributor too. Christmas eve I went to mass with my host mom and sister and her, cousins, aunt, uncle, other uncle, and my host grandma. Being surrounded by family even if it's not necessarily by blood was really nice. After I went to my host dad's house and got to meet his mom and brother. Pascal and Martine wrote super sweet notes in a book of Ardèche (the department in France I'm in) for me and it was one of the sweetest gifts I've ever received! I tried a bûche de Noël for the first time (and had 5 others throughout the week.. Christmas is the best) and thought it was such a funny tradition, eating a log shaped cake for Christmas. It's awesome though. I'm gonna find one next Christmas. I even ate crème brûlée without knowing it had fois gras in it and it was so good. People eat a lot of duck here. Christmas day I went back to my host mom's and we opened presents! I will always remember my Christmas here and I think I will be homesick for a French Christmas next year..
After that Lexi and Anais came to visit me for two days. I showed them Aubenas and we baked a tarte aux praline and macarons. My host mom and sister were so proud of us for not screwing up the macarons!!
Switching Families
Personally I think change sucks so I was kinda dreading switching families. When my host mom dropped me off at my new family I didn't want her to leave! The first couple days I felt all foreign again but now that feeling is gone and I looove living here. I have four little sisters who are not at all overwhelming and are just really sweet and fun. I was worried about the most trivial things, like if they'd eat the same yogurt as my first family or if the wifi would reach my room. I'd gotten used to the mannerisms of my first family and was afraid of adapting to new ones. The point of exchange is to share your culture and open your mind though so that's what I'm doing! My second family is so incredibly welcoming I already know I lucked out again. I've never had little sisters so I'm so lucky I get to experience it. They are so funny too, there's always something happening here. I speak just in French with everyone which requires a lot of patience from them and I'm deeply grateful for that. I love my first family and I already love my second family and saying bye is gonna suck a whole bunch.
New Year
For new year's eve I went to my friend Clémentine's house and got to celebrate 2015 and exchange secret santa gifts with some of my new favorite people :)
After that my first host mom and her boyfriend took me and two other exchange students to Annecy (three hours away!! They are the best!) for the going away party of our oldie exchange student, Sami. She's from Australia so she's been here since January 2015 and she's been the one to pretty much guide us with any problems. Saying bye is the worst and I don't recommend it at all. Annecy is a gorgeous city though and can't wait to go back and show my mom someday soon!
Language
It's going really well now! I can understand almost everything without straining my brain (that doesn't include mornings) and I am beginning to speak really comfortably and can remember more. It will take the next 6 months to continue to speak confidently though and I've accepted that wherever I am at at the end of my exchange I need to be proud of because I've been trying really hard and languages are complex!!
For now I'm going to school and hanging out with friends and trying to slow down time pretty much. One year ago today is actually the day I found out the Rotary in Alaska chose France as the country I would spend my exchange in. I remember feeling the most nervous I've ever felt at the dinner where they told us our countries. I don't think I'll ever feel like that again! The happiness I felt was legit ethereal.. I cried for a solid half hour and after that I still couldn't believe it. That whole night I pictured the French countryside and typical French things like lots of bread and cheese and wine with stone house backdrops. This really is a dream come true. Ever since I came to France with my mom and sister a couple years ago and witnessed it's culture I've been fascinated by it and I still can't believe I'm really living here, with a view of rolling hills and little houses outside my window. Now that I've spent time in this little corner of Ardèche I have really fallen in love with it. This feels unfair, I really don't know how I deserve this experience and I'm trying to get everything I can out of it. I feel like I was at the Rotary dinner finding out my country like three weeks ago but somehow I'm here almost five months into my exchange. stop!!!
I'm really loving living with a new family even though I still miss my first host family but change is important! Every family is so different and it's so important to take the opportunity to experience life with new people! Soon enough it'll be February break and I'll be skiing then on my first bus trip so I'm trying to appreciate my days between the big things cause time is going by super speedy and I don't know how! Also sorry about how long these posts are. Primarily they're for my family in Alaska who (I think) would like to keep up with my exchange and for me to look back on so if they're too long you don't have to read them or you can just scan them cause I know they're sorta just ramblings and stuff. Don't tell me though cause that'll hurt my feelings. Bye guys love you and I hope 2016 is a year of growth and love for you all!
<3 <3
Grace
Christmas day was my four months here! Next week it'll be five months!! I don't know what's happening! Things aren't supposed to move this quickly. I spent my first Christmas away from my family, switched host families, said goodbye to my oldie exchange student, and spent lots of time with my host families. Time is going by so quickly, It feels like I made a post on here a week ago and it's already been over a month. I hate how fast everything is moving. I don't even want to think about going home but It's already 2016 and I have to pick a date to go back to Alaska within the next couple weeks.
I've had a lot of moments lately where I ask myself why I'm doing this to myself. Putting myself through an emotional roller coaster for a year just to go back to my Alaska life in the end. I like who I am so much here, I get to read and write and work in my French book at school and I get to visit new cities on the weekends. I have met so many like-minded people and will have to say goodbye to them all not knowing when I'll see them again. I've been able to eat foods I didn't know existed and I can't wait to share the French culture with my family when I go back. I've spent a lot of time alone and have learned to appreciate the solitude instead of wonder what the other exchange students are doing. I guess I did this to myself because I knew it would be a year of massive discovery and emotional growth and that's what I've wanted for years. I feel like this is the best thing I could've ever done to myself.. It's worth all the overwhelming moments and back and forth feelings of homesickness or discomfort. It's led to so, so much good and I'm so excited for the future exchange students and all they will experience!
Valence (again and again because I love Lexi<3)
I've gotten to hang out with other exchange students a couple times in the past month and it's always such a treat. I've explained this already I think but there's no better feeling than being understood when you are struggling with something and lots of other exchange students make me feel that way! I got to see the Christmas Market in Valence where my friend Lexi lives and later that night some exchange students and their host families cam to Lexi's house and the exchange students cooked food from their home countries. The Americans made cookies and pumpkin pie (I'd never realized how strange pumpkin pie was until I had to explain it to other people. Who puts pumpkin in a pie). After that I went back to school for a couple weeks until Christmas break.
School
School is great. As in school is not bad. I've done three presentations for my classes so far so technically it's super easy but speaking in front of people in a foreign language is scary! One was about me going to Barcelona two years ago (It was like 17 seconds long and they were so proud) (They are so nice to me) another was about swimming, and the last one I did was with the other exchange student from Peru! I love when people notice my progress and help me with French and somehow people aren't tired of me always asking questions yet! Also I have a bit of a problem with not paying attention at all in class because they're usually hard to follow and reading is more interesting but lately I've been trying to pay more attention cause I know it'll help me make more progress. I am really making an effort to appreciate the even dull moments in class and it has really been helping.
Christmas Break / Vacances de Noël
I expected myself to be so sad for Christmas. I was dreading it since before I even left on exchange, it was ridiculous! I went into this break having really low expectations and I think that's partially why it was one of my favorite parts of exchange so far. My family was together in Hawaii and I was all the way here. School friends would ask if I was going home for Christmas and would be shocked when I said no. Thinking of how this is the only Christmas i'll ever celebrate like this was what helped the most. My first host family is seriously fantastic so that was obviously a huge contributor too. Christmas eve I went to mass with my host mom and sister and her, cousins, aunt, uncle, other uncle, and my host grandma. Being surrounded by family even if it's not necessarily by blood was really nice. After I went to my host dad's house and got to meet his mom and brother. Pascal and Martine wrote super sweet notes in a book of Ardèche (the department in France I'm in) for me and it was one of the sweetest gifts I've ever received! I tried a bûche de Noël for the first time (and had 5 others throughout the week.. Christmas is the best) and thought it was such a funny tradition, eating a log shaped cake for Christmas. It's awesome though. I'm gonna find one next Christmas. I even ate crème brûlée without knowing it had fois gras in it and it was so good. People eat a lot of duck here. Christmas day I went back to my host mom's and we opened presents! I will always remember my Christmas here and I think I will be homesick for a French Christmas next year..
After that Lexi and Anais came to visit me for two days. I showed them Aubenas and we baked a tarte aux praline and macarons. My host mom and sister were so proud of us for not screwing up the macarons!!
Switching Families
Personally I think change sucks so I was kinda dreading switching families. When my host mom dropped me off at my new family I didn't want her to leave! The first couple days I felt all foreign again but now that feeling is gone and I looove living here. I have four little sisters who are not at all overwhelming and are just really sweet and fun. I was worried about the most trivial things, like if they'd eat the same yogurt as my first family or if the wifi would reach my room. I'd gotten used to the mannerisms of my first family and was afraid of adapting to new ones. The point of exchange is to share your culture and open your mind though so that's what I'm doing! My second family is so incredibly welcoming I already know I lucked out again. I've never had little sisters so I'm so lucky I get to experience it. They are so funny too, there's always something happening here. I speak just in French with everyone which requires a lot of patience from them and I'm deeply grateful for that. I love my first family and I already love my second family and saying bye is gonna suck a whole bunch.
New Year
For new year's eve I went to my friend Clémentine's house and got to celebrate 2015 and exchange secret santa gifts with some of my new favorite people :)
After that my first host mom and her boyfriend took me and two other exchange students to Annecy (three hours away!! They are the best!) for the going away party of our oldie exchange student, Sami. She's from Australia so she's been here since January 2015 and she's been the one to pretty much guide us with any problems. Saying bye is the worst and I don't recommend it at all. Annecy is a gorgeous city though and can't wait to go back and show my mom someday soon!
Language
It's going really well now! I can understand almost everything without straining my brain (that doesn't include mornings) and I am beginning to speak really comfortably and can remember more. It will take the next 6 months to continue to speak confidently though and I've accepted that wherever I am at at the end of my exchange I need to be proud of because I've been trying really hard and languages are complex!!
For now I'm going to school and hanging out with friends and trying to slow down time pretty much. One year ago today is actually the day I found out the Rotary in Alaska chose France as the country I would spend my exchange in. I remember feeling the most nervous I've ever felt at the dinner where they told us our countries. I don't think I'll ever feel like that again! The happiness I felt was legit ethereal.. I cried for a solid half hour and after that I still couldn't believe it. That whole night I pictured the French countryside and typical French things like lots of bread and cheese and wine with stone house backdrops. This really is a dream come true. Ever since I came to France with my mom and sister a couple years ago and witnessed it's culture I've been fascinated by it and I still can't believe I'm really living here, with a view of rolling hills and little houses outside my window. Now that I've spent time in this little corner of Ardèche I have really fallen in love with it. This feels unfair, I really don't know how I deserve this experience and I'm trying to get everything I can out of it. I feel like I was at the Rotary dinner finding out my country like three weeks ago but somehow I'm here almost five months into my exchange. stop!!!
I'm really loving living with a new family even though I still miss my first host family but change is important! Every family is so different and it's so important to take the opportunity to experience life with new people! Soon enough it'll be February break and I'll be skiing then on my first bus trip so I'm trying to appreciate my days between the big things cause time is going by super speedy and I don't know how! Also sorry about how long these posts are. Primarily they're for my family in Alaska who (I think) would like to keep up with my exchange and for me to look back on so if they're too long you don't have to read them or you can just scan them cause I know they're sorta just ramblings and stuff. Don't tell me though cause that'll hurt my feelings. Bye guys love you and I hope 2016 is a year of growth and love for you all!
<3 <3
Grace