03 December 2008
Mon dieu comment le temps passe vite!
Mon dieu! C'est trop vrai que le temps passe vite! C'est déjà décembre! Je suis désolé que je n'ai pas mis mon blog à jour ! Je vous promis que je suis très occupé et que je vais essayer de mettre à jour mon blog plus souvent!
Holy cow! It's so true that times flies! It's already December! I'm sorry that I haven't updated my blog! I promise you that I'm really busy and that I'll try to update more often!
Wow so where to begin...
First of all I'm going to say sorry in advance for my English. I hope you understand it :P
I kept SUPER busy in November! I can't really get into details here because I would have to write a tome! However, I'll fill you in on the more general facts. First, I went to Tours for the day with Julia at the beginning of November. We took the train and just toured the city, visited two museums (Musée des Beaux Arts et Musée du Compagnonnage), visited the shopping district briefly (expensive!), and just spend a good day enjoying the French scenery. One night at the beginning of the month we made Caipirinha at Gabriela's house (she's from Brazil), as well as other Brazilian cuisine. It was really cool! We watched movies and just joked around. I've also been spending a lot of time with my good friend Jona (Jonathan) who's from Austria. He's been sleeping over at my house quite a bit, almost every weekend! But it's great because we hang out downtown and discover new parts of Châtellerault! Oh! And Julia and I went to a Halloween/Birthday party for one of my friends from school. It was really fun, and we had a great time! Everyone was dressed up in costumes! I wore my graduation cap and gown :). Two weekends ago I went to central France with my host family for a family reunion. There were so many people and the food was so good! And then last weekend I went to Nantes with my host family to look at a French engineering university, as well as visit le chateau de Nantes (a castle) and the shopping district (expensive!). But we did manage to buy some really good caramel! This Friday night I'm taking the train to Paris with Lucie, Marie, and Pauline to stay overnight at some friends' house. Then Saturday morning I will take two SAT Subject Tests (Spanish & French), afterwhich we will do a little touring of Paris before returning to Châtellerault Saturday night. And then next Saturday I have a Christmas party for AFS, for which we (the exchange students) have to prepare a food item and a show. I'm going to be making Eggnog, a chain of Christmas links for the Christmas tree which will be there (everyone there will make a link), and then I will be singing O Christmas Tree in English, German, and French with Julia. It's bound to be exciting!
OH! And how could I forget!? OBAMA was elected as president! That's great! I stayed up all night at a friends house to watch the elections! I even had an interview with a local news reporter and I was in the paper! Also, I should also mention that I celebrated Thanksgiving with my host family the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I made the pumpkin pie from scratch ;) . And, because we couldn't find a turkey, we had chicken instead :( But other than that it was great!
Finally I'll finish up by saying that I've really been starting to participate in school, and that I'm understanding more and more of the material presented. Hopefully after Christmas I'll have a language breakthrough! And tomorrow I will be signing up to take le bac, or the national graduation exam at the end of the year. I will be taking both the Junior and Senior levels, so it's going to be intense. However, I'm lucky that I won't have to study for English (I hope!).
So, I know I haven't written much but it's getting late and I should be going. I've got a lot of work to do! Gotta keep busy ;)
AU REVOIR!
28 October 2008
21 October 2008
c'est la vie
Mon Dieu! Je ne peux pas croire que je suis là en France depuis deux mois! Aujourd'hui marque deux mois! C'est vraiment bizarre pour moi, et j'ai fait BEAUCOUP les deux mois passés! Je voudrais écrire en français même si je sais que je suis obligé d'écrire en anglais! Alors, le texte suivante est ce que moi j'ai fait pendant la fin de septembre et à ce jour en octobre:
My God! I can't believe that I've been here in France for two months! Today is the two month mark! It's really weird for me, and I have done a lot in the past two months! I actually want to write in French, even if I know that I need to write in English for all of you to understand! And now, the following is what I've been up to since the end of September and so far in October:
I'll start off from the beginning. In the end of September I spent a day with my AFS chapter in Poitiers, the capital of Poitu-Charantes, the region of France I live in. There was a festival in the city park with stands representing all of the regional, national, and interational groups, clubs, activities, and organizations which are active in Poitu-Charantes. Basically I just hung out with the other exchange students in my region, and we walked around and enjoyed the nice sunny day.
However, seeing as it's October, I've been spending a lot of time in school. So, I'll include some pictures I took a while back:
I've even been shopping with Lucie, my host mom, and I found some things I think you all would enjoy:
At the very end of September I was invited to a fête (party) by Gabrielle, one of my friends from school. We pretty much just ate some really good pasta, talked a lot, went swimming in her outdoor pool, and watched a movie. Frankly, it was pretty chilly out so I, and most of the others, didn't swim. So basically that meant I was hanging around with a bunch of people smoking and swimming. Great! No but really they were all great and the pasta was AWESOME! We watched the movie really late, so I was really tired, but I got the gist of the plot (it involved two sets of cheating couples having affairs with the others' spouses). Vive France!
Three weeks ago I went with some of my friends from school to a kabob restaurant across the street from our lycée (high school). I had a lot of fun, and although it was a little expensive for food I can get for $1 in the States, it was really tasty!
My host family has been doing great, and Jean-François is recovering from his badminton accident (vive sport!). All of the kids, except Benoît, attend school so during the day Lucie takes care of the house, entertains Benoît, and Jean-François works from his office at home (until his leg is better). I am enjoying Lucie's food a lot!!!
Last Saturday was quite an interesting day! I actually went to Paris for the day with Barbara (Hungary) and Gabriela (Brasil), and Gabriela's host dad and brother. We went to Le salon des voitures, which is the biggest car exhibition in the world, showcasing the new cars to be released next year throughout the world. It is IMMENSE, encompassing SIX huge exhibition buildings. It was so packed by noon that I couldn't lift my arms because it was so crowded. Oh -- and even American marks were there!
Oh, and to go back to doing things with my host family, I went to another city park last Sunday and my GOSH it's gorgeous! There's a lake and a TON of trails to walk. I took a 3 km (3 kilometers = 1.86 miles) walk with Lucie and Marie, while Guillaume and Pierre-Louis went fishing in the lake. It was a beautiful day for this and I really enjoyed myself. The park is really well preserved and clean! In fact, while walking through the thicker parts of the forest I felt like I was transported back to medieval France. What an exhilarating feeling!
Last week Thursday I went to Nantes with my class for a book convention. We left at 9 AM by bus and got to Nantes by noon. After a two hour lunch (like normal in France), during which I ate and toured a little bit of the downtown with some friends, we went to the discussion, which lasted about 4 hours. After which we ate a snack, loaded the bus, and headed back to Châtellerault, a voyage once again taking 3 hours. So basically we left at 9 AM and got back by 9 PM. Quite the field trip.
More recently, as in this past weekend, I hung out with my friends a lot :). Saturday morning I had a pique-nique (picnic) with four of my French friends (Marie, François, Thomas, Lucille), and my girlfriend Julia, who is here from Austria with AFS for the year (like me!). I treated everybody to good ole' PB&J :)
Then, my friend Jonathan, an Austrian boy who is here with another exchange program, arrived in town by bus. Everybody split up, and Julia, Jona(than) and I ended up going to the city pool. After a while Jona's host family met us there, and Julia left and I went with Jona and his host family to stay over night at their house. They are really nice and their food was to DIE for! Their house is huge, and their yard is even more massive! They even have a small cottage hidden about an acre back!
Sunday I went with Jona to a chocolate festival! OMG I LOVE CHOCOLATE!!! I've never seen anything like it! It was at the same place the Quebec festival was, but this time it was full of chocolate of every type, and from around the world!
And we also went to a small festival in the small village where Jona lives, and hung out for a little while. We rode bumper cars, bought some good movies for only six euros, and walked around. Overall it was an amazing weekend and Jona and I had a lot of fun!
And today was just a normal day for me in France:
I'm sorry that I haven't posted anything in a while, but a) I was a little lazy and b) I've been really occupied (as you can see)! As it's the end of a fairly lengthy post, I'll just answer a few questions and comments I got at the end of my last post:
The classes I'm taking here in France are both more difficult and more easy than in the United States. My foreign language classes are MUCH more difficult, and I LOVE it! My Spanish teacher is sooooo cool! However, I personally find that my English classes are harder in the States than the French classes they take here. Then again, I'm starting Philosophy in two weeks so I really can't judge. Also, I'm not exactly expected to do all of the work so...my opinion is a little biased right now :). Ask me again at the end of the year when I take the national graduation exam :)
I MISS YOU FAMILY! Yes, that includes you Becky and Christine :P (and you too Grandma!)
HI ROCKY KNOLL STAFF! I know you guys are keeping up on my blog. Please stop hassling my Mom :P. I am a few thousands of miles away, she can't really FORCE me to update my blog :P But do know that I'm thinking about you guys over here!
Christine & Becky: I'll make sure to put some pictures of me and Julia in my next post. I promise it will be this week, I have something important to write. Also, I'll take some pictures of my school this week and post them soon.
I'll write again soon! Je vais vous écrire bientôt!
23 September 2008
la vie en france
Bonjour encore! Je suis content dire que tout va bien!
Hello again! I am happy to say that everything is going well!
Life in France is proving to be very interesting! Within the past two weeks, I've travelled to see castles, gone to a mushroom museum, visited vineyards, and much more! Everything is so old here, it's completely amazing to see! The castles are absolutely huge! Many are built on hills overlooking valleys and river deltas, to provide that certain French grandeur. Let me tell you that walking across a real medieval drawbridge, over a moat, is an incredible feeling.
My host family has been amazing! Every weekend I have something to do, or they take me to visit the region! It great because not only are they educating me in French culture, but their children as well. When Marie comes home from school on the weekends she's very happy to be with us, and participate in all of the activities. Guillaume always has something to say, and he's taught me a lot of vocabulary (especially when it comes to Badminton, which he loves to play). Pierre-Louis is the quieter one, but he's very sympathetic (yay French!). It's fun talking with him because he's very patient with my French. Pauline is a typical little girl, who loves singing, dancing, and frolicking about. Benoît, the baby of the family (literally), is funny funny in every way. From his babble-French to the fact that he's in the question stage, he's adorable. Lucie, my host mom, is very helpful, and is trying her best to help me integrate into a normal French life. This includes signing me up for a Badminton club with Jean-François, as well as finding me a bicycle! Jean-François works a lot during the week, but is very helpful when he's home and on the weekends. Yesterday we had our first night of Badminton at a local middle school. It was really fun, but after I finished my last match I found him sitting on the side of the gym, with a medic and his ankle bound. Right then I knew something was wrong; which was confirmed when I walked over. After going to the emergency clinic that night, it turned out that he tore a ligament, and he had surgery today. He's going to stay at the hospital for two more days, and then he will work from home for awhile until his injury has healed a little.
School is going really well! I'm learning a lot of French, which is awesome because that's why I'm here! Everyone has been incredibly nice, students and teachers. Here is my school schedule:
Monday:
8-10 AM: History & Geography
10 AM-12 PM: Phy. Ed
12-2 PM: Lunch (2 hours)
2-4 PM: Philosophy
5-6 PM: Supplementary History & Geography in English
Tuesday:
8-9 AM: History & Geography
9-10 AM: Week A: Civic Education; Week B: Math
10 AM-12 PM: Philosophy
12-2 PM: Lunch (2 hours)
2-4 PM: Literature
Wednesday (half-day):
8-9 AM: History & Geography
9-10 AM: English
10 AM-12 PM: Philosophy
Thursday:
8-9 AM: Spanish
9-10 AM: English
10 AM-12 PM: Math
12-2 PM: Lunch (2 hours)
2-4 PM: Philosophy
Friday:
9-11 AM: Literature
11 AM-12 PM: English
12 PM-2 PM: Lunch (2 hours)
2-3 PM: Spanish
Note: I won't be attending History & Geography until October, Philosophy until November, and Literature until December. My school has arranged a gradual integration for me and the other exchange students.
8-10 AM: History & Geography
10 AM-12 PM: Phy. Ed
12-2 PM: Lunch (2 hours)
2-4 PM: Philosophy
5-6 PM: Supplementary History & Geography in English
Tuesday:
8-9 AM: History & Geography
9-10 AM: Week A: Civic Education; Week B: Math
10 AM-12 PM: Philosophy
12-2 PM: Lunch (2 hours)
2-4 PM: Literature
Wednesday (half-day):
8-9 AM: History & Geography
9-10 AM: English
10 AM-12 PM: Philosophy
Thursday:
8-9 AM: Spanish
9-10 AM: English
10 AM-12 PM: Math
12-2 PM: Lunch (2 hours)
2-4 PM: Philosophy
Friday:
9-11 AM: Literature
11 AM-12 PM: English
12 PM-2 PM: Lunch (2 hours)
2-3 PM: Spanish
Note: I won't be attending History & Geography until October, Philosophy until November, and Literature until December. My school has arranged a gradual integration for me and the other exchange students.
Well! It's getting late here so I should be on my way. I have school tomorrow!
If anyone has any specific (or general) questions for me, please feel free to leave a comment!
À bientôt!
11 September 2008
a view of châtellerault from la vienne
Voilà! Voici un photo de moi et trois de les autres étudiantes etrangés avec AFS!
Voila! Here's a picture of me and three other exchange students with AFS!
From left to right: Gabriella (Brazil), Trude (Norway), Barbara (Hungary), Dakin (USA!).
03 September 2008
la première vue de la france
Bonjour tout le monde! Je suis arrivé, et, habituellement, content!
Hello everyone! I have arrived, and, usually, am happy!
Wow! I can't believe I've been in France for two weeks already! The orientations in New York and Paris were very interesting, and I met a lot of really amazing people! The orientation in New York was one overnight orientation. We had small group discussions about AFS, including the rules, as well as other culture information. I had a really cool roommate from California named Scott, who's also studying in France. However, he somehow landed a family in Marseille, which is a huge city in the south of France, on the Mediterranean. Also, shout outs to Eileen and Sophia.
The flight over seemed very quick, even though I didn't get a blink of sleep. Orientation in Paris was...interesting. Basically, it was three days of eating bad FRENCH cafeteria food and small group discussions about France, what to expect, and how AFS functions here. On the third day I had to get up at 5:30 AM, to drive to a certain train station to catch a train to Poitiers, the capital of my region (Poitu-Charantes). By noon we (I and the...8 other exchange students in my region) had arrived and met our host families. We all ate lunch together and it was very nice (and delicious, real French food!).
So much has happened in the past two weeks that it would take forever to fill you in for everything. However, I will tell you that my host family is great! I do have problems every once in a while, but that's normal! I talk with my host parents, Jean-François and Lucie, and we work everything out as it comes along! No worries!
School started two days ago. The first day was only 1,5 hours of orientation. I didn't understand a word, so it was lucky that I had already previously met a very nice boy named François who is in most of my classes. The second day, today, was even more difficult. I'm not sure how the next three weeks (trial period of my current school track in Terminal S) will go. But, my host parents assure me that as long as I try, everything is okay! Today, as well as all Wednesdays, are only half days. However, on Mondays and Fridays I have school until 6:00 PM (and 5 PM on Tuesdays). So...it's not all it's cracked up to be, haha!
Well, I hope that everything is going well back in the States. I'm doing my best here, and I wish everyone well!
À bientôt! See you soon!
13 August 2008
au revoir et bonjour
Bonjour les États-Unis d'Amérique. Hello America.
I am yet unsure as to what happened to the past month and a half. July? August? Hello, goodbye.
Where to begin. On July 15th, my family and I drove to Chicago for the day in order to retrieve my visa from the French Consulate of Chicago. Oh boy, what a day. I won't go into the details, but we found the consulate, I submitted a rather thick stack of paperwork and my passport, waited an hour, got my passport back with my French visa inside (which looks really neat, if you ask me), and went sightseeing with my family (à la Navy Pier).
I've been working full time at Rocky Knoll since graduation. I have really enjoyed myself there for the past three years; and I was sad to leave. My last day of work was July 31st.
The past week has been a whirlwind of emotion for me. I would love to be able to express myself clearly, but I'm afraid it's impossible. Only a few in this country can understand what I'm going through physically and emotionally: my fellow peers going to France, and the rest of the world.
Throughout the past week I've been saying many "see you later's"; to friends and families alike. I am truly going to be glad to see everyone when I get back. Especially you rascals. If you know what I'm talking about when I say furniture, I'm talking to you. Don't do anything I wouldn't next year.
Alors, et c'est vrai, j'ai besoin de faire les valises. Now, I really need to pack.
Tomorrow I am going on vacation with my family to New York City for one week. I will then have one overnight orientation with AFS, and then finally fly to Paris. After one more overnight orientation in Paris, I will take a train to Poitiers, a city not far from Châtellerault. I will then meet my host family, and a week later, start school!
Seeing as I will be very busy from here on out, this will be my last post to this blog as an outbound. The next time I update, I will be in France!
Bonne chance, et à bientôt. Good luck, and see you later :)
13 June 2008
les photos!
Here are two links to an online photo album. If the first link doesn't work, click the second and just browse the pictures.
http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii261/dsstraub/Car/Famille%20Toublanc/?albumview=slideshow
http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii261/dsstraub/Car/Famille%20Toublanc/?albumview=link
À bientôt!
http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii261/dsstraub/Car/Famille%20Toublanc/?albumview=slideshow
http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii261/dsstraub/Car/Famille%20Toublanc/?albumview=link
À bientôt!
13 juin 2008
Bonjour à tout le monde!
This post is the beginning of a very long, yet preciously finite endeavor, which will ultimately find me exactly where I am today. However, my adventures and experiences in France will, in the end, redefine me as a person.
Voici les faits (here are the facts):
After traveling to New York City, NY, I will have a two-day departure orientation (August 20th - August 21st). On August 21st, at 7:00 PM, I will board a plane at the JFK airport in New York City, and fly to the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France, arriving at 8:50 AM (August 22nd). After two more days of arrival orientation, I will either board a train, or be picked up by my host family in Paris. That's when the real journey begins.
Family Member Information:
Mr. Jean-François Toublanc, Host Father
Mrs. Lucie Toublanc, Host Mother
Ms. Marie Toublanc, Host Sister (age 12)
Mr. Guillaume Toublanc, Host Brother (age 10)
Mr. Pierre-Louis Toublanc, Host Brother (age 8)
Ms. Pauline Toublanc, Host Sister (age 6)
Mr. Benoît Toublanc, Host Brother (age 2)
And yet — I'll get my own room ;)
A little about my house: It's a large, recently built house located in Châtellerault, a small town between Paris and Bordeaux. There is a garden, as well as a trampoline.
I will be attending lycée Berthelot, a local school. The school system in France is exceptionally different from that of the United States, so, if I "convert" it to English, I'll be a Senior in high school. However, in France there are neither Seniors, nor high school. It's confusing and strange — but — c'est la vie.
My host family describes themselves as "calm...relaxed...[and on a] regular schedule". If you know anything about me, you know this is going to be an interesting year. The family is Catholic , and regularly attends church. No one in the family smokes, nor do they have pets (maybe Pepper can come now?). The Toublanc family lived in Rochester, New York for three years, so they do know English. Also, Lucie, my host mom, knows Spanish :D!
This post is the beginning of a very long, yet preciously finite endeavor, which will ultimately find me exactly where I am today. However, my adventures and experiences in France will, in the end, redefine me as a person.
Voici les faits (here are the facts):
After traveling to New York City, NY, I will have a two-day departure orientation (August 20th - August 21st). On August 21st, at 7:00 PM, I will board a plane at the JFK airport in New York City, and fly to the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France, arriving at 8:50 AM (August 22nd). After two more days of arrival orientation, I will either board a train, or be picked up by my host family in Paris. That's when the real journey begins.
Family Member Information:
Mr. Jean-François Toublanc, Host Father
Mrs. Lucie Toublanc, Host Mother
Ms. Marie Toublanc, Host Sister (age 12)
Mr. Guillaume Toublanc, Host Brother (age 10)
Mr. Pierre-Louis Toublanc, Host Brother (age 8)
Ms. Pauline Toublanc, Host Sister (age 6)
Mr. Benoît Toublanc, Host Brother (age 2)
And yet — I'll get my own room ;)
A little about my house: It's a large, recently built house located in Châtellerault, a small town between Paris and Bordeaux. There is a garden, as well as a trampoline.
I will be attending lycée Berthelot, a local school. The school system in France is exceptionally different from that of the United States, so, if I "convert" it to English, I'll be a Senior in high school. However, in France there are neither Seniors, nor high school. It's confusing and strange — but — c'est la vie.
My host family describes themselves as "calm...relaxed...[and on a] regular schedule". If you know anything about me, you know this is going to be an interesting year. The family is Catholic , and regularly attends church. No one in the family smokes, nor do they have pets (maybe Pepper can come now?). The Toublanc family lived in Rochester, New York for three years, so they do know English. Also, Lucie, my host mom, knows Spanish :D!
"We have a quiet life. Lucie is at home for children. She takes care of the house and make sure life is comfortable at home. She likes painting and takes courses for clothes making. Jean-François his busy at work. He works for automotive industry as engineer. He comes home late every night but likes to take his launch every day at home with the children. All children go to school except the last one Benoit. They play sport every week on Wednesday and have catechism in the morning. They go to school by feet because we are living very close to the down town. Marie, the oldest, go to school all the week near Poitiers and she comes back only for the week-end. Marie is 12th and likes girls plays. She has a light handicap and is follow in a special school during the week. Guillaume is playing handball and likes to play with Lego. He also likes to read. He has s a stron character when he disagree with something. Pierre-Louis is a very quiet boy but is very voluntary. He likes also sport, basket and swimming. Pauline is our charming girl. She likes dancing and wants to please everybody. Benoit is the latest and with his 1.5 years start to talk. He always smiles.philosophie
"During the week, Lucie his busy with the children activities, but sometime, Lucie and JF have pleasure to walk in the near area in order to discuss together. During the week-end, we go to the market place , JF is working home or is gardening. We go every week at the swimming pool all together. On Sunday we go to church in the morning and go visiting family, friends in the afternoon. We can also go to ride all together. We like listening music, Lucie is playing guitar and we have a piano. Lucie his very good cooker and we love typical French launch and diners. We read a daily French newspaper. We help at school.
Lucie and JF have monthly meeting outside with other members of a Christian community. We go to north of France few times per year to see Lucie's family.
During holiday's, we love go outside discovering regions of France.
"We spend 3 years in US in Rochester NY for JF's work and we enjoyed it. Children learned English at school. We really discovered how it is important to go outside a country to meet other cultures and people. To have foreign English student will keep the children taking care of foreign people and will help them to maintain their English. It will also give the opportunity for the student to discover our a French family is living, our culture and our history. It is a good shared educational experience on both side."
I took those quotes from the packet I received on my host family. It was written by my host family, so there are a few minor English grammar mistakes. In the packet are also many beautiful pictures of my host family, as well as France. I cannot upload those pictures onto the internet, however, I do have some pictures online I will include.
Now, as far as school is concerned, all I know is that I will have eight hours of
a week, and I will have French, Spanish, and English (it's a national requirement) classes.À bientôt
68 days in counting.
,Annette Kade Charitable Trust, for awarding me an AFS scholarship for the amount of $1500.00. This is an incredible gift, and I appreciate it immensely! I would also like to thank the Plymouth AFS Chapter for awarding me the Franchon Amundson Plymouth AFS Chapter Student Scholarship, which covers the cost of my flight to and from New York City. Gayle, thank you so much for this opportunity. It was you that made it possible.
Dakin S.
P.S. I would like to include two special shout-outs today. Thank you,
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