After a difficult holiday season I am heading into my sixth month and the second half of my exchange.
As stated above, the holiday season was difficult as I'm sure you can imagine. Being away from your family and friends during the time of year when your 'supposed' to be with them is never easy. My advice for future exchange students is to get as involved in your host family's Christmas (or whatever holiday they celebrate) as you can. Ask your family if you all can go do something. My family and I went into le Centre Ville were the whole community was doing fun activities like a horse drawn carriage ride and a balloon release - and included hot chocolate and les galletts des rois (a cake/bread that you cut into pieces, and in each there is a little porcelain figure, and if you find this 'figure' then you receive a paper crown for the day). Try and get so busy that you don't have enough time to think about the things you may be missing at home.
My host brother Hugo with horse and carriage
Christmas trees and pony rides
As stated above, the holiday season was difficult as I'm sure you can imagine. Being away from your family and friends during the time of year when your 'supposed' to be with them is never easy. My advice for future exchange students is to get as involved in your host family's Christmas (or whatever holiday they celebrate) as you can. Ask your family if you all can go do something. My family and I went into le Centre Ville were the whole community was doing fun activities like a horse drawn carriage ride and a balloon release - and included hot chocolate and les galletts des rois (a cake/bread that you cut into pieces, and in each there is a little porcelain figure, and if you find this 'figure' then you receive a paper crown for the day). Try and get so busy that you don't have enough time to think about the things you may be missing at home.
My host brother Hugo with horse and carriage
Christmas trees and pony rides
Being now officially halfway through my exchange makes me reflect back
on what I have done and how I have changed. This reflection isn't
exclusive to the "life changing moments" but includes the small
accomplishments, like how I can slice a baguette without cutting the
table (the French don't use cutting boards). I have tried pigs head,
pigs tongue, chicken intestines, geese hearts, sting ray, squid, rabbit,
horse, and ...veal. (I felt really sad about the veal but my family
knew the farmer that 'raised' it).
My current host dad posing with a boar at the market
My current host dad posing with a boar at the market
Dinner
BUT apart from my bread cutting skills and my adventurous eating habits, I am a much more educated, and independently stable person. My confidence, competence, and other things I never would have imagined to be changed by this exchange have changed, and for the better.
Looking a head I have a lot of things happening in the coming months. I am going skiing in the Pyrenees with my host families and doing a tour of Spain with the other rotary exchange students during the next school break. I will also be heading to Futuroscope (an amusement park) with Justin ( mon meillur ami!) AND .... I'M SEEING MALORY RICHEY IN MARCH! Well that's all for now, I hope everyone is doing well.
Looking a head I have a lot of things happening in the coming months. I am going skiing in the Pyrenees with my host families and doing a tour of Spain with the other rotary exchange students during the next school break. I will also be heading to Futuroscope (an amusement park) with Justin ( mon meillur ami!) AND .... I'M SEEING MALORY RICHEY IN MARCH! Well that's all for now, I hope everyone is doing well.
SO CLOSE! The countdown begins...
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