Greenheart Travel

Author: Christina Amsden

Final School Exams and a Weekend in Paris

by Ella Russell, Greenheart Travel High School Student in France

On Thursday, we had a basketball exam in EPS (PE), which means that it is the last class of basketball. Every several weeks, EPS focuses on a different sport. During my first EPS class everyone was doing the gymnastics exam, but from then until this Thursday, we have been practicing basketball.

This exam was the first time I actually got a grade, and it was 11/20. I wasn’t the worst, but still I definitely could have done better. I am pretty sure that the next course is running, done later in the year for the better weather.

There was another protest on Thursday (over the same increased work issue), and there is talk of another one next Thursday. While the protests peter out at around noon, allowing us to go to our afternoon classes, a fair number of the students (mostly boys) use the protest as an excuse to skip the whole day.

The literature teacher called them out on it, saying that if there was a strike next week, she expected everyone to come to her class in the afternoon, unless they were actually planning on participating in the strike. I wonder if they will listen.

Also on Thursday, I performed a violin piece in music class, and gave short explanation of the history of the piece. In French. I was worried about how my piece would go, as I had not had much time to practice. I was the most nervous about my explanation, and if people would understand me, as I often rush during presentations. As it happened, I did not even attempt to glance at the audience. I focused entirely on my paper, reading as clearly as I could. The fact that it was in French actually made me slow down, as it wasn’t as easy to read.

I think I did pretty well. The teacher gave me good feedback, and later, a classmate told me that my presentation was good, and that he could understand it.

This was my last weekend in France so I made it count!

On Saturday evening, I went to a laser tag game with some friends from school and others who I did not know. It was exactly like how it is in the U.S., you run around trying to catch people with the laser guns. Although my team and I were terrible, it was fun!

On Sunday, I went into Paris with my uncle. For those of you reading this who don’t know, my uncle (and his family) lived in Paris until a few years ago, but they are going to be moving back, so my uncle still comes here occasionally to see how their (rented out) apartment is doing.

First we visited some friends of the family for lunch. We had lamb, and I learned that they practiced Lent, and had not eaten meat for the previous forty days and then we walked to Shakespeare and Company, a famous English bookstore, visiting souvenir shops on the way.

I was worried that a lot of the shops would be closed for Easter, but at least for the shops we visited, this wasn’t the case. I bet it had something to do with all the tourism.

April 2, 2016
The Differences of School Subjects in France Versus the U.S.

by Ella Russell, Greenheart Travel high school student in France

I started school last week at around 2:00 pm, the latest it has ever been. My English teacher was sick, and the only other class was Geography (which started just last Wednesday for the beginning of the third trimester), and then Politics with the same teacher. I only had three hours of school!

I was put in the premier year here in France (basically the equivalent of 11^th grade), which is when you have to decide which group of classes you wish to take. The three main class groups are S (science), ES (Economics and Society), and L (Literature). I was put in the L group, so my classes are based around literature, with the strongest focus on Literature and the weakest focus on Science, and it is the opposite for science, with ES in the middle.

As for languages, English is required, and for literature at least, Spanish seems to be required as well, but you can also choose an additional language.

My subjects are Literature, History/Geography, Politics, English literature, more general English, Science (only for one day with alternating subjects each week), Spanish, and finally EPS (P.E).

Textbooks here are so light, only having around 300 to 400 pages, a large contrast to the ones in America

Some classes in particular were fairly different from the corresponding courses in America.

For the foreign language courses, a lot more focus was on comprehension and speaking than on grammar, and the textbooks are almost never looked at. English was not so surprising, as my classmates had been taking it since “elementary school.” The teacher spoke almost entirely in English. However, in Spanish, which was the fourth or fifth year, while there is more study of grammar, like English class, a lot of the time is spent analyzing documents and learning new vocabulary by the teacher dictating a lesson.

In the first science class that I went to, the topic is ‘feeding humanity,’ so we have talked about selective breeding and other ways to improve crop yield. The second class is more varied. Among other things, we learned about emulsions, food conservation, and different forms of energy.

Monday was my second Geography class, which in itself is a rarity in the U.S. It replaced History, starting on Wednesday the week before, the first week of the third trimester. We studied threats to the environment in France, and the need for sustainable development, focusing in particular on the gulf of Morbihan, to the northwest of France.

And speaking of which, it seems that people in France are a lot more careful about not being wasteful than in the U.S. Almost always, lights are turned off when everyone leaves a room, and on the rare occasions when people (like me) forget, it’s a serious affair. Also, on Monday evening, we were having a pomegranate, and I suggested putting it underwater, which makes the process of cleaning it easier and much less messy. However, they didn’t think it was a good idea, as it was a waste of water.

On Thursday, there was a student protest! Apparently, it was because a few weeks earlier, there was a law passed to help unemployment, which among other things, lengthened the work hours. The area in front of the gate leading into the school was packed with students and trashcans to further block the way in.

March 30, 2016
Final Countdown in France and a Trip to Euro Disney

by Ella Russell, Greenheart Travel high school student in France

I decided take the three months study abroad option, so now I only have three weeks left! (Counting this week). I can hardly believe it; it seems like the trip passed by so quickly.

Because of this, while I have been erratic with my posting beforehand, only writing for certain special occasions, I have decided now I am going to write a blog for every week until I leave, either writing it near the end of the specified week, or early the next one (as I am doing now).

It was fun to return to school, and I was pleased to find that I could understand a lot more of the teachers lectures. When I listen to these lectures, or French speakers in general, I understand a few words here and there, but for stretches of comprehension, my mind has to be completely blank, which is surprisingly difficult.

The BAC Blanc was for Literature and Science. The science one would be handed out the next week, but on Thursday, my classmates received their grades for literature. They were alright, although no one got a twenty, the maximum score. On a side note, twenty appears to be the maximum for everything, from tests, to homework, to overall grades. There are no percentages or letters.

Also in Literature, we started looking at medieval French writing, which put me on a more even playing field with my classmates, as it was hard for them to understand it as well.

I continued playing volleyball, something I started around a week before the vacation. It is every Wednesday and Friday, although because of sickness, vacation, or the gym being closed, I have never actually gone to volleyball on Friday. The program allows three practices before requiring a medical release form and payment. This was my last free practice.

Another little difference between France and the US: milk is held in containers like these.

I finished off the week with a visit to Euro Disney! It is actually rather close to where I am staying, about a thirty minute drive. My host family had a pass that lowered the admission price to 35 euros, instead of the 90 euros, and it extended to whoever came with them, so I invited two friends from school. My host dad dropped us off. He and Nahel would go to the rides that three year olds could go on, and then leave early. My friends had visited Euro Disney several times before, so I basically let them lead me around.

Despite living in Florida, this was my first Disney theme park, and I must say it was rather nice. There were more rides geared towards children (and therefore less exciting), but there were also several exciting ones, like the Space Mountain, and the Hollywood Tower, which basically went up and sharply dropped several times. Also, there was a Star Wars ride, although it was just a simulation.

But enough about that. From what I understand, the rides are pretty much exactly the same as what you would find in any other Disney park. The difference was that everything was translated into both French and English. There would be subtitles, or on the loudspeaker it would just repeat in English, but sometimes, the writing or the voice would say something in French, and then say something different in English, but in a way that the speakers of either languages would understand what was going on. It’s fun being able to understand more than one language, especially in cases like this.

In a gift shop, there were mini glass sculptures of animals and Disney figures, and behind the counter, a woman was actually glass blowing! I bought some as a souvenir.

We were going to see the fireworks, but Alexei had to go home early, and we went with him. Oh well. I wasn’t too disappointed.

March 23, 2016
Last Week of Vacation in Lyon

by Ella Russell, Greenheart Travel high school student in France

Although the week we visited Lyon was also the week that school started up again (the school vacation weeks are shifted depending on which region in France you are in), we still managed to go on several expeditions into the city. During the weekend, we went to the main soccer stadium that just opened this year, we visited Mickael’s (Laotian) family, and we went to a zoo.

The zoo was disappointing because most of the animals were hiding, or inside because of the cold, but we also saw the Guignol puppet show. I later learned that Guignol, the main character of the same name, is famous throughout France, but his creator came from Lyon. Although I couldn’t understand all of the conversations, it was nice to find that I could understand a lot of the humor.

In the beginning, there was a duck who started conversing directly with the audience. He asked if we liked ducks, and when we answered yes, he mentioned that we definitely like to eat them. Was that very funny, or just one of those things you laugh at in the moment when it is delivered well? I can’t decide, but the deep, grumpy sounding voice and fact that I could actually understand what to laugh at made it funnier.

After the zoo, we had barbe a papa, also known as cotton candy. Personally, I think the French name (basically Papa’s beard) is better.

During my second week in Paris, I attempted to add math (my favorite subject) to my schedule, but the logistics were too complicated, and they said it would be too hard for me, but I didn’t believe them, and after this week, I am almost sure that I could have taken the course! Near the beginning of the week, Irwan lent me his math textbook. It was composed of subject material that I did in seventh, eighth and ninth grade, and as Irwan is in the equivalent of ninth grade, the math for my year, the equivalent of 11^th grade, should be right at my level.

On Monday, we went to the cinema to see Deadpool, which was English with French subtitles. From what I understood and which was later confirmed by Irwan, the subtitles did not translate the humor very well, which consisted of a lot of cursing, slang, and obscure references.

On Tuesday, we celebrated Irwan’s birthday at an Italian restaurant, and I saw the Lyon part dieu mall.

Wednesday was the most eventful day. During the morning and the early afternoon, Mourad showed me around Lyon. Mourad is something like a manger of the Lyon tramway, which allows him to have a free pass for all forms of public transportation, along with his family, so since we never went out all at once, I could take a spare pass. It was a good chance to be able to compare the cities of Paris and Lyon. Paris has long white apartment blocks and wide roads, while the roofs of Lyon are red and tiled, and the roads are more varied.

After Lunch, we met up with Irwan, Ines, Nahel (my host brother), and Mickael (my host dad), to go ice skating (le patinoire), where for some reason, there were several English speaking people. I did not do very well, falling three times, but it was fun. I don’t get to do ice skating as often as I would like (considering that I come from Florida). I slowly got better, but we left too soon.

After ice skating, we had a proper cake for Irwan, and then we went out to go to soccer game in Saint-Etienne (Saint-Etienne vs Paris SG). My first soccer game! I know that my brother, a big soccer fan, is very jealous.

On Saturday morning, my host family drove back to Paris. As there wasn’t enough room in the car, I took the train the next day. Mourad, Ines, and I went to the museum of confluences, a bizarre looking building, as you can see.

It also seems to have two meanings. It is near the meeting point of the Rhone and the Saone, the two rivers of Lyon, and every room was about something different, from sand, to the beginning of the universe.

In the evening, we went to a bingo lottery organized by Ines’s school. Unfortunately, we didn’t win anything.

And finally, on Sunday morning, I left in the morning to go to Paris. I had mixed feelings about returning. Lyon was cool, but I was also looking forward to seeing my friends from school, and steadily improving my comprehension of the teachers lectures. It was starting to get a little boring, as there is hardly any homework, except from the occasional long essay (practice for the BAC Blanc) which I was exempt from. Now the BAC Blanc over, I hope that things will be different. But I will miss Lyon. It was a fun vacation.

March 22, 2016
The Countryside of Lyon and Learning About My French Host Family

by Ella Russell, Greenheart Travel High School student in France

I had misunderstood the vacation length. It is actually around three weeks for those in the high school premier class in France, because they have to do the Bac Blanc, which seems slightly like the PSAT, but more important. So I stayed with my host uncle (Rachid) and his family for a week, and for the week after that, I rejoined my host family at the house of my host mom’s sister’s family (still in Lyon, but in the city).

Looking back on it now, during the stay with Rachid, although we didn’t do a great amount of sightseeing (which is what I was hoping for), it was still fun. A lot of time was spent watching TV with my host cousins, but as I usually watch TV for a specific movie (usually on Netflix), I discovered new movies that I had never heard of before.

It was interesting to see that while there are the news shows of course, and several French series, French made films and series are heavily contested on TV by the American and English shows, especially compared to America, where it is far more of an effort to find popular French series or films.

Also, throughout my visit, we went to the grandmother’s house (on the side of the mother), and I met more cousins and aunts. I already knew that the family was Muslim, but during one visit, I saw the grandparents praying. I had seen praying in Islam before from videos, but it was the first time I had seen that in person.

Sunday, was the day when we did the sightseeing. The parents took me to see the Fouviere Basilica, apparently one of the most famous landmarks of Lyon. It was very grandiose. There were many statues throughout the Basilica, the walls were decorated with stained glass and tapestries, and above the chandeliers even the ceiling had several decorations.

There was also what I am pretty sure was holy water, which I dipped my hand into. I took several photos. After the Basilica, we visited roman ruins of an arena nearby, which looked like a popular place for picnics.

We also went to the Cinema, a trampoline park, basically the same as it is in the US, and nearby the house, there is a park that we went to several times when the kids had stayed at home for the day and the mother wanted them to get more sunshine.

As for the family themselves, I had a better relationship with the parents, than the kids. Rachid was the most curious about English, often asking me the English translations of words or phrases in French, and I managed to have a rather lengthy debate with Djamila (my host aunt) about religion vs atheism. I was initially worried that she would take offense, but she was glad that I was curious.

March 8, 2016
Experiencing a Pre-Wedding Party in Lyon, France

by Ella Russell, Greenheart Travel high school student in France

These last two weeks have been winter vacation for students in France, so since last Thursday, I am staying in Lyon with relatives of my host family. It has been very interesting. The relatives live in the countryside of Lyon, which is very pretty, although rather far away from pretty much everything, so there has been a lot of driving. One of things we did was the Middle-Eastern pre-wedding party last Saturday.

First, we drove to the grandparents’ house (the parents of the wife of my host uncle), who were going to the party as well, along with several aunts and cousins. The party was just for females, like a bridal party, although some boys came as well. The actual wedding time wasn’t even decided. We arrived in a large room rented to accommodate the large number of guests, greeting the bride (the cousin of my host aunt) with the ‘bisou’ (the French kiss).

Arabic music was playing, and both before the meal and throughout the courses, people would get up and dance. I decided to just watch and take pictures; the dance was in an interesting Arabic style.

For the first course, there were several different kinds of pastries. Some I knew, like the baklava, but there were others that I had never seen before, like this picture. While it looks slightly like noodles, it is sweet and sticky.

Then, there were pastries that were more savory, rice covered in a sweet sauce, some sort of salad, the main dish of couscous, and fruit salad.

After more dancing, the children all went into another room, where they received candles. Then they paraded out and everyone crowded around the bride. Occasionally, people would ululate, a practice common in the Middle East, especially for weddings.

The bride sat down in front of a large round table, an older woman put a thick amount of henna in a circle on her palm, and then both her hands were covered by silky cloth.

All of the children, including me, received the henna as well, because having the henna meant that you were not married.

Several pictures next to the bride followed, and the party was finally ended with cake and tea.

February 29, 2016
Reflections On My Life in France

by Ella Russell, Greenheart Travel high school student in France

Since my last blog, a lot has happened here in France!

First, I met relatives of my host family for the first time. Linda’s brother and his family came over during the weekend before last. I felt a bit awkward interacting with them, and it was probably the same for them too. So in the beginning, while I did make some small talk with the parents, for the most part, I retreated into my books.

Eventually though, I started making Origami (I had brought a pack from the US).Two of my host cousins were interested, and I ended up teaching them how to make Origami cranes, stars, and boxes. Doing this helped to remove a lot of the awkwardness, making it easier to converse.

The next day, with my host uncle, aunt, and their daughter, who was a bit younger than me, I went to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower. We took the elevator up to the summit and slowly made our way down. Despite the cloudiness, the view was great! On the lowest floor, there was an area where the floor was transparent, and an ice skating rink with free skates (which I had not expected). I skated with my host cousin for a while before we drove back.

It was nice to meet host family relations closer to my age. I have a 3 year old (Nahel), and a nine month old (Alycia) for host siblings, and while they are both very cute, it creates a different dynamic from what I expected. I am supposed to speak English with Nahel, who is not very enthusiastic about it, and my host parents are (understandably) very busy with their work and the baby.

I feel that I have settled into life at school. The students are friendly, often practicing their English with me. It is still rather hard to understand what the teachers are saying, but I can generally understand the general idea, and as time goes by, I am understanding more and more.

I have also been enjoying the school lunches, which are a relaxed affair with plenty of choices. You can bring lunch from home, you can reserve a lunch in the cantine (the cooks make just enough in order to not waste food) you can buy food at the cafeteria, or you can leave the school to eat somewhere else. Either way, it is healthy and delicious. In the cantine, people actually eat the fruits and vegetables! I have mostly been eating at the cantine, but I have gone to friends’ houses, and one time, all the way into Paris.

Last Friday, Mickael (my host father), Nahel, and I went to see a play on the Champs-Elysees in Paris! It was a satirical, humorous twist expressed through urban dance about Snow White and several other Fairy Tales meshed together. For example, instead of seven dwarves, there were seven Snow Whites all enamored by one dwarf; in Sleeping Beauty, the prince kept trying to kiss the princess awake, but every time, she would move her head to the side, and for Cinderella, they showed in the forgotten slipper scene, but it was a white sneaker, and there were three sets of princes and Cinderella’s. After the Cinderellas ran away, the princes emerged one by one, crying and moaning hysterically to each other.

Apart from the funny scenes, what caught my attention was the window this performance offered into French culture. For example, there was a running gag about a bear going fishing, bringing food along with him, but forgetting his baguette. Also, during a scene with the three little pigs, they were all smoking together (a past time all too common in France). Less obviously stereotypical though was the way the story was presented. From what I have seen from this play, and some French movies, less emphasis is placed in France on tying stories together into a clear story line; moments are more distinct from each other and at the end, there is less of a resolution. After the performance, we took pictures of the ends of the Champs-Elysees (the Arc de Triomphe, and a Ferris wheel).

February 9, 2016
Getting Familiar with My New School and Schedule in France

by Ella Russell, Greenheart Travel high school student in France

One of the first things I noticed about studying abroad in a French school was the difference in scheduling. On my first day of school, I had one class, and that was it. After a surprisingly good cafeteria lunch, I went home. Every day, you have different classes beginning at different times, and generally lasting for either one or two hours. Also, the first class starts at varying times each day, so sometimes I can sleep in, and sometimes I have to wake up fairly early.

Another difference is that there are often free periods in the schedule, and you can potentially have more. Since there are no substitutes, when teachers have absent days, you just have another free period. I experienced that on Thursday, giving me five hours of free time. However, probably because of these free periods, there is school on Saturday as well. I didn’t mind; it was only during the morning, but all the teachers that day assured me that the students did not like Saturday school.

Looking at this school from google maps, I thought the school seemed fairly ordinary looking, but when I went inside, I saw that the structure of the school was actually rather interesting. There is a large atrium in the center of the main building of the school. Three floors of classes are on either side of it, connected by bridges, as in this photo.

The lower room numbers are on one side, and the higher ones on the other side, so I found it easy to figure out where my classes were.

On Tuesday, after going to school to choose my subjects, my host mom took me to a nearby bookstore to get a French-English dictionary. The windows were filled with books, but also several paintings and decorative masks. It is definitely a place I want to visit again, if just to admire the decorations. There are plenty of other places to visit as well.

Yesterday, I went to the cinema with my host father to watch Star Wars in French. I couldn’t understand all the French, but it helped that I had already seen the movie. It was interesting to see that just like in the U.S., several advertisements and trailers appeared beforehand.

January 21, 2016
First Day in France: Celebrating New Traditions and Adventures

by Ella Russell, Greenheart Travel high school student in France

After an overnight flight of around 8 hours, I finally made it to Paris! My host family couldn’t pick me up so I was picked up by the Greenheart Travel coordinator when I arrived. As we headed out into the suburbs where I would be staying during my study abroad program in France, I noticed that the house, and the other houses in the neighborhood were all tall, narrow, and old looking, an interesting contrast from the buildings I often see in the US.

My host mom Linda greeted me when I arrived and showed me around the house. My three year old host brother Nahel was playing with toy cars, my host dad was fixing up my room, and Alycia, my baby sister, was sleeping upstairs.

After I took a nap, sleeping longer than intended, my host family and I went to the house next door and had a galette de rois with the neighbors. From what I understand, the galette de rois is a cake that is traditionally eaten on the sixth of January, a Christian holiday celebrating Jesus being presented to the three magi; Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar, who came from Asia, Africa, and Europe respectively to visit him.

The youngest children (in this case Nahel and one of the neighbor’s sons) went under the table and called out the names of the guests, who would then be served a slice of the cake. A small ceramic figurine called a feve was baked inside the cake, and whoever got it was the “queen or king” of the child who went under the table.

After the party, we had a small dinner, and after watching French television, I went to bed. On Monday I will be able to sleep in and I will be on my own for the day, on Tuesday we will go to the school to choose my schedule, and on Wednesday, I will start school. I can’t wait!

January 12, 2016