Author: Shannon Elder

This past week has possibly been one of the best and most important weeks of my life. I realized so many new things about the me, my life, or the world we live in. It’s also never been so clear to me who I am as a person. It’s an incredible feeling to have. I don’t love every aspect of myself, physical or personality wise, because I’m not perfect. I’m the type of person who will become really excited to explore even a little castle, or even when I have a savory galette saucisse or a good cup of coffee (maybe that’s  just the caffeine though). I’m also the type of person who will walk away from you if you keep singing even though I’ve asked you to stop. I’m not the most patient person. I’m also not completely sorry that I’m not perfect. Nobody’s perfect, so why keep making excuses for it? I don’t think going rouge with our imperfections is the way to go either. Just be the best you can, always strive to better yourself, know you will make mistakes and own up to them so that you can move on. Forgiving others on their imperfections is also truly important thing that not enough people do, I’ve realized. It would have been a lonely six months if I didn’t forgive and forget. It’s a lot more fun joking with a friend about how cold the stone toilets in the castles must have been rather than laughing to yourself as the strangers around you slowly step away.
Also, sometimes when you meet a stranger, that individual can become an important person in your life in a matter of a day. Which brings me to Tuesday. A 9:09 train took me to Bayeux (a city in Normandy where a tapestry you probably have heard of is on display). There, a friend of a friend met me at the gare at around noon and took me to see the famous tapestry and show me around the town he works in during the summer. The large cathedral in Bayeux was beautiful along with the gardens and shallow, slow moving river. A lot of walking and talking was done and it wasn’t until we sat down at a table for lunch when I realized that, first, I’ve never had a ‘croque monsieur’ that he was talking so highly of, and second, that this was a really good idea to follow my gut and come here to hang out with an almost stranger for a day. I mean, he is a friend of a really good friend in California so I knew he couldn’t have been an axe murderer or something! I was maybe a little nervous because I didn’t know exactly what to expect. Was I going to waste one of my precious last days in France with someone who annoys me? I was hoping not. I’ve learned to not always listen to my melodramtic head completely if my gut and heart are telling me something else. My heart was telling me to go and travel despite of who you’re with and my gut was telling me this new friend would be alright. However, the funny thing about following your gut is that even though it’s most likely right, it still can’t tell you the full story of why it’s telling you to do this certain thing or go this certain place. It just tells you that you should. Being an overthinker, it’s hard to reason why to take such action when you can’t find one possibility that’s more probable than another, but after the first time I took a big leap in following my gut, it led me to France! Listening to your gut isn’t about reasoning with it or asking it questions. It won’t answer you. It tells you something short and you respond to it. In some cases our heart or your head and sometimes more than one of those are in your favor, and in the end it’s not usually an answer you can find on Goodle. I’m stressing this whole ‘following your gut’ thing because during this entire day, our conversation never was meaningless small talk but it also never went dry. We sat on a ledge at a beach not far from the D Day beach and talked for hours. Talking about how crazy and wonderful life is and cracking jokes every other sentence. It’s not everyday you get the chance to spend all day with someone who you have common interests with, can make endless amounts of inside jokes with in a matter of a few hours, and more importantly talk about life, death and faith with.
It’s been a long time since I’ve opened up a bible or closed my eyes to pray. I was slowly putting my faith farther and farther in the back of my mind. It wasn’t on purpose, it just happened as I went through this journey. I didn’t realize it was even happening until we were talking about how great He is and how He’s blessed our lives thus far. I’ve talked about God and my faith many times before, but never unexpectedly with someone my own age whom I didn’t even know as much as believed in God until the conversation came to light. I’m going to admit, even when my mind was in overdrive, thinking about even the most un-plausible outcomes of how the day would go, it for some reason didn’t think it come to talking about God.
It gives me immense faith in the world that people like my new found friend indeed exist and I’m not the only one who has values based on what the bible says and not society. It gives me hope that other people in this world can not know what’s in the future but love life anyway and keep Jesus by their side all the while.
To say the least, it was a day that really opened my eyes to myself, to God again and this crazy, wonderful world he has temporarily put us in.
The next morning was all smiles until the train pulled away from the station when the emotions hit me. It took me well until after lunch to sort through my emotions. I did a lot of crying and I wasn’t really sure why. Being overwhelmed is the best answer that I can give. Overwhelmed with emotions of joy and love for the lord and how I’ve never truly realized how important it is to feel Him like this in your heart, the refreshment of meeting another soul in this world that gives me hope, meeting someone that actually makes me believe in myself for a change and makes me believe that I may just be a little better than the bully in my head who I listen to too often, sad that my new friend basically lives a world away, scared I’ll lose this way of looking at life, God and my faith. and realizing that these past six months haven’t changed me as much as they’ve opened my eyes to what’s important in life and the kind of Christian I want to be. I’m determined to carry this growth with me throughout my life.
I know this may not make sense to some people reading this but, the right conversation with the right person at the right time in your life is something I wish everyone to experience. I also know that I take and feel things more deeply being a sensitive person, so I don’t even know if my friend feels the exact same way about our day! But I’m sure we can agree on the fact that sometimes, God comes to us in amazing ways.
I do know the day after the best day ever is something no one wants to face. Even though I had only left that morning, after lunch in downtown, it seemed like so long ago. I was exhausted by the time I got home, but I sorrowfully packed most all of my belongings that have accompanied me these past six months before laying down for a much deserved nap. I woke up in time to eat dinner with my family, then after, with food in my belly and an adequate amount of energy, Faustine took me to hang out with her friends at the soccer fields around her house. We didn’t return home too late, so I watched the movie, Boyhood. Great movie by the way, did you know it’s three hours? I didn’t…. I’m glad there’s finally a movie that realistically depicts the life of a modern day teenager (even though the main character, Mason, has a particularly hard life).
By the time Thursday rolled around I was feeling good about my life. I got past the rush of emotions that came with all the thinking and discovering that was done. I slept in late and ate a casual lunch with Natalie, Faustine and Maxent. Faustine surprised me best she could with my exchange friends unexpectedly showing up to my house along with about eight other of her friends from Thoringe, who I guess are my friends now too. We sat in the backyard snaking on undercooked crumble and sipping on coke or orange juice while chatting away. When dinner time came along, we all went to Rennes to get some kebab and eat it in a park. After we walked around and went to the popular Rue De Soif (I’ll let you translate that) to be in the upbeat nightlife that Rennes offers. However, if you’re with Faustine and her crew, the night is alive no matter where you go. After Stephane picked us up, a small group who could still be out went to the skate park in my town. They got some of my beloved cider and we all sat, talked and had a cup. I’m going to miss my friends here. I’m going to miss how, in general, the French are warm-hearted, contagiously joyful people. It was a melancholy walk home after all those goodbyes.
Friday, every week, is saying goodbye to the week and hello to the weekend. Along with that, this particular Friday was my last day in Rennes. I’m going to miss meeting my friends here and going shopping in all the boutiques. After finishing our burgers and my buying a duffle bag (for a good deal), I said my final goodbyes to Sirin and Joel. I will see Saku and Eliza tomorrow morning at the gare but I was still sad that it was out last time hanging out. I’ve been blessed to go through this amazing adventure with some really great people. A few tears slipped out during the bus ride back to my house. This bus 50 was another thing I was sad to say goodbye to for the last time, along with the walk home, giving a,”bonjour” back to the elderly women offering a smile to everyone who walked by always made my day a little brighter. I kept myself busy by cleaning my room and doing the very last of my packing. M. Vidal came over for a weird visit to have a discussion with me and my family about my exchange. Nothing was bad or tence, I just felt as though it was maybe unnecessary? After his departure was my final family dinner of my favorite pizza and tartiflette. It was a normal dinner which was nice. We did take some photos and talked about how crazy fast it’s gone by after dinner over coffee and TV. I’m now retired in my room. Clothes ready for tomorrow and alarm set.
Now I know that this blog may have sounded sad, but in all honesty, the majority of the time I was feeling content with leaving. I came here and achieved my goal, which I admittedly found out later in my program which was to enrich my life (again how the gut doesn’t tell you your future). I learned a language and a culture along with meeting some great people along the way and I found out things about myself and life that I never would have if I had stayed in Colorado. Also, I’m leaving France on a very high note and it’s just my gut telling me that my time here is coming to a close (I think despite what my plane ticket says) even though I still would love to stay here longer for many reasons. I’m a little terrified I will lose what I’ve learned and the feelings that come with it, but I’m preparing. I’m going to give myself reminders and start habits that will hopefully not let me forget how wonderful life is even with all the bad that goes on.
Man, who would have thought that Cassie Bricker would move to France for a semester? I still have a long journey to go for loving and having confidence in myself but I think I have a good start. I’m leaving this chapter of my life with more confidence in myself and with an excitement to see that the next one has in store for me. I’m 80% certain it won’t include as many baguettes though…
See you in 29 hours Colorado!

Monday was the beginning of the end… Of my French high school experience that is. It was a good day, besides my cold I had. I ate lunch with two friends in my class, Victorian and Eva. I ate lunch with them most every Monday, but this lunch was one of the few times I was really apart of the conversation which is an amazing feeling to not only be able to understand, but to respond fast enough to keep up with the conversation is still so rewarding even over five months in.
My two, hour and a half science classes were unusually entertaining and my teachers even said a little goodbye to me after class. Not every teacher did that so I thought that was especially nice of them.
Then the next day that is usually one of my boring days, was actually not a bore! For most my art history class, we sat and talked and drew the first letter of our firstname in as fancy calligraphy as our art skills could give (my art skills are not very good despide what my mom might say, but I tried). Not only was it our last art history class, it was also my last day eating at Fast! It wasn’t anything special that day but it was still as good as always. I’m going to miss the baguette sandwiches and fries. I usually had a panini but I think that the Bricker household is still big on paninis (at least I’m hoping) so I don’t think there will be much longing for a hot sandwhich.
It being the last week of school, one of the final steps in my exchange, hit me harder on Wednesday. I didn’t cry, I actually didn’t cry at all this past week which is unlike me with goodbyes. Anyway, after a messy lab in MPS and completing our forty-five second video in my art class, I was on my bus to Republique from the school. I had about ten minutes to reflect on how this was the last Wednesday I would have to worry about not making my next bus and being late getting home and thus eating alone. I actually did make my second bus to my town with only seconds to spare, but I still couldn’t get it out of my head that this particular humpday, was a little milestone for me. I think mainly because it was probably the last time I really had to worry about being late for my public transport. But after lunch with Ombeline, Natalie and Maxent, Maxent went back to school because he had detention for drinking water in class. I thought that was a little ridiculous just how I think it’s ridiculous that you have to miss the whole class even if you are only a few minutes late. For whatever reason, that is the way they do things here and they seem very set on their ways. Speaking of ways, I’m trying to get back into my old ways of eating healthy. I made avocado dark chocolate balls for my family. I knew they were good because my host mom even asked for the recipe. Tip: there are a lot of instagram accounts with very clever and fun recipes for healthy eating.
Thursday I started an hour later than usual and then in my next two classes, math and English, we all brought our assigned food, candy or drink (I brought coke) and sat in a big circle eating and talking. I also wore my tie-dye shirt that I had my whole class sign. Then in EJS class, my friend Aude and I talked about all the places we’ve traveled too and all the places we want to go someday. She’s been all over Europe and even a lot of the northern part of Africa! It was really cool listening to all of her travels.
By lunch time, the back of my shirt was almost totally covered with notes and so was Eliza’s. Her, Saku and me ate our last lunch at the school together while talking mostly about what we are going to do our last two weeks here in France. None of us are planning on wasting anytime being bored at home.
After my last two hour of History-Geography, I was finally out for the day. I talked with Faustine and her friends for a while after school and some of the guys started to draw on my shirt, so now I have a cat and a dinosaur added to the collection of farewell notes.
Usually my journey home after school days are uneventful but that day I saw a doppelganger of a guy I had class with sophomore year. The weird thing is though, I quite frequently see a person that reminds me or even resembles a person I know in the States. The other unusual thing was that this sketchy house with a lot of sketchy people who didn’t speak French or English living in it was boarded up. By that I mean all the windows and doors were taken out and replaced with concrete blocks cemented together. Nothing is getting in or out of that house now. I’m a little curious to know what happened. I asked Faustine but she didn’t know either.
When I woke up Friday morning, I felt great, even though I haven’t gotten a solid night’s rest since before my weekend in Paris, I was feeling good about the day to come. I was really excited in knowing that this was my last day having to wake up early to go to this school that everyone liked so much for whatever reason. I was also excited because I would be finished at 12:15 so my only two classes were French and EPS (PE). In French we had a food party and talked about what we all wanted to do in our futures. Then in EPS we went to a nearby park for a scavenger hunt. I’m not really sure as to why we went because it was raining quite hard for an outdoor adventure. Thankfully a girl in my class lived just next to the park so a few of us went to her apartment. We got a call only ten minutes after arriving from a guy in our class telling us that we were leaving early. So the six of us quickly walked back to the classes meeting spot. And by the time we got there we were just as soaked from the rain as everyone else, so the teacher didn’t suspect a thing. We then waited around in the school’s gym and ate candy that the teacher had brought for us while we waited for the remaining thirty minutes of the day to pass. When the time came, I said goodbye to my few friends I talked to the most in my class with. I was never really close with anyone in my class except Saku and maybe Aude because of the few impenetrable cliques in my class. But no worries, I still consider them my friends because they were always so nice to me.
After the goodbyes, I went with Faustine, Emma and Aude to Emma’s house for a picnic. It was originally going to be an actual picnic in a park but it was still steadily raining. There was even lighting and thunder, which hasn’t happened yet in the almost six months I’ve been here. Anyway, I didn’t bring much food but luckily for me, Aude had brought enough chips to share with everyone and even made some extra sandwiches! Sitting there talking with them then going home to take a much needed four hour nap was a great way to kick off summer vacation. In fact, this whole weekend I’m about to tell you about is how I wish I could kick off every summer vacation!
As you may have guessed, I did in fact go to the big market with Eliza. This time I bought some abricots for Faustine, a pineapple, a cantaloupe, and some strawberries. I really hope there is a place like this near where I live, it’s probably going to be one of the things I miss the most. That and shopping. I love shopping the streets verses in an indoor mall. This day we focused on shoe shopping after the market but for whatever reason we both just can’t seem to find what we are looking for. We did go to our favorite cafe and drank some delicious juice and french food. When I returned home I made a fruit bouquet for my family with all the fruit I had bought that day. The strawberries weren’t the best, but the pineapple was amazing and the cantaloupe was to die for it was so good. But later that evening I packed my suitcase to weigh it (I have a few kilos to spare so yay!) but it was so bitter sweet in doing so. I was feeling so excited that I’m so close to seeing my friends and family again but on the other hand, I just had an amazing day in a place that I don’t think I could find anywhere in the Denver area. Even though I haven’t cried yet, I’m sure that all the tears in my tear ducts are getting ready for the heartbreaking final goodbyes in France and the very much looked-forward to hellos in The States.
However,on Sunday I got a little taste of what it will feel like to be with my friends and family again after so long. I took the bus into town and walked to the hotel where my good friend Lara was staying. It was so good to see her again. I forgot how easy it is to talk to her. We didn’t even become good friends until just a few weeks before she left, but I’m really glad we did because I love having free spirited people like her in my life. Her mom and host sister were there as well and they are both so nice and fun to be around. We all had fun driving to Mont Saint-Michel, exploring there and grabbing a bite to eat within its walls. We then made our way to St Malo, but I couldn’t be wander the walled town with them for too long because I had to take the train back in time to make the last bus of the day. I’m really glad that when I get back home that I will have not just someone, but a good friend I can talk to when we both get back home. I’m actually getting really nervous having to go back home. I have a feeling that reverse culture shock may hit me hard but my program has already given me papers to help if that does happen. In many ways this grand adventure is like a dream, not because of the beauty of the experience, but because it’s only you who is experiencing it. All your family knows of it is what you tell them. It’s you who have these new feelings, memories and knowledge about life and yourself. I guess I’m just scared of maybe feeling a little isolated because of it. Whatever feelings I have though, I know my friends and family will help me work through them, so at least I know I have that.
I have a lot planned for these next two weeks before I have to potentially face reverse culture shock or any other less than happy feelings! I don’t think there will even be time for a lazy day at the house, which is a good and ideal thing at this point. I can’t wait to share all my experiences with all of whoever is still reading my blog!

I finally have a moment to catch you all up on my life! Or at least just on last week, which started off fairly normal. Monday I had three hours of math, but I did do yoga when I got back home that evening to stretch out the stress of that. Not having school on Tuesday also helped! Most of my teachers were absent with the exception of my first and last classes so the Vie Scholar (school office) decided to cancel the whole day for 2nd 5 (my class). I worked on checking things off my list of errands and to-dos that day along with practicing some yoga; so I would say it was still a productive day. It was also nice because on Wednesday  I only had art, so I therefore I obtained a few more hours of sleep that morning. Also, that day for lunch I went out to get kebabs with all the exchange kids from my school and even other schools in Rennes who Serin and Joel had invited. After eating, we walked around the park, sat on the grass and we all caught up and thought up some ideas of what we should do for the two weeks of vacation. No plans are solid yet, but I have a feeling that I may be boarding more trains than I can count in my last remaining weeks here.
When I’m with my friends here, I never think about checking my phone (even though it only works when I have wifi) or scrolling through my instagram feed. I think it’s going to be hard going back to a world where my friends will check their twitter or insta before starting a conversation. I always wondered why they don’t just wait till later. I don’t think I’ll be able to put up with that now that my desensitivity to it is gone. I’ve realized how small I feel when my friends (probably not aware of it) put their phones before me. The message will still be there. The moment you’re in will go by with or without you realizing it. I’m so glad I didn’t have a phone most of this exchange to take away from the truly important parts, which can just be something as simple as watching a movie with my family. I don’t think most people realize that as soon as you take out your phone, the immediate world around you won’t wait for you to look back up.
However sometimes putting your head down is good! By that I mean sleep. In the beginning of these six months I was a champ at getting enough sleep… not so much anymore. I was dog tired on Thursday, and having three hours of French did not help whatsoever. I was also tired of people’s bad manners. Everywhere from table manners to just how to treat another human being. Don’t get me wrong. Most everyone here is very nice and welcoming. Sometimes I just scratch my head and wonder why no one has told them things like what’s okay to joke about and what’s not. Also table manners still get on my nerves even after five months. I just wonder to myself if they would still eat like that if they were in front of their president. Maybe all this is just me being fussy and wanting everything to meet the high standard I have in my head. As you can tell, the sleep deprivation got to me by Thursday.
I was praying that the following three days would exceed my expectations for my exchange here. I’m very pleased to say that they did indeed exceed.
Friday, Stephane drove me to school at 6:20 a.m. because there weren’t any buses that early. By 7:00 a.m, I was on a large bus with the a few other exchange students and about sixty-five college (French word for middle school) students on our way to Puy Du Fou. I really didn’t know what Puy Du Fou was other than what my friends told me which was that it has “really cool bird shows”, it was “really cool”, and there were “a lot of medieval shows”. I have to admit that I was skeptical because I usually find medieval reenactments to be a little dumb in my opinion. I’m happy to say that Puy Du Fou exceeded my low set expectations by miles!
We saw eight shows throughout the day and all of the shows are about history so the whole park is at least a little informational! All the shows had a little background story that was spoken in french. For example, the falcon show was about a princess who woke up and loved to sing to the birds because she loves the birds love her back as well. There wasn’t one thing not amazing about any of the shows. From the dozens of birds, to the balls of fire coming out of the castles, and even the athleticism of some of the actors was amazing! I would love to take my family there some day, but it was all in French so I’m thinking that maybe that wouldn’t be so much fun for them. I myself couldn’t even understand everything!
I’m really glad I went even though there were two really annoying girls sitting behind us on the bus who would scream some inside joke in our ears. Thank God they got separated for most of the ride.
On arriving back at St. Genevieve, Eliza and I had to go straight to the Gare to catch our train to Paris! We may have had to take a train that arrived in Paris just past midnight, but because of the lack of people on the train, Eliza and I were able to go from the one of the last train cars to first class! Our weekend in Paris was off to a ‘first class’ start.
After walking to our hotel from the metro, we got ready for bed and went to sleep as quickly as we could in order to have as much strength for the next two days to come. The breakfast at our hotel helped with our strength as well. Even though there wasn’t a waffle press or hot eggs or sausages, there was cheese, cereal, yogurt, and all kinds of yummy bread. I was very happy and satisfied with it all. Maybe except the coffee though.
I will keep the recap short and sweet. I’ll start off with saying that the weather all of Saturday was perfectly warm, a little windy, but not a cloud in the sky or a need for anything more than a light cardigan. Sunday was the same with the addition of clouds in the sky.
Saturday’s activities consisted of eating breakfast at the hotel, walking along the Seine, shopping in the stores around the Opera, eating lunch in the Tuileries with a view of the Louvre, shopping on the Champs-Elysees, going to the summit of the Eiffel Tower and drinking champagne there, and lastly going to a very french restaurant, eating a very french four course meal (I’m counting the coffee at the end) and not getting to the hotel until midnight!
We started Sunday bright and early with getting to Musee D’Orsay an hour before the doors opened so that we could be one of the first ones in line. Lucky for us it was the first Sunday of the month so in addition to being almost first in line, everyone got in for free!
We surprisingly saw a lot of the art within the museum. We took our time with a lot of the impressionism art and of course Van Gogh. It was truly amazing to see all these priceless pieces of art. To be so close to the brushstrokes made by all these famous artists I learned about in school was something I never thought I would get the chance to do. It would be difficult for me to list everything and every artists we saw due to the fact that I’m not well versed in my art history and that we went through most of the museum so quickly.We wanted to grab lunch in the city and go to the Gallery Lafayette. Upon arriving, we found out that it was closed, we decided to go back to the Champs-Elysees to go back to the stores and buy the clothes and presents that we didn’t on Saturday because we wanted to wait incase we saw something better later on.
Before we knew it, it was time to get our stuff from the hotel and head to the train station, so with sore feet and bags in hand, we sadly accepted our dream weekend was coming to a close.
Besides the creepy group of guys at the train station and the blisters on our feet, this weekend really couldn’t have been better. It was weird being around so many English speakers for the first time in five months but that was hardly an issue. The real issue is the stress I have when I realize that I have no idea when the next time I will return to Paris, or even France for that matter, after these next two weeks come to a close. Typing that just now made me realize how blessed I am. I’ve had so many adventures in my life and I can’t believe that it’s taken me so long to realize that some adventures (no matter how much you don’t want them to) have to come to an end so that you can have new ones and therefore grow and learn even more. Maybe my next adventure will just be the relationships I have with my friends and family growing to new levels as I go through my senior year with them! I guess I have to finish 2nd 5 before I can call myself a senior. Just one more week!
P.S. This past Sunday was the start of my twenty day countdown until my flight back to the States. It’s weird I can now count how long I have left on my fingers and toes!

Thanks to the many French holidays, I had yet another three day weekend. This time with Monday off. So after lunch, Stephane, Natalie, Maxent and me drove an hour and a half to Mont Saint-Michel. We had to park far away from it, but we were able to take a short trolley to the little island. We took the classic pictures as we walked up to it from the trolley. With the iconic tower in the background with your hair flying every which way because of the wind.
We then walked all the way up past the crowds and shops and more than enough steps to get a tour guide, which was free (and in French), around the abbey. From the parts I could understand, the tour was very informative and I learned some new things. I could even understand some of the tour guides jokes! I would wonder off though and not really pay attention to the tour sometimes, but during those times I got the chance to appreciate the symmetrical and detailed architecture of the whole place even more. It baffles me how people did all of this without modern technology. I still am curious as to where all these perfectly cut stones came from. But my main question is just how? How was all this accomplished? How many people did it take? Were those people working day and night to get this place built? How much were they paid? How much was the architect paid? What mixter is keeping these stones together? Did one person do all the detailed stonework in this room? Am I the only one here thinking of these weirdly specific questions? How could nobody else be asking these questions? A picture of this place isn’t just worth a thousand words, it’s worth a thousand and one questions.
This this what goes on in my head when I come to places like these. I become so focused on how my mind is responding to what my eyes are seeing. Even if the tour was in English my own mind would have tuned it out and would have made my feet move forward to soak in every part of every room we went to.
We did go to quite a few rooms, but there were many more locked doors or blocked hallways than open doors and free flowing hallways. It almost pained me that I couldn’t explore every nook and cranny. I just wish that I could have a master key to every door. I wonder if anyone has a master key to every door. If someone does, I want to become friends with them.
After the tour we walked around the outside walls and got some coffee and crepes at a cafe followed by walking around in the shops. Natalie tends to walk pretty far ahead and Stephan tends to walk very slowly, leaving Maxent and me in the middle. As I’ve mentioned before, he’s been talking to me way more often and so all the time we were there, we were joking and talking. He’s a good kid. He often tries to speak English with me in a joking manner. In fact, my whole family now will randomly say a word or even a whole question in English! Probably because they know that I know the translation of whatever they are saying. I have to say it makes for a more fun time because they will laugh and tease each other on their accents.
Speaking of speaking English, I asked my host parents on the way back to the car if it was weird for them to hear people speaking English all the time. They said since France is such an international travel destination, going anywhere and hearing someone speak another language is totally normal. It’s also normal that most songs on the radio are in fact, in English. A lot of posters are too. Also, most things at the Color Me Rad Rennes run was in English, including the directions on how to put on the fake tatoo!
I don’t think I have mentioned this before, but France has truly beautiful country sides. The drive to and from Mont Saint-Michel was a whole lot of luscious, green fields, old stone houses and blue skies with puffy white clouds. I’ve been very fortunate to have nice weather on most of my outings. Lets hope my luck doesn’t run out. I’m planning a lot of adventures here in the next month. I’m trying to feed my need for new experiences best I can before I go. That’s one reason why I don’t want to go back home, in fact I’m scared that when I go back home I will become bored and get restless. That is one way I’ve changed in these past five months. I need new experiences to feel my soul. My soul craves to get into the unknown and figure it out. I guess my next big unknown will be college…
Thank God I am still in highschool though! I’m going to enjoy these last two weeks of french high school all that I can. It’s weird that everyone back home is on summer. It’s also weird that I’m not that jealous. I am jealous that they get to sleep in and have time to go to the pool and get a job, but I am living a life in France and I’m glad to say that that fact alone is more than enough for me to not care at all that I’m not on summer vacation yet. A lot of my teachers are absent quite often anyway. On Tuesday I didn’t even go to school until 2:24 because all of my teachers that morning were doing things for the BAC testing which is like the SAT or ACT but more intense from what I hear.
Then on Wednesday I had school from 8:05 to 10:35 and so did Eliza. So we got brunch, did a little shopping (didn’t buy anything though), got lunch and headed back to our homes all by 2:30. Since the weather was very beautiful, Maxent and I enjoyed a few hours of badminton before dinner. A Fun Fact about this Wednesday is that it the one month mark until I go home! How crazy is that!
These past few weeks I’ve decided to start reading again. I stopped reading for a few months because I didn’t want it to interfere with my French. But I’ve missed and I’m more solid in my French speaking now. I’ve read about a book a week and now I’m on Inferno by Dan Brown. I read on my Nook so I don’t have to lug around a ton of books. I only read on the bus and before I go to sleep because I will get criticized for reading in English but I don’t care because I can’t read these books in French because it would just be too difficult and reading makes me happy and that’s reason enough for me. I try to read before class but sometimes one of my classmates has his music from is headphones so loud that I can clearly hear every strum of the guitar and it’s just too distracting, not to mention that his taste in music isn’t exactly my favorite either. However, I’m also reading French kids books while I’m at home though so I’m not totally slacking in my French!
Just to prove that my french speaking ability is increasingly becoming better; A girl asked me where the school was from the bus stop because she had to take the BAC, and I gave her directions in full sentences and she understood! Exchange kids live for moments like that.
Friday was also the last day of acrogym! I think I called it acrosport in my last blog, sorry for my ignorance. It was much more fun than last weeks class and we even played the french version of dodgeball for a warm up! Our teacher is very relaxed and even played with us and helped my team not lose as bad as we would have without her.
That evening I helped Faustine pick out some gifts for her mom and sister and I was very happy to finally get home and relax after a long and busy week.
My weekend turned out to busy too.
Eliza and I hit up the Saturday morning market and bought some fruit and macarons. Which we then ate in the park on a bench after we were done being tempted by all the other delicious food we hadn’t bought. We walked around and got some rubber bands so that we could tie-dye some shirts and socks. We got a quick bite of sushi then headed back to my house to tie-dye. I wasn’t very good at it but the shirts and socks turned out great! We are both going to wear the shirts the last day of school and have our classes sign them so that will be fun!
Fetes Des Meres was today (Mother’s Day). It was also Ombeline’s twenty first birthday! The twenty first birthday isn’t a big deal here, because why would it be? You can already drink, drive and most importantly to teenagers, they can vote already so it’s understandable.
I got my mom some nice raspberry jam from the market because she absolutely loves anything rasberry, and then I got Ombeline some makeup because she is very fashion forward with clothes, makeup, shoes and everything. She reminds me of my older sister a lot!
Before lunch Ombeline and I made some cake pops and decorated them for that night after dinner for dessert. After lunch Natalie and Stephan’s mothers came over for some snacks wine, champagne and cake for Ombeline. It’s always nice seeing them and talking to them.
This week is nothing compared to what I’m about to face. I am now officially in the homestretch. Two school weeks, a total of seven school days but three of those days are half days, and then two vacation weeks stand in the way of me finally being with my friends and family again. These next four week will go by so fast. I am not going to let myself waste a second of them. I already have a lot of plans and I can’t wait for them and to tell you all about them. Sorry in advance if I seem like I’m bragging. But I feel as though the best times are the ones that other people what to have for themselves as well.
It’s also come to my attention that some people who are looking to do an exchange are reading my blog and to you I must say that you should do it if your heart is telling you. Experience the world, make new friends, a new family, make plans, have fun, put yourself out there. It’s not always easy and fun but that’s okay. No great adventure is. Not everyone’s path in life is the same, but every path has logs to jump over and mud to trudge though. And there will be a beautiful view just for you if you keep going though the rough parts. Trust me, I know first hand. And if you do this, make sure to thank your parents profusely because I am so grateful to my parents for giving this to me and I don’t know how to repay them besides giving this experience all I’ve got. Thank you Mom and Dad for helping me get to this view, and bonne fetes des meres, maman!

Best way to start off the week? Dissecting some sort of animal heart. I was told that it was a lamb’s heart, but it was a little smaller than the size of two fists put together so I’m still not so sure.  I was proud of myself for remembering a lot of the heart’s parts and the function of most of those parts even though it was an already informative lab.. The only thing I wasn’t totally okay with was when my lab partner would toss the heart from one hand to another and not hold it directly over the tray and get blood on the table, to which I was the one who was chosen to clean it up. That’s normal for an exchange kid though, being the cleaner-upper since, in most labs, we can’t usually keep up with all the steps. Also did I mention that everyone has to wear white lab coats? I find that fun.

Monday was the only day that had a event that I wasn’t exactly thrilled about. I got dress code because I was unaware that any kind of shorts were not allowed to be worn at school, so I had to wear a long lab coat all day. It made for good conversation and I also needed to wear a lab coat for two of my science classes that day. Wearing it and not being that embarrassed was test for myself in which I feel as though I passed. I will admit I was not the happiest to have to cover up my well thought-out outfit by an old, white lab coat but at the same time I just kinda shrugged and told myself that I’ll just rock this outfit where it’s more accepted and went on with my life. Another girl in my class almost got dress code but not by the same lady I did so she got out of it. She made it seem like such a big deal though that she almost had to look goffy for the last few hours of the day. So what if you look a little goofy? You’re not being forced to wear a clown suit and hey, at least you get a little more noticed! I really learned this week that your appearance can really be your best tool to get more attention (will explain more later). When I got home, my host siblings were playing badminton in the backyard for the first time. They told me that they play a lot during the summer so that makes me happy because I quite enjoy playing it and this means I have more bonding time with my host siblings and more french speaking time.
Tuesday, the only out-of-the-ordinary thing that happened at school waswhen Serin randomly brought a few eclairs for a few of her friends to share in perm. She usually brings candy to perm but never in the past four months has it been delicious french pastries. I didn’t eat a lot because of the whole counting my calories deal, but I did have take a few small bites and I’m glad I did. I’m also glad that I played badminton with just Maxent instead of taking a nap or reading like I was planning on doing after I got home that evening. While we played we talked about Youtube, books, school, etc until we had to eat dinner. Like I said, it’s a great opportunity for bonding!
The next day, Wednesday the thirteenth, was my 18th birthday! I have to say I do kinda feel a little different knowing that I am looked upon as an adult by the government and anyone else who doesn’t know who I am as a person (meaning they know that age is just a number and I still act like a child most of the time). I woke up to an extra happy to Natalie who was evidently excited for me. We chatted a bit about my plans for the day (or lack of plans) while I ate a bowl of my favorite sugary cereal. I’ve been watching my calories pretty closely just so that I wouldn’t feel guilty indulging myself a little on my big day.
Going to school I honestly wasn’t expecting more than the usual verbal birthday wishes from my friend or a cookie from the nearby bakery. I’m glad my expectations were low because when Eliza came to school with two birthday presents I almost started crying with appreciation! One present was from Faustine and Eliza that consisted of nice bath soaps and shower gels. The other one was from Eliza had a cute elephant necklace and a really cute scrunchie and some other items that showed me just how well she does know me and also how good of a friend she really is!
Wednesday is usually my half day but the school moved our Friday afternoon classes to Wednesday afternoon because we hadn’t had a Friday at school for the third consecutive week now. I had my science class in the morning where it’s either labs or research, so Saku and I usually talk the whole time but this day he didn’t even give me as much as give me a “what’s up” nod of the head. I thought he was just having family drama or was just really tired or something because he has never not said at least hi to me on any given day we’ve seen each other. I decided I would ask him about it later with less people around incase it was something bad.
I didn’t have art that day so I had a few hours to kill in perm, but I came prepared. I had bought some of my favorite candy to really only share with Eliza and Serin but then some other people came over and took some. I would have been fine with sharing with them except they took handfuls at a time. My candy disappeared back into the safety of my bag so that I could actually enjoy the majority of it with the people I originally intended on eating it with. I know that may sound selfish but I had been saving and looking forward to that candy for days. Sorry, but not sorry…
After lunch (and eating the rest of my candy how I wanted to) I had physics which I don’t really remember because I was half asleep most of the class but we are now learning about forces. I was then more awake during English because we had a test so I was actually doing something. We listened to this “normal” american girl talking about how your can still have good style without having to wear the expensive designer brands brands. The girls voice was so painful to listen to. NO WONDER WHY THE FRENCH THINK AMERICANS ARE OBNOXIOUS! THEY ARE INDIRECTLY TAUGHT IT IN SCHOOL.  I really wanted to stand up to the class and explain that no one really talks like this and if you hear someone say “fave” in an actual conversation, that that individual not someone you really want to be learning your English from… My English class did sing Happy Birthday to me but they would add in a quick “Cassiieee” after every “Happy Birthday to you.” I was debating on telling them that’s not how we sing it in The States but I didn’t want them to think I was ungrateful so I thought it best to leave that correction for another time.
We had a little break before Math where I was waiting alone when Saku and Kevin walked up and then I asked Saku if everything was alright. He let out a sigh and took out from his backpack a little box Bretagne’s special salted caramels! He practically exclaimed “Happy Birthday!” and started laughing. He explained that he was pretending all day that he had forgotten about my birthday and that he hated me so that he could surprise me at the end of the day. I definitely was not expecting something like that from Saku! This whole day was filled with surprises from my friends and family that forced me to realize that I’m special to these people just like how they are special to me too.
After school, I got fries and a beer with Eliza (wasn’t even carded) and then went home. Every day when I get home I decompress in my room for a at least ten minutes before I go downstairs and rack my brain with more french. During this decompression time, Ombeline knocked on my door. I thought it was just to wish me a happy birthday, which is was, but it was also Faustine and Eliza there too! I was really not expecting to see Eliza, but Faustine waited for her after I left Republique to go home and together they took the next bus. I was really happy Eliza could be there to celebrate with me that evening at my home. We talked and waited for dinner which consisted of sushi (because my host family knows I love it) ordered from a restaurant. This was quite an event in my house because at least in the past four months, we have not eaten out or even as much as ordered a delivery pizza! I was very grateful! Stephan also made three of my favorite kinds of pizzas. I’m not sure how, but even after more than one serving of sushi and pizza, I managed to save room for a huge slice of cake. It was also the most delicious dessert I think I’ve had the pleasure of consuming since I arrived in France. I also received an enormous bath bomb from Ombeline and a book from the whole family. We also had my favorite cider and I made a toast. I hope I got across well enough how much I appreciate and love being apart of this family.
 That day will be a memory I’ll never forget thanks to my friends and family. I have a truly blessed exchange.
The rest of the night Eliza and I hung out in my room in our PJs and I skyped my family and received birthday messages from my friend in The States which made me happier than they probably thought. I do have to say it was hard not being with my real family on this milestone in my life even with all the wonderful surprises and birthday wishes but how could that not be expected? It was even harder not being with Christa. It was our first birthday ever that we weren’t together blowing out candles side by side. Mais, c’est la vie. And I will see them soon enough!
Eliza had spent the night (we had a four day weekend), so Thursday morning we made ourselves breakfast. She had a bowl of cereal because she didn’t want to try my new, healthy pancake recipe. I still need to tweak it but they actually weren’t that bad! I really enjoyed them! Anyways, after breakfast we got ready for the day.
We took my usual bus into Republique a little before lunch and took the ten minute metro to Alma, which was closed because it was a holiday. So we went back to downtown and ate a small lunch in St. Anne where there are a lot of different cafes. We didn’t sit and eat too long because we were becoming cold from sitting in the shade. We didn’t sit much besides lunch and then an afternoon snack of peach ice cream and coffee. We explored a new part of Rennes and also walked alongside  the river for a while. Despite it being a little chilly, it was a perfect day just to walk around. My pedometer on my phone was pleased with my over 24,000 steps! My legs and feet had a different story to tell. The bus ride back home all I could think about was sitting and relaxing in my bed watching Gossip Girl (in French of course!). And that is precisely what I did after we ate a new, sophisticated type of pizza created by Stephen. His cooking never ceases to please my taste buds!
Friday was another day full of walking (and running). I woke up a bit early to go on a run with an Irish exchange student who boards at the school during the week and stays with a family in my town during the weekend, her name is Sinead. I think I mentioned her in my last blog post. She’s really nice, but oh my can that girl talk! We had to walk most of the way because so much conversation was happening. It was an overall good way to start the morning! Then after lunch I went to the Aeroport with Eliza so that we could pick up our pack of goodies for our color run, which included a tshirt, food coupons, our bib, some color packets I had ordered online, and even a little thing of candy that Eliza and I ate immediately! We did do a little shopping to try and find some fun colored socks or scrunchies but that mission failed and we were both exhausted and thought it would be best to rest before our very looked-forward to day! We didn’t want to be too tired!
I was so excited Saturday morning even though I went to sleep later than I should have. I changed into my Color Me Rad t shirt, tied my hair up in a high ponytail, and pressed on my temporary “RAD” tattoo. Oh yeah, I was ready to run. After I took my bus of course, then another bus, then waiting for our group to go, but even all boring-ness of those didn’t make me any less pubmed. Eliza and I met before I took that second bus to the Aeroport and I don’t think I have ever seen her so excited! I’m really glad I did this with he for a lot a reasons and one reason is because I was stupid and neglected to drink enough water that morning so during the 5k I got those side cramps but she walked with me and didn’t mind at all! Our only two goals of the day were to 1) make sure we were both having a ‘rad’ time and 2) get colorful. Even before the run we took out a packet of our color powder and started throwing it in the air and on each other. Then at every kilometer in the run there would be a certain color that would be thrown at you by the volunteers. At the finish line, they would throw all the colors at you. Then after the finish line there was a big stage and an open area with everyone who just finished the course dancing and surrounding that open area was food and souvenir tents. Eiza and I didn’t eat there but we did push our way to the center of the crowd for the color explosion that happened every 45 minutes or so where everyone threw up their packet of color all at once. After about an hour of dancing we decided to leave and get some kebab in Republique before we headed home. The bus ride to Republique was packed with Color Me Rad participants, but as Eliza and I got our food and by the time we sat down we were the only ones in sight that participated in the run and who was completely covered in color. Everyone looked and about five people even commented (mostly nice and appropriate things). Then while Eliza was waiting for my bus with me, two people came up to us to ask us what was going on since they had seen a few others like us, and we explained it to them in the best french we could. As I mentioned before, appearance does play a role in social situations. If you are dressed in a way that shows you are an interesting or fun person (e.i. lab coat or post color run attire) then people won’t be as nervous or scared to approach you with a question! And in learning a new language, you will want to grasp every opportunity to practice your speaking a little more.
On arriving home that afternoon, Natalie was so excited for me and took a picture of me covered with all the color and I told her all about it. I could see in her eyes that she was genuinely happy that I had a good time. I’m really happy that my and Natalie’s relationship has gotten a lot closer in these past few months, because we weren’t that close in the beginning but I guess some relationships just take more time than others to grow.
That night I went out with Faustine and her friends until around 10:00 pm when the sun went down. I would have stayed longer but Color Me Rad Rennes had been such a tiring success, not to mention I had some sort of rendez-vous thing every day since Wednesday, I just had to curl up in bed and get a well deserved night’s sleep.
Sunday was just what I needed, a day with the family at Stephen’s mother’s house. There, we walked around her very charming and picturesque pond, talked, snacked on bread and candy, and drank cappuccinos. Stephan and Natalie went to go visit Stephen’s father because he now lives in a home, so for a while it was just Ombeline and I talking outside while Maxent and the grandmother were inside (Faustine stayed home because she already had plans with friends). It was also very nice and sunny weather.
As you can see I had a very busy week and I suspect that my weeks are going to start being more like this with my friends, family and I try to do everything we want to before I leave in just six short weeks!

Monday started the week off pretty well. I ate a fresh salad, banana and a really good curry chicken wrap for lunch. Then I got to go home an hour early because my french teacher wasn’t there again. The only downside to this Monday was the rain which I’m very used to by now.
Tuesday I had a big math test that I’m not feeling too great about it. I’ve also obtained a sweet tooth here in France and Tuesday it was really aching. It doesn’t like the cuts I’ve made to what kinds of foods I eat. My sweet tooth and I are always having an argument whenever I go to the store or in the kitchen. I give into it more times than I care to admit but I am getting better, I promise!
Wednesday was a much more fun day for me. We had a lab about chlorophyll and most all class we basically only talked and smashed leaves in a bowl. Then for my art class we are making a short film and I pulled the shortest paper from Aude’s (girl in our group) hand so I had to be one of the main people. However that only means I am on camra most. My only line was to yell,” LE ROCK!” All the other times I am pretending to read a book and am eavesdropping on passerbyers’ conversations. I’m still a little confused on the details of the storyline but oh well! After that class I was done for the day so Eliza and I went to do some makeup shopping and to grab lunch. I got some new lipstick and nail stickers that I’m quite excited about. I also got some makeup for Ombeline as her birthday present because her birthday coming up here in a few weeks. While I was checking out, Eliza make marks all over her hand with the tester lipsticks, which she does everytime we step into any store with makeup. That girl could shop for makeup all day if I let her. But I was hungry so we then went to Pita Pit where I got this curry chicken wrap with cheese, olives, guacamole and spinach and it was AMAZING. I want to go there all the time now. Eliza and I were very tempted to go back and get another one but we thought against it seeing as we don’t want to get fat and we had already walked to this park we really like that has that big bird cage. We sat on a bench and talked and ate for a while. I’m happy that I now have a friend that I click with because I didn’t really have that in the beginning. That evening I went to the post office on my way home and the lady working was so nice and patient with me even though I showed up two minutes before closing behind a line of four or five people. Then that night Stephan made this really amazing fish that we’ve never had before and I really hope he makes again sometime!
Thursday was the first day in a week in which rain did not fall from the sky non-stop. It did a little bit but I’m going to be happy with the improvement. I also had a physics quiz that day which I think I did okay on. I at least hope I did okay on it. I also found out that while the private school I attended is not in itself very expensive, the food at the private school averages out to be around six euros per meal. My pal, Saku, did the math. I do have to admit that there is always a good variety of food, healthy options, and I never left unsatisfied with the taste or amount of food (decides that one chicken nugget-potato meal). I’m not going to lie, I’m going to miss the school food a lot. In fact there’s a lot I’m going to miss from here.
I got home by 3:20 Thursday so I hung out and rested before yet another party. This time it was a twentieth birthday party for one of Faustines cousins, Clement. I was expecting it to be at someone’s house but it was actually held in a rented room at some community center. All the decorations were tasteful and the food was even tastier. I found that I really love foie gras now. For the first hour or so while everyone arrived, I talked a lot with Faustines extended family and they were all very interested in the differences of California and Colorado so I definitely got my daily French speaking practice in then. There was then a game where you picked a name of a famous french person out of a hat and then you had to find whoever got that famous persons spouse and once you did that you would take a funny picture with that person. I didn’t know who the famous person was but Faustine helped me find her uncle who had the name of the spouse. After that there was another game played where you would have a clothing pin and throughout the night you couldn’t say the words “oui” or “non” and if you did you would have to give your pin to whoever made you say it. Maxent and his uncle tied by dinner time so there wasn’t a winner. We finally sat down to eat at very nicely set tables. There were three courses that went by pretty fast since there were only around forty or fifty people there. Over half of whom were family. Faustine is unbelievably blessed to have such a nice and open family. It makes me miss my family a lot to be honest. But I will see them soon enough! Speaking of family, Clement’s parents wanted him to take a picture with me so of course I did and then all the adults started making marriage jokes… I don’t even want to know what shade of red my face became there in that moment. We didn’t have cake until 1:15 and after cake we were dancing until 3:45 when we went home.
We didn’t have school again on Friday again so we all had some much needed sleep. From sleeping in so late, we therefore had a late lunch. Then that evening I went for a run in the light rain which was actually really nice. The rest of that evening I was working on projects for school when I got an upsetting call from my mom. A very good family friend of ours has lost his battle to cancer. I took a while to compose myself before I could leave my room to tell my host parents. They gave me a big hug and I talked with them about it. I did call Christa that night and we talked about all the memories we’ve had with him. It’s hard losing someone you’ve known your whole life. It hard when the circle of life is completed for someone you care about. It’s not something you think is going to happen on your exchange and it is something that hits hard and does affect this experience. I’m just very blessed I have a family here that really supports me.
Saturday I didn’t feel like sitting around all day so I went to the store, took the family dog on a long walk and went to the Gare with Natalie to pick up Ombeline because she is now on summer vacation.
Sunday I finished my homework before lunch and then went to Dinan with Natalie and Stephan after lunch. None of my host siblings wanted to come, even though they hadn’t left the house since Friday and it was perfect weather. I was at least eager to get out. So we walked around the charming river town, talking, going to churches and getting some very yummy macaron ice cream.
Now I prepare to face the last few days as a minor. My seventeenth year of life has been, by far, my most eventful year. I’ve had crazy summer adventures with my friends, I had my first love, my first job, I started to love the classes I was taking, I became closer than ever with my twin, I quit my first job, I moved to France, I got over my first love, I’ve made new friends, new family, new interests, new passions, a new way of looking at life and I’ve found a way to be my own best friend even though I’ve been blessed with some of the best best friends the world could give me. I’m sad that this year is three days from being over. But life is a book and time flips the pages for you. I’m excited and scared for what is going to come next for me. Scared because it’s the unknown but excited because if the book of my life has any sort of trend so far, it is that no matter how great the last chapter was, the next one has other new things that can be more great or even just great in different ways even if my life slows down or speeds up. One thing’s for certain, I am living a very blessed life. Our family friend, whose life was cut short, said in his final months that he has lived a blessed life. He truly was a man of God too. My prayer for myself and everyone I know, for the rest of our lives, is to see what we’ve been blessed with even in the most grim times.

Warning: this post may be longer than the novel, Les Miserables.  

Nothing very exciting happened this week. However that is not necessarily a bad thing at all. It was very relaxing and yet also productive in all the ways this experience should be! I’ll go ahead and just give you a play by play on how this past week went down.
Monday I went to this very large and very popular shopping mall called Alma with Eliza and Alyssa. Before we took the metro to Alma, we ate lunch at this little creperie in downtown Rennes. The crepes were amazing. I had a salmon crepe then a caramel crepe because Bretagne is known for those so I had to! After that I had a cafe au lait which was the beginning of my new found love for coffee. I still drink tea at home though.
Tuesday morning I wrote, studied some vocab and hung out with my older host sister, Ombeline, while she did her homework. Which she did almost everyday for at least an hour! She’s studying to be a lawyer so I guess that makes sense. She also told me, in detail, all about the french school system and how they have to take English (or any other language) up until at least the second year in college on top of all your other classes. It was very nice being able to have a long conversation about something. I’m at the point where I can understand almost everything, but only of certain topics. School and small talk are more on the easy side but topics like politics or analyzing art in depth are things I still get a little lost on. Still have 62 days to work on those!
Then that evening I went out with Faustine and her friends and didn’t go home until around 11:45, it was just about eight of us just talking, laughing, and eating kebab pizza. Faustine’s friends are so nice to me! They talked to me all night in English but I had to talk to them in French! It was fun helping them out while they were helping me out at the same time. One girl asked me if I would rather go back to Colorado or to stay and live here in France. I immediately started thinking about the deep things such as not being with my friends and family and Pim, of course. Then, before I answered, I quickly thought about what it would mean to MY life. Stay with me here; I am one of those people who move to a place where I know no one and can make friends and be really very happy and content. However (you knew this was coming) I’ve found I’ve never been happier than when I’m with people who love me and really know who I am. I’m really good at the loving other people part, but the other people really loving me and want to be a part of my life part (especially friends) is something that I don’t find very often but is something I have in Colorado. Don’t get me wrong. I am in no rush to get back home. My life in France is just how I want it to be and I wouldn’t trade this semester for anything. But my whole life? I just don’t think that’s my path for the long haul. But right now I don’t feel out of place at all. Wow, that was a lot of rambling, but now you see how fast my mind rambles on all the time. Anyways, I gave the short answer being that I wouldn’t want to be so far from my friends and family for too long and that I like driving and I like my highschool too much. That question really did get me thinking of the pros and cons to both scenarios.
Back on to the rest of my week; After a really fun Tuesday night I woke up and cooked myself some BAE (bacon and eggs), which is worth mentioning because it was the first time since my first week here that I made just myself something hot for breakfast. I’m going to be an adult soon so I better start acting like one. Or at least pretend to act like one in the eyes of others. And to continue the streak of doing adult like things, I made my family corn dogs for lunch! They all thought they were bizarre but they also thought that they were good regardless. The corn dogs weren’t the best but I’m happy with how they turned out. They were really easy and fun to make too! Ombeline helped me make them so that added to fun. The rest of the day consisted of doing work and hanging out around the house.
Thursday I finally got out of Fouillard for the first time since Monday. I took my usual bus 50 into Rennes before lunch to take myself on a little shopping/lunch date. It was great feeling so independent! And shopping by myself was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. I had to find a dress for a wedding next weekend and in the second boutique I went into I found one! I also found about four other things I really wanted but I thought against it seeing that the cheapest item I wanted (besides the dress) was about fifty euros. So the shopping part of my date ended short, but also just in time for lunch. I got some cafe au lait and a small baguette sandwich to go. I walked around while my coffee cooled down a bit and found this gorgeous spot with flowers and a little field with benches next to what looked like a wall of a castle that once stood there which had huge lavender colored flowers hanging down from the top of the wall that looked like it could be a scene in a movie. After I ate and drank I wandered around unfamiliar parts of downtown and almost bought a ukulele and a few vinyls when I realized I have no idea how to bring those items safely back with me to Colorado or even fit them in my bag. When I got home the house was empty because my family went to the dentist. Then, after they got back home, we watched TV for a while and ate dinner.
Friday came too quickly. I spent most of it finishing this presentation for school and realizing I only had two more days to sleep in didn’t make me very pleased. Typing this now, realizing I have to wake up early and walk to the bus in the cold makes not very pleased again. But that was prom night for Vista so that made me happy seeing my twin sister all dressed up and looking like a glamorous celebrity. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty bummed I couldn’t go but I still have next year and hey, it’s a small price to pay to be living in France.
Yesterday I tried a new food! Pig intestine. Wasn’t a huge fan to say the least but at least I had the guts to try it (pun intended). That evening I hung out with Faustine’s crew again for a while. I was a little lost at times but I’m seeing myself improve so much in my listening makes me feel not as bad when I don’t catch a sentence or two.
Today I ate crepes for breakfast while having a fun conversation with Natalie about the dream I had last night which was her coming to Colorado, meeting all my friends and shopping with me. She told me she’s only been on a plane once in her life and would be too scared to go to America because her English isn’t good. I assured her that I would be her translator like I was in my dream, It’s wired to dream in French! You can’t escape having new experiences even in your sleep! I also went on a run after lunch that day. Ombeline left for college and now I’m just keeping myself busy until I have to go to bed. My class starts at 10:20 tomorrow so it will be nice to start the week off a little more refreshed! I’m not particularly excited to go back to school. I’m going to miss the late nights watching movies with my host parents and Ombeline and I’m going to miss sleeping in and not worrying about what time I have to wake up in the morning, but for the next three weeks I have at least one day off in each of them and school is also the place where my french grows the most so there is an upside to most everything.