P.S.

As you probably noticed, I changed four things on my blog. The font is different since I was tired of the other, there's now a nice picture of the mountains of Gruyère, as well as some fish and a world light map. With the fish, you can click in the box, and it will feed them. Sort of amusing, right? And the light map is just plain cool.

Comment dis tu "bwaaaah" en français?

(For those of you that don't know French, I made a translation that you can see here .. after all, there is no point writing in French if you don't know what I'm saying. And Google Translator would tell you I said some weird things, I already tried it out, but that doesn't help you all much! Actually, the Google Translator version is pretty funny and worth reading, so if you're bored you can read that here.)

Allô tout le monde. Aujourd'hui je veux écrire un peu en français! Pourquoi pas, hein?

Alors, cette semaine était pratiquement comme toutes les autres semaines. Fraîchement, la vie en suisse est différente, mais elle n'est pas beaucoup plus excitante que celle aux États-Unis. Je me suis aperçu que récemment je dis "moi, je..." tout le temps. Quelle horreur! J'espère que je ne vais pas le dire aussi lorsque je parle anglais. "Moi, je suis fatiguée" n'est pas horrible, mais "me, I'm tired".. ça va pas!

De lundi jusqu'à vendredi, je suis allé à école, comme d'habitude. Lundi, le garçon qui est assis à côté de moi est venu à école avec un entorse à la cheville gauche.. exactement le même blessure que moi. Il s'appelle Sylvain, et il joue du basket. Il était à entraînement quand il est tombé sur sa cheville.. aïe! C'est ironique qu'on a le même blessure, et aussi la même malchance!

Mardi, après école, j'ai regardé l'investiture d'Obama en direct à la télé. C'était magnifique. Je suis fière de mon pays, et qu'on l'a choisi comme président. On a besoin de ce changement. Beaucoup de monde a parlé de l'investiture, et c'était dans le journal. Les suisses sont contentes aussi avec notre choix.

Mercredi, on n'a rien fait dans le cours de dessin, mais la professeur m'a rendu mon argent pour le mercdredi passé. J'ai acheté un croissant délicieux pendant la récré pour un franc. Ce pays me manquerai!

Jeudi, à la fin du jour, on est allé à la Bicubic (c'est le salle de gym et théâtre d'école) pour voir un petit film. Il y avait un couple parisien qui a voyagé en Amérique du Sud, en Asie, et au Proche-Orient pendant trois ans, et ils nous ont parlé de leurs expériences. C'était cool, et de plus, on a loupé le cours d'économie!

Samedi, je suis allé avec Nico et Andréanne à Gruyère, pour la deuxième fois. La première fois était en août lorsque j'ai vu le château de Gruyère. Cette fois-ci on a visité un musée; je l'ai trouvé très bizarre. C'était une colléction d'art par HR Giger, un suisse qui a créé le film Alien. Presque tous ses tableaux sont sexuel et grotesque.. je ne les aimais pas. Mais il y avait beaucoup des gens intéressantes, et l'art était bien fait, même si c'était fou. J'ai vu des personnes qui parle anglais, et c'est tellement bizarre pour moi maintenant quand je les vois.

Aujourd'hui je me suis réveillé vers 10h30. Je dors beaucoup ici, au moins 10 heures le week-end, et au moins 9 heures pendant la semaine. On a dîné la raclette à midi chez Tata et José. Presque toutes les semaines en suisse on mange soit la fondue, soit la raclette!

Et demain, ça fera une nouvelle semaine. Le temps passe vite!

Five Month Mark (Minus Two Days)

Hello everyone. I wanted to start this post by saying that this Tuesday will be mark five months of living in Switzerland, which is very nearly half of my exchange... It's a nice feeling to know that I have that much behind me. In some ways I feel like their is nearly nothing left, in some ways I feel like it's going to take forever to pass.. As I have said before, time behaves weirdly on exchange!

Getting through the first four months especially was really hard, but now I feel like.. I have six months here. That's limited. There are so many things I am going to miss about this country, and so, I can't mope about missing the US. I don't have the time for that! Because before I know it I'll be back. I really need to enjoy what's here while I can, and now I think I am in a mindset where I can do just that. It's definitely a healthier, positive way look at my remaining time here. Everyone says that the second half of exchange is the fun, more enjoyable half.. and I am planning on doing everything I can to be able to say the same thing in July.

Now, about my week. To be honest I don't remember much except one big thing.. On Tuesday in gym class I sprained my left ankle (J'ai une entorse à la cheville gauche!) . We were doing this obstacle course and I landed on it wrong jumping down from a raised parallel bar onto a gym mat. I immediately fell down, and it hurt really ridiculously badly. My friend Bérénice helped me to the corner, and the teacher went to get some ice in a bag from outside. I was crying quite hysterically, I guess because I was so shocked at what happened.. luckily everyone was really nice about it, they said that it's normal and when people get hurt like that it's normal to cry hysterically. Bérénice even said that if you don't get it all out then you can't heal properly. Perhaps it's true. Anyway, I iced my ankle for about 45 minutes, and settled down. At the end of the day Bérnard came to get us from school.

After dropping Andréanne at home we went to the hospital where they did xrays of my ankle and foot to make sure nothing was broken. Luckily it is just a sprain. At the hospital they wrapped up my foot and put it in an aircast as well as gave me crutches and a prescription for some pain and anti-swelling medicines. I can't do any sport for six weeks, both a blessing (gym class) and a curse (ski vacation.) But life is life and bad things don't arrange convenient times to happen. I am just glad this took place five months into exchange, and not two, because I was able to understand all of the doctor's instructions and communicate where it hurt and what happened.

Wednesday was the class trip to Bâle, which I was looking forward to but obviously couldn't go to. The doctor said I should stay home for a day, even if it was just a normal day of school.. and I could hardly hobble around the house let alone the city! So I stayed home.. on the bright side it meant I didn't miss any classwork to make up. Andréanne said it was a dull trip anyway since it was a two hour trip each way and the art teacher made them answer questions about all of the paintings. I made use of my time by sleeping in, elevating my leg, and watching a bad Ben Stiller movie.

Thursday I went back to school. I used crutches which sucked on the bus, but I found that I was putting quite a lot of weight on my ankle already with no pain. In history class we had to pick a personage from the 18th century to do a powerpoint on later in the year.. One of the themes was music and painting so I chose Antonio Vivaldi since I like his music that I know and I would like to learn more about him. I wish I could have chosen an architect but the art theme was specifically devoted to music and paintings so there you go. In the afternoon there was gym which was replaced by a study hall. It is ridiculous, for the next five weeks of school just until the next vacation (excluding the semaine thématique, during which there are no normal classes) I will have, not six and a half hours of study hall each week on average, but NINE! Yeah, being an exchanger is tough, but I can't say there aren't advantages.

Friday I was already feeling well enough to go to school without crutches, just the aircast. Seriously, the crutches were way too big a hassle considering I had no pain while wearing the splint. That all went well.. I limp a bit but that's no big deal. I am just glad that my improvement was rapid enough that I don't have to deal with crutches now.

Saturday Béatrice's sister Rosemarie came over because she bought a new car from the car sellers in Siviriez. We had cheese fondue for lunch. Afterward we went to Fribourg were we went shopping for about an hour and a half. I went to mail some letters at the post office, browsed a bit, then went to get a coffee and read a book. At 15h30 we met at the movie theater and saw the only movie that was at a convenient time.. Mamma Mia. Yes, I have now seen in three times in the theater, and I hope I never have to see it again. The Pierce Brosnan solos were bad enough the first time around.

Today, I really did nothing... ate, did some homework, and watched something Andréanne had recorded on TV about 30 mysterious and paranormal stories. It is nice to have a day to zone out.. and rest my foot.

Nothing big is coming up in the next few days, just more normal school life. Two weeks until the semaine thématique, when I'll learn all about reiki and Lord of the Rings.

Sorry if my English is bad, I am really tired!

Lalala

Okay, I am going to make this blog post assez court (short enough) because I need to go to bed soon, and because not too much of interest happened in my Swiss life in the last week.



Monday through Friday I had school, of course. On Thursday we changed places in class and now I no longer sit by Daniel who never talks but by Sylvain who is nice but talks all the time. He is going to do an exchange next year to the United States so he knows a lot about American culture and his English is really good (but we don't talk lots in English.) I think he speaks Italian too because he's from Tessin (Italian part of Switzerland) so that is cool. Margaux sits in front of us and she talks a lot too, and it's kind of a nice change to be sitting next to all of these talkative people. I figure it can only help my French. And plus now I sit way in the back of the room which I like much better.



Tuesday in Gym we started this thing where with a group we have to make a little gymnastics routine filling certain requirements. I am with Andréanne and our friends Bérénice and Mahélia. We have two weeks of gym to practice and then after we have to be tested on it. I am going to be terrible because there is this sort of somersault that we have to do where we keep our legs straight and seriously, JE N'ARRIVE PAS (I can't do it) but oh well. I will try my best.



Wednesday in art we worked on a drawing. We have been doing a series of works where we draw the same subject, a leaf with our choice of insects on it. First we did a normal pencil drawing, then a charcoal one, then two in ink, and now we are working on one in colored pencils where we are supposed to use unrealistically bright colors. I finished that Friday night as homework because it's this coming week.



Friday in Travaux Pratiques (practical work- those are the science labs we do twice a month) we did a blood lab. For the first hour we talked about what different blood types are (with the different antigens and all of that) and which ones can be transfused to which others, as well as what blood is composed of. Then we did a lab where we tested blood (my lab partner volunteered so I didn't have to give any) against antigen solutions to see what type it was, then made microscope slides of blood mixed with saline and blood mixed with deionized water to see how the cells reacted. It was pretty cool.



On Saturday Sakshi came to Romont on the train. I went to meet her at the train station there and then we took the bus home. We watched an Indian film she brought called Lagaan that is about these poor Indian villagers who have to pay taxes to the British. Through ridiculous circumstances they make a deal where if they beat the British soldiers in a game of cricket the whole province won't have to pay taxes for three years and if they lose they will have to pay triple taxes. It was a good movie but it was three hours long.. at least now I understand cricket which I was quite ignorant about before. Seriously it is the coolest thing ever watching Indian movies with Sakshi who can just explain it all to me.



Today Sakshi went home at two. I walked her to the bus stop and the weather was really nice. I hope it lasts.. it was above freezing and sunny and it almost felt like spring was coming (I know, I know, it's only January. But it still was a nice illusion.) In the afternoon I worked on my homework, and now I am sitting here writing this.



This week on Wednesday my art class is taking a field trip to Bâle and I am really excited. The first two hours of the day are art class which I like a lot, then after that we will be gone the whole day! We are going to see an exhibit at an art museum but I am not sure which one it is because there are many in Basel. Anyway I am expecting to have a very nice time on this trip.



The first week of February is le semaine thematique, then after that only two weeks before les vacances de carnaval.. though unfortunately that break is one week long and not two. That's when we're going skiing.



Okay I have to get going to bed now. This last week was really busy, and the one coming up will probably be too, but to those of you who are expecting a letter or email from me I am working on it.

End of Vacations

Hi everyone

It's 6PM Sunday night and tomorrow Andréanne, Nicolas, and I will be heading back to school. I could use another week, though the truth is I don't really need it. I'm just feeling lazy. But the time goes faster when I am busy and it's easier to not be homesick, so even though I am not looking forward to waking up early tomorrow for the first time in two weeks, at least I know it's good for me.

So, what happened in the last week..? Not much really. I guess I hung out a lot. On Monday Andréanne, Béatrice, Béatrice's friend, and I went to Berne (the photos are posted in my last post if you missed them.) It was only a 45 minute or one hour drive to the Swiss capital, and being in a city that was somewhat bigger than Fribourg for the first time in a while felt nice. Béatrice showed me where the Federal Palace is, but unfortunately it wasn't open to visitors. After that we split up- they all went to go shopping (much more variety than Fribourg) while I explored Berne a bit. It's not that big but really lovely with lots of old buildings, stores, and people. It is weird, but it generally takes a trip to a new city, seeing new things, to remind me, HEY I'm in Europe (I guess because the rest of Swiss life has become routine.) It's a fairly exhilirating feeling to realize that I am visiting new places and doing new things even though I'm generally blind to it.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were completely filled with hanging out. I did most of my homework during those days, played Fable, in French, on the computer (Language skills? Maybe?), cleaned my room, read, etc. Nothing big. For New Year's Eve Andréanne's newish boyfriend was going to come over but there was too much snow on the roads so he couldn't. Nicolas went to some party, and Béatrice and Bernard went somewhere as well, so it was just me and Andréanne to celebrate. Béatrice bought us some special foods (mini sandwiches, little smoked fish things, ice cream) which we ate while watching TV. It sounds lame but it was actually quite nice, and I didn't feel much like going out anyway. On New Year's Day Tata and José came over and we all ate cheese fondue together. It was good, as usual.

Yesterday (Saturday) I made chocolate chip cookies for la Fête de Rois with AFS which was today. In the evening Andréanne and I went to our souper de classe in a (different) cabin in the woods. I finally learned that different communes have their own cabins that people can rent out, so that explains why there are so many all over. The souper de classe was pretty lame, to be honest. Berenice, one of my and Andréanne's better friends in our class who is super funny, couldn't come, so that made it a bit boring. In total there were about 15 out of 22 people in the class.. lots of alcohol (though not everyone drank and not all of those who did got drunk) and cigarettes. The laxness about alcohol and cigarettes is such a cultural difference for me, though I guess I am getting used to it now. Andréanne drank about 1/3 of a beer, while I drank the other 2/3, and that was it for us. Since there was only a fireplace in one corner of the cabin it was absolutely freezing and I left my coat on the whole time. We left around 11:30 while the party was still somewhat going.

Today I slept in until around eleven since it is the last day I can do that until next weekend.. For breakfast there was a gâteau de rois because today is la Fête de Rois (Epiphany) to celebrate the day that the three kings visited Jesus in the manger. Anyway, we ate a cake that isn't really a cake, but more like a bunch of sweet buns stuck together in a circle shape.. Inside one of the pieces there was a trinket hidden, which Nicolas found, which means he got to be the king (which doesn't actually mean anything.)

This afternoon there was an AFS get-together in Fribourg which me and my whole host family went to. I think it was a bit boring for Andréanne and Nicolas, but that they were willing to go means a lot to me. We ate more gâteaux des rois as well as clementines, the cookies I made, chocolates, coffee, tea, etc. I visited with all my exchange friends that I haven't seen in ages, and Alicia and Claudine. One of the exchangers there, Mikael from New Zealand, is going home in 18 days because he is from the southern hemisphere so his program goes from February to January instead of August to July. In February there will be a new group of Australians/New Zealanders arriving, and I am quite excited to meet them. I remember around a month after I got here I met an Austrailian and Mikael at the AFS bowling event and it seemed like they had gotten through so much of their exchange year and already had so much experience behind them.. I can't believe that is going to be what I seem like to the new students. It's a weird thought. Anyway, The local AFS chapter has decided to have get-togethers once a month from now on, which I can go to alone since my host family may or may not want to go, and I am really looking forward to them.

After getting home I finished my homework, ate dinner, and now am writing here. My vacations were relaxing but definitely went too fast.

To Chloe and Aunt Amy, I got your letters. Thank you! I will start writing back very soon.

Amy, you asked: "What is the movie you watched for the 3rd time with your family on Xmas Eve ("welcome to the house of - something"?)? Is it sort of the equivalent of us watching "A Christmas Story"?"

The movie, Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis (meaning Welcome to the Land of the Ch'tis) is a popular French comedy in which a guy from the south of France is forced to go to the North where the people speak Picard (a language very close to French) and have silly accents, eat weird foods, and it supposedly rains all the time. Basically it plays off the stereotypes and truths of le Nord-Pas de Calais, the northernmost region in France. It is a super funny film even though the English subtitles are a little weird (they really can't not be because only French people truly get it) and it broke pretty much all of the box office records in France... I would recommend it if you can find it, but make sure to watch with subtitles to be able to hear all of the crazy Picard.