Hello everyone! I am quite tired at the moment and not really motivated to write on my blog (I'm going to go take a nap afterward!) so maybe this is going to be shorter than normal. I feel like since I'm coming home so soon anyway and will see most of you soon after, it's less important to keep you all informed about my life here, so that's why lately I've maybe been less descriptive and everything in my posts.. I hope this doesn't bother you too much!
Well, this will be my third-to-last blog post, if I continue to write on Sunday afternoons as I generally do. Can you even believe that? I'm coming home so soon.. (eighteen days! Not that I'm counting or anything, haha.) I have lots of mixed feelings about coming home, but the positive ones definitely outweigh the negative ones. It's almost a problem how exciting it is that July 16th is approaching. Every few hours I will think about how soon it is and get really jittery and a little nervous. In a lot of ways, I'm feeling now the same way I was feeling 11 months ago, when I had approximately eighteen days left before leaving Minneapolis: nostalgic, excited, sad, happy, nervous, etc. I guess in a lot of ways I've come full circle.
This last week in school was really boring.. I had my last tests of the year, in history (I got a 5) and math (5.3.) I also got my chemistry test back (4.4) and the grade for my history presentation (6!) The teachers had to enter all their grades in the computer by Wednesday, which means for the last five days of school they can't give us tests or grades. We started watching movies in English and German, and next week we'll watch in French, math, geography, and probably chemistry and/or biology too. So basically it's really boring and pointless going to school (except to see my friends of course!) A couple of the teachers are still trying to teach us but we are like zombies when they start saying anything intelligent, and no one has any motivation to try (even the teachers seem lazy.) At least there are only three days left this week and then we're free!
This weekend was pretty cool. There was the annual braderie in Romont, which is like a little festival that everyone goes to, with booths selling items and food, maybe some music, and a carousel for the little kids. Mostly it's an event for the locals to get together and to see everyone they know from the area who maybe they wouldn't otherwise see.
Friday night I went with Bernard, Béatrice, and Andréanne to eat dinner there. We also walked around and saw a lot of kids in our class and talked to them, but unfortunately it was rainy so it wasn't that lively.. everyone was telling me that normally the crowds were shoulder to shoulder, but this year there were way less people. I think we left around 20h00 or 21h00.
Saturday I had a pretty busy day. I woke up around 9h00. For lunch I ate at the house. Then afterward I went in the car to the braderie at 13h30 to meet up with Margaux, who was getting off her shift making crêpes to raise money for the camp she goes to (or something like that.) We walked around and saw a lot more people we knew.. since it was during the day and not raining there were a lot more people and little kids. She had a really nice idea of taking pictures of me with all the monuments of Romont, so we did a tour of the town.. she's going to make me a CD with those pictures, the ones she took when we went to Lac Noir in February, and some she had taken of our class and friends at school. After this I ate a chocolate crêpe and she ate some ice cream. It started raining really hard around 16h00 so we had to take shelter under an awning. At 16h30 the rain let up a bit and I went to the station to take a train to Fribourg, and Margaux walked home. I went to Sakshi's house afterward.
At her house her house parents were home so we took an apéro together, and then ate dinner and dessert. We ended up spending from like 19h00 to 22h00 eating and talking with her host parents (who are really nice) just about how our years went, amongst other things. I speak French better than the last time I went there so I was able to answer their questions about my experience here, my culture, and my life in the US a lot better. After we finished eating and talking Sakshi and I went to watch TV and talk.. I think we stayed up until around midnight or 1h00.
This morning we woke up around 10h00 and ate a brunch (bread, cheese, ham, jam, nutella, orange juice, coffee, etc.) at around 11h00. At 13h30 I took the bus to Fribourg, and it took me forever to get home because there are hardly any buses on Sundays and I had to wait around a long time (so I drank two coffees and read a book.) I got here around 16h00, and now I am just hanging out. I don't usually like Sundays because it means there is school the next day, but I am ready to get this week over with and start enjoying my summer vacation!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Soixante-deux..
Hello again!
Let's see.. I just had a normal week of school. It seemed really long though, because it was my first five-day week in a while since I've had so much vacation time.
Monday I had my presentation about Antonio Vivaldi, which I was surprisingly not too nervous for. I think it's probable that living 10 months in a place where every time I open my mouth I risk making a fool of myself has helped do away with any fear I might have of talking in front of people. And now I feel very empowered, because I feel that if doing a presentation in French is such a breeze, then now whenever I have to do one in English it will seem doubly easy! So all in all, though it sort of sucked preparing my presentation and everything I am glad I did it. It was a good experience. I had to talk about three facets of Vivaldi so I chose la création de ses oeuvres majeures (the creation of his major works), son influence dans la musique (his influence in music), and la redécouverte de sa musique et "la renaissance Vivaldi" (the rediscovery of his music and the "Vivaldi renaissance.) All in all it went well! Other than that Monday was super uneventful.
Tuesday I had two tests, one in chemistry and one in IT. The chemistry one I think I did okay on.. at least, I answered all the questions, so that already counts for something. We'll get that back this week I think. The IT test was on Excel and it was not that hard except too long so most of us didn't have enough time to finish.. but it doesn't really matter. I also got my biology test back, and I got 4.8! I was happy and surprised about that. We had gym in the afternoon and we continued (yes, still) our unihockey/soccer/volleyball tournament.
Wednesday was normal.. we're still working on the same project in art class (Tintin and Titeuf.) Next week is the last time we'll have to finish so I had to work on it for a really long time this weekend.
Thursday was super uneventful and I don't even recall what happened. Oh yeah, I had three hours of study (the first because the others had a French test, the second because they had German class, the third because everyone had study.) I studied for the geography test the next day.
Friday like I said, I had a geography test. I feel I did so-so on it. I also had two hours of study in the afternoon so I did all my math homework. It's my last Friday two-hour study of the year! (Next week I have a Chemistry lab, and the week after we'll be done with school.) Friday night when I came home I worked on my art project for two or three hours.
Saturday morning I didn't do much. In the afternoon at 14h00 I left to go to Fribourg. I got there around 15h00 and then went to buy some things. Around 16h00 I went to the vieille ville, down by the river, to meet up with some AFS friends (Sakshi, Fernando, Carlo, Marianna, Sara, and two volunteers is all.) This was for the "Bye bye party" that AFS had planned. We made a fire in a fire ring on the edge of the river, and grilled sausages, as well as eating various salads, cakes, cookies, chips, etc. Around 19h00 it started to rain so we headed to the center of town. We split up- I stayed with Sakshi and Fernando and we went to get a coffee and talk. Around 21h30 I went home. I didn't get to bed until maybe 01h00.
Today I woke up around 08h00. I showered, ate breakfast, and then worked on my art project for another two or three hours (Just two hours of art class this Wednesday and I'll be finished.) This afternoon I am going to Fribourg because there is a music festival. At 16h30 my history student teacher is playing a show and so Andréanne, a bunch of my friends in my class, and I are going to see it. (His Myspace music page is here, but I should warn you that he's a better teacher than singer.. in my opinion..)
I am starting to think about lots of things.. packing (and how much crap I have to get rid of or send in a box), getting to the airport, how to fill up all my spare time with things so I don't waste any of it. I have something planned for all the last weekends (of which there are only three.. it's so surreal!) Also, my last full week in Switzerland (I leave the following Thursday) I am going to Zürich with Sakshi for three nights/two and a half days. It should be fun!
This next week I expect to be long and pretty boring.. Tuesday I have two tests, and those are the last for the end of the year. After that we will probably not do anything in school.. so if my next blog post is not very detailed, sorry in advance!
Let's see.. I just had a normal week of school. It seemed really long though, because it was my first five-day week in a while since I've had so much vacation time.
Monday I had my presentation about Antonio Vivaldi, which I was surprisingly not too nervous for. I think it's probable that living 10 months in a place where every time I open my mouth I risk making a fool of myself has helped do away with any fear I might have of talking in front of people. And now I feel very empowered, because I feel that if doing a presentation in French is such a breeze, then now whenever I have to do one in English it will seem doubly easy! So all in all, though it sort of sucked preparing my presentation and everything I am glad I did it. It was a good experience. I had to talk about three facets of Vivaldi so I chose la création de ses oeuvres majeures (the creation of his major works), son influence dans la musique (his influence in music), and la redécouverte de sa musique et "la renaissance Vivaldi" (the rediscovery of his music and the "Vivaldi renaissance.) All in all it went well! Other than that Monday was super uneventful.
Tuesday I had two tests, one in chemistry and one in IT. The chemistry one I think I did okay on.. at least, I answered all the questions, so that already counts for something. We'll get that back this week I think. The IT test was on Excel and it was not that hard except too long so most of us didn't have enough time to finish.. but it doesn't really matter. I also got my biology test back, and I got 4.8! I was happy and surprised about that. We had gym in the afternoon and we continued (yes, still) our unihockey/soccer/volleyball tournament.
Wednesday was normal.. we're still working on the same project in art class (Tintin and Titeuf.) Next week is the last time we'll have to finish so I had to work on it for a really long time this weekend.
Thursday was super uneventful and I don't even recall what happened. Oh yeah, I had three hours of study (the first because the others had a French test, the second because they had German class, the third because everyone had study.) I studied for the geography test the next day.
Friday like I said, I had a geography test. I feel I did so-so on it. I also had two hours of study in the afternoon so I did all my math homework. It's my last Friday two-hour study of the year! (Next week I have a Chemistry lab, and the week after we'll be done with school.) Friday night when I came home I worked on my art project for two or three hours.
Saturday morning I didn't do much. In the afternoon at 14h00 I left to go to Fribourg. I got there around 15h00 and then went to buy some things. Around 16h00 I went to the vieille ville, down by the river, to meet up with some AFS friends (Sakshi, Fernando, Carlo, Marianna, Sara, and two volunteers is all.) This was for the "Bye bye party" that AFS had planned. We made a fire in a fire ring on the edge of the river, and grilled sausages, as well as eating various salads, cakes, cookies, chips, etc. Around 19h00 it started to rain so we headed to the center of town. We split up- I stayed with Sakshi and Fernando and we went to get a coffee and talk. Around 21h30 I went home. I didn't get to bed until maybe 01h00.
Today I woke up around 08h00. I showered, ate breakfast, and then worked on my art project for another two or three hours (Just two hours of art class this Wednesday and I'll be finished.) This afternoon I am going to Fribourg because there is a music festival. At 16h30 my history student teacher is playing a show and so Andréanne, a bunch of my friends in my class, and I are going to see it. (His Myspace music page is here, but I should warn you that he's a better teacher than singer.. in my opinion..)
I am starting to think about lots of things.. packing (and how much crap I have to get rid of or send in a box), getting to the airport, how to fill up all my spare time with things so I don't waste any of it. I have something planned for all the last weekends (of which there are only three.. it's so surreal!) Also, my last full week in Switzerland (I leave the following Thursday) I am going to Zürich with Sakshi for three nights/two and a half days. It should be fun!
This next week I expect to be long and pretty boring.. Tuesday I have two tests, and those are the last for the end of the year. After that we will probably not do anything in school.. so if my next blog post is not very detailed, sorry in advance!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Soixante-et-un
Last Wednesday was a fairly uneventful day at school. Afterward I took the train to Fribourg and met Claudine at the train station at 17h00. She drove me to their apartment where Alicia was also. They gave me an awesome birthday of a t-shirt and an Astérix and Obélix comic book (another popular series in French-speaking countries which I haven't read yet.) I did some homework, and then around 19h00 we went to a Mongolian restaurant. I can't wait until I am back home and can eat Asian foods whenever I want, but for now it was a treat (I think I've only eaten Asian food of any sort once here before that, and it was really gross.) After eating they drove me home and I got there at ten.
Thursday I had school off, and my host parents also didn't have work. Together with Béatrice, Andréanne, and Bernard, I went to the zoo in Zürich. We left at 8h00 and I fell asleep in the car. A little more than halfway there we stopped at a rest stop.. they are really nice in Switzerland. However you have to pay twenty centimes for the toilet (this is good though, usually at the train station it is one or two francs.) We sat down to drink a coffee before continuing on our way. It took us three hours to get to the zoo, but that is counting our rest break, crossing the traffic in the center of Zürich, and finding our way there. We stayed at the zoo until around 15h00 or 16h00 I think, eating lunch at noon at the cafeteria. The zoo was cool, and I really liked it because I hadn't been to one for a long while before that. Also at the zoo they have a GIGANTIC greenhouse (11'000 square meters) and the inside has animals and plants from the Masoala rainforest in Madagascar. That was pretty cool.
After we left the zoo, we took the car to the lakefront of Zürich. On the way we picked up Béatrice's sister Rosemarie who was getting off of work at SwissLife (the insurance company where she works.) We parked and then got out to walk, and Rosemarie showed us around. We went to the Fraumünster to see the stained glass windows there made by Marc Chagall. We also drank a coffee at a nice cafe on the river right across from the Grossmünster cathedral. Afterward we walked around the sort of hip neighborhood there, where there are a lot of shops and young people. We stopped to eat dinner at a restaurant where we sat on a terrace over a little square, and it was really nice. After dinner we walked down the Banhofstrasse to look at all the really expensive stores. Since Béatrice, Bernard, and Andréanne still had to drive two hours to go home, we went back to the car and said goodbye. I stayed with Rosemarie but we didn't go to her house right away, instead we did a driving tour of Zürich. We drove south down the western side of the lake through the various villages (now suburbs) that have now become part of greater Zürich. At Horgen we crossed the lake on the ferry and drove back north on the eastern side. After this I was really tired so we went home to their house in Leimbach, one of the neighborhoods of Zürich. They have a really nice townhouse with lots of extra space since all of their kids have moved out, and they said that since it is really not a problem (there is an extra bedroom and bathroom in the basement) I can come back to stay if I like. I went to bed around 22h00 because I was completely exhausted after my long day!
Friday morning I woke up around 7h30. Rosemarie and her husband had already gone to work. I showered, ate breakfast, and got all of my things together. I then took the bus and the tram into the city. In the morning I did some shopping, buying a t-shirt, a tank top, and a pair of jeans. For lunch I ate a sandwich. Then in the afternoon I went to the Museum für Gestaltung (museum of design.) I stayed there to look at the collection for about an hour (it wasn't very big.) I liked a lot of the items they had on display but the whole thing had a sort of pretentious atmosphere (okay, I was really tired too, so maybe I just wasn't up for it.) After the museum I went to a cafe near the train station and drank a coffee while filling out some postcards I had bought in the morning. At 17h00, after navigating around the giant web underground the Zürich train station (it is crazy, there is a fitness center and a grocery store down there), I took the train home. I had to change in Berne and then take the bus from Romont as usual. When I got home it was 19h00, and I didn't really do much for the rest of the night.
Yesterday I woke up at 8h30. At 10h15 we left the house to go to my host brother's gymnastics competition in Romont. It was also a competition for dance so on one side of the gym they did dance and on one side gymnastics while the others prepared, and there was always something to watch. In the morning was the dance and anneaux (rings.. however it's a type only done in Switzerland- click here to see a youtube video of my host brother's group's routine.) Then for lunch we ate sausages with bread from the vendor outside, and drank a coffee. In the afternoon we saw the floor routine and the parallel bars, and Andréanne and I went home before the vault, and got there around 15h00. At 16h00 I left and went on a bike ride until dinnertime at 18h30, and then in the evening I just relaxed.
This morning I slept in until 11h00. We ate lunch on the balcony off of the kitchen. Since then I've been doing my homework because tomorrow I have my Antonio Vivaldi presentation.. and otherwise just enjoying my Sunday afternoon.
Thursday I had school off, and my host parents also didn't have work. Together with Béatrice, Andréanne, and Bernard, I went to the zoo in Zürich. We left at 8h00 and I fell asleep in the car. A little more than halfway there we stopped at a rest stop.. they are really nice in Switzerland. However you have to pay twenty centimes for the toilet (this is good though, usually at the train station it is one or two francs.) We sat down to drink a coffee before continuing on our way. It took us three hours to get to the zoo, but that is counting our rest break, crossing the traffic in the center of Zürich, and finding our way there. We stayed at the zoo until around 15h00 or 16h00 I think, eating lunch at noon at the cafeteria. The zoo was cool, and I really liked it because I hadn't been to one for a long while before that. Also at the zoo they have a GIGANTIC greenhouse (11'000 square meters) and the inside has animals and plants from the Masoala rainforest in Madagascar. That was pretty cool.
After we left the zoo, we took the car to the lakefront of Zürich. On the way we picked up Béatrice's sister Rosemarie who was getting off of work at SwissLife (the insurance company where she works.) We parked and then got out to walk, and Rosemarie showed us around. We went to the Fraumünster to see the stained glass windows there made by Marc Chagall. We also drank a coffee at a nice cafe on the river right across from the Grossmünster cathedral. Afterward we walked around the sort of hip neighborhood there, where there are a lot of shops and young people. We stopped to eat dinner at a restaurant where we sat on a terrace over a little square, and it was really nice. After dinner we walked down the Banhofstrasse to look at all the really expensive stores. Since Béatrice, Bernard, and Andréanne still had to drive two hours to go home, we went back to the car and said goodbye. I stayed with Rosemarie but we didn't go to her house right away, instead we did a driving tour of Zürich. We drove south down the western side of the lake through the various villages (now suburbs) that have now become part of greater Zürich. At Horgen we crossed the lake on the ferry and drove back north on the eastern side. After this I was really tired so we went home to their house in Leimbach, one of the neighborhoods of Zürich. They have a really nice townhouse with lots of extra space since all of their kids have moved out, and they said that since it is really not a problem (there is an extra bedroom and bathroom in the basement) I can come back to stay if I like. I went to bed around 22h00 because I was completely exhausted after my long day!
Friday morning I woke up around 7h30. Rosemarie and her husband had already gone to work. I showered, ate breakfast, and got all of my things together. I then took the bus and the tram into the city. In the morning I did some shopping, buying a t-shirt, a tank top, and a pair of jeans. For lunch I ate a sandwich. Then in the afternoon I went to the Museum für Gestaltung (museum of design.) I stayed there to look at the collection for about an hour (it wasn't very big.) I liked a lot of the items they had on display but the whole thing had a sort of pretentious atmosphere (okay, I was really tired too, so maybe I just wasn't up for it.) After the museum I went to a cafe near the train station and drank a coffee while filling out some postcards I had bought in the morning. At 17h00, after navigating around the giant web underground the Zürich train station (it is crazy, there is a fitness center and a grocery store down there), I took the train home. I had to change in Berne and then take the bus from Romont as usual. When I got home it was 19h00, and I didn't really do much for the rest of the night.
Yesterday I woke up at 8h30. At 10h15 we left the house to go to my host brother's gymnastics competition in Romont. It was also a competition for dance so on one side of the gym they did dance and on one side gymnastics while the others prepared, and there was always something to watch. In the morning was the dance and anneaux (rings.. however it's a type only done in Switzerland- click here to see a youtube video of my host brother's group's routine.) Then for lunch we ate sausages with bread from the vendor outside, and drank a coffee. In the afternoon we saw the floor routine and the parallel bars, and Andréanne and I went home before the vault, and got there around 15h00. At 16h00 I left and went on a bike ride until dinnertime at 18h30, and then in the evening I just relaxed.
This morning I slept in until 11h00. We ate lunch on the balcony off of the kitchen. Since then I've been doing my homework because tomorrow I have my Antonio Vivaldi presentation.. and otherwise just enjoying my Sunday afternoon.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Soixante
Hello everyone!
I have been really really busy for the last couple days, and that's why I didn't have the type to write a blog update until now.
But, from the beginning..
Last Monday (June 1st) I had school off. There was an AFS thing organized where we went to Gruyère, ate a fondue, and visited a cheese factory (the one I had already seen.) Basically it was nothing new, but it was a good chance to hang out with some exchange friends from the region and to meet some new ones.
Tuesday was my birthday, which I passed super well. I woke up pretty early to go to my friend Bérénice's house, getting there around 08h30. The first thing we did was go get her two horses from where they were grazing in their field and put them in their stalls. Swiss farms are really cool because the barn and the house are attached.. (see here and here, they generally look like this around here, and there are tons of farms like these.) Bérénice's house was built in 1750, and when her parents moved there they updated it but tried to keep everything as original as possible. It's weird to think that their house was built before the US was even a country. Anyway, after we went to get the horses we went inside, went on the computer for a bit, and then watched a movie. It was called "Bienvenue en Suisse" (Welcome to Switzerland) and it was a comedy about some French woman and a Swiss guy that lives in France who come to get the Swiss guy's great-grandmother's inheritance when she dies. It was pretty stupid but funny too.
After we watched the movie we ate lunch, which Bérénice made, with her two little brothers (9 and 10) who came home from school. She and her sister (19) had made me a birthday cake the night before and so we ate that with ice cream. In the afternoon we went horse riding for a bit. I don't really like horse riding much unless the horse is super nice, but it was okay because hers was. After I had finished we put her horse back, then went to get the neighbor's horse which has just recently been broken, and I watched Bérénice ride.. she is super comfortable with horses and knows exactly what to do, and so it was cool to watch. She even rides without a saddle and somehow is able to hop up on an unsaddled horse all alone! After riding we hung out some more.. she showed me her two cats and like six rabbits. Then before supper her mom drove me home.
The next three days were normal days of school, and we really didn't do much that I remember. Thursday we had gym class, and we played ultimate frisbee and unihockey. Friday I had a chemistry lab where we did multiple experiments with alcohol.. in one of them we had to use it to extract the chlorophyll from some leaves and then separate the extraction using paper chromatography.
Friday night I skyped with my mom and got my bags packed for the next morning when I had to go to AFS camp.
Saturday I got up really early to go to the camp. I wasn't really motivated to go, but it turned out to be so much fun in the end. There was a different group of AFS counselors this time, and unlike the last time where they set a bedtime and made us do stupid activities we didn't want to do, they were really nice towards us didn't treat us like little kids. Also, I think this time the group of students seemed closer and I had such a fun time talking to everyone. I took the bus and then the train to Fribourg, where I met up with a bunch of my exchange friends (Sakshi, Fernando from Paraguay, Aleksi from Finland, Marianna from Latvia, Sergio from Venezeula, Sara from Bolivia, Carlo from Mexico.) We went to Bern where we changed trains, and then took one to Bienne, which is north of here. From there we met up with all the other exchange students from French-speaking Switzerland who arrived here last summer (about 20 in all who are still here.) We all took a bus together at 10h20 to this random bus stop in the Jura mountains where some AFS counselors met us. Together we had to walk for fifteen minutes uphill to a chalet that AFS had rented.
The first day of camp they explained to us the few rules of the camp (no alcohol we brought, no smoking inside) and then we ate lunch. We played some typical "bonding" games for a bit. Afterward we split into small groups of about six, each with one counselor, and took an hour our two to discuss our feelings and reflections about the year. My group had a lot to say and we had a really insightful conversation. When this was done we ate a snack of bread, chocolate, and tea, and then split into different groups to make up a sketch about our AFS year. They also gave us the assignment of writing a letter to our host family throughout the weekend, which they will send a month or two after we've left. After this we ate supper. In the evening we had free time, then acted out our sketches. When this was done we got to party for the rest of the night, and the AFS people put out food and sangria (warning us to be responsible, of course.) Someone had brought a laptop and so they put music on. Amanda, a girl from Wisconsin, and I, taught some others how to play spoons, and then afterward we all danced a bit and just talked. It was really fun, but around midnight I went to bed because I was so tired. Others came up after me but the rowdiest partied until around four, and didn't seem to mind coming into our room, turning all the lights on, and annoying us.. needless to say we didn't sleep so well but it was all good fun.
Sunday morning I woke up around 06h30 and couldn't fall back to sleep even though breakfast was two hours later, so I got up. I washed my hair in the bathroom sink and then did my math homework. After we ate breakfast we split into the original groups again, and spent a good two hours talking about another subject: coming home. It was so good to discuss all of our feelings and fears about this with others who are going through the same thing, and I really think it made me feel a bit more prepared. It's going to be hard adjusting back, and I have a lot of mixed feelings about all of it, but I am ready to try it out. When we were done with the group discussion we ate lunch, then had some free time in the afternoon, and then had to do the cleaning of the chalet.
Around 15h00 it was time to go.. we spent a good while outside the chalet doing an awesome farewell. We had to all get into a line holding hands, then this chain of standing people was rolled into a spiral. The person in the very middle had to get out of the spiral by walking out, and on the way saying goodbye (that is, doing three cheek kisses) to everyone that came after them. Then the next person after them did this too, etc. etc. so that everyone got to say goodbye to everyone else and no one missed doing kisses with anyone. Our cheeks were a little sore afterward.. We had to wait at the bus stop for maybe 45 minutes, and then when the bus came we took that to Bienne. I took the train back to Fribourg with a few of the others, and then from there I took the train to Romont alone. There Nicolas came to get me with the car. When I got home it was 19h30.. We ate dinner, I unpacked my bags, and then, absolutely exhausted, went to bed.
Monday (June 8th) was a boring day of school, and besides the fact that I was more tired that usual, it was pretty average. Our math teacher told us she had received an email that we will have one less week of school than we thought.. before telling us today that she went to double check and the date she thought was the last day of school was actually just the last day teachers can put grades into the system! Apparently she is going to give us chocolate to make up for it. Also Andréanne did a presentation about James Watt and la machine à vapeur.
Today was a very horrid day in the beginning and then was really cool for the afternoon. The first four hours we had French, chemistry, math, and also biology (seriously, Tuesdays are always terrible) in which we had a much dreaded test (but it's the last one! Ever!) In the afternoon we had gym and it passed so fast. We continued the volleyball/unihockey/soccer tournament that we had started two weeks ago.. I was the goalie for soccer and it was hard but fun. After gym class we got to skip IT and economy because we got to go see a play instead. Four of my friends in my grade (including Margaux) were in the first two pieces, where there were only five actors total and which lasted about an hour. The second part was this piece that paralleled the story of Little Red Riding Hood with the Holocaust.. that was acted by seven kids from the younger grades, and it was really weird but cool nonetheless. It was so much fun seeing my friends act, and they did a really good job.
So yeah, this is basically everything that's gone on in my life since last I wrote! Until next time..
I have been really really busy for the last couple days, and that's why I didn't have the type to write a blog update until now.
But, from the beginning..
Last Monday (June 1st) I had school off. There was an AFS thing organized where we went to Gruyère, ate a fondue, and visited a cheese factory (the one I had already seen.) Basically it was nothing new, but it was a good chance to hang out with some exchange friends from the region and to meet some new ones.
Tuesday was my birthday, which I passed super well. I woke up pretty early to go to my friend Bérénice's house, getting there around 08h30. The first thing we did was go get her two horses from where they were grazing in their field and put them in their stalls. Swiss farms are really cool because the barn and the house are attached.. (see here and here, they generally look like this around here, and there are tons of farms like these.) Bérénice's house was built in 1750, and when her parents moved there they updated it but tried to keep everything as original as possible. It's weird to think that their house was built before the US was even a country. Anyway, after we went to get the horses we went inside, went on the computer for a bit, and then watched a movie. It was called "Bienvenue en Suisse" (Welcome to Switzerland) and it was a comedy about some French woman and a Swiss guy that lives in France who come to get the Swiss guy's great-grandmother's inheritance when she dies. It was pretty stupid but funny too.
After we watched the movie we ate lunch, which Bérénice made, with her two little brothers (9 and 10) who came home from school. She and her sister (19) had made me a birthday cake the night before and so we ate that with ice cream. In the afternoon we went horse riding for a bit. I don't really like horse riding much unless the horse is super nice, but it was okay because hers was. After I had finished we put her horse back, then went to get the neighbor's horse which has just recently been broken, and I watched Bérénice ride.. she is super comfortable with horses and knows exactly what to do, and so it was cool to watch. She even rides without a saddle and somehow is able to hop up on an unsaddled horse all alone! After riding we hung out some more.. she showed me her two cats and like six rabbits. Then before supper her mom drove me home.
The next three days were normal days of school, and we really didn't do much that I remember. Thursday we had gym class, and we played ultimate frisbee and unihockey. Friday I had a chemistry lab where we did multiple experiments with alcohol.. in one of them we had to use it to extract the chlorophyll from some leaves and then separate the extraction using paper chromatography.
Friday night I skyped with my mom and got my bags packed for the next morning when I had to go to AFS camp.
Saturday I got up really early to go to the camp. I wasn't really motivated to go, but it turned out to be so much fun in the end. There was a different group of AFS counselors this time, and unlike the last time where they set a bedtime and made us do stupid activities we didn't want to do, they were really nice towards us didn't treat us like little kids. Also, I think this time the group of students seemed closer and I had such a fun time talking to everyone. I took the bus and then the train to Fribourg, where I met up with a bunch of my exchange friends (Sakshi, Fernando from Paraguay, Aleksi from Finland, Marianna from Latvia, Sergio from Venezeula, Sara from Bolivia, Carlo from Mexico.) We went to Bern where we changed trains, and then took one to Bienne, which is north of here. From there we met up with all the other exchange students from French-speaking Switzerland who arrived here last summer (about 20 in all who are still here.) We all took a bus together at 10h20 to this random bus stop in the Jura mountains where some AFS counselors met us. Together we had to walk for fifteen minutes uphill to a chalet that AFS had rented.
The first day of camp they explained to us the few rules of the camp (no alcohol we brought, no smoking inside) and then we ate lunch. We played some typical "bonding" games for a bit. Afterward we split into small groups of about six, each with one counselor, and took an hour our two to discuss our feelings and reflections about the year. My group had a lot to say and we had a really insightful conversation. When this was done we ate a snack of bread, chocolate, and tea, and then split into different groups to make up a sketch about our AFS year. They also gave us the assignment of writing a letter to our host family throughout the weekend, which they will send a month or two after we've left. After this we ate supper. In the evening we had free time, then acted out our sketches. When this was done we got to party for the rest of the night, and the AFS people put out food and sangria (warning us to be responsible, of course.) Someone had brought a laptop and so they put music on. Amanda, a girl from Wisconsin, and I, taught some others how to play spoons, and then afterward we all danced a bit and just talked. It was really fun, but around midnight I went to bed because I was so tired. Others came up after me but the rowdiest partied until around four, and didn't seem to mind coming into our room, turning all the lights on, and annoying us.. needless to say we didn't sleep so well but it was all good fun.
Sunday morning I woke up around 06h30 and couldn't fall back to sleep even though breakfast was two hours later, so I got up. I washed my hair in the bathroom sink and then did my math homework. After we ate breakfast we split into the original groups again, and spent a good two hours talking about another subject: coming home. It was so good to discuss all of our feelings and fears about this with others who are going through the same thing, and I really think it made me feel a bit more prepared. It's going to be hard adjusting back, and I have a lot of mixed feelings about all of it, but I am ready to try it out. When we were done with the group discussion we ate lunch, then had some free time in the afternoon, and then had to do the cleaning of the chalet.
Around 15h00 it was time to go.. we spent a good while outside the chalet doing an awesome farewell. We had to all get into a line holding hands, then this chain of standing people was rolled into a spiral. The person in the very middle had to get out of the spiral by walking out, and on the way saying goodbye (that is, doing three cheek kisses) to everyone that came after them. Then the next person after them did this too, etc. etc. so that everyone got to say goodbye to everyone else and no one missed doing kisses with anyone. Our cheeks were a little sore afterward.. We had to wait at the bus stop for maybe 45 minutes, and then when the bus came we took that to Bienne. I took the train back to Fribourg with a few of the others, and then from there I took the train to Romont alone. There Nicolas came to get me with the car. When I got home it was 19h30.. We ate dinner, I unpacked my bags, and then, absolutely exhausted, went to bed.
Monday (June 8th) was a boring day of school, and besides the fact that I was more tired that usual, it was pretty average. Our math teacher told us she had received an email that we will have one less week of school than we thought.. before telling us today that she went to double check and the date she thought was the last day of school was actually just the last day teachers can put grades into the system! Apparently she is going to give us chocolate to make up for it. Also Andréanne did a presentation about James Watt and la machine à vapeur.
Today was a very horrid day in the beginning and then was really cool for the afternoon. The first four hours we had French, chemistry, math, and also biology (seriously, Tuesdays are always terrible) in which we had a much dreaded test (but it's the last one! Ever!) In the afternoon we had gym and it passed so fast. We continued the volleyball/unihockey/soccer tournament that we had started two weeks ago.. I was the goalie for soccer and it was hard but fun. After gym class we got to skip IT and economy because we got to go see a play instead. Four of my friends in my grade (including Margaux) were in the first two pieces, where there were only five actors total and which lasted about an hour. The second part was this piece that paralleled the story of Little Red Riding Hood with the Holocaust.. that was acted by seven kids from the younger grades, and it was really weird but cool nonetheless. It was so much fun seeing my friends act, and they did a really good job.
So yeah, this is basically everything that's gone on in my life since last I wrote! Until next time..
Sunday, June 7, 2009
In the meantime..
Hey everyone
I just had a very busy weekend at AFS camp and I didn't get to the house until just now (19h30..) I don't have time to post on my blog tonight but I will do so in the next few days.
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