Je n'ai plus faim.

Best.Cereal.Ever. I am so addicted, it's not even funny.

Sorry Taylor, my outfits the past couple of days were lazy because I was all sick. No worries though, it's just sinuses.

Alright, so, I have small annoying story to tell. I was walking around en ville hier and I passed a smoothie place, me being the smoothie addict that I am, I naturally and eagerly went in to get one. I ordered a 'Eden' which is strawberries, bananas and coconut in orange juice. I got the maxi (6E). After the girl mixed it she threw 3 pieces of ice in a large cup and poured this liquid grossness into the cup with it. I tried it... it was not a smoothie. It was not the consistency of a smoothie. It didn't taste like a smoothie. It was gross. I spent 6E on that nasty thing! I WANT A SMOOTHIE!

-oh, wait, I'm not done.-

My iPod is dying and it has been my alarm clock for the past 2 weeks. So, I went into this really cool kitchen store thingy and found a whole bunch of alarm clocks on sale. I grabbed the cheapest one (7,30E)I found and paid for it. It wasn't until later that night that I realised that it was just.a.clock. 7,30E for nothing. I guess it's still cute and I can put it in my bathroom or something... but still. Too much money wasted in one day.

I have come to realise the French love fresh food. My host father buys our dinner every night, he'll go and get fresh veggies from my host mom's parents garden. It's so delicious, but the main thing that he makes is la compote or apple sauce. We have un pommier, apple tree, in our garden and some nights my host dad will grab a whole bunch and make homemade applesauce. It's so amazing. I add honey that my host grandfather made to the apple sauce and it creates heaven in my mouth. It's so yummylicious.

Classes are going great and my French has improved a great deal. Tomorrow we are going to go on our first school field trip to Morbihan, I'll post pics and info when we get back on Sunday!

xx

In Which I Eat Snails.

So, I've been really bad about adding my outfits everyday... SORRY TAYLOR!! So, here are all the ones I've forgotten to put up.











Today, Betty, my host sister, came and my entire host family (Betty, Yoann, Etienne et Valerie) went to Valerie's parents house for her birthday! It was amazing... we got there around 12-ish and started eating around 12:45-1-ish. Let me give you our menu:

1st course: Raw salmon with carrots.......
very good

2nd course: Duck on salad, peach sauce tomatoe jelly stuff and goose liver for bread....

Duck and peach were amazing, I didn't like the liver.

3rd course: Escargot.
Surprisingly enough.. DELICIOUS! It's a very weird texture and it looks so gross but it's yummy!

4th course: Scallops and carrots.....
The sauce that they put on it was amazing.

5th course: Fish wrapped in seaweed and mushed zucchini stuff....
The fish was really good, I didn't like the zucchini, I thought it was grits because that's what it looked like, it wasn't very good though.

6th course: Chicken, carrots and greenbeans.....
Aside from the escargot, this was my favourite course, it was delicious.

7th course: Cheese and bread...
I.Love.Camembert.

Finally,
Desert: Chocolate fondue with bananas, raspberries, apples, pears and peaches....
Yumyumyum.

We ended eating at around 6:30. We.Ate.The.Entire.Day.... the weird thing is, I could still eat more. After all this, Betty, Yoann and I came home early, and Betty showed me around the neighbourhood and we went to the grocery store where I bought the BIGGEST Nesquik box ever for only 3E. AHHH, I'm so excited to have chocolate milk!!

Oh, I also tried champagne and wine today, kind of strong, but I could get used to it. I quite like them both, actually.

I'm dedicating all of tomorrow to the tons of homework I have. It's ridiculous. School is amazing, but sooooo hard. Our history prof. speaks French way too fast, so noone knows what he's saying. He scares me.... But one of these days, I'm going to be able to understand him perfectly! I just can't wait for that day to come.


xx

J'ai Compris

Donc, je commencerai avec moi.

Ce soir, during dinner I was asking my family about a word that I learned today: vachement. It's a word used to sort of

replace beaucoup. My family was having trouble trying to explain how to use it, but I got the gist of it. It's only used orally and with people with whom you are familiar. Alors, we had that conversation and then about 30 minutes later, Yoann comes home and he, Valerie and Etienne started talking about Yoann working in Luxembourg. I was trying hard to pay attention, but they were talking trop vite. But, when I was about to give up I heard Etienne say vachement, I jumped out of my chair with excitement I just screamed "Vouz avez dit vachement!", Valerie and Etienne both look at me with the biggest smiles and say something along the lines of how amazing I am for being able to follow that conversation, they were really impressed. It might not sound like a big deal to you guys. So what? I heard a word... but I heard a word in another language and I understood the context (to an extent).
It is amazing though how rapidly I'm catching on to the language. My friends and I are beginning to speak fluent franglais, we switch back and forth and it's really fun.
One of my friends and I went to try and find a rec center with rock climbing, but it was very confusing and we were very lost. We ended up and this bookstore where she bought Catcher and the Rye en français and I bought Hunger Games en français.
As for the rock climbing SYA let's us do whatever activity we want. The school gives each of us 300E for paying for the activity. I'm having trouble deciding what I want to do... my friend and I were really excited about l'escalade, but when we got there it wasn't as cool as we wanted. So, I kind of want to try either ice skating, fencing or take clarinet lessons because I really miss playing the clarinet. It's so hard to choose!!!!
Regarding the pictures, the first is the Rennes metro. Rennes has the best transportation system in France and is the smallest city to have a metro. The metro is only one line, and it is run by a small two car electric train. It's so cute!!! The second picture is for Taylor, I've been slacking when it comes to taking pictures of my outfits. I need to remember. And the third is just a picture of a random street in Rennes, basically all the streets look like that. It's so beautiful.

I'll post again ASAP

xx

Jump In.

Yesterday, I stayed indoors all day with my host family. It was very exciting. My host dad left in the morning before I woke up to go pick up Sushi, our new puppy! (She's not exactly a puppy, I think she's 3 or 5 years old... I can't remember). Either way, elle est très belle! She was very calm when she arrived to her new home, but she was very timid. However, in a few hours she started warming up to Valerie and me and would stop following Etienne around to much. She's so precious.
Also, Yoann, my host brother, came in the other night. He seems really cool, and he speaks English. So, when I'm attempting to explain to my host family that 'college's are starting to realise that they cannot see a students full potential through SAT scores', Yoann can translate because that conversation is way too advanced for me at the moment, and I have no idea why I even tried to explain that.
I don't know if I posted this yet or not, but the French eat A LOT. Every single night for dinner we have at least 3-4 courses. And yesterday for lunch we had 3 courses. It's ridiculous. However, my appetite has grown, so my stomach can handle such large amounts of food now. My first night, I was full by the second course. It's strange though, because normally when I eat so much for just one meal I'm full for the rest of the day and I don't want to eat again... but for some reason, by the next meal, I'm famished.
Apparently, my French has improved tremendously. My host parents think that at this rate, I could be almost fluent by December. It really pays to try. My first night here, my vocabulary consisted of "Oui, non et qoui?". Two days later, I'm telling my host family my traumatic story about how I broke my collar bone in Germany a few years back. It's true when someone says you just have to jump into the deep end, because when it comes to learning another language, you can't just ease yourself into the water. It's either dive in or don't bother. If I hadn't started speaking, even if I sounded terrible and my family couldn't understand me, I wouldn't be able to say anything to them now. My sentences are still broken, but my family gets the idea.
It's such an amazing adventure here, I can't imagine going back. I'm going into town to hang out with a couple friends today. We are just going to get to explore the town more and shop!

xx

Schedule.

Today, was... interesting.

We had the placement test for French and Math. They were both hard, but I think I did alright on the French, mais.. les maths... I failed. I forgot EVERYTHING over the summer, il y a 36 questions, I answered 12... and 2 of which I am confident are correct. The other 10 are hit or miss. After school though, I got together with a couple of friends and we went to the centre to buy phones. I now have a French phone! So, I feel a lot more comfortable going places by myself knowing I can call someone si je suis perdu.

Tomorrow, we get sushi!! But not the food, a dog!! My host dad, Etienne, really wanted a dog and one of his friends is moving to haiti. Donc, we are taking their dog!! Elle s'appelle Sushi et elle est un sharpay! Also, on Sunday my family is taking me to this ginormous yard sale thing in the centre. Apparently, it's the second biggest 'yard sale' in France. Their isn't an equivelent aux États-Unis, so I call it a big yard sale. I'm really excited for it. I'm hoping to find a clarinet because I really miss playing it and it would be cool to buy a French clarinet.

I love it here so much, it's so amazing. I can't wait for school to start and for me to get used to this. Tonight during dinner, I actually had an on-going conversation with my host family. I was able to understand them, and talk back and they understood me!! It was amazing. It's so weird. I'll be sitting at the table listening to Valerie speak and I just get really excited, because she's speaking French and I am able to comprehend it. C'est incroyable!

Oh, I also bought a cool new French wallet because the one my friend, Taylor, gave me is falling apart. It's really cute. I can't wait to buy more things!!!!

xx

La Première Jour

It was a long day of travel, but I finally made it!!

Words cannot explain how amazing of an experience it has been so far, and I've only been here about a day!
When we arrived to Rennes around 19:00, our host families were waiting for us. I had no idea what my family looked like because they never sent a picture, one of my new found friends came up to me and was like "Magnolia, I found your host family! It the woman with the green hair." I looked up and sure enough, I see a tall slim woman hovering over the crowd wearing a blue fuzzy jacket (It's REALLY cold here, unlike the 80 degree weather I left back in DC) and a blue dress. Her hair is mostly black, but she has green bangs, and she is the nicest woman I have ever
met. She saw me and was like "MAGGIE" and we kissed the French way. My host dad was behind her and he is so funny. He grabbed my bags and they showed me the bus route, and then we left for the house.

The house is so cute! It's small, but roomy. They showed me my room and left me to unpack and shower while they prepared dinner. I unpacked and took a shower in my very own bathroom! And I unpacked in my small, but beautiful room. It's so cute and as I'm writing this, I'm sitting on my French bed with the French windows open listening to (British, but still European) Adele, and watching the French trees sway in the French breeze. IT IS SO AWESOME!

Anyways, I went downstairs and there was a table set with a of slice cantaloupe, I don't know if you know but French cantaloupe is the most delicious thing you'll ever taste. But we were sitting at the table and my family was talking to me, and I was so proud of myself because I could understand them! The problem was I couldn't talk back... but I still understood!! It was around the time that my host dad went and got the main course, a yummy roast beef thing, that it hit me. I'm in France, but not on vacation, to study for a year. It might've been a little awkward with my host family now, but within a month or two, I'll be able to talk back and we will be really close and I'll feel more comfortable doing things around the house! And all my peers will be really good friends. It's amazing. I can't wait for that time to come, but I don't want it to come too fast. I'm not looking forward to the end of this year. I can't imagine going back. I love it here so much.

As for the picture, my best friend Taylor told me to post what I wore everyday for the first month so she could see! This one is for you Taylor!! I LOVE YOU!!!!

xx

Une Semaine

I have finished packing. Although, I wasn't able to pack everything I wanted. I packed everything else! My luggage is teetering on the line of being over weight.

What am I going to wear on the plane?! That is my current dilemma. I guess I'll find out next week.

Ever since I was accepted to SYA, I've been developing expectations. I really have no idea what this year will contain. The only thing I am certain of is that it'll be an experience of a lifetime.

My host mother is allergic to gluten, isn't gluten in bread? Isn't bread a big deal in France? According to Postcards from France by Megan McNeil, the French love eating. And they love their dogs and they love smoking. That book was written in the 60's though, I think. The culture might have changed. I suspect it has... or has not. I shall find out!
SYA emailed all the France students. The email had a sentence:

What will your first 10 sentences be to your new family?

And it has been on my brain ever since I read it. What will my first conversation be with my family? Naturally, it'll start with a simple Ça va? in which I will automatically reply with Ça va bien and maybe add a "comment allez-vous?" if I'm feeling ambitious. They will probably introduce themselves je m'appelle..... and I will answer with the same.
That's as far as I've thought. I don't know what to say after. Maybe I'll just say "je suis fatigueé" and rid myself of having to carry on further with the conversation. But speaking French is inevitable, all my classes will be in French and no doubt half the orientation will be in French. So, I might as well get the initial conversation over with and turn my French brain on from the start. But what to say? As well, I guess I'll find out soon enough.

One week from today I'll be getting to know my new peers and speaking in terrible broken French. I just have to remember that this time next year, I'll be speaking, hopefully, almost flawless French and have 60 new friends with whom I will always stay in contact.

Just one more week 'til the adventure begins.

xx

12 more days.

SYA: School Year Abroad is a total immersion academic program in countries in Europe and Asia. It was founded in 1964 by Philips Academy in Andover Mass. It is challenging in academics and it challenges each individual student to be able to adapt to a different culture. Each country enrolls around 60 students who are willing to take on the challenges of living far from home and immersing themselves into a different society.

After my incredible month in Montpellier France with the Oxbridge Program: L’Académie de France, I decided a month just wasn't enough. So, I went on the search to find the perfect program for an academic year abroad. My French teacher recommended SYA. It was exactly what I was looking for. I applied and waited the long months it took for a response. Since I applied for a Merit scholarship, I had to have an interview with an alum of the program. I had a wonderful interview with an SYA:Spain alum.... In the middle of march, I got an email from SYA telling me that I was accepted early. I hadn't heard from them whether I got the scholarship or not, but it didn't matter because I had been accepted!!
It wasn't until late March that I got the letter telling me that I did not qualify for the Merit Scholarship. However, they were please to announce my early acceptance into their program! I was devastated because there was no way for my parents to afford the $45,000 fee that came along with such a undeniably perfect program. My mom spoke with SYA though, and soon enough they negotiated that we did qualify for financial aid. And it was official, I was going to spend 9 months in the most amazing country.

I really don't know what I have in store. France has always been my dream, but as the day becomes closer and departure is sooner, it is hitting me what I have signed up for:

• I'm going away for 9 months.

I go to a boarding school, so obviously I am able to be away from home without becoming completely ill. But I go to a boarding school less than 4 hours away from home.
My option of going home on the weekends has been terminated.

• I'm going to a different country.

It's totally foreign, the language, the culture, even the time. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to be going. Not many people get this opportunity, and I'm lucky enough to have had it twice (with Oxbridge). It's going to be an exciting, enthralling and different year.

• I'm living with someone that I have never meet, and before July, I never even knew existed.

My host family is amazing and I'm lucky to have them, according to the girl they hosted a year ago. They are very liberal and kind. But I'm still worried as to how they will react to me. I'm high maintenance, I'll admit. I can entertain myself easily, but there are times when I just need to do something exciting, and I don't know if this is a spontaneous family or not.

This year is going to be a real adventure of it's own and I cannot wait to experience it. I always imagined myself going to France for school, but I cannot believe that it's actually happening.

xx