Classes~~~

So, I'm not sure if I have posted about all of my classes or not.

Since most of my posts were about a certain Korean boy that is no longer in my life. I feel guilty to all of my followers who only followed me because they want to hear about my wonderful Korea University.

So! Here's a post dedicated only to my KU life. 

------Mondays-------

On Mondays I only have class at 3:30 which means I can sleep in as late as I want (which usually isn't past 10 o'clock no matter how late I went to sleep that night).

I generally lie in bed and watch Korean videos or study some Korean before actually preparing for school. I bought a few children's books in Korean and during my free time I take out my big expensive dictionary (40,000W) and translate a page or two. It normally takes me 30 min to an hour to translate one page. The book I bought is maybe a 10 year old level and I'm pretty sure I'm at a 5 year old level... but I might as well aim high~~  ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ 

I don't know what it is, but I always feel so legit when I use an actual dictionary and not an online one. I feel more studious and intelligent, you know?

Plus, using the dictionary,I see other words while looking for one which helps me expand my vocabulary. 


At around lunch time I text all of my friends trying to find someone that's available to eat with me. Generally it's either Christine (American) or Estelle (French). I am still in love with Korean food and never want to eat anything but Korean. Especially since my boyfriend (Chad) works at a Chinese restaurant and gives me free 자장면. So I go there often. Otherwise, I eat Korean bbq or dakgalbi (chicken stirfry thing) which are both VERY good. I don't know what I'm going to feed my vegan mother when she comes to visit..... I think there's like one vegan restaurant in all of Seoul...She's just going to have to live off of rice and bibimbap because Korea like meat.

Anyways, I normally end lunch at around 1 or 2 so I just go to a cafe and do some reading or homework before class starts. 

At 3:20 I head to my Korean speaking class. The teacher is SO pretty and SO young. I swear she's a student. She's incredibly nice and very funny. The class however, is way below my level. So I normally play on my phone when we are working on things I already know very well. Every once in awhile we'll do something I don't know. In which case, I take advantage of asking questions and participating.

At 4:45 class ends and I go to the classroom next door to prepare for Beginners Korean class. 

Mondays and Tuesdays we have an older male prof who is hilarious. I love him. He doesn't speak English well so he uses a lot of hand movements because, once again, I'm in a class below my actual level, so  there's a lot of debutante students who don't understand what he says in Korean. So he makes a lot of gestures. 


 At 6:15 I leave for dinner with either Estelle or my roommate.
After that, I either go back to the dorm or go to a cafe and wait til Chad gets off work so we can hang out and he can help me with my homework.

------Tuesday------
Tuesday, I have class at 2...HOWEVER... I am totally failing that class to the point of no recovery. 
It's an English lit. class and I feel severly hurt my ankle so I had to get physical therapy and the only time I could go was during that class Tuesdays and Thursdays. Before, I was already way behind on work and now that I've missed about 6 classes, I'm too far behind to even think about getting back. Plus, even if the teacher does accept me back in the class.. I won't be able to pass the final because I have missed too many notes.

Yay for failing my first class my freshman year. 

I'm so disappointed in myself. But now I know what college expects of me and I plan on studying my ass off next semester. I have to to get my GPA up after this class. 

Also, my ankle is still killing me. I have no idea what I did to it and neither does the hospital.
Tuesdays at 3:30 instead of Speaking I have Writing class. Which is above my Korean level and I LOVE it. It's the one class that challenges me. The one class where I actually feel like I'm learning Korean. The teacher is hilarious and she speaks ONLY Korean she doesn't even try to speak English. She speaks so fast too so when I understand what she's saying I am SO proud of myself. 

After that I have Korean beginners class until 6:15.

-----Wednesday-----
Wednesday I have French class at 10:30. It's basically a French class where we read and learn to translate into Korean,,, except I don't speak Korean. So the prof makes me read and then summaries in French because she doens't speak English. 

This prof loves me though. Because I speak French and lived in France. She always makes me answer the questions and walks with me after class. Last class we had a class lunch which was fun. They only spoke in Korean, but I love listening to Korean conversations to see if I can pick up anything. It was realy fun. Plus we ate at Chad's restaurant so I got to see him.

Then at 3:30 I have speaking class again.

6:15 Korean for beginners.



-----Thursday------- 

Thursdays I technically have English Lit. at 2
Writing at 3:30
and
Last day of Korean for beginners for the week.
It's generally an uneventful day. Sometimes I go to some sort of festival with my Korean friend Wonsuk. Or we just get dinner somewhere.



-----Friday----
At 10:30 I have French class again. I hate waking up early, but I enjoy that class. 

Then at 2 I have my 3 hour long history class. It is SO easy. The prof gives take-home exams and our midterm was to write a one page paper on an ancient Korean folk-song. Which was incredibly easy. You don't have to pay attention in the class. You just have to show up because he takes attendance. It's really boring though... 
I fell bad because he says this is the first time he's taught unversity students. He normally teaches business men or something. So he tries to make the class interesting but it's just not. It's so boring. The prof is really nice though and I love him for trying.

=====WEEKENDS=====

My weekends are normally very uneventful.... I have tutoring on Sunday and I hang out with my roommate or Chad all day. Or I just go to a cafe and work. Sometimes I go shopping.

Last weekend I rented a oneroom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited. I move in June 22. I'll post more about how I found it later. I'm so happy to not be in the dorms anymore. I don't have to walk up those damn stairs!!!!!

So happy~~~~~

Anyways,, that's my week. Boring, right?

Hopefully you guys enjoyed this post. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

Keith Cho pt 2 (not as exciting)

So basically after I punched him, he ran after me and made me go back to the restaurant. He told me he wasn't leaving, but he was recommended to go to Afghanistan. I made him promise he wouldn't.

Then we went back to his apartment and hung out with his mom. Keith is so cute around his mother,,, he can't act cool around me because I've met his mother and it's adorable. 


But we basically just hung out for an entire week. We went out to eat, we went to karaoke (we totally rock at it, I might add). He took me on a picnic. He let me take pictures!! When he came to visit me in France, he never wanted me to take his picture and I got really made at him... so now he lets me capture his precious face in photos :D :D 

...I basically skipped class all week >__< But, I mean, can you blame me?! He surprised me out of the blue, and I wasn't about to ditch him for stupid classes (sorry mom :p ) 

With all the tension going on between North and South Korea, Keith hasn't been able to call much which has been really worrying me.  I miss him and I want him to be safe. But he called me this morning telling me he was fine and there was nothing to worry about. I was so relieved to hear his voice. I had been freaking out all week. But during the call he told me he might be able to get a break once a month. So I might be able to see him again in May!!!!! If everything goes according to plan and we don't get blown up that it......

That was basically our week. Not that exciting for you guys, I know. But I loved it and I can't wait to see him again. I miss him so much.


Also, I died my hair,,, I post some pics soon. 

I got class soon, plus I'm trying to decide if I should leave the country or not. I don't really feel uncomfortable with the whole Korea situation, but maybe just to be safe, I might go to Hong Kong for a few days. 

Nothing has been decided though. Keith seemed very okay with the idea of me leaving the country,, which bothers me.... but no other Korean I know seems to be freaking out. So I won't either. 

I'll post again soon. Gotta run

xx

Classes~~

I got class in an hour and I'm in one of the moods that I just don't want to do anything. 

My Korean speaking for beginners class is sooo boring because I'm surrounded by people that can't speak so we had to start from the beginning. Which let me tell you, is SUPER boring. I basically text the entire class while the teacher and students repeat the alphabet over and over like a machine. 
"아 야 어 여 오 요 우유 으 이"
"가 거 고 구 그 기"

I don't know how much more of that I can handle >___<
Hopefully today we'll start working on comprehensible and useful phrases. 

As for my English class, haha, my teacher is...... what's a good word?....eccentric. 
I swear she looks like a skinny Asian Einstein. Her hair is all over the place and she talks like a crazy genius. She has the heeeaavvy Korean/British accent which makes listening to her speak really difficult. 
it's so fun though. It's one of the classes where we discuss books and stories and we end up debating for hours on the importance of virtue and morals. 

However, The Moon and Sixpence is the book we are beginning to read. I read the first chapter and I have NO freaking clue what is going on. 

Why can't we just read something like Harry Potter?? Or Of Mice and Men, I like that book. I want to discuss that book. So, I need to figure that book out tonight before class starts tomorrow O.o

Alright... I got to sleep.

I'm so full.

Alright, so here's a summary of my day.

I'm super jetlagged so I woke up at 530. Keith's dad got up at 6 and left at 630 (I'd like to point out that he didn't come home til after 10,, koreans work too much) When I woke up Keith's mom told me to come watch TV with her while she made me breakfast.
For breakfast, I had steak. I mean it was def beef and she cut it up an gave me rice and kimchi. I'm just going to say steak. It was yummy, but I'm still full.
We then went to Costco. Korean costco. Still as amazing as American, if not better. ^^

There I picked up towels because I read somewhere that it's hard to fint a real like large towel. So I was excited to go to an American store and be able to find an Amurican sized towel. Keith's mom made me buy little ones to so I can wash me face.... haha

She is VERY concened with my skin. I got off th eplane and she forced me to put on lotion and stuff. She picked out lots of face lotion at costco and then we went and got food.

Koreans are all over the free sampling stuff. Everytime we saw something she would get it and give one to me. I had maybe three different types of vitamins that were on sample. Im'm not even sure what kinda vitamins they were O.o 

Anyways, we then went to the check out. Where SHE PAID FOR ALL MY STUFF. I was going to make a scene in costco, but I wasn't sure if it was rude of not to refuse...her money, I guess haha. I tried to buy for it but she yelled at me. So I just thanked her a lot.

We then went home and I passed out got a good 5 hours. So jetlagged. Wehn we woke up she took me to dinner.

I'd like to point out that I pravtially didn't use my hands. She was hand feeding me everything. It was sooooo good the first couple of mouthfuls, then I got full. And she continued to give me food, I was trying very hard not to throwup from food overdose haha. IT's so sweet!! But I don't know if it'll be rude to refuse the food, so I just ate it all. I feel like I've gained 20 pounds already. 

She's SO nice though. I wasn't able to find pens at costco so we passed a store that had pens and stuff and I was so excited I picked out a whole bunch and she was holding them like she was going to pay. And in the store they had REALLY cute bows and stuff. Let me tell ya, I LOVE BOWS. I have SO my hair bows it's scary. But I didn't buy any because I knew she was going to pay again and I didn't want her to. So, I had to leave the bows :(

I'll be back though! I know where it is!! And I'm sure there are more bows in Korea to be bought.

When we got back to the house KEith's mom and I just talked. She showed me pictured of Keih in the army. I showed her pictures of Keith and I while I was visiting Korea last Christmas. We talked about the cell phone that they are giving me. Keith's dad is a "high-up" at Samsung, so he always has the latest gadgets. They ahd a Galaxy Note lying around so they just gave it to me. We are going to activate it tomorrow, I guess. Hopefully they let me pay the monthly bill. 

We are going to go to Coex mall tomorrow so I can get a whole bunch of cute things. But I'm going to make a scene if she tries to pay for more stuff. Iwill start screaming or something.... not really. But I'll fight.

Also, I'm writing this in the dark at 4am (jetlagg is a bitch) so excuse any spelling errors and stuff, I can't see the keyboard. 

In which I forgot mt iPod...

I’m writing this from my wonderful window sit on my United flight to Seoul, South Korea! It’s been about 5 hours since we’ve taken off and I’m sitting in the darkness so that the plane can sleep. I don’t understand why everyone is sleeping though, I mean it’s only 7:00pm in the US and it’s 9AM in Korea. Shouldn’t they stay awake so they won’t be jetlagged??

That’s my plan anyway, I’m not going to sleep anymore. I don’t have enough battery on my computer to watch any more movies though…. And this plane doesn’t have those TV things on the back of the seat like I’m used to, they only have the really big ones up front and you can only watch the movies they choose, which is stupid. I don’t want to watch Wreck It Ralph. So, I have no idea what I’m going to do for the next 7 hours… I’ll probably read.

I started reading Of Mice and Men on the 6 hour flight from Raleigh to San Francisco, but I was sitting behind an obnoxious kid who wouldn’t stop crying. That’s awlays the greatest, isn’t it? Having a long flight and listening to a whiney 2 year old scream the whooooooole time…. Wanna know the worst part?

I
forgot
my
ipod.

Yes, I’m an idoit. I forgot my iPod which leads to very difficult and boring travels. I’m literally on the verge of dying because I don’t have my wonderful kpop. I’m so stupid.

Anyway, I get off the plane soon and hopefully my luggage made it. Also, hopefully Keith’s mom didn’t forget about me. I texted her yesterday telling her I was getting on the plane soon. I hope that she’s excited to hang out with me. I mean I really don’t want to impose. My mom said that she would be very excited to let Keith stay with her regardless of my presence. I pray that Keith’s mom feels the same way.

Ugh, my knees hurt. I’d like to point out that I have VERY long legs. I’m crammed in a small seat and the person in front of me decided to put her chair all the way back, I mean who can blame her? But still, I can’t move. Literally, I can’t do anything with my legs because there is no room. So, very uncomfortable flight, but I’m still going to Korea.

Which brings me to my next point. It still hasn’t hit me. I said goodbye to my parents today and I didn’t feel anything because it didn’t feel like I was going anywhere. It hasn’t hit me that I’m going to be away from them for possibly a few years. I’m sure it’ll hit when I land. I’m not prone to get homesick though, I’m used to being away from home, so it won’t be hard. I’m sure at some point I’ll call mom missing her though. It’s weird, I’m sitting on the plane 7 hours from arriving in Korea, which has been my dream for the past couple years and I’m not nervous/excited/scared. Anything. I’m so indifferent. I think my brain thinks I should be sitting on the couch at home or selling shoes. It can’t comprehend the fact that I’m embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. So strange….

I still can’t believe I forgot my iPod…. That needs to be mailed to me ASAP. My computer is dying, I should stop writing anyway. This post is getting kinda long.

See you in Seoul!

xx

Packed!!!

I'm so totally finished with packing. I literally packed everything. I don't have anything to wear for the next three days.

Mom and I went shopping again, so I ended up with WAY more clothes than before. Both of my suitcases are teetering the 50 pound limit >_<

I did buy this REALLY cute dress to wear on the plane so that I look adorable when I see Keith's mom. I just hop I can get to my make up when I get off the plane to touch up so I don't look like a zombie.

My mom and I packed ALL of my stuff before we realised that we hadn't packed Keith's mom's present yet. The thing with Koreans is they are so hospitable Everytime Keith or my friend Bonnie came and stayed at my house they brought an inordinate amount of gifts, like simple traditional Korean trinkets and stuff. Being that I'm from American, we don't have any "traditional" "cultural" things. So mom and I ran around trying to think of stuff to give her. We finally got a good amount of little things and one super nice thing.

I'm getting super nervous. Everytime I go through my Korea workbooks, I think that I'll be okay for 3 days with Keith's mom. I know enough vocab and grammar to converse with her.... but then she'll send me a text message or something on kakoatalk and I don't understand a word of it >______<

I'm so screwed. I just hope I don't shut down and become super awkward, I need to try. The least I can get from her is kudos for trying so hard. ㅋㅋㅋ

I'm thinking about taking the innocent look while I'm with her. I'm not going to out on too much makeup. Just some mascara. Unless I look like a train wreck, in which case lots of eyeshadow and eyeliner will be involved.
I
am
so
nervous.

But once the three days have passed I move into my beautiful dorm!!!! It's going to be awesome. I need to buy sheets though, and pillows and a phone. I especially need a phone. I can't decide between and Samsung Galaxy SIII or the Note II. My friend who has used both phones says that the Note II is so much better. I can't decide though...

I should go help my mother clean though.
I probably won't update until I arrive at the dorm the 23.

xx

Shoes!!

So, I used to always judge girls when they told me that they always pack a bag dedicated to shoes…


Now I understand. I have literally filled an entire suitcase with shoes. I didn’t even realise I had this many shoes. I guess that’s what I get for working at a shoe store. I’ve heard from multiple resources that Korea doesn’t really make shoes larger than a 8…. I’m a 9.

WHY IS KOREA SO SMALL?!

I am literally not going to be able to buy anything there because I’m too big for all the clothes/shoes. *curses*

But I do get to hang out with Keith’s mom soon! Part of me is very excited and the other part keeps repeating “don’t get nervous and shut down, don’t get nervous an not talk” in my head. 

I need to collect some courage and not be scared to talk to her in Korean regardless of how incomprehensible it is. 

She’ll appreciate me for trying! (I hope….)

I still don’t know how I feel about calling her mom, I know it’s totally normal in Korea, but it’s not a western thing to call your boyfriend’s mother “mom”
It might be weird for her too, I mean I am a foreigner. 

SO NERVOUSSS!!!

9 MORE DAYS!

Okayokay…

So I leave in 9 days and I’m not remotely close to finishing packing or shopping for essentials. 

I STILL NEED BRAS!! (AHHHH)

I AM however super ready to get out of the hell-hole of a town. It’s literally the epitome of boring here. Plus, the fact that I have no social life here kinda adds to the hellishness of it.

ANYWAY!

I’m nervous about what to get my boyfriend’s mother. Whenever my Korean friends come and visit me they bring me and my parents a million gifts. Mostly traditional Korean things that are beautiful. Since I live in American though, I don’t have in beautiful traditional things (screw the melting pot culture). 

 My mom made Keith’s mom some potholders that are really pretty, but I feel like that’s not enough. So, since I work at a shoe store I figured I could use that to my advantage. 

UGG slippers are on sale! Koreans don’t wear shoes in the house, their feet should still be comfy and cozy! 

So why not a nice pair of slippers for my 어머니? It’s good, right? I talked to Keith last night and he said that his mom wears like a 255 (which I guess is a 9 US size…), but he didn’t sound very convincing when he said it. I’m scared I’ll get the wrong size >.<

So, I don’t know„, should I risk getting her the wrong size?! I’ll just wait til Keith calls on Tuesday and really grill him until he’s sure about the size ^_^

I’m going to finish staring at my suitcase and hoping it packs itself!

xx

16 More Days!

So, I basically spent my entire last semester at high school dreaming of leaving for Korea. It’s getting so close and it hasn’t hit me yet. I’m excited, but it still feels like a distant dream.

I mean come on, Maggie, you’re going to be living in Korea for the next 4 years!!! 

It’ll take me awhile to get used to the idea. It still hasn’t really clicked in my head that I spent all last year in France. 

Anyways, it’s taking a lot of effort to prevent me from packing now. I still have two weeks. I need to wear something! I just have no idea what I should pack and what I should buy there. 

Speaking of! So, my boyfriend is Korean and he’s in the army doing his mandatory service. But, he told me a few weeks ago that I should arrive in Korea 3 days before I actually need to be there because he might be able to get a break and hang out with me for three days. Obviously I was very excited because I haven’t seen him since he randomly showed up at my door 7 months ago.

Guess what he told me a few days ago? He wasn’t able to get his break. So I was going to arrive in Korea 3 days before the dorms open with no where to stay.

“Don’t worry Maggie! You can just stay with my mom, she’ll pick you up from the airport.” 
Keith (that’s his name), your mom doesn’t speak English. My Korean is beginner. I can have a small conversation involving the whereabouts of cats
“고양이가 탁자 밑애 있어요— the cat’s under the table” I can understand stuff, but that’s only because I watch WAY too many kdramas. I’m basically learning my Korean from Lee Min Ho (bless him). 

Well! Screw it! I want Keith’s mom to like me, she seemed like she liked me when I visited last year. So I’m going to be spending three days with my boyfriends mother without said boyfriend. 

I’m FREAKING out. I speak enough Korean to get by without starving or dying, but I don’t know formal conjugations. Formality is very important in Korea. And I know Keith’s mom will not be insulted by my speaking informally to her because I’m a foreigner learning Korea, but I still want her to know that I respect her and I would speak formally if I knew how!

Why is Korean so difficult?!

Anyways, I can’t wait to move into my dorm. I was originally supposed to stay in Anam hall, which is the cheapest dorm. However, they filled up fast and now I’m staying in the Frontier House which is awesome! I GET MY OWN BATHROOM! I’m so excited. I’ll only have on roommate instead of 2. And we have our own bathroom.

This is long, I’ll try to keep up with this blog better than my blog to France, I kinda failed with that. 

xx

Queen of Procrastination

I’m writing this from the bus heading to Marseille. Sorry it has been so long since I have updated. I have been overwhelmed with school. We have had so many projects this past month or so. Starting off with Art History, we had to choose an artist (painter, sculpture, or photographer) that we liked the best. We then had to present their life to the class… the entire 45 minute class. It took a couple of weeks to get through the entire class. I chose Mark Rothko, he was an abstract artist between 1920-1970.

                Anyways, I never posted about my February break to Paris/Germany.

Paris:
Most of you reading this know that I, Magnolia Anne Cumby, am beyond obsessed with Paris. I adore that city more than anything. So, the 5 days we spent there were magical. Normally when the school takes us on trips we have very guided and strict itineraries that we have to follow. However, for Paris, the school basically let us roam free. It was magical. I was in absolute heaven. When we got there it was pretty late at night, our hotel was perfectly placed near the bastille which is just a few metro stops away from the Eiffel tower. There were a million awesome restaurants surrounding the hotel, so my friend Akhir and I wandered around to find the cheapest and coolest place to grab a café. We went to this little café that seemed pretty popular. It was absolutely freezing so I bought a hot chocolate…. This was basically pudding. It was so rich and thick I pretty much drank the entire thing with a spoon. Khi got a mocha, which, according to her, was also magical.
                The next day, I went to the Eiffel tower with my other friend Natalie. Before that we were supposed to meet up with the school at the architecture museum right in front of the tower. I had no idea where the museum was before going. I was just following my friends because they seemed to know where they were going. We walked up from the metro into Paris and I was overwhelmed with the beauty of all the buildings and cafes that surrounded the museum. I went to explore more and when I turned the corner, I was blown backward by the most amazing view of the Eiffel tower. I died… it was amazing. The sun was positioned right behind it so it was being silhouetted on the horizon and I just could not stop looking at it. I honestly could’ve sat in that court yard all day and stared longingly at the city, the tower, the people and everything about Paris. The atmosphere there is so interesting. I didn’t really talk to the people, but it didn’t matter because it’s too beautiful to not love it. Natalie and I then quit the group after looking at the museum and walked to the Eiffel tower. We got there just in time to our tickets because just after we bought them a huge crowd of people came. I’m sure it would’ve been much more crowded if it was summer because it was so cold the entire time we were there. When I return in June, I’m 100% that my mom, Taylor, my aunt and I are going to have to wait in a long line. Anyways! Natalie and I walked up all the stairs to the tippy top of the tower. We took a million pictures. But then Kat called us (one of our friends) telling us to wait because she was coming too, Natalie and I spent more than 4 hours on top of the Tower because we were waiting so long for Kat. It was awesome. I loved it so much.
                The metro trains are from every époque imaginable. Paris apparently has the oldest metro system in the world. And when you go, you can see it. Some trains are super fancy and chic with automatic doors and big windows. Others, however, are very old and you have to press a button or lift a lever to open the doors. It’s really interesting to see.

Germany:
                I have a friend, Raph, that went to my old school, Miller, a few years back and he moved to live with his mom in Germany. His mom and his step dad own a really nice B&B in this cute little village in the middle of the Alps.The people that stay there are normally interested in skiing and snow sports because the B&B is perfectly located right next to a ski resort and in the winter is buried in snow. I’m not kidding, when I stepped off the train I fell into a few feet of snow. The last time I was there it was hot and summer-y, we went bike riding and I sped down one of the steep mountains and flipped over the handle bars, knocked myself out and broke my collar bone. So, seeing the snow made me a little nervous…. Who knows what disastrous accident could happen.
                I flew from Paris to Munich and Raph was there waiting for me when I got off the train. He was going to drive to pick me up, which would’ve taken a 2 hours, but since there was so much snow, it would be safer to take the train. We spent over 7 hours on that train. We had to transfer a couple of times. But when we got to a station a few minutes from Raph’s place, the train froze. The ice got in the engine or something and it totally froze. We waited for a good 2 hours before it thawed out.
                We finally made it to his car which we had to unbury, and then we drove about 5 minutes up and down BIG mountains until we got to his house. His step-dad, Charles, had made us homemade miso soup which tasted like it was soup from the gods.
                For the rest of the week Raph and I pretty much played his video games because his room is hooked up. I mean, the ENTIRE room has wires strategically running everywhere, he attached his computer to this huge plasma screen… he plays a million video games a day. I failed at basically all of them. Every once in a while I’d actually win a battle, but Raph was being nice.
                One time I went cross country skiing with Raph’s step-dad, Charles. It was so much fun. I was so bad at it, but Charles was really patient with me. I was falling and sliding all over the place. It was so hard!  I really want to do it again though; it’s one of those things that once you get used to the movements and find your rhythm you can do it for hours. Not without consequences though because the next day I was super sore and had bruises all over from falling so much.
               

                The Marseille trip is looooonnnnnggg over, it was a month ago or something. I have yet to post this because I am the queen of super laziness. We have 3 more days of SYA and then it officially summer. (I'm officially a senior!!!!) My last day of school was Friday, and I get my SYA diploma on Tuesday. I’m currently in Redon, which is about 45min from Rennes at my host aunt’s house because my host family left me to go to a music festival. I couldn’t go because I’d be all alone and they didn’t want me to get bored. So, I’ll stay bored in a small town far away from Rennes during the last weekend, when I should be hanging out with my French friends. But, ça va, I can’t win them all. En plus, I’m here for an extra two days so there is plenty of time to see them. I’ve posted pictures of Marseille and my independent travel to Nice on facebook, go check them out. If you’re not friends with me then just add me. I’ll hopefully post another post soon about Marseille and Nice, because it was the best of all the vacations. Sorry for being a procrastinator these past couple of months.

The Moment

Whenever you hear or read something that talks about learning a different language, it always says something about how one day they woke up and just realised they understood. I've always said that I can understand, but not without concentration. Well, I've had the moment.

My friend Akhir and I were at this amazing restaurant called Vino et Gusto. When we sat at the table the waitress came and heard us speaking English, she asked in French where we come from. We answered America, and she asked the simple question that always gets me excited "Vous comprenez le français?" Yes, yes I do. After we said yes, she jumped into a story about how her and her daughter created this restaurant and everything is homemade, we can have one plate from the buffet and one desert for just 9,90E. She said it all in French. And it didn't even sound strange or foreign to me. It was just natural.

Everywhere I go, I hear conversations and words and just understand them as if I've never had any difficulties. I can go up to someone with ease and ask them something without being scared of not understanding the response. I'll be honest, I've still got a loooooonnnggg way to go to fluency, but I'm making progress. The only thing holding me back now is English.

I need to stop speaking English.

It needs to leave my brain.

I'm trying very hard to speak just French, but it's so hard when everyone at my school is speaking English all the time. Some of the people are sadly not as dedicated to learning French as the others. I just need to refuse speaking English for the rest of the year. I can understand everything with ease, it's just the speaking that's killing me now. I can get my ideas across and make sense, it's just not perfect.

I went to the Air France travel agency today to talk about cheap tickets to Italy for April break. I spoke in French, the agent didn't even try to speak English, I guess he just knew that although my French isn't amazing, it's still understandable.

Galettes. Bigger than crepes, not as sweet an made with different flour. The first time I had a galette, I was at a small restaurant. I didn't really like it too much because it was too buttery and fatting for me. However! My host family made galettes last night.... they used the original recipe that the people of Bretagne used in the 17th century. An it doesn't have any butter and it's made with water instead of milk and (if the family was rich) one egg. Because way back when Bretagne was the poorest department in France, however these days it's one of the richest because of agriculture.

I have a lot of homework that needs to be done, I'll post again ASAP.

xx

J'adore Ma Famille d'Accueil.

I really cannot explain how much I love my host family. Ils sont très amusant et incroyable. They are just so understanding. We will be at the dinner table and I am stumbling trying to speak decently (I'm sure I sound like Tarzan though: "Me. Eat. Now." "You.No.Like?"), but they understand easily and help me say it right. C'est bizarre parce que I am more comfortable speaking French with them than I am with my other friends who are on the same level as me. I'm not embarrassed to jump into a conversation and fall on my face trying to explain difficult things. Everynight, without fail, I go downstairs and sit at the table in the kitchen and do my homework while my host dad cooks, and I tell him about my day and he helps me with my French homework and I help him peel potatoes or carrots. It's really fun, it's my favourite time of the day. And when Valerie comes down to eat we will talk for hours! It really is the best.

Anyways, I just had to say a quick something about them. They are truly amazing.

Also, I had a very exciting experience talking to a random stranger. I was walking down the ally that my school is on and this woman was walking towards me and she asked "est-ce que tu habites ici?" and I immediately understood and without even thinking answered "Oh, non, je vais à l'école", she mumbled something about needing a toilet and walked away. I know it doesn't sound that impressive because it was such a petite conversation....but je ne pensais pas en anglais. I understood her French, I didn't do any translating an when I answered I didn't think about conjugation or word placement.... I just said it.

I have noticed that I understand French better when I'm not trying to translate everything, I just have to learn the words. For example, when someone says "je pars" I don't think in my head "(Je=I) + (pars=partir=to leave) = I am leaving" I simply think of the action of leaving like I do in English. It's difficult to explain, but easiest way to say it is I am beginning to really comprehend the language.

I'm sorry, I've been so bust lately I haven't been able to post. I'm going to post about the first school trip this weekend.

xx

PS Remember the clock I bought? Well, I was messing with it today and it does, in fact, have an alarm! So, it wasn't a waste of money!