Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The end of the beginning.

I had been told prior to parting that the first three months, the beginning, are the hardest part of exchange.
Judging by everything I've felt and gone through these first three months, I can conclude that this statement is as true as the fact that French cheese is the best in the world.
Know what that means?
Since today, November 28, the beginning of this journey, for all the exchange students who arrived on August 28 in Paris, is over.
Nous y sommes arrivés. We made it.
I'm not only proud of myself, I am proud of my fellow exchange students. The nice thing about France is that we all celebrate the three month anniversary together, having had to arrive together as well. So if you're an exchange student in France like me, congratulations!!
From this point on, I only have more excitement to look forward to. I can also breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the eye of the storm has passed.
Anyway, here's a brief update. These are noteworthy things I have done that you might find interesting.
I didn't mention this on the entry on the 19th because I had other things to say, but on November 17 (I keep a daily journal), I ate frog legs for the first time. My host mom cooked them a particular way with lots of seasoning and garlic, and while I couldn't believe what I was putting in my mouth, they were actually pretty tasty.






Speaking of weird food, an option in my school lunch yesterday was something called rognons de porc. Because I thought it looked tasty, I had some. I almost regretted it afterwards considering how weird the texture of the meat I was eating was. I learned later that I had eaten pork kidneys. Ohhh... well, the cream puff that was offered for dessert washed them down properly!
As of yesterday, all the members of my family in Oregon are officially United States citizens.
I don't know if you knew, but I'm an immigrant from the Philippines who came to the USA in 2007. To become a citizen, you must live in the country as permanent residents for five years. We hit the five-year mark a month before I left for France, and the official process went by quickly. My parents took the test and the oath, and now I can finally proudly (and legally) call myself an American citizen.



Here's a picture of the flag I took last time I was in San Francisco.
Because becoming a US citizen while living in the USA, is too mainstream. ;)
On Friday the 23rd, the Banque Alimentaire (France's food pantry) was holding a collection event at the local supermarket. Members of the Rotary Club of Parthenay served as volunteers organizing the products and greeting customers, and my school's outbound Matthieu and I helped out as well.



It felt really good to be helping out listening to the Christmas music playing in the background! I just can't wait for the holiday season to arrive, it's my favorite.
I'm going to speak a bit about my progress in school now mainly because I know my grandma would like to hear it. So if you don't feel like reading tedious stuff about grades, go ahead and stop reading here, I don't blame you. Till the next time!
If you're going to continue reading like I know my grandma is, here is a photo of my notebook for my economics and social sciences class.



If taking notes like this for 6 hours a week isn't going to make me fluent in writing French, I don't know what is.
At this point, I have experienced getting higher scores than the average class score on certain tests. While it doesn't happen often, it happens nonetheless. Like on the last social sciences test we took (we had to analyze documents and rely on our knowledge to compose this synthesis paper in two hours, in FRENCH may I add), I got a 12,5 when the class average was an 11,4. I don't really know how. It must have been a fluke. So yeah this is what it looked like.



And on the last math test, I got a 14,5 when the class average was approximately 8.
That's all I feel like saying for now. A la prochaine fois!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Obligatory Post on the 19th: November

Well, for the 6th time, it's come to this point.
Sorry to have to bring war into a blog entry again, but the two world wars are kind of a big deal in France. I learned recently that every little commune in France has a memorial dedicated to its locals who died in the wars the country took part in. I must say though, learning about these wars in Europe brings an almost entirely new perspective into them, particularly with the existence of these monuments as physical proof of the wars' existence.
Anyway, in history class, the professor handed us photocopies of five letters. The story she told us was that her sister purchased a house somewhere in this department of France (Deux-Sèvres), and there was a lot of stuff that needed to be cleaned up. While organizing it, they found a box. They opened a box, and lo and behold, there lay five well-preserved yet delicate letters sent by a soldier in 1914.
I believe they also found his death certificate, because she passed around a copy of it for us to see.
When it reached my two friends and me, we saw that the last name was whited out, and what was left were his first and middle names: Firmin Julien. (Firmin, pronounced Feehr-mah, is an unusual name, none of us had heard it before.)
We couldn't help but be curious. After all, we had just read letters in his near-indecipherable handwriting, a rather cryptic activity. We wanted to know more.
We spent the first half of our research period embarking on a quest, scouring the internet to obtain more information on Monsieur Firmin. The beginning (like all real beginnings, I have learned) was frustrating; nothing in genealogy files turned up, nor were there any clear enough pictures of war memorials clear enough for us to be able to read the names. However, with enough persistence, we stumbled upon his full name (squealing at the discovery) in a list that included: date of birth, name, regiment, date of death, and place of death. One particularly chilling aspect to this incident is an excerpt of the last letter he wrote on October 13, 1914 that says: Il faut espérer que plus tard on se verra tous réunis, a sentence that translates to, "We must hope that later, we will see each other all reunited." Exactly two weeks later, he was killed in Belgium.
I dedicate this part of the entry to Firmin Julien Nambot (pronounced Nahm-bo), a brave man who died for his country.
This got me to thinking, sure, we know the names of the great war heroes; however, it's the ordinary people whose names are difficult to find on the internet, who come from obscure little villages, and who left initially mundane pieces of concrete evidence that somehow survived, that make the atrocity of war feel even more real.
On a less grave note, Thanksgiving is on Thursday! Here, I'd like to put some "thank you"s out there to certain things/people in this world I just can't thank enough.


Yes, I totally did just use the logo of "Merci" chocolate.
First and foremost, I would like to thank Rotary International.


Not only do they do humanitarian work around the world in order to alleviate some of the real problems in this world, they are also affiliated with something else equally important: the youth exchange program. Rotary clubs all over the world sponsor and host exchange students every year, opening minds and giving certain crazy teenagers the best, most eye-opening experience they could live through in their youth. This experience will affect us the rest of our lives. And as we grow up, I know that in the future, we will maintain the multi-national friendships we have made, thus helping to ensure peace among nations. After all, the only race that matters is the human race. Thank you, Rotary, for this opportunity, and for continuing to have done it for years and years. Despite my being a cynic, I believe that hope is one thing that should never cease to exist, and what Rotary gives me is immense hope for the future.
Next, I would like to thank RDS and SNCF.








Let me explain what these initials stand for. "RDS" stands for "Réseau des Deux-Sèvres (Network of the Deux-Sèvres)" and "SNCF" stands for "Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (French National Railways)". In all honesty, I get rather lonely sometimes without another Rotary kid in my town, and I have this perpetual wanderlust that occupies my being, so what better excuse to gallivant around the country than to see what other cities my friends are spending their exchanges in? RDS and SNCF make this possible. Public transportation here is so efficient and easy. I really do enjoy it.
As much as I would think my life would be better without them, I would like to thank all those awkward, lonely, isolated, disappointing, difficult moments that turn up more often than I would wish.
It's moments like those that make happiness even sweeter, and it's moments like those that help me learn more about myself and come up with all these epiphanies about this insane experience that serve as lessons for the rest of my life. And besides, in the words of a certain wise man...


Onwards to people.
I've already given special mention to my Rotary friends, host family, and school friends, so I'll save this one for my real family, who I love very much.
First of all, thank you to my younger sister Cara.


Even though we wouldn't always get along, and even though you can be hard to tolerate, you were an important, excuse me, ARE an important part of my life. Thank you for constantly critiquing the clothes I used to wear (I really did wear atrocious clothes before) and for helping me develop a France-worthy sense of style. Thank you for bothering and teasing me, because it has taught me patience and tolerance. Thanks for being eccentric and completely different from me and looks and personality, to show how diversity not only brings more liveliness into a family, but into the world as well. I know I have been rather hard to put up with to you, so I hope you're enjoying this well-deserved ten month long break from my presence ;)
Next, I'd like to give a special mention to my grandma.


Yes, this is my grandma, and also one of my idols! (The other one is Alexander the Great) Let me explain why. My grandma is very kind and caring, but she also knows how to be assertive and speak her mind. Like me, it was one of her dreams to be a doctor, and she had accomplished it. She now lives an active retirement full of cruises, traveling, and spoiling her grandkids. (Hahaha...) It is one of my goals to turn out just like her-a successful doctor who gets to travel a lot. Thank you, Lola Day! Thanks for sponsoring the trips I take here, and for always having supported me since I was born.
Last, but most certainly not the least, thank you to my parents.


I can't fathom what it must have been like for you, raising an ambitious, dramatic, go-getting, deep-thinking girl like me. It must have been a challenge to say the least. But you have never ceased to care for me as your daughter, no matter what kind of foolishness I have gotten into in my life. The reason I am who I am today is because of how you brought me up; I am glad for my childhood full of music, reading, and other such Renaissance-y experiences.
Anyway, thank you very, VERY much for allowing me to go off and live one of my dreams. Not any set of parents can do that. You guys are just as brave as me, if not braver. After having looked after me and having me in your household for all of my life, suddenly just letting me whisk myself off across the Atlantic to a continent I've never lived in before? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS. However, I hope you both realize how happy I am to have you as parents and have you support me in everything I choose to do. Because without that, I wouldn't be as accomplished as I am now. I know that because you will always be there for me, my future is brighter than I can imagine.
Maraming na maraming salamat!
Before I conclude this entry, I was at my second host family's house to play the piano, and I asked my host dad if he could find me a nice warm winter hat that I could use.
He presented several hats, one of which was a red beret.
I squealed with delight! I had left my notorious red beret back in Oregon, and I hoped to eventually find one here and buy it, but this came as a surprise.
I don't think I'll wear it to school, but I'm glad to have one again...


The beret is back in business, baby.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Frolicking around France : Toussaint period

The Toussaint vacations were more than welcome to arrive the week after my birthday week.
Every student up to the lycée (high school) level in France eagerly awaited the first two-week vacation of the school year, and I was no exception. To get an idea of what I did, have a look at this map.


See those pins? Those are cities I found myself in within this two-week period. Yup. So, in chronological order, let me recount my adventures to you, dear reader.

On Monday the 29th, I went to Angers to see my good friend Aurore. You may or may not remember me mentioning her in my first blog entry, but she is the girl who spent her exchange last year in my city in Oregon, Tualatin.


This time, it was me who went to see her in her home city. We were extremely happy to meet up again (I hadn't seen her since shortly before she left in early July), and I even got to meet her parents. We got to see the castle in her city Monday night. I spent the night at her house, then Tuesday morning we went to the art museum. Admission was free because we were students; it's like that in heritage sites in France. How cool is that? They really encourage appreciation of history and the arts here. It was great to catch up with Aurore, and it's pretty amazing to think that when I first met her, I didn't really imagine I would meet her again in her home city in France! I still fondly think of the moment when she went and picked me as an outbound to go to France on the February ski trip, the only moment in my life I have cried tears of joy...

On Wednesday the 31st, I welcomed to my home two of my best inbound friends, Aarohi from India and Brooke from Canada. For the afternoon, I showed them around Parthenay (the medieval quarter, the cute boutique quarter, and the little historical artifact museum that I didn't know existed), and then we went to the Hyper U and bought four bags of chips. We spent a part of the evening sitting in my room, pigging out on them, talking (just like what teenage girls do in movies, which is cliché # I've lost count).


The next day, November 1, we went to Futuroscope!
Futuroscope is a theme park that is kind of hard to explain. To put it in one phrase, think of big screens, special effects, and futuristic style buildings that look way too modern and out of place to be in France. Some highlights were:
The 4D showing of a side story of The Little Prince. 4D means that the video was in 3D, but the floor moved in time with the animation, plus when the dragon (which was already in your face due to 3D) breathed, you felt it as a brief gust of air. Special effects like that.


While walking around the park, the three of us spotted these cool-looking contraptions from afar. We squealed and immediately rushed towards them wanting to try them out. Behold, the water bikes. Bet you can't say you've ridden a bike on water!



Here's the three of us looking pretty.


On Friday the 2nd, Aarohi left, but I took the return journey home with Brooke. We got dropped off at the Gare de Poitiers by my host dad. Our train was an hour late, so we had time to kill. We went to the gare restaurant and decided to order a burger. I was a bit skeptical at first, because coming from the United States I know what a good burger tastes like. I decided that mediocre burger was better than no burger, so I agreed to it. When the burger arrived, we split it, and it looked promising.
One bite, and it had me.


The burger was BEYOND HEAVENLY. With two nicely seasoned patties, no tomatoes (I do not like tomatoes), a bed of goat cheese, lettuce, and authentic dijon mustard, it was the best burger Brooke and I had ever tasted. We could have cried out of how delicious it was. It was extremely easy and clean to eat, without anything dripping from it (which added class because this is France). Definitely worth the 14 euros it cost...hahaha.
We had quite the adventure rushing through the gare at St. Pierre des Corps after our late train arrived, messing up our original plans. However, I was able to get things together by talking to the one of the gare attendants and planning the rest of our journey, in French. We ran to the next train to Tours and barely made it on time.
Getting off that train, I was greeted by the magnificent sight of the Tours gare. I think it's safe to say I'm a bit obsessed with it. I mean, just look at it! This is the classic image of an old French train station.



From there, we took a train to Château du Loir, where Brooke's host dad picked us up.
On Saturday the 3rd, we went to Le Mans to hang out with our Brazilian friend Leo. Leo is one of my ukulele buddies. That afternoon, we had drinks and desserts at this very chic café.



Leo showed us his city a bit. We saw this small cathedral, then sat on a bench near it. Since I brought my ukulele, Leo and I took turns playing it. Living the Bohemian life!



On Sunday the 4th, I made the return trip back to Parthenay by myself. I was happy that one of my stops was the Tours gare!
Here's what a train looks like inside, and what I like to do on train trips by myself.



The following week, the only foreign people I saw were Australians.
On Monday the 5th, the Taylors, longtime family friends, stopped by my house in Parthenay because they were on vacation in France. We drove around looking for a place to eat, but finding no place open in the random villages we drove to, we ended up eating at McDonald's.
The Taylors first became acquainted with my family about ten years ago in the Philippines, when my mom was head of a company called Australian Business Volunteers. Since then, we have seen them in Australia and in the United States. Now here they were in France. Who knows where in the world I will see them next?


On Wednesday the 7th, I went bowling in Bressuire. The bowling alley was the classiest I have ever seen. There was nice ambient lighting, comfy furniture, and instead of a concession stand, there was a bar. It was all modern and a nice place to hang out. (Pictures are from their website, http://bowling-bressuire.fr)




On Thursday the 8th, I took the bus to Niort to hang out with Aussie Joe. It was International Hug an Exchange Student Day, so we were glad to hug each other several times that day (us being the only people we got a hug from). If you hugged an exchange student on that day, good for you and thank you! I'm sure they appreciated it. If you didn't, then keep the date November 8 (hey that rhymes!) in mind for next year. Exchange students (especially the ones in France where hugging isn't that common) are always happy to receive real hugs.

I am now approaching the end of the vacations and will be back in school on Monday the 12th. After six full weeks of school, I will have my next two-week break, Christmas break. I'm quite looking forward to it. More time to travel and spend with Rotary exchange students, yahoo!
See you all on the post on the 19th.