I love my host family

And no, I'm not just saying that because they read my blog- Hi Evelyne and Bernard and Sandy!

I have been blessed with probably the best host family ever.

They laugh and joke and are just wonderful people. They know how to explain things to me and they don't mind if I get homesick or upset. They quickly learn about me- my likes (ie apple cider) my dislikes (erm...hardly anything!), they are patient with me and my French, they listen to me, they let me make mistakes and then correct them (nicely!) and give me so many opportunities.

I was so scared that they were going to be horrible- who wouldn't?! But instead, I got this family that I am going to be so so sad to leave, and I really hope that we will always keep in touch.

But in the meantime, I'm just going to love my time with them.
Merci for being the most wonderful host family ever!!

One Month In

I love her.

Even if she tries to CUT MY HAIR OFF.

One month in and I've finally got the confidence to yell at her.

You would too, if she tried to cut your hair.

But I totally adore her (L).

Oh, and this time a month ago I was probably fast asleep in my bed after 234702348 hours of travelling.

Life is good.

Time passes so quickly...

Snow!

And I'm almost a month in. Wow. Time really has flown past. Whatever happened to my decision of yes, I WILL write in my diary, yes, I WILL keep a blog?? Gone. Totally gone.

Let's see. Things I've learnt include that when EF say you'll be in Paris airport for six hours with someone taking care of you, they actually mean twelve hours with someone who has no idea what they are doing. "Yes, you'll be going to Toulouse by train. "Train? But it's only one hour. And the others have a flight that arrives and leaves at the same time." "No, it's a train." After much insisting that he check, "Oh, you're right, it's a plane." Duh. Also, host mummy knows best. As in, it's going to be cold today, wear your jacket. You're going to be hungry, take some food.

I totally love my host family. My mum and dad, Evelyne and Bernard, are totally awesome- they are extremely patient with my French and very encouraging. They correct me when I say something wrong, but not in a mean way, just a 'we want to help you' way. I always laugh when Evelyne speaks English (she really doesn't speak much at all haha) just because she sounds so happy when she gets a word right and it just sounds amusing. But I don't laugh in a mean way =) Anyway, they are wonderful and always laughing and joking. My host sister, Sandy, has hit her stubborn stage so there is a lot of crying, especially in the beginning when she got jealous of me. That was bad. However, now it is all going good- she's (kinda) accepted that I am here to stay!

School is good. I started in my second week here, because there was too much snow to go in the first week, when I was meant to be going =) I was terrified, of course. I've learnt that being the new kid really isn't easy, especially with the language barrier, and I think I'll always be the kinda random, weird, not-many-people-like-me kid. However, this doesn't matter. Exchange has made me so much more confident and I have discovered that as long as I have one or two close friends, being 'friends' with lots of people is fine.
Several things I have learnt about being the new kid:

1. It takes time to make friends!
2. Every new kid will be taken in by the 'popular' group in their first week or two.
3. Every school has their populars.
4. Everyone else will not like the populars.
5. Then you'll get taken in by the incredibly enthusiastic, oh, new kid, be nice be nice, I want to get to know them type people (usually me in Australia). This is great, especially when you're like, I don't like the populars, so who do I hang out with? For some people, they end up becoming friends (my bestie in primary school was the new girl in year 4, I still remember her first day...).
6. Then you'll find people that you really do like hanging with and they will develop into friends. And you'll have your little jokes and your daily routine and such.

Basically whilst people in my class are nice to me, there's only really one girl I think who actually likes me, the rest are just nice because they have to be, or they are shy/closed, I think. My closest friends here, Flora and Salome, are in a different class, and I was considering moving with them, but they have lots more maths and science, and more classes in general. So no! It's okay, I don't really talk in my classes anyway. I have lots of time to spend with my friends out of class.

School is okay. It's school, you know? Haha. I don't really have many classes, but the days are super long- I'm there from 7:45- 6:10, that's when the bus arrives and leaves Pamiers. Yeah, fml, I know. But during my breaks I can walk around Pamiers, which makes it all good. I try to walk a lot to get some exercise, and also so I can explore. Today I walked for 40 minutes to McDonald's, and then 40 minutes back again, just to find where it was, to take a photo, and because I felt like it. Haha.

It's amazing because in Australia I never would have been so daring. I would have been like, no thanks, I'll stay at home, but here, I am already so much more open. I will go into a cafe and order something, I will talk to people I don't know... I was terrified of having to ask someone if I could sit next to them ont he bus, so guess what God did a couple of days ago? Yep. I had to ask. And He's made me do it quite a few times since, and now, it's fine. All it is is a seat =) I really am growing.

What else? I have a dance class I go to every Friday night now, yay. Also, ski every Sunday. Once ski has finished, it'll be horse riding and maybe ice skating. I love the oppurtunities that I am given here. Last Wednesday me and Lily, another exchanger, went over to Andorra for some shopping, just because we felt like it...gotta love Europe =)

Also, I really want my mum to come visit me, just so she will have some idea of my life here and what it is like etc. Hopefully it will be during summer and we will get to Spain and England, which I really want to go to. And then she'll be here for my 18th as well! Yay.

Basically, life is good, exchange is good, all is good. I miss Australia, but that's a story for another day.

Bisous.

Counting Down

Two months to go. Two months until my life is turned upside down, inside out, on its head, leaving me to cope, alone, in a country where I have minimal friends and no family. Exciting.

Honestly though, I'm terrified. I can hardly cope here in Australia. What am I going to do in France? Am I cut out to be an exchange student? Doubts and worries cloud my mind and all I can think of is what the hell am I doing moving to another country on the other side of the world?? I guess this is all part of the experience though. They say exchange really takes three years- one to prepare, one to go on exchange, and one to recover, so I try to remember that it's not all bad, that I'm going to have good and bad times and I just have to remember- it's not right, it's not wrong, it's just different. And different it will be indeed.



Okay, whine is over. For some good news..I have a host family!!! I have a mum, Evelyne, a dad, Bernard, and a four year old absolutely adorable sister, Sandy. I've been emailing Evelyne and she is really nice, so I'm hoping it all goes well! I'll be living in the town of Mazeres, in Ariege. It's about halfway between Toulouse and Andorra, and my family go to Andorra once a month as certain products there are cheaper because of taxes. I hope to get to Barcelona at some point as well, it's not too far away =) I was going to be going to the public school in the nearby town of Pamiers, but there are a lot of strikes and such going on at the moment with the French schooling system, so I'll be off to a private Catholic school!! Oh well, at least they don't have uniforms, and I go to a private school here, where fun is not allowed, so I'm going to hope it's better than that! And if not, then at least I am used to it.

so I sit here, waiting for my high school life to finish and a totally new one to begin. I want to be myself this coming year, and learn.

Terrified? Yes. But also totally ready to face the best and worst year of my life