The Weekend: Camping

My host father and brother are both leaders of the Scouts et Guides de France, so I joined the program as well. This past Saturday afternoon I boarded a bus full of people and went off to the scout's camp outside of the city. It was on a hill overlooking vineyards (pictured below) and a small town. The bus driver let us off at the bottom of the hill and it had to be climbed, which was not easy for small children with packs on their backs.

The camp consisted of a large building with covered pavilion, a shelter a short distance off, areas of cleared space, and an orchard of apple trees. The youngest group (orange) slept inside, but the blue and red (the oldest) set up tents in the orchard.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was sunny and warm during the day and cool at night. Even getting out of my sleeping bag in the morning wasn't difficult.

In France the girls and boys are integrated, and a half of the activities are not separated by age group. Neither of these things were problematic, in fact, they contributed to the spirit of the organization.

I found it amusing that scout is pronounced "scoot." I found it completely bizarre when they would erupt into loud songs or chants that I couldn't make out the words to.

Before dinner everyone gathered around for the moving-up ceremony. Yards of cloth corresponding to the color of the group were thrown over a long tarp filled with smoke from a fog machine. Starting with the youngest, children crawled through it and received their new status on the other side. Near the end it was my turn, and the striped necktie of the scouts was placed around my neck, initiating me into the red group.

I remember looking at a vocabulary list last month and thinking, "brouillard... that's not very useful. How often will I need to know the word for fog?" But in the morning beautiful fog had spread out over the town below, and I was able to mention it to one of the leaders.

The Language: 20 days

I haven't updated the blog in quite a while because I've started school, and  I had to catch up on over a week's worth of homework in addition to spending hours translating the passages I'm supposed to be analyzing.

When I can, I use a dictionary. Looking up the word helps me remember it better than using an online translator. However, when I'm rushed I use the computer, with some humorous results. For example, when I was filling out a school form it asked for my mother, father or guardian "rayer les mentions inutiles". The online translator tells me this means "to scratch the useless mentions."

Lately I've been combining simple words: something, someone, something else, one thing, another thing, etc. 

It bothers me that i seem to say the same things every day. "Tomorrow I have history and math in the morning." or "I ate lunch at school with my friends." Ever since I started school these things seem to be the basis of my conversations at dinner, and I wish I could be more interesting. Without logical sentences it's difficult to demonstrate that I have a personality, especially since I spent the first week saying little more than vague phrases of agreement. Even on other topics I have to keep using the same words. 

Often in conversation I leave out words that I don't know, hoping that the listener will still understand the concept of what I'm trying to say. Correct grammar is regretfully absent from my speech at the moment, but at least I have a slightly better grasp on words.

My vocabulary has improved this week. Often I'd hear mysterious words or phrases repeated throughout the day, write them down, and look them up when I was at home. 

It's particularly difficult in school when I have classes in French because teacher's write on the board in cursive, and since I wouldn't know what it was even if I could read it correctly, I often copy the wrong letters and can't decipher it with my dictionary when i get home. Listening in class is even more of a challenge. Once I tried to write down what the teacher was saying even though I didn't understand it. Ten minutes later she walked around the classroom and glanced at my notes. Clearly gibberish. "I don't think you understand." She said. I shook my head.

With my friends I speak Frenglish. I know I should be trying to speak completely in French, but it's tempting when I know they'll understand me better if I don't. 

I've noticed a decrease in my English spelling, which makes me even happier to have already taken the SAT.

My progress seems slow right now, but looking back to my first day I see definite improvement. 

The language: One week

Today marks one week with my family. When I arrived last Sunday even simple sentences that I knew confused me because of the accent. Instead of automatically listening I had to learn to concentrate when someone said something to me, and try to listen even when I wasn't being adressed. After listening for a while my brain begins to shut down, and I have to force myself to keep paying attention
My vocabulary has not multiplied, but I am much better than I was. I can take apart a sentence into individual words and pick out those I know. At this point if something is said clearly with simple words I can recognize half of them, and usually grasp the meaning. I've also become better at interpreting the meaning based on context and the person's body language.
I see learning the language as parallel to getting used to the 24 hour clock which is used in France. Right now if I see that it is 16:00, I have to absorb the number, quickly subtract 12, and equate that with 4:00pm. As the year goes on I will immediately know that 16 means 4, and then eventually not think about 4 at all.
At this point, I read or listen to a word, figure out what it means in english, and then absorb that meaning. By the end of the program I should be able to absorb the meaning as I hear or read, without any english involved.
I use my hands frequently when I talk, and automatically display more emotion on my face than normal. Also, I've picked up on the french habit of pushing air out from behind my lips to convey emotion. The simple sound doesn't require correct grammar.
In the first three days I was worried that I wasn't making any progress, but looking back, I see a definite shift. My grammatically correct sentences are still few and far between, but I'm sure I'll continue to progress as time goes by. 

Strasbourg

I did not take the pictures in this entry. At some point I will go around, be a tourist and photograph my favorite places, but for now I just look at them.
Although I'm not technically living in Strasbourg, it's only 10-15 minutes away by bike. After I arrived at the train station last Sunday my family showed me part of the city, and some famous landmarks. We arrived at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg in time to hear the bells of the ancient clock. Every quarter of an hour a different season of life appears. The church was the largest building from 1647-1874, and still rises well over everything else in the area.
Strasbourg gets a lot of tourists, especially from Germany, which is very close by. Tourists go by in boats in the river, go shopping in the numerous stores, and walk around the beautiful streets.

I am becoming familiar with the city more and more every day. By now I can easily find my way from my house into the center square. From there, I look for the cathédrale. I certainly don't know my way around well yet, but hopefully by the end of the year it will be simple for me.
Bikes are very common in this area. In many places there are paths designated for bikes with a lane for each direction. My family tries to avoid driving whenever possible, and I think that has helped me become more familiar with the area.

This is the center square, surrounded by shops, with the church rising in the background.

My House in Schiltigheim

There is so much to tell about my life here in Schiltigheim (even after just three days) that I will split the news into parts.
My house is one of the numerous colorful buildings in the area. It is yellow, the one next to it is pink, and so on. They look like the colorful macaroons which are so popular here.
I usually enter through the side gate, because that is where I park my bike. A few fruit trees shade the area and also provide the filling for delicious pies. A small garage houses the numerous bicycles which are the main form of transportation. The children's bedrooms are on the ground floor and I have been given the room that used to belong to Charlotte, the oldest. I sleep on a bunk bed over a couch, and in the morning I raise the blinds and open the french windows over the street.

This is the view from my window to the left.

The second floor, which would be considered the first in France, has the main living areas, and the next floor is mainly used by the parents. There is also a celler where some food is kept and my host brother Xavier practices his music.

This is the view from my window to the right.

As a note, it amazes me how quickly my English skills have deteriorated since I got here. It surprised me how difficult it was to use correct grammar when writing this. Thank goodness I took the SAT before I left. I only hope my French is improving in proportion with with my loss of English.

Catching up - Orientations and Travel

On Thursday after breakfast we divided into groups according to our country, and received more information about our exchange experience. However, we had to leave for the airport not long after lunch to ensure that everyone's luggage was checked and so on.
At 6:00pm, 50 AFS-USA students took off from JFK. Many hours and very little sleep later, we arrived at the Zurich airport. There, we looked around, talked sleepily, and tried to nap before we boarded our flight to Paris.
Once there, the first group of students  (last name A-Perez) caught a bus to the Résidence Internationale de Paris where everyone staying in France with AFS had orientation. The second group (Pisaniello-Z) waited for an hour at the airport for the Icelandic and Japanese(?) students to arrive. This wouldn't have been a problem except I had not slept since Wednesday night, and it was then mid-afternoon Friday. For this reason, I can't remember exactly what country we were waiting for after the Icelandic flight arrived.
Although I would've loved to talk to all the fascinating people from all over the world, I was nearly fainting when I got to my room. After a nap, dinner, and a shower, I finally fell asleep.
My roommates were very nice. Neither of them were from the western hemisphere but both spoke english well.
Saturday morning after breakfast we divided into our pre-assigned groups and went on a bus tour of Paris. French AFS volunteers gave us background information about the places we were seeing as we went by.
We got off the bus at the Eiffel Towel. In our neon tee shirts and name-tags, it was impossible to be taken for anything but tourists, so we completed the impression by gathering in a circle under the tower and doing a bizarre energizer. Unfortunately, the sun was behind us for most of the pictures, so our faces are very dark.
I've always heard that Paris is magical, so I lowered my expectations in case it couldn't meet them.

Paris blew me away.
I've never seen a city so beautiful.

We returned for lunch and then broke into even smaller groups, each led by an AFS volunteer. Mine was an American who had gone to France with AFS in 2006 and returned to study. These were the most informative hours of orientation, as we shared our goals and fears and he gave us honest answers. "You'll wake up with a headache and go to sleep with a headache. But it'll get easier and be worth it in the end. Leaving will be very hard."
After dinner we had one last meeting for which we were divided by language. I sat with the Canadiens, Australians, New Zelanders and Americans as the staff and volunteers told us what to expect the next day and gave us final tips about life in France. We practiced giving the bise, which was helpful because the first time I said "mwa!" as I did it. Then I hung out with friends and said goodbye to those I wouldn't see the next day.
I went to bed tired, but excited to meet my french family.

17 hours to go...

This past week was packed with things that had to be done before I left. Last Wednesday I got my hair cut short, and then the next day I passed the road test. However, I won't be able to take advantage of my license until next summer, because AFS does not allow students to drive during the program.
On Friday I had my friends over for a party so that I could spend time with them before I left, and goodbyes continued until the day I left the house.
Yesterday my father drove me down to our hotel outside New York City, which took longer than usual because hurricane Irene caused the closure of the road we usually take.
Despite more road closures and unusual train schedules, I still had the chance to meet my friend Jules for lunch. We got to know each other during the Cornell University Summer College 2010, but we never had the chance to see each other again until today.
After saying goodbye to her, Father and I drove to the JFK airport hotel, where the orientation is being held. All students going to Europe meet together there, before splitting up by country. The majority of the students are either going to France or Spain, but I talked to some that were headed for Austria or the Netherlands.
After icebreakers, the rule speech, and dinner, we split up by country and talked to a volunteer who had been a foreign exchange student in the nation to which we're headed.
Afterwards we were given free time until room check at 11:00pm. I hung out with a group of others who  are bound for france. Tomorrow we have orientation events all morning and into the afternoon. We have to get to the airport significantly earlier than our flight time because there are so many of us and everyone has to check their bags and go through security together.
Tonight (because it's past midnight now) I'll be flying away from the US. Au revoir, America.