Lille Football Game
My Host Parents and I in Brussels
Luxemburg
I continue to make memories and discover new things in my new home. In the last month, a lot has changed. I can speak French fairly well, my overall happiness level has increased and I have an awesome host family. I have traveled a bit more and experienced what it was like to be sick without my mom at my bedside.
I moved families in mid-November and have really bonded with my host parents and three sisters. I have a ‘petit chien’ named Champagne and my new house is very nice. My host dad knows just about everything and he shares his knowledge with me. It’s great, not only because I am learning random pieces of information every day, but also because I have the chance to speak French a lot more at my new family. Since moving my French has become a lot better and it is because I speak with my host mom and dad a lot. During the week, I am alone with my host parents because Lucie, the oldest, goes to university in Paris, Marie goes to University in Lille and comes home on weekends. And my younger host sister goes to a boarding school and is home on weekends as well.
With my host family, I have gone to the movies to see the new film, “Intouchables.” Which was really good and I, surprisingly, understood most of the beautiful story. My host dad and I went to go see a football (soccer) game in Lille and had V.I.P. access which was really cool. Football is pretty big in France and the energy in the crowd was vibrant throughout the game. We also went to Brussels to visit my host dad’s cousin. We went to the Tintin museum which was really interesting because a new Tintin movie recently came out and everyone talks about it. After the museum, we went to the Grande Place and had a Belgium Waffle and hot chocolate. They had just illuminated the Christmas tree so it was truly beautiful and really got me in the Christmas spirit. My host sisters and I laugh all the time and I really enjoy spending time with them. It feels really nice to be comfortable in your house and to be able to interact with the family a lot. It’s nice to be in an atmosphere where you’re welcome in the home you’re living in.
I went to Luxemburg with my classmates and it was pretty cool. We went to a lot of museums, went ice skating and wandered through the marché de Noël. It was different as I had imagined it as it was more modern than I thought it would be. There were many new buildings and it was missing the old beautiful buildings like we have in France. It was a good chance to learn a little about the European Union and a nice mixer to meet more of my classmates. I was with Kathryn (Australian), Sofie (Norwegian), Miso (Taiwanese) and Franco (Peruvian), my little exchange student family in my class, which is always enjoyable.
After the trip to Luxemburg I had a really busy weekend full of Rotary Events and Parties which left me sick. I had the flu for 5 days and it was a week of homesickness and regular sickness. It was only the second week living with my new family and they probably thought I was an infected Canadian. It was hard to keep saying, “I can’t go to school again today because I am still sick.” I felt badly because for the students of Beaucamps (My school) and most people in France, going to class is very important and I kept missing school so my host mom thought that I didn’t like school. Of course I don’t like going to school from 7:15 to 5:45 every day and learning nothing but I would never tell her that… hahaha. I learned that being sick without your own mom to nurse you back to health and give you back massages is not ideal but, as the French say, “C’est la vie.”
Once I recovered from “la grippe” I had a Class Christmas Party, Secret Santa. I received a bracelet from a girl named Pauline and gave my friend, Megane, a bracelet and earrings. I also went to my ‘host Grandma’s’ birthday party at my ‘host aunt’s’ house. It was really lovely and everyone was really welcoming which was reassuring because that was the family I’ll be spending Christmas with. I also went to a church called “Abbaye Mont Cats” for mass one Sunday morning with my host parents. It was a striking Church on the top of a mountain where the Monks make really smelly cheese.
Kathryn’s last day of school was the Friday before the break as she leaves on January 13th to go home. A few classmates planned a going away party for her in the Foyer after school. We ate crêpes and a few boys in my class brought their guitars. Kathryn had everyone sign her flag and said her goodbyes. It is going to be really tough when she leaves as we’ve become really close over the last few months.
Time continues to pass and I have my return date set which is kind of scary. My mom has set a countdown on her phone for my homecoming and it is not too far away. Now that I am in a happy family, have more friends at school and can speak French fairly well, I am looking forward to the adventures ahead of me including a French Christmas, New Years and Paris.
