Language Camp, Braderie and School

The past two weeks have been amazing and I have learned so much. Language camp gave me the opportunity to be immersed in French (At least during the day) and to practice the language as well. I made friendships that are very strong and I know some of them will last forever. It was really nice being with other people who knew exactly how I was feeling with being away from home. I felt relived to share my emotions with others who understood.

Our teacher was alright but couldn’t speak any English which was a little challenging. She was unable to explain things to us when we could not understand and we’d have to ask other Rotarians to explain. I learned a lot of grammar and some vocabulary as well. We went to the beach two times to play French games which was a lot better than sitting in the classroom. On Wednesday morning we all got 5 Euros and got to go to the market to ask vendors how much things were in French. I bought an apple and a pair of cheap shoes.

Being with other exchange student was so much fun. We laughed so hard all week that my abs hurt towards the end of the week. On Friday two of the Rotex (Returned exchange students) rode a tandem bicycle to the school so my friend and I got to ride it to the Beach and back. We felt very French. We played guitar and sang a lot of the evenings and got to know one another.

Saturday was Braderie in Lille which is a huge flea market that covers most of the city. I went with some other exchange students and we walked for hours finding little treasures and good food. We explored Lille and the millions of people around us. The streets were closed to cars which allowed people to flood them. We got in a ‘people traffic jam’ and had to turn around because we were not moving. It was a really crazy experience. I slept over at Jordan’s because the Metro was crazy that night. We went home early because someone told us that it was not too safe at night and we didn’t want to risk it. Her host family lives right in the heart of Lille so when we walked out her front door, we were at the festival!  The next morning we roamed around some more then I took the Metro home.

I started school on Monday which was really different and very confusing. Their school system is nothing like the system in Canada. Firstly, the school day commences at 7:45a.m. and does not finish until 5:20.m.  It is such a long day and I am not sure I’ll be able to last all year. We only have half days on Wednesday which is a relief. It gives students a chance to do school work and exchange students a chance to sleep.I go to a private school so it's VERY strict. There is a room called Perminals which is where students must go on ‘Spare.’ It is a massive room (The size of a large Gym) which has about  400 desks where students sit in silence. If you so as much as whisper,  you get shushed and the next time you're moved. I am scared of the teachers in that room. I get on my bus at 7:00a.m. and don't get off until 5:45. It is such a long day and this week has left me very tired. Teachers and students do not have any relationships whatsoever. A student would never hug a teacher like we would in Canada nor would they ask them how vacation was for them. It's surely going to take some time to get used to! I am looking forward to understanding what the teachers are saying and being able to participate in class. All the students are really welcoming and seem to enjoy having exchange students in their class which is nice.

Each day here in France gets better and better and I am loving that trend.