Antici....PATION.

First of all, I would like to point out that the title of this post is an allusion to a song. If you happen to know which one, bravo! You just gained a little more respect from me. If not, then ask the local eccentric-films-appreciating person in your area, and they would be likely to know.

This post is a post that will speak of "insteads." Instead of my usual "Obligatory Post on the 19th" post, I am posting on the 18th because, well, I won't be able to write an entry tomorrow and if you've been following me at all, then you should very well know why.
Furthermore, if I was still in Tualatin, I would currently be participating in the annual UC Berkeley speech and debate tournament with my high school team. This trip consists not only of competing but spending time with the team, getting a free day in San Francisco (my favorite American city: last year we watched the sunset off the Golden Gate Bridge, it was spectacular). This trip is the thing I missed the most not being Tualatin High School this year, but instead of spending time in the beautiful bay area surrounded by intelligent guys in suits, I had one of the most incredible, unbelievable weekends of my life so far.

So before I describe how I feel about the fact that I'm going to see Paris again tomorrow, let me tell you about my weekend in Versailles.

Ever since Christmas break ended, I have been planning the six weekends afterwards before the next break. I have very well succeeded, having done something worthwhile (that doesn't involve staying at home in little old Parthenay) every weekend. About five weeks ago, I had originally planned for this weekend a trip to Bourges, a city in the center of France, to see my friend Lydia (another American that I met in the San Francisco Visa trip in July). She asked her host parents right away, and we were okay with me staying Saturday and Sunday night. I found all the buses and trains necessary right away. However, about two or three weeks ago, she told me that plans had changed, and asked if there was a way I could get to Bourges earlier to make a trip to Versailles with her family. At first I thought it was absurd; there was no earlier way to do the five hour trip to Bourges, and there was no way I was gonna buy another train ticket to Paris. I am chastising myself a bit for thinking "No, it's all too far and it can't happen," but that's what comes from living in the middle of nowhere, I guess. Because really, after discussing what I should do with her host mom, it was all so simple. Instead of going to Bourges, they would pick me up instead at one of my layover cities, St Pierre des Corps, and from there we would go to Versailles.

That's exactly what we did.

On Saturday morning, I arrived in St Pierre des Corps, where I was greeted by Lydia and her host family. We crammed ourselves into the car- her host mom Anne-Katherine drove, and accompanying us were her host sisters Thérèse and Bénédicte, and her little host brothers Etienne and Charles. I will write about her host family later because I appreciate them so much, but for now I'll say that we all drove to Versailles and stopped to eat lunch in McDonald's.

(If you want to skip this part, then go ahead, it's just a parenthèse about French modern culture that has nothing to do with Versailles.
...
SO IN MCDONALD'S
I had a meal that was actually really good and I'm not afraid to deny it. You know how fast food chains have these seasonal items on the menu? Yeah here in France, they had the McBaguette, and now they have these specialty "burgers" that come with a certain cheese.

For example, when I was there, I could choose between either goat cheese or raclette cheese, and previously there was a choice between camembert and some other fancy French cheese. Obviously, I chose the goat cheese, and it was DELICIOUS. I love how classy things are here, I really do, and did you know I also really love the cheese?
...whereas in the United States, the advertisements show people going gaga for the sloppy looking McRib... oh vive les rednecks.)

After lunch, we spent the afternoon in the palace.

Upon descending from the car, I was in complete awe over all the glorious, magnificent splendor that everything there, from the most unassuming tiles on the floor, to the ornate gates fabricated from real gold, glistens with. It was dumbfounding. Human hands built this site worthy of the heavens. I could just imagine all the royalty that used to occupy it, the drama among aristocrats and monarchs from all over Europe, the soirées, the military procedures, so many amazing things in human history happened on the ground where I was standing. Also, French was the language spoken by the elite in Europe at the time, so being able to go around speaking it made it feel even more authentic.

Because Lydia's host mom's nephew is a tour guide in the castle, we were able to get a private tour from him, and he showed us places that the public isn't allowed to go to. (Lydia and I felt really special...ahem, like queens.)

Us and our prince tour guide. We really appreciated his good looks passionate knowledge about Versailles.

 For example, we went to this chapel that the other visitors couldn't enter, so we were the only ones there.

Everyone that wasn't us had to stay behind the barrier

After the private tour, we continued walking around, taking in the sights of each ornately decorated room, the busts of famous figures in French history, the elaborate paintings present on a myriad of walls and ceilings, the many-tiered chandeliers, the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the vast grounds of the palace, the finely set silverware, EVERYTHING. My pictures don't do it much justice, but I figure that they will make this entry more interesting so enjoy!

"For all the glories of France" ♥

A very famous painting of Napoleon Bonaparte

Oh, him again

Another site I was able to see was Marie Antoinette's domain. I believe it is where she had her "play house" and pretended she was one of those poor countryside peasants, and also where she had some fancy parties. We rode a small train (just a chain of golf carts) to get there, and it was like another world within another world. It was deep within a forested park, but oh my was it gorgeous. There was a large pond, and her country houses were so quaint. It was the perfect environment to take a small, tranquil vacation, right within the palace grounds. I found it pretty spectacular. It reminded me of the isolated countryside environment I currently have to live in now, even though it was only a few kilometers away from Paris.

Once we were done visiting Versailles, we went to Lydia's host grandma's house in St Germain, a suburb of Paris. We were there to celebrate her host dad's 48th birthday. I would like to pay tribute to the wonderful Fayet family right here. First of all, even though I was a guest, not even a guest of any of their kids but of their exchange student, they were still extremely kind and generous and really made me feel welcome. It was a family event I participated in, but despite the fact that this was my first time meeting them and only my third time meeting Lydia, I felt completely like a part of their family. Some families just immediately exude that sense of unity and hospitality, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that this family was one of the best examples of that that I have ever met, not just in France, but in the world.

Lydia with (part of) her host family

Lydia and I prepared the happy birthday song for her host dad François. To greet him, we sang it, and the rest of the members of the family who were there enthusiastically joined in, resulting in a joyful, musical atmosphere. Just the kind of environment I cherish being in. I was so happy to sing songs for them, especially so when they really appreciated it. It was the least I could do for them after they graciously took me, a former stranger, in during a family outing, to VERSAILLES of all places! Furthermore, Anne-Katherine and François have nine kids, and yet all the ones I met were exemplary examples of well brought-up children. I was astounded. I have had unpleasant experiences with kids of "that age" here, but the Fayet kids were polar opposites of what I had known. Sure, 7-year-old Charles whined and got involved in spats with his siblings, but it was understandable. That didn't matter because he was a SUPER sweet, adorable, affectionate little boy. 12-year-old Etienne was already a young gentleman and just as caring towards me as he was towards everyone else in his family. Bénédicte and Thérèse were the two eldest of the four youngest left in the house, and they gave me the impression that they were amazing older sisters to the two boys. They also really made an effort to get to know me, and it almost felt like they treated me like I was their sister as well. They're all so darling, and I miss them. I am very happy for Lydia that she landed in such a family, and I could tell that the siblings are very happy to have her in their home as well.

I also met the oldest sibling, Jean-Marie, and his fiancée Bérénice (who studies law at the Sorbonne in Paris wowowowow!). They were one of those beautiful couples that one can't help but want to be like, and I know that they're going to be so successful in the future and have a family just as incredible as the one that raised Jean-Marie.

I felt so close to them that I even had them sign my exchange notebook. They were all so excited to sign it, and they even asked me when they would see me again and if I would go to their house at another time. It made me sad to say that I didn't know, but I know it's unlikely. However, I will make it a point to see them again in the future after exchange, because I really would like to see the kids again, especially to see how they have grown up.

I would continue on a philosophical spiel and commentary on the meaning of the word "family," but I have other things I prefer to talk about.

Around noon on Sunday, Lydia and I got the chance to explore the city of St Germain. It was a perfect day outside; cool, sunny, with a slight breeze. We went to the city center, where the market was located. The sidewalks were bustling with people, the vendors of the market were lined side by side, people sat on the cafés on the sidewalks, and there was all that noise and activity of the city that I have missed SO MUCH and almost forgotten. I loved it. I wished I lived in that environment every day. Even though it was Sunday (and France is dead every Sunday, nothing is open), there weren't any empty streets. I mean, Parthenay has empty streets even on weekdays. There was so much to see and explore. Lydia and I turned on a random street and we ended up facing the office of tourism, a small building tucked between other businesses. I wondered why it was called "Claude Debussy Office of Tourism," but then I looked above and saw a sign that shocked me...

"Claude Debussy House, Office of Tourism"

"Here, on August 22 1862, the composer Claude Debussy was born"

OH MY GOSH
THAT WAS A BIG DEAL
WITHOUT INTENDING TO,
We had stumbled across the birthplace of one of the classical composers I had known for the duration of my 13-year career as a pianist. I didn't even know St. Germain was his hometown! I was extremely giddy with surprise. Just another one of the hard-to-believe moments of this weekend.

Currently, my mind is kind of in a limbo. En route on the five hour voyage from Bourges (we spent Sunday night there), I started this blog entry in the train station of Poitiers.

This was my view from the Gare bar/restaurant.

Now I'm on the bus going back to Parthenay. I can only think of all the things I need to do to prepare to leave again tomorrow, this time, to Paris. I say I'm going back tomorrow, but I don't think I fully comprehend that it IS tomorrow. I left Paris the first and last time I went on March 2010, knowing I would see it again one day in the future. That day is tomorrow.
I'd rather not imagine how I'm going to react when I see it again; I'll write about it next week. I'll just let the excitement build up inside me until it is nearly unbearable and I won't be able to sleep.
Paris...
The city of lights, love, art. Only the subject of so many works of renowned artists, the hangout of important figures in the history of literature, a city saturated with inspiration, the subject of countless dreams, and, as I heard it put once, the "marvelous collection of human treasures." Treasures not only in the artifacts located in its countless museums, or in the boutiques along the Champs-Elysées, but the treasures that are stories the city has to tell, and stories everyone who sets foot in it will have to tell about it.
(Yes, I am a romantic, in case you couldn't tell, though I rarely admit it.)

If aliens one day visited our Earth and asked to see the capital of this world, where they could gain a tremendous understanding of human history and the development of our society, the Ambassador of Extraterrestrials would definitely direct them to Paris.
(Yes, I am a science nerd, and proud of it.)

For now, here is a song that I can't stop listening to whenever my mind is in this state, the day before something I have been really anticipating.

"Demain sera parfait," the name of the song, means "Tomorrow will be perfect."
I can't imagine it being any other way.

新年快樂！

No, I did not suddenly voyage out of France to China or anything.
But I guess you could say I came pretty close.

"Are you going to La Roche sur Yon on Saturday?"

This weekend of the 9th to 10th of February was the weekend of the Chinese New Year! One of the Taiwanese girls in the district, Grace, had a party in her house in La Roche sur Yon. Along with her French friends, there were several other exchange students as well. I love my Asian buddies...

David (Taiwan) and me on the bus

Grace and me

Gio (my Indonesian twin) and me

Barbie (Taiwan) and me

It goes without saying that any opportunity to see other inbounds is gladly taken; however, that wasn't the only reason this party was spectacular.
One thing I will bring up about myself is that, while I thoroughly enjoy eating food from all over the world and tasting new dishes (the French call this kind of person a gourmand), Asian food will always reign supreme in my book. Don't even make me choose between Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Indian, Thai, Filipino, etc. food. Anything hailing from that region of the world is scrumptious.
So of course, when I heard that Grace would be cooking Chinese food, I was ecstatic. I was also more than happy to wrap the dumplings in preparation for them to boil (seeing as that's as far as my culinary skills go).

Set on the food table were Taiwanese appetizers (I really liked the dried meat),

and, once it was ready, out came a large crock pot of curry, served with rice.

After most people were finished with the main dish, we had some homemade bubble tea!

Last Chinese New Year, we learned about the Chinese New Year in my Mandarin class. This time, I was able to bring up some of what I had learned last year with the Taiwanese kids. I have come to realize that, to me, one part of "living my exchange to the fullest" is being able to speak every language I am capable of speaking with people, and holding conversations (however short and simple they may be). Now that I pretty much have French down, I might as well attempt to keep up the Chinese I have learned.

Speaking of languages I am capable of speaking, I am making remarkable progress in German class. I take both LV3 (beginner's German) and LV2 (with classmates who are on their 4th year of German) at the high school, and at the beginning of the year, I understood nothing in LV2. The teacher spoke almost exclusively in German, and most of the time I didn't do anything in that class but write a few sentences (that had to do with whatever I was learning in German LV3), but SOMEHOW, I've gotten to the point where I can now keep up in both my German classes, and I've even done a speech in LV2 and gotten a good grade with it. I remember one instant where I had a classmate tell me, "Tu fais des progrès en allemand!" I don't know if you find it as mind-blowing as I do, but I had somebody tell me I was making progress in German, a language I just started learning, in French, a language I once had to learn in class. I'm not too proud of the way I phrased that sentence, but just know that I felt proud of myself after hearing that compliment.
And after receiving these test results. (In LV3, hahaha)

I named all those neutral, masculine, and feminine household items from memory!

Yes, those are preposition words translated from German to French 

Anyway, as of today, I have exactly 20 weeks left in France; the date is finalized, and I leave on Sunday, June 30, arriving in Portland at about 11:48 in the morning. My first full day in France was August 29 (noon August 28 was when I arrived), and my last full day will be June 29, which pretty much makes exactly ten months. I'm pretty satisfied with that fact, but it feels weird to have a "real" date of departure.

Rather than think about the 20 weeks I have left with my life in France, I will think instead of the 9 days I have until I see Paris again.♥ Or maybe even the 6 days I have until I see the Château de Versailles (think: Marie Antoinette grandeur) for the first time, on a trip with one of my exchange student friends and her family! It is all coming up so quickly.

I can't wait.

HALFWAY DONE.

I didn't really think that taking a 4-hour long French exam and then two consecutive hours of analyzing a Baudelaire sonnet would be how I would celebrate the five-month anniversary of the day I arrived.

As you can tell, I didn't understand the La Fontaine fable at all. But I wasn't the only one; neither did my friends.

During those four hours, I had to identify and give examples of the literary procedures these four authors used to explain their conception of happiness and then write them all down in a supposedly coherent form. And then I had to write an essay giving my opinion on the question, "To you, are the diverse forms of argumentation found in literary texts an effective way to offer to the reader a reflection on man?" while making references to the four texts above, works studied in class, and works I have read myself. Whereas most other exchange students got to stay home while their classmates took the bac blanc (this exam), I went to school like a trooper and braved this horrific form of intellectual torture like the rest of the French students did. Thus, I can say that I am une VRAIE française, people.
As if that wasn't enough literary analysis, we had two hours of French class afterwards, spent analyzing the incredibly depressing Baudelaire sonnet "The Blind," in which he expresses how he is even more unhappy than blind people. (See, I didn't even fall asleep in class, I followed along and learned something from it.) (If you have ever read a certain series by Lemony Snicket... I'm certain this man is the namesake of the series' protagonists, and after having read his poems, frankly I'm not surprised.) Bon, je ferme ma parenthèse. Yeah, so here's the guy who wrote a book of poetry called The Flowers of Evil.

"Vous osez critiquer mes oeuvres? Et vous vous sentez découragée? ...oui, ma vie fut une catastrophe. Vous avez raison."

I used to think happiness was a simple emotion, but thanks to those texts I read this morning, my definition of it is now complex and muddled. Oh, thank you, great French thinkers of human history.

"Je vous en prie, Amanda, on existait pour te faire réflechir" says Jean-Jacques Rousseau with an amicable glance my way

However, what I choose to make matter to me is that here, I am happy. I am happy to be in France. I am happy with what I have done and especially what I have left to do. I don't care what you think, Voltaire. I don't care if that Brahman you met told you it was impossible to be wise and happy at the same time; although I've made many mistakes during my time here, and I've doubted myself more than I ever have, and I've agonizingly questioned the meaning of this all, I regret nothing. I have made it this far, and for that I am completely satisfied. In short, I am happy.

In other news, Claire the Australian arrived last week! She is staying with Matthieu the outbound's family.

Claire and Matthieu

From the time I have spent with her, I love her already! I am so happy I'm no longer the only inbound in Parthenay. I'm also quite content with the fact that she is Australian, because I have always had a fondness for Australians.
Furthermore, a lot of the outbounds found out where they are going to be placed next year. I saw all their excited statuses on Facebook, and I felt the excitement with them, remembering exactly how I felt a year ago when I found out I was going to France. Oh, and Matthieu?
HE'S GOING TO DISTRICT 5100.
YIPEE!!!
I will most certainly see him in Oregon next school year. I am so happy (I know, that phrase is getting awfully redundant at this point) that a friend from my school is going to my state as an exchange student! I would like for him to end up in Tualatin, but we'll have to see. At least now I can say that I am bringing a French boy back with me... ;)

Recently, it came to my attention that the Sergeant of Arms of the Tualatin Rotary Club has been reading my blog entries, and in the last lunch meeting he printed out pictures from this site and asked members of the club to identify them to see if they were keeping up with me and reading the Tualatin Rotary weekly newsletter (my blog link is at the top). I must say, that delighted me (thanks for telling me Barbara!). What a splendid idea. So if you are a member of the Tualatin club reading my blog right now due to that activity, I would like to thank you personally for helping make this experience possible for me. I mean this in the most sincere and grateful way possible. Thank you.

It's a bit hard to believe that my exchange is halfway over. I still have these moments where I tell myself, "Oh hey, everyone speaks French," "You're living in France," and "You have a life in a French high school." And now I have to tell myself, "You're more than halfway done."
Am I really?

And lastly, here is a fact so true that no French philosopher would doubt it... the best is yet to come.

Obligatory Post on the 19th: January...my 19th blog post!

I love French boys outbounds

Not just one, not just two, but FOUR good-looking French boys all in the same beauteous compilation of pixels! Oh, I'm there too, aren't I lucky. ;)
You're probably wondering where I found such a high concentration of sharp individuals. Is it even legal for there to be that many in one space? Just think of all the cardiac arrests on the poor ladies! Well, the answer to that question is one can find all these marvelous men in no other gathering than at a Rotary event.

This wasn't an inbound weekend; rather, it was a Sunday for all the outbounds in the district to gather together for an orientation. All their parents came as well. There were also a few of my inbound friends, who I was very happy to see!

Aarohi and me with the lovely outbounds Marie, Nina, and Manon

I love the outbounds so much. It might just be because I so clearly remember being in their place last year, excited to be going on exchange despite being uncertain of where I was going. Meeting all the inbounds from around the world was a great pleasure, and then there I was, one of those inbounds that outbounds would come up to and ask questions. I must admit, I felt pretty sage. I was more than happy to talk to the outbounds and feel their excitement with them, though at times it felt hard to believe that no, I wasn't an outbound anymore, I was really an inbound talking about my experience so far. That's probably another reason I'm very fond of these kids; sometimes I feel like I'm still an outbound. Time goes by that fast.

At some point during the day, all the inbounds each got up and introduced themselves and spoke a bit about their experience in France so far (in French of course). When I got up, I added that the best part of exchange are the people I've met and the friends I've made. I directly addressed my fellow inbounds and new outbound friends sitting in the audience, very similar to what I did when I addressed the inbounds and outbounds during my District Conference speech, and told them, "Je vous aime!" They were all touched and expressed their mutual sentiments towards me as well. Because really, no matter what country you end up in on exchange, you meet some truly great individuals who end up becoming your best friends in, quite literally, the entire world.

Here are some more pictures!

Aurélie, who hopes to go to South Korea

Gio from Indonesia and Benjamin, the inbounds' favorite outbound (he was the first one we met, at the beach orientation camp)

Me and Joey: Asians representing the USA and Canada

Leonie from Germany and me, the tallest and shortest of the district! (To be fair, she was tiptoeing, but then again I was wearing two-inch heels...)

Guillaume and Nathan, who both picked the USA as their first choice.
I want them.
...to come to Oregon.

I failed to bring this up in earlier blog posts because I hadn't received my gift yet, but before break, my friends at school and I arranged a gift exchange between ourselves. We wrote all our names on little pieces of paper and drew out a name for who we would give a gift to. Due to the busy lycée schedule, we were set to give the presents after break. So this past week, I finally got my present from my friend Cassandre. It was wrapped so creatively...

I don't know how well you can tell, but it's made to look like a piece of candy

I opened it and found a small square box, so I assumed it was some sort of jewelry. But I opened it and found this inside:

I don't know if I should put it on my blazer or on my going-out purse!!

It took me by surprise! Cassandre had made me a keychain by hand, and I was just delighted at the thought she put into it. I found it really darling. Handmade gifts are really the best, and she did a swell job figuring out something that I would like!

Finally, the snow.

I'm not sure how I feel about it at the moment. If I had to place a word, it'd be ambivalent. It's pretty and all, but when I have to bike through it to get to school, it's rather torturous. (Luckily I only had to do that four times...) Furthermore, the Australian girl was supposed to arrive today, but due to the snow, she's stranded in London and I don't know when I'll meet her. However, when I'm relaxing inside the house as it falls down outside, it's nice to gaze outside at how it blankets the rooftops and roads. Here are some pictures I took of the snow yesterday.

The view from my window

The front yard

Out the window

The view from the third floor

Hopefully it won't snow on any more weekdays! Either way, I'm not sure how to end this entry. So I'll just say, I hope that wherever you are, 2013 is treating you well so far. I feel like it's gonna be a splendid year.

.

.

.

.

Oh yeah. In exactly a month, I'm going to be back in Paris. Words don't suffice to express my excitement, so I'll just leave it to your imagination.

Ce qui m'est arrivé

If you don't speak French and think that this blog entry's title connotes something cryptic and mysterious that I am going to write about, you are wrong.
Sorry to disappoint you.
It only means "What has happened to me."
So what has happened since I ended my last blog entry in the end of the world?

Well, I could start with Christmas.
My Christmas was absolutely amazing! As I mentioned, I sang in the choir with my host parents and brother, in the magnificent old church at the center of the city. It's almost a thousand years old. Here's an old picture of it just to make it seem more "ancient":

It had been a while since I attended a Catholic mass, but I was familiar with all the rituals that went on during the one and a half hours nonetheless. The only difference was that everything was in French. Following the mass, we all went home and had this ENORMOUS dinner that lasted until about 1:30 in the morning. We had lobster bisque, smoked salmon, foie gras, lamb, potatoes, fruit salad, and ice cream cake. It was delightful, and the family atmosphere was fantastic.
These are the presents my family gave me: Chocolate, more chocolate, a Paris book, a little French novelette, an Edith Piaf CD with 100 of her songs (YES!) and last but not the least, my dear grandma gave me a STATIONERY SET!! I was so incredibly happy and surprised, because I had been searching for stationery but never found any, yet there it was, all glorious and Paris themed. Now I can write more fancy letters! I felt right at home, and it was a very successful Christmas in France. :)

Oh yeah, speaking of letters, I sent out ten for Christmas and got three back in reply! Adela went to South Korea last summer so she sent me a post card from there, Clay was in Aix-en-Provence recently so he sent me one from there, and Juliana gave me a handmade card (with a pop-up Christmas tree inside) too. Merci beaucoup, je les adore!

I also visited my first host family to wish them a Merry Christmas. They were happy to see me, and they handed my my school report card. I laughed upon seeing it. French class this year was exactly the opposite of last year: I had the lowest grade in class, and it was my worst class. (Beginner's German is my best class, which made me laugh too.) The thing that made me laugh the most, however, was that the class average was 12,33/20, and I got a 12,4. Um, don't ask me how. I don't even know. At least I can say my teachers like me.

Soon after Christmas I began writing my journal entries in French. I have quite a few entries that are completely in French now, and I don't write as much in English anymore. Granted, it's probably because I'm already completely adjusted into this not-so-new life, and I only have to write about what I did on a certain day instead of how I feel or what I learned or other such philosophical ponderings...hahaha.

You know how I mentioned that I used to detest ice skating and avoid it, but now I feel like I'm capable? Well, apparently, I can sew now too.
Yeah.
I came to France only knowing how to sew on a button because my mom made it imperative that I learn (to my reluctance), but eventually I evolved into sewing patches onto my blazer, and now guess what I made!

I wanted to make something representing 5100 that I could display, so I went to the cloth store. Unfortunately, they didn't have sew on patch numbers that would have made the job way easier. They told me I'd have to use ribbon and form the numbers myself. I groaned a bit, but I decided to take on the challenge. What can I say...I felt super proud of myself. It was meticulous work, and forming the numbers was a pain in the ..., but I like meticulous work involving my hands (hence my future career choice, a surgeon), and it paid off anyway. The flag is now hung up on my wall right next to my blazer.

New Year's this year was so memorable.
On the morning of December 31st, I found myself in a bar in Bressuire called La Promenade. I ordered a sirop de fraise à l'eau, and I drank it as I analyzed a sonnet by Baudelaire for French class, reflecting on the year, all that happened, and how it happened so fast. I also thought about how I could never have imagined that that was how I would be spending the last day of 2012.

At one random point, one of those stereotypical little old French men approached me and told me something like, "Let's finish the year with a bang! Best wishes to you for 2013!" We spoke a bit, and he noticed I was reading poetry, then began to tell me about how he took part in the War with Algeria and wrote a book of poems about it. He gave me the name of the book, Le Piton des Corbeaux, and because I can say I met the author in a little café on the last day of 2012, I will buy it when I find it.

For the rest of the day, Maya (one of my best friends here, by the way she keeps a blog too you should read it! http://mayafrance.blogspot.com) invited Aarohi and me to her house in La Roche sur Yon, since her parents were throwing a huge party. It was one of those really classy parties where all the men wear suits, and even though we were the only teenagers, we still had a blast together. Here are some pictures of us!

Yes, we did toast to the New Year with authentic French champagne ;)

Of course, the countdown was in French. Maya, Aarohi, and I were probably the most enthusiastic as we counted down and after the clock stroke midnight, because after all, we were together, in France, having the time of our lives!

Now wherever in the world you are, here is a New Year's greeting for you, from my Rotary District, 1510.

Another thing that is celebrated here in France is "L'Epiphanie." One of the traditions is to eat a cake called the galette des rois. The galette des rois can be any sort of cake (as far as I know); the catch is that hidden inside is a little figurine, that can be any sort of figurine (as far as I know). The youngest member of the family goes under the table, and as one of the heads of family cuts slices, they yell, "Whose slice is this?" and the person under the table calls out a random name. After everyone has their slice, people start eating the cake until somebody finds the figurine.
Whoever finds it is named king or queen, depending on their gender, and they get a crown, and they get to pick their king or queen.
You can probably guess why I brought this up.

The king and queen of Deux-Sèvres! (It's in sepia because the original had bad lighting)

I GOT IT!!
And my family didn't do it on purpose either!
Plus, I was able to pick a king because Joe the Australian was hanging out at my house that day.
C'était une épiphanie réussite!
(Even though I was really sad that day because it was the last time I would see him, seeing as he leaves for Australia today on the 12th.)
Despite the fact that the good bye was extremely difficult, I was happy I got to say a proper good bye, and happy I was able to have a friend like him living near me so I wouldn't have ripped my hair out being the only Rotary kid in the middle of nowhere (thanks Parthenay!).
It's hard to believe that now that the southern hemisphere kids are gone, the kids who arrived in August and I are going to be the "oldies" now to the new southern hemisphere kids arriving very soon (OH YEAH PARTHENAY IS GETTING AN AUSTRALIAN GIRL NEXT WEEK AND I CANNOT WAIT MORE ON THAT WHEN SHE ARRIVES). It got me to thinking that one day, my day of departure will come, and I will barely be able to believe it, if at all. I'm even almost at the halfway mark of my exchange.

Guess that means I'll just have to keep making the best of it like I have been!