Salut!


This past week, I have been out of the house and in the mountains! The first day we visited Nathalie's parents in the Puy en Valey. We went into a smaller town nearby, and half of it was built in the Middle Ages, and the other half the Renaissance! Ludmila and I went into the Puy Cathedral that was built in the 10th and 11th centuries. The history behind the creation of the cathedral is amazing, and today people still take pilgrimages here. However, I have learned that basically nobody is religious here! I was explaining Ash Wednesday and Lent to my family and Nathalie and Olivier knew of it but had never known anybody that practiced it. 

The view from inside the cathedral. 

Last night at around 12pm we returned home from skiing in the French Alps. My week was amazing and I did sooo much! All week I had a 2 1/2 ski lesson with my instructor Georges and four other students. It was really fun and it was good for my French because Georges only spoke French and the others couldn't translate very well. Each day after my lesson, everybody (my family, all their cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents—there were a ton of people here) would all sit at picnic tables and eat our lunch. They brought good French bread with ham, cheese, salami, and foie gras. I always had ham :) They also packed apples, and chocolate and water and we all sat for about an hour and talked and ate. After lunch, or as they would call it "pic nique" the kids (besides me) would go skiing some more on the piste noir and I would go with the adults to the cafe and wait for them to finish coffee. Everyone here is a REALLY good skier. Even the little kids (3-6 years old) were flying down the black slopes and doing jumps off the little bumps. I, being a beginner, stuck to the "piste vert et piste bleu" all week. I have to say though, I am proud of myself! I didn't even know how to put my skis on the first day and by the end of the week I could ski parallel :-)


We stayed in Olivier's dad's chalet. It was amazing.  

This is a picture of it from the outside, and you can't really tell, but it is massive!

After skiing, we enjoyed cafe au lait on the balcony of the chalet overlooking the slopes!

This is my view from my small slope and that is the cafe where we had coffee.

After a week of lessons, I had earned my "premiere etiole" or "first star" which means I mastered the first phase of ski lessons. Hopefully one day I can come back and get all 7 etioles :-)

This is Ludmila's cousin Noa. She was the cutest thing in the world and six years old! She loved to point out objects and tell me what they were in French. 

On the last day, Ludmila, Emma, and I sled down the "piste noir" on our butts!

St. Valentine

Salut!


Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you all had a wonderful day and did something special. Yesterday, I went to a Valentine's Day party with my host sister, Ludmila, and four of her closest friends. We all had to wear an "accessoire rose" and we made a full pink dinner! We made salmon and rice for dinner and used food coloring to get them especially pink. We also had appetizers of pink sausages, a ham, tomato, and cheese dish, and some kind of pink bread! Also, we made pink cocktails—which was very interesting. For desert we made homemade cupcakes filled with chocolate and topped with sprinkles. They were delicious! Afterwards we watched a romantic love movie and then played games. It was a very fun evening and I really enjoy my new friends. 


I have been feeling a lot better lately and have not been as homesick. However, I still miss everyone greatly but know that in five short months I will be home and this entire experience will be over. Therefore, I am forgetting the tears, and I am going to enjoy every second! 


I received two letters in the mail today, from my Grandpa Jim and Grandma Sally, and another from Aunt Val, Uncle Jim, and Eddie. They made me really happy and I promise I will write back! 


Thank you for all the encouragement and again Happy Valentine's Day!

Salut!

School is really different here. I still have absolutely no idea where any of my classes are and if I didn't have a few friends to help me I would be 100% lost all the time. One really cool thing about school here (well for the students at least) is that when the teacher is out sick or on vacation, or unavailable to go to work, there is no class! No substitutes! And luckily for me, my teachers weren't here Monday or Tuesday. I still have no idea what is going on during the classes, however, so I normally sit at my desk and just try to understand a sliver of what my prof is telling us. Hopefully my grades don't tank...

The past couple of days have been a tad harder. With the freezing weather, I of course managed to catch a cold! Being sick and not having my mom here to comfort me has been making me very homesick :( I have been missing home a lot, and with the time difference it is especially hard to keep in contact. Fortunately, or unfortunately—I can't really tell yet—some of my more high-tech friends have been able to keep in contact with me while they are at school (JUSTIN TAING <3) and I have been able to see my friends. But I miss my family and not seeing them has been extremely tough.

This picture is of the family dog, and playing with him is my favorite thing to do! He is wild and crazy and loves to run and get a nice belly rub. Unfortunately, he has to stay outside ALL THE TIME, but it was especially cold today so he came in and enjoyed the fire with me for a little. He loves me :-)

This is my little sister, Emma. She is absolutely adorable and I help her with her English homework and she helps me with my French accent! She is constantly telling me to practice my R's because I have a problem saying them from down in my throat. Emma is always dancing around and she reminds me of my own sister. Oh and mom, that is the blanket you gave me in the corner; it is my life saver with the cold here!

As for the food…it is really, really good!! I did not expect myself to like it as much as I do! I have eaten absolutely everything and I have really enjoyed it! Every night we sit together and talk about politics or watch the news. With elections coming up, Ludmila and my parents (host parents) have a lot to say and tell me about. I feel very informed. Dinner lasts pretty long each night about 45 minutes to an hour and my favorite part is I get to help make it! Last night I made a mashed vegetable soup with my mom and it was absolutely delicious.

Me eating with my family, but please ignore me and just look at my family…bad hair/outfit/face day :( 

My French skills are slowly progressing. I hate to generalize, but the French people as a whole speak extremely quickly. It is really hard to make out what they are saying when it is trop vite! But at home my family speaks slowly to me, and for the most part I have a pretty good understanding of what they are saying. Occasionally, we have to play a bit of charades but Emma and my mom keep telling me I am getting better! I feel that my comprehension is a lot better than my speaking abilities, therefore it is really hard to communicate how I am feeling. Also, I am missing my best friends who understand exactly how I am feeling, even when I don't say a single word. That feeling has probably been the hardest for me as I feel lonely.

But things are looking up! I have one more day of school and then I have a two week vacation! We are going skiing in the Alpes and I have been invited to three parties!

Merci pour les bonnes souhaits et je vous aimez.

A bientot!