This week was a really interesting one and I had one of my favourite days ever in France. I am including this Saturday in the blog because I think next week my blog will be very long. These are only some photos but there are more of the displays in the museum and of the rest of the week in my photo album "France 2016-2017" on Facebook!
Saturday 18 February - I watched the new Jungle Book movie today which was pretty cool. It was in French of course but I managed to understand a lot of it but even when I didn't fully understand, the screen helped to explain a lot. It was a really cool movie, I enjoyed it a lot!
Sunday - It was my last day of freedom!! Well the last day of the holidays before back to school anyway. Pretty much the same thing. I spent it by reading (and finishing) "Everything, Everything" which was such an awesome book! I also worked on my PowerPoint which I will present in Physique-chimie en Anglais (Physical chemistry in English) and also completed and sent a review/survey from CEI which had a few questions about my exchange in it. I answered them honestly and with little help of the internet which was really cool because it definitely proved I have learnt more than I thought. Apparently you can learn while living and enjoying life? Crazy right!
Monday - The first day back at school! It was crazy, like normal, but I found that I could understand waaay more of the conversations and even the lessons. This was surprising and exciting because I didn't think I'd improved that much over my three weeks off but I guess the other two and a half months helped me a bit too. I received a letter from Nana and Grandad which was absolutely lovely as well.
Tuesday - Tuesday is my longest day at school (8:30am-6pm) but everyday with my friends is good so it's okay. I am noticing I am understanding so much more french and today that was highlighted when Leila asked me if I was going to Paris with everyone on Saturday and then I also answered in French. She was a bit surprised that I had understood but in an excited way like me. I got to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 and it was great because I knew what was happening or being said already in English so the French was easier to understand as I was able to focus on the language and I could recognise a lot of words and phrases this way.
Wednesday - Today was my mum Marie's birthday so for dinner we went out to celebrate at a restaurant called "Buffalo Grill". We were given a starter of salad and bread before we ordered our main and dessert. For my main, I had the "Famous French Burger" with fries which was amazing because it had bacon, meat, lettuce, tomato, cheese...seriously good. For dessert I had "Verrine Banane Choc" which is a dessert with banana, hot chocolate sauce, whipped cream and biscuit pieces. It was good. Because it was Marie's birthday, they also gave us a piece of cake each (it was chocolate cake with cream and hokey pokey flavoured sauce/pieces). One present was given to Marie at the restaurant but I gave her mine at home after the other big present was given. It was a lovely day and I enjoyed celebrating it.
Oh yeah, school was cool too.
Thursday - Today for lunch it was the American menu so burger, chips, ice cream and coke again...I have been eating healthily, trust me! I was asked to teach them the Haka so I did it, Auguste tried to learn it, and then performed it back. I can honestly say the words "oooh looo looo oooh looo loo" are not in the Haka. But it was a good try I have to say.
Friday - My last Friday at school in France...it's so sad! In the morning we had an hour of nothing where I sat with Maureen, Théo, Clem, Leila and Phillipe. Théo showed me some pretty funny photos and I was able to understand more of the conversation (which is a miracle really because sometimes I don't even think they understand it although I think it is like that in every teenage friend group around the world...). Our first class was Spanish where Shana decided to join us for a lesson, and then our other classes, lunch and a break filled in the rest of the day. Everyone was very surprised when I reminded them that I left next Friday and they said something like "We knew you were leaving soon but not this soon!" and "You've just started to fully understand the language. start to speak it more often and now you have to leave??" and also "You've stayed this long in France, may as well stay a bit longer...one year later..." and finally just "No. Not happening. We will see you at school on the 6th March." So they pretty much just said exactly what I have been thinking. It is absolutely crazy that I leave in a week because time has just flown.
Saturday - Today was one of my, if not the, best days in France and probably my life! It was pretty much everything I had dreamed of - learning the history of France, being in France, understanding French, speaking the most French I have spoken, walking around Paris taking photos, visiting sites and all with my best friends. I could not have wanted a better last Saturday in France.
(Warning: This day will probably be super long as I have written 10 pages in my diary about it...We went to Paris for a school trip with the History teacher Monsieur Caillot and it was cool).
My day started at 6:30am when I got up so we could leave at 7:20 am to the train station in Montereau-Fault-Yonne. We arrived, went inside, bought a Navigo ticket (a ticket that allows you to travel on any bus, train or metro for the whole day). We then went to meet up with everyone who was there and wait for the other to arrive. On the trip there was me, Aimy, Coline, Auguste, Yanis, Ida, Aida, Leila, Clem, Théo and Phillipe and our teacher Monsieur Caillot. Once we were all there, we walked to the stop for the train, waited and then hopped on. The train ride was about an hour long and because it was quite early we didn't talk too much, mostly read, listened to music or slept. I did the last two things and thanks to Ida and Leila there is photo evidence of this.
We arrived in Paris and went down into the metro which we took to Invalidée. We then walked up to the street level and the view was awesome! Auguste and I then became the tourists of the group and got out our cameras and started taking photos. Mr Caillot gave us some information about the sites around us and then we walked down the road to the Musée des l'Armée (Les Invalides) and took some photos while we waited outside for about 20 min because we arrived there before it opened.
When it was opened and our bags were checked, we got our tickets, took some more photos and headed inside. The building was amazing and very symmetrical and the gardens were simple but gorgeous. We stopped just inside the courtyard while Mr Caillot gave us some information about the history of the place and then we headed inside. The first room we went into was displaying some old armour that they used to use, some different types of guns and even some old bow and arrow equipment (like the quiver and bow cases) and an old crossbow. This room was really interesting and on the walls were very intricate paintings. I don't really have much interest in art but the paintings in France are so different and they all have a meaning because they show a part of history.
Once we had looked around the room, we left and went up to the next floor where we walked the WW1 and WW2 - well at least the information and displays which had weapons and the evolution of them, the uniforms of many countries etc. They had an old NZ uniform from World War 1. I think it was from Otago, South Canterbury if I remember correctly...The other displays were amazing and I found the information fascinating. I certainly learnt some new things! They had so many types of guns (like specific trench guns, pistols, muskets etc.) and the evolution for most types of guns which was really interesting but also quite scary to think that these guns had killed people, not like a movie prop or something, these were real and had been used. There were also a lot of canons, and the evolution of grenades, chemical warfare gear. The weapons that I liked the most (and looked the coolest) were the swords. There were swords on display in every room and they were beautiful in a deadly sort of way. The handles were carefully crafted (some into patterns, some into people) and along the blades were intricate designs and writing in the pattern saying either a powerful quote, motto or whose sword it was and why it was made for them (pride, strength etc.). All throughout the exhibits I couldn't help but think that the technology used to make the guns and the uniforms and the rest of the weapons were amazing but I also couldn't help thinking how stupid it is to need to invent this technology just so it will kill someone else. One other powerful thing I saw was a pair of pajama's from a concentration camp in Germany. These ones were taken from there when the French invaded one of them so this means that someone, maybe multiple people wore them only to die because one man in power didn't like their race. It is horrific and powerful and just makes me want to cry out of frustration because it was so stupid and of sadness because it wasn't necessary at all.
Once we finished going through the wars, we went in to see Napoleon the First's tomb. That was pretty cool and very extravagant. We walked inside the room and were greeted by a massive ceiling, a room that continued to spread out very far in many directions with four other tombs in each corner of the room and a big hole in the floor. Luckily, the hole was meant to be there and in the middle of it on the floor below was Napoleon's tomb. It is very big for someone who was so small but I guess it is more to show he was respected rather than his height. While I was looking down at it from above, Mr Caillot came over to me and started to explain to me who the other people were that were in coffins there - the first general and Napoleon's first wife (if I remember this correctly...) - and also some other interesting facts - like it took 25 years after Napoleon died to bring his body there to be in the tomb. The best part about this?
He explained it all in french and I understood every single part.
This, along with joking around with the other beforehand, made me so happy. I'm still happy when I think about it! It honestly does show how far I've come I think. After he finished explaining, I walked around one half of the room, descended into the floor below to see Napoleon's coffin up close, walked around the other all of the room and then we left the Musée des l'Armées to go and eat.
Our next stop was the metro which we took to a stop (that I can't remember the name of...) and from there we walked to outside the modern museum to eat our lunch. I forgot to say the weather was nice so let me say it now - The weather was so clear and warm that I could not have wanted it to be better. After I had taken off my coat and jumper, I sat down to eat my lunch and honestly, it was the best lunch ever. I was sitting outside with no coat/jumper for the first time in France, in the warm sun, a slight breeze, surrounded by my best friends. It was magical. When a guy started singing a Beatles song behind us, I realised life cannot get better than this because I am doing what I have always wanted - to go to France with friends - and I have. I live with my sisters, I go to school with my friends and I am living in France. And then the feeling sank in. It felt like I was at home.
Leila and I went to get a crepe with nutella after our lunch and we left very soon afterwards to our next destination. I don't know the name of this place and unfortunately we didn't stay for very long. It had a big pendulum that naturally swung due to the Earth turning, the first steam engine plus a lot of other inventions and the evolution of them e.g. inventions of horoscopes and astrology technology, the first calculator, first microscope, first mechanical tools etc. It was all very interesting but we were in and out very quickly. There were also examples of inventions that were made when they discovered that strings made sounds when vibrated on hollow wood - the first violin and also the modern violin, viola, cello and bass.
Just before we left that place, we were given the option of going home then or bypassing a church. We obviously chose the church. On the way to the church, everyone was speaking to me in french and I was replying in french back and that just made the day even better because communicating in another language is such an amazing feeling. My pronunciation of pretty much all of the words is about 100x better and it was just so cool. My friends even said that my french was better and so was the pronunciation which made the feeling even better.
We arrived at the church which is called "Saint Eustache" and it was beautiful. The ceilings were unbelievably high (and no, not because I am short), and there were old paintings on many of the walls. On the back wall was a massive organ that took up at least half of the wall which is saying something! Many pictures were taken and then we left.
We wandered down the streets of Paris, taking photos, singing loudly, laughing A LOT and stopping at the occasional place to see something historic or important although we also stopped at a park. At the park there was a playground, so like the children we are, we ran over to play on it. We stayed there for maybe 15 min but just before we left, there was a massive crowd at the other end of the park so we all ran over to see what was happening/had happened. We didn't get there to see what had happened but a guy had proposed to his girlfriend who said yes and then they danced. Pretty cute! And they both seemed very happy which is really cool. We ran back over to the teacher and then continued (but walking) to the Paris-Gare de Lyon. We boarded the train quite quickly and after about 10 lengths up and down the carriage, we finally found a compartment with enough seats for the rest of us who hadn't found seats (so me, Auguste, Ida, Leila and Coline). One stop later, we moved compartments to sit with Aimy, Yanis and Aida and continued like that until our stop. The journey went very quickly for me (especially because when Ida lent on my shoulder, I accidentally fell asleep...) and all too soon we were saying goodbye and parting ways. Only until Monday of course.
To finish off the day, we had a small celebration for Marie's birthday where another family and also Laetitia came over. It was a lovely way to end what was such an awesome day. I feel at home, I understand so much more of the language, I have made the best friends anyone could ever want and I now have two more sisters, an older brother and another Mum and Dad.
I am happy.
