(I apologize in advance for the rambling nature of this post.)
Wow, it's hard to believe that it's really been a month here. Literally time has gone by so quickly that it's difficult to remember what I've done from day to day, let alone from three and a half weeks ago. LUCKILY I'VE KEPT A JOURNAL. So, here goes nothing... Since my last post, I've watched a few movies with my host family, in french with french subtitles (which suck because the titles are direct translations of the english and the french is completely re-written). I've been really lazy and lounged around doing absolutely nothing. I've had school 6 days a week starting at 8 AM which means a 6 AM alarm every day. I've had a cold and felt really poopy and wrapped myself in a blanket with tea and wanted to cuddle with someone who patted my head and told me everything was going to be okay. AND ALSO, I've done some travelling. SO HERE GOES FOLKS, ALL MY TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE STORIES FROM THE PAST THREE WEEKS.
ON SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 15th, I went to the three borders surrounding the corner of France that I live in; Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. It was really pretty cool because not only was I in four countries in one day, but I also visited the place where the E.U. Accord was signed, and stood in two places at once. Which is pretty sweet, not gonna lie at all. The couple that brought me around apparently does the trip every year, so they knew their way around. Also on this day I visited a castle and a place where they make beautiful pottery in a town called Longwy I believe. Not too sure about that. The couple also has had numerous exchange students and said that for the time that I'd been there, I spoke the best french out of all of them, so Boo-Yeah. They had also been to Stoney Point in the states and had passed through Windsor to get there! HOW COOL IS THAT SOMEONE ACTUALLY KNOWS WHERE WINDSOR IS OMG WOW. Pictures will follow in case any of you happened to see them when they were here like 15 years ago.
The next day, Monday the 16th was when I was formally introduced to my host Rotary club. It was quite a luxurious affair. Held in a hotel dining room that was built in the 1500's it was really quite fancy. There were a lot of old Rotarians there, and the governor of our district attended. I was asked to play the Canadian national anthem on the trumpet, and there was the trading of club banners, which was really awkward because no one told me what to say so I just kinda handed the president my banner and was like "Here, you can have this, i don't know what to do with it anymore." (Okay, not literally but you understand my dilemma.)
The journal that I write in every night was given to me as a gift by Shayla, and I just needed to say something about that because she put these little quotes in it on random pages, and there's one that says: "You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price for the richness of loving and knowing people in more that one place." and I really feel like that's hitting me right now, because I've gained a circle of friends and I feel like I literally have a second home here now, and I can already tell that it's going to be hard to leave. It's been a month and these people have changed my life so much, it's incredible. Take the 18th for example. A wednesday, also a half day of school. Generally I would go home and watch tv or a movie or something with my host brother, but instead I was invited to go participate in a flash mob, so I did. Turned out to be the highlight of my week, because it was so much fun! It's amazing how little things can change your mood.
Funny little anecdote here, I was told by one of my friends that she's "glad you're are crazy as us, we thought you were too serious" Glad to know that I'm weird, but it's a good weird.
The 23rd marked one month here, and it's crazy because it doesn't seem like that long. I can tell this year is going to pass by quickly, too quickly for my liking. But that's the RYE for you, it's amazing and it changes your life but then it's over before you know it. HEHE THE 23RD ALSO MARKED THE FIRST DAY SOMEONE THOUGHT I WAS A LOCAL, so I was pretty proud of that. A month in France and I'm already acting so French even the french themselves can't decipher who's foreign. LOVE IT.
Mumford & Sons announced an "indefinite hiatus" on the 24th of September, and I got really sad because Mumford. (only a few of you will understand my pain.)
I've decided I'm going to start acting again. At school. Doing a play written by students of Fabert. It's apparently all about social interactions and teenage relationships so this'll be fun. Also on the note of acting and the arts, every year the high schools of Metz get together and perform a "concert des Lycees", of which this year there will be a Canadian trumpet player playing 2nd trumpet. The theme this year is the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of WW1, so there's elements of "La Veuve Joyeuse", originally a german operetta that was translated into french and will be used for this year's concert. Pretty cool stuff if you ask me.
This brings us to this weekend, where yesterday I visited Strasbourg with my host family, right after school yesterday. It was amazing, Strasbourg is so quaint, and being right on the border of Germany, has really stereotypical German architecture, as well as a gorgeous cathedral. Which seems to be a staple of all important French towns. The cathedral. They're all downright gorgeous though, especially the one in Metz. It has the most stained glass windows of all cathedrals in France. HOLLAH CITY PRIDE.
Anyways, I'm gonna go play Ping Pong with my host brother.
GROS BISOUS, PEACE AND LOVE
