Ladies and Gentlemen; it's been eight months that I've been back, and boy, LIFE IS DIFFERENT.
My first notions of things not being "normal" was when I walked into my canadian house, and started pointing out the things that had changed. I literally walked around and just said "that's new, that's different, when did we get that?" It was a strange experience for me, because I didn't want to sound rude or anything, but at the same time I couldn't help but notice the differences in my own home. You know? It was a pretty wild day, especially because my plane landed in Detroit after flying from Luxembourg and Amsterdam (therefore meaning I hadn't slept in over 24 hours), and my parents had the BRILLIANT idea to make me go shopping and go out for Mexican food just outside of the airport immediately after I landed. Thanks for that y'all.
It's been super disorienting being back "home" mostly because I feel like I left my life back in France. The main reason I left Canada in the first place was to find myself, to figure out who I truly was on the inside, and I feel like I accomplished that during my exchange year. However, now it just means its that much more difficult to revert to my former self, because I feel like I'm not being true to myself, it's really quite difficult to overcome.
I've been lucky enough, however, to have been asked to contribute some time to the next generation of Rotary Youth Exchange students who are just a barrel of fun. I'm excited to return to our district conference as a chaperone, because I'm 100 po that exchange students are among the most amazing people in the world.
Anyways, there's my little rant for a saturday morning; peace!
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Heehee, oops. Three months...
Ahem, so I'm really sincerely sorry and I know I really don't have an excuse, ASIDE FROM BEING A KICKIN' EXCHANGE STUDENT.
Ahem... now that I got that apology out of the way, here's what I've been up to the past three months.
March:
March came with vacations, which was really lovely, cause school gets annoying after a while, you know? So all my friends and I had two weeks vacation, and my host family went skiing. So I went to stay with a friend for a few days, merci marie! <3
Her family is really nice, and we had some good times together: notably, her introducing me to "le voyage de Chihiro which is a really amazing film by the Japanese film maker Hayao Miyazaki.
A few days after vacations ended it was 100 days before the start of the BAC, the french end of highschool examinations, SO OF COURSE, being awesome and cool and everything, all the Terminals (Grade 12s) had a crazy "parade" through the streets of Metz, my host city... I say "parade" because it was more like a travelling block party. There was a huge truck blasting club music and more than one thousand students around 18 years old following it. It was wicked. something I'll never forget.
Later that same day I played in what's called "Le concert des Lycées" (http://www.mylorraine.fr/article/le-concert-des-lyceens-2014-nous-enchante-a-larsenal-de-metz/26000). Again, HUGELY grateful to have participated in this, because it was really something incredible. I should have DVDs sent to me next year, so I'll have a huge party at my house :P
Two days later I went to see a representation of The Glass Menagerie with all the english students of my grade level. That was reaaaaaaaally something else... Hearing British actors try to adopt a South American accent was rather difficult to understand.
The next week it was PARIS BABY for the Journées Rotarien de Jeunesse, or Rotary Youth Days, which happens every three years in France, and I was lucky enough to take part in it this year! Had an absolute blast, as one usually does in Paris, and I met a lot of really cool people from around the world! The best part of the weekend was seeing all of the Canadians here in France. That was truly wicked. I must also admit that I played piano and sang for over one thousand people (most of which were exchange students) as part of a talent show, so I'm pree pleased! It was a good time.
APRIL:
First thing to report: DELF blanc. Practice test for my french level exam. That went really well actually, I felt really good about it!
This is when things start to get interesting for me: clubbing. The French as a people REALLY ahem, "go hard"? Seeing as I wasn't legally an adult before I left for exchange, I really discovered clubs and bars (of sorts) here in France. My first clubbing experience was A. M. A. Z. I. N. G. I went with a friend of mine from Thionville, and we went to one of the top 5 clubs in France, modeled after a club in Miami. This particular evening was slow at the start, but at around 2 AM (I told you the French partied hard) there was a DJ named Gregori Klosman who just happened to play Ultra Music Festival in 2013. SO he's a really freaking good DJ. I stayed until about 4/4:30 AM then decided to call it quits and go home and sleep, because the next day just happened to be...
The District Conference! Which was interesting enough, I mean there was a whole production about the exchange students, and we had to thank people and stuff so that was all well and good.
The best thing about my host city being situated where it is, is that there are other countries within driving distance if you want to... I don't know, want to go clubbing in Luxembourg? That's exactly what I did! Yay neighboring countries!
A few days after that it was the birthday party of Aaron, an exchanger from Zimbabwe. He lives in Verdun, which is super cool cause history. His birthday party was pretty cool :3
Immediately after was back to school (four day weekend), which was really difficult. I'm not enjoying all this start-stopping of school. But the good thing was that in just a few short days I would be again on vacations!
VACATIONS AGAIN: DESTINATION, ITALY
I'll probably do a separate post for the Italy trip...
MAY:
After I got back from Italy, I had a few days resting period, then I took a trip to Alsace with my host father, grandmother, and brother Etienne! Alsace is the region of France right next to Lorraine, and it has some beautiful things to see. We stayed in the "summer house" of my host grandmother, which was super cozy and nice. We then spent a few lovely days visiting the surrounding cities, and tourist attractions. The last day we spent in Strasbourg, where I met up with the lovely Annie Richardson! (whom I met in Paris for the JRJ)
But all good things come to an end, and so we returned to Metz just after Strasbourg, but not after having the car battery die on us in a parking lot in Strasbourg... Fun stuff that was!
Going back to school was difficult, especially (I had to google translate the french word for that, shows you how integrated I am!) since I had to do a presentation on Canada, and the differences between France and Canada for a class of Secondes (Grade 11s). Presentations are not my strong point...
After that it's been really quite quiet, I went for a "gouter" at my host sister's apartment, then slept over for the weekend and that was all well and lovely.
It was all nice and quiet until the actual DELF EXAM AND PARIS!
I'm pleased to announce I passed the DALF (diplome d'approfondissement en langue francais) with a mark of 14,2/20! Which officially means that I can come back to France for University (Mom ;) )
Literally the day after I had my exam, I took the TGV to Paris, to meet my auntie! We spent four marvelous days together, doing all sorts of touristy things: Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysées, Versailles, le Louvre etc.
Then, unfortunately, it came time to say goodbye to all of the exchange students. We aren't all leaving at the same time, and will be trickling home within the next month and a half, so we all got together a week ago to say goodbyes, have flags signed, shed tears and all that fun stuff.
And now, I have less than a month left, and everything seems to be rushing by so quickly.
Ahem... now that I got that apology out of the way, here's what I've been up to the past three months.
March:
March came with vacations, which was really lovely, cause school gets annoying after a while, you know? So all my friends and I had two weeks vacation, and my host family went skiing. So I went to stay with a friend for a few days, merci marie! <3
Her family is really nice, and we had some good times together: notably, her introducing me to "le voyage de Chihiro which is a really amazing film by the Japanese film maker Hayao Miyazaki.
A few days after vacations ended it was 100 days before the start of the BAC, the french end of highschool examinations, SO OF COURSE, being awesome and cool and everything, all the Terminals (Grade 12s) had a crazy "parade" through the streets of Metz, my host city... I say "parade" because it was more like a travelling block party. There was a huge truck blasting club music and more than one thousand students around 18 years old following it. It was wicked. something I'll never forget.
Later that same day I played in what's called "Le concert des Lycées" (http://www.mylorraine.fr/article/le-concert-des-lyceens-2014-nous-enchante-a-larsenal-de-metz/26000). Again, HUGELY grateful to have participated in this, because it was really something incredible. I should have DVDs sent to me next year, so I'll have a huge party at my house :P
Two days later I went to see a representation of The Glass Menagerie with all the english students of my grade level. That was reaaaaaaaally something else... Hearing British actors try to adopt a South American accent was rather difficult to understand.
The next week it was PARIS BABY for the Journées Rotarien de Jeunesse, or Rotary Youth Days, which happens every three years in France, and I was lucky enough to take part in it this year! Had an absolute blast, as one usually does in Paris, and I met a lot of really cool people from around the world! The best part of the weekend was seeing all of the Canadians here in France. That was truly wicked. I must also admit that I played piano and sang for over one thousand people (most of which were exchange students) as part of a talent show, so I'm pree pleased! It was a good time.
APRIL:
First thing to report: DELF blanc. Practice test for my french level exam. That went really well actually, I felt really good about it!
This is when things start to get interesting for me: clubbing. The French as a people REALLY ahem, "go hard"? Seeing as I wasn't legally an adult before I left for exchange, I really discovered clubs and bars (of sorts) here in France. My first clubbing experience was A. M. A. Z. I. N. G. I went with a friend of mine from Thionville, and we went to one of the top 5 clubs in France, modeled after a club in Miami. This particular evening was slow at the start, but at around 2 AM (I told you the French partied hard) there was a DJ named Gregori Klosman who just happened to play Ultra Music Festival in 2013. SO he's a really freaking good DJ. I stayed until about 4/4:30 AM then decided to call it quits and go home and sleep, because the next day just happened to be...
The District Conference! Which was interesting enough, I mean there was a whole production about the exchange students, and we had to thank people and stuff so that was all well and good.
The best thing about my host city being situated where it is, is that there are other countries within driving distance if you want to... I don't know, want to go clubbing in Luxembourg? That's exactly what I did! Yay neighboring countries!
A few days after that it was the birthday party of Aaron, an exchanger from Zimbabwe. He lives in Verdun, which is super cool cause history. His birthday party was pretty cool :3
Immediately after was back to school (four day weekend), which was really difficult. I'm not enjoying all this start-stopping of school. But the good thing was that in just a few short days I would be again on vacations!
VACATIONS AGAIN: DESTINATION, ITALY
I'll probably do a separate post for the Italy trip...
MAY:
After I got back from Italy, I had a few days resting period, then I took a trip to Alsace with my host father, grandmother, and brother Etienne! Alsace is the region of France right next to Lorraine, and it has some beautiful things to see. We stayed in the "summer house" of my host grandmother, which was super cozy and nice. We then spent a few lovely days visiting the surrounding cities, and tourist attractions. The last day we spent in Strasbourg, where I met up with the lovely Annie Richardson! (whom I met in Paris for the JRJ)
But all good things come to an end, and so we returned to Metz just after Strasbourg, but not after having the car battery die on us in a parking lot in Strasbourg... Fun stuff that was!
Going back to school was difficult, especially (I had to google translate the french word for that, shows you how integrated I am!) since I had to do a presentation on Canada, and the differences between France and Canada for a class of Secondes (Grade 11s). Presentations are not my strong point...
After that it's been really quite quiet, I went for a "gouter" at my host sister's apartment, then slept over for the weekend and that was all well and lovely.
It was all nice and quiet until the actual DELF EXAM AND PARIS!
I'm pleased to announce I passed the DALF (diplome d'approfondissement en langue francais) with a mark of 14,2/20! Which officially means that I can come back to France for University (Mom ;) )
Literally the day after I had my exam, I took the TGV to Paris, to meet my auntie! We spent four marvelous days together, doing all sorts of touristy things: Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysées, Versailles, le Louvre etc.
Then, unfortunately, it came time to say goodbye to all of the exchange students. We aren't all leaving at the same time, and will be trickling home within the next month and a half, so we all got together a week ago to say goodbyes, have flags signed, shed tears and all that fun stuff.
And now, I have less than a month left, and everything seems to be rushing by so quickly.
Friday, March 21, 2014
So it's been almost two whole months.
I'm sincerely sorry to people who actually care or like to read about my silly little life taking place here in France, so please accept my apology.
Also this might be riddled with spelling or syntax errors, because it's been a really long time since I've really written anything of this length in English.
HERE GOES NOTHING: So in the past two months I have done a fair amount of things, all of which I don't forcibly remember, but I'll do my best not to just put them in a list, cause that would be stupid of me.
So in February, there was the surprise party of Charlotte Schenique, which was really fun. Although, I wasn't dressed quite for the occasion in my Canada sweatshirt and jeans, but no matter, it was a good outing all together! With my friend Marie we gave her a stuffed animal that reminded us of one of our teachers.
A few days later, all the Rotary clubs in France went to see a Walt Disney movie about Walt Disney and Mary Poppins. I really have no clue what it's called in English, but in French it's called "Dans L'ombre de Mary", starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson.
FEBRUARY THE 8TH: ROTARY SCAVENGER HUNT.
There was a scavenger hunt in the town of Metz with all of the exchange students and "youth" of the Rotary clubs of District 1790. It was especially fun because I knew where we were going, whereas most other people had no idea where we were, which was amusing. *Side note, I also watched a movie called Le Premier Jour de la reste de ta vie" which is an amazing movie in french, I seriously recommend it to anyone who would like to watch it.
After that I had a little bit of a 'crush crisis', which caused long suffering and much pain. Nawh i'm kidding, it sorted itself out rather quickly with a bit of inquiry.
THEN IT WAS VACATIONS YEAH MAYBE I THINK NO ACTUALLY IT WASN'T IT WAS JUST A WEEKEND, that I spent at a sleepover at my host sister's house, then I spent the day with two exchange students, then I went to a pool with slidey tubes, which was amusinnnggggg.
*It was also the olympics at this time, go Canada*
A few days after all that took place, there was a rehearsal for the Concert Des Lycées. Which is super cool, and for which I am super excited.
For all those who said that I don't do my homework, and I don't work in school: I got the highest remarks (i guess that's the best translation) on my report card. "Felicitations": which is pretty impressive, cause I'm not a French student, nor a native french speaker.
THEN AFTER THAT IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF VACATIONS FOR TWO WEEKS HOLLER YAY COOL STUFF VACATIONS ARE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I literally did nothing the first couple days of vacation, I was so exhausted. Then I went to see "Le vent se leve" with Marie, which was REALLY good, I recommend it to anyone who likes movies. I should let it be known that this movie turned me on to all other Hayao Miyazaki movies.
So seeing as it was the vacations, I kinda took advantage and went to a French party, thanks to Thomas Zanon (happy birthday btw), which was super fun. Then I spent a super chill day with some of his friends.
I'm exhausted, so I shall finish this tomorrow.
Also this might be riddled with spelling or syntax errors, because it's been a really long time since I've really written anything of this length in English.
HERE GOES NOTHING: So in the past two months I have done a fair amount of things, all of which I don't forcibly remember, but I'll do my best not to just put them in a list, cause that would be stupid of me.
So in February, there was the surprise party of Charlotte Schenique, which was really fun. Although, I wasn't dressed quite for the occasion in my Canada sweatshirt and jeans, but no matter, it was a good outing all together! With my friend Marie we gave her a stuffed animal that reminded us of one of our teachers.
A few days later, all the Rotary clubs in France went to see a Walt Disney movie about Walt Disney and Mary Poppins. I really have no clue what it's called in English, but in French it's called "Dans L'ombre de Mary", starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson.
FEBRUARY THE 8TH: ROTARY SCAVENGER HUNT.
There was a scavenger hunt in the town of Metz with all of the exchange students and "youth" of the Rotary clubs of District 1790. It was especially fun because I knew where we were going, whereas most other people had no idea where we were, which was amusing. *Side note, I also watched a movie called Le Premier Jour de la reste de ta vie" which is an amazing movie in french, I seriously recommend it to anyone who would like to watch it.
After that I had a little bit of a 'crush crisis', which caused long suffering and much pain. Nawh i'm kidding, it sorted itself out rather quickly with a bit of inquiry.
THEN IT WAS VACATIONS YEAH MAYBE I THINK NO ACTUALLY IT WASN'T IT WAS JUST A WEEKEND, that I spent at a sleepover at my host sister's house, then I spent the day with two exchange students, then I went to a pool with slidey tubes, which was amusinnnggggg.
*It was also the olympics at this time, go Canada*
A few days after all that took place, there was a rehearsal for the Concert Des Lycées. Which is super cool, and for which I am super excited.
For all those who said that I don't do my homework, and I don't work in school: I got the highest remarks (i guess that's the best translation) on my report card. "Felicitations": which is pretty impressive, cause I'm not a French student, nor a native french speaker.
THEN AFTER THAT IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF VACATIONS FOR TWO WEEKS HOLLER YAY COOL STUFF VACATIONS ARE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I literally did nothing the first couple days of vacation, I was so exhausted. Then I went to see "Le vent se leve" with Marie, which was REALLY good, I recommend it to anyone who likes movies. I should let it be known that this movie turned me on to all other Hayao Miyazaki movies.
So seeing as it was the vacations, I kinda took advantage and went to a French party, thanks to Thomas Zanon (happy birthday btw), which was super fun. Then I spent a super chill day with some of his friends.
I'm exhausted, so I shall finish this tomorrow.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Five months. The halfway point. Middle.
WARNING, THIS MUST BE READ WHILE LISTENING TO THE FOLLOWING MUSIC:
Honestly, I cannot believe that I've spent five solid months of my life in France.
This has been such an amazing experience for me so far, and I just really can't believe it.
There's been happy moments, and sad moments, moments where you feel completely lost, and moments where you feel like you're the center of the universe. I'm sure other exchange students will agree with me that this is the most terrifying and satisfying thing you can do with your whole life. I'm at the halfway point, but I know already that I'll remember my time here forever.
There's been happy moments, and sad moments, moments where you feel completely lost, and moments where you feel like you're the center of the universe. I'm sure other exchange students will agree with me that this is the most terrifying and satisfying thing you can do with your whole life. I'm at the halfway point, but I know already that I'll remember my time here forever.
BUT IN SAYING THAT, there are numerous people I should thank, because without them, I wouldn't be here now.
So without further ado;
So without further ado;
To my parents, for supporting me every step of the way, no matter what the endeavor. Momsy, thanks for raising me to be such a kind and caring young gentleman, and for showing me compassion and how to treat others with the respect they deserve. Pops, tippin' my hat to you for being brave enough to do what I'm doing now when you were my age. I can't imagine the courage that must have taken, knowing that there's no skype or facebook or facetime or internet... Thanks for encouraging me to follow what I believe in, and pushing me to being true to myself, and finding out what I want.
To my siblings, gosh y'all are difficult to talk about.
Dominic, you're the bully big brother that every younger brother needs. You're also my favourite person with whom to shoot the ahem... mustn't swear on the internet now. We've had our differences, but I really respect you, as a person and as a mentor.Nadia, we bicker and fight a lot, but deep down, I love ya kid, that's all there is to it.
To the Rotary club of Windsor (1918); I cannot thank you enough for being the means by which I was able to have this amazing experience. It amazes me, the Youth Exchange Program, and I think it's such a good thing that's being done by Rotary clubs all over the world. I appreciate all the work you've done for young adults like myself in the past, and all the work I'm sure you'll be doing in the future.
Maintenant en français, parce qu'il y a un tas de gens qu'il faut remercier ici en France.
Pour commencer, le club Rotary de Metz; il n’y a pas de mots pour exprimer ma gratitude mais je vais tout de même essayer. Je suis tellement heureux d'être tombé dans votre club, vous êtes tous tellement gentils, et sans vous je n’aurais jamais eu la chance de venir en France.
Mes deux familles d'accueil; honnêtement, je suis tombé dans deux des plus gentilles familles de Metz, selon moi. C'est vrai qu'avec chaque famille il y a des défauts, mais franchement, je ne pouvais pas demander plus. Je suis tellement content d'avoir eu la chance de vous rencontrer, et vous êtes tellement gentils de m'avoir laissé faire irruption dans vos maisons.
Et enfin, mes chers et chères amis de T2; sans qui je ne sais pas comment j'aurais fait en rentrant au lycée et tout ça, et maintenant vous êtes comme ma...Combien est-ce que ça fait maintenant? Ma vraie famille, ma première famille d'accueil, ma deuxième famille d'accueil... et vous, qui êtes comme ma quatrième famille, et franchement je vous aime tous. Je n'ai aucune idée de la façon dont mon année se serait déroulée sans vous. Je suis sur qu'elle n’aurait pas été aussi merveilleuse qu’elle l’est maintenant. Je n’arrive pas à trouver les mots pour vous dire ce que je pense vraiment de vous, parce que c'est trop dur. Il y a tellement de trucs à raconter, qu'il n’y a aucune manière de le faire.
Mais c'est juste pour vous dire que, je vous kiffe les amis, voila. C'est tout.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
HOWDY Y'ALL
So this week is the first week back from school, and I'm completely exhausted. Wow, I sound like a real Frenchman. HA, kidding... Or am I?
Today I had the pleasure of going to see Yves Saint Laurent, a French movie about the fashion designer. It was really well done. That is all!
Hope you Canadians are keeping warm in that freezing weather you're having.
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