I haven't read as much this year as I read in 2006, 2007, or 2008, but that's okay, and I still wanted to do a book post.
I reread last year's book post, and I noticed that I didn't mention Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I don't remember when I read it. It came out in October 2008, so who knows when I read it. Anyway, I really liked Graceling, and this October Fire came out. Fire occurs before Graceling, but isn't really a prequel; it's more of a companion novel. The two books only have one character in common.
This year I read the following Shakespeare plays: Merchant of Venice, All's Well that Ends Well, Merry Wives of Windsor, Cymbeline, Love's Labour's Lost, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Winter's Tale, The Tempest, and The Taming of the Shrew.
My favorite of those is Merchant of Venice. I think it's the best written of Shakespeare's comedies, though I think Much Ado About Nothing is still my overall favorite.
I also really liked Merry Wives of Windsor and The Tempest. I didn't like All's Well that Ends Well or Two Gentlemen of Verona.
I already mentioned Fire, and I like it as much as I liked Graceling. Maybe more? I'm not sure. I'll have to reread Graceling and see. The third book, which is a sequel to Graceling, is called Bitterblue and is coming out...sometime.
This year, for my birthday, my mother gave me a very tall stack of books. They're mostly fluffy books -- but fluffy books that I like. Noel Streatfeild, Jean Estoril. The stack included some books not published in the U.S. I read all of them after the AP exams, though I'm not sure if it was a reward or simply a way to relax -- fluff instead of study books. The stack also included two books by Lorna Hill, which were okay, but not as good as the others.
In April, Bloodhound came out. Bloodhound is the second book in Tamora Pierce's Rebakah Cooper trilogy, and it came out right before my birthday...so I got Bloodhound for my birthday. I didn't save it for after the AP exams. I read it immediately. Now I am eagerly awaiting Mastiff, which still has TBA 2010 as its publication date on the website. Grr. But considering I was able to wait 2.5 years for Bloodhound after Terrier, I shouldn't be this impatient. *sigh*
Also by Tamora Pierce -- I hadn't read Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen until this month -- actually, this past week. They're very good, though one thing kept bothering me off and on as I read. Lady Knight, the last book in the Protector of the Small quartet, occurred in the year 450. Trickster's Choice begins in the year 452, but it feels like it is supposed to start the spring after Lady Knight, which would be 451. But that's minor, and not really part of the book, since the dates are mostly there to help keep track of when events within the series happen in relation to each other.
Books I read in French this year: Un long dimanche de fiançailles, Comme un roman, Autour du monde en 80 jours, Chagrin d'école. Actually, I haven't finished the last one. I feel like there was at least one other book, but I don't remember. And I can't remember when I read Candide -- 2008 or 2009. I've liked all four of those books. Un long dimanche de fiançailles has a rather painful first chapter, but after that it is interesting and occasionally beautiful. I really like Verne's style and Autour du monde en 80 jours. Comme un roman and Chagrin d'école are both nonfiction by Daniel Pennac. The first is about reading, what's wrong with how it's taught, how it could be improved, etc. The second is about students who don't do well in school and feel they can't do well in school, and what is wrong that makes this true. Pennac has a really beautiful way of stating things, and I like the topics.
Last spring in English class we read Tale of Two Cities. I liked the plot and admire Dickens' ability to weave a complicated plot, but the verbosity...*shudders*
Our summer reading in English was To Kill a Mockingbird and Night. I hadn't read either before, and neither one took me much time. I didn't really like Night, and I loved To Kill a Mockingbird.
This semester in English we haven't really read anything. Okay, okay, so we've read some interesting short stories. We've also read some not-very-interesting short stories.
Also in English class, we have started having one day per week to read, and then we have to write a reflective paragraph. I read The Tempest, and now I'm reading Invisible Man. I'm not far in Invisible Man, but it's a good book, though it goes from very intense to almost light (though not quite) rather quickly.
This summer at Mathcamp I read Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht.
Oh my goodness.
I think I'm at least slightly obsessed with this play. I like Brecht's style, and the play made me think perhaps more than any other novel or play I've read. Scene 14 is my favorite, and it might not be an exaggeration if I said that I had that scene half memorized. Well, maybe a little bit of an exaggeration. Not much, though.
I reread a few Horrible Histories -- the special one about France, the two about WWII, the one about WWI, the one about the Georgians, the one about revolutions, and the one about the Tudors are the ones that I can think of. I read Righting the Mother Tongue by David Wolman, which was interesting.
I read the first two books in the Alchemyst series by Michael Scott. They're okay. I might read the other books, but I don't know.
I read Sasha by Joel Shepard. It's pretty good; I would read the future books in the series. I thought it was a little bit slow at times, even during battle scenes, but still liked it.
(Some books I mentioned here I mentioned because I read them recently and remember them well, so I'm sure there are some notable books that I read last spring that I'm forgetting. If I remember them, I'll edit this post.)
Monday, December 21, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Speech Meet!
Tomorrow is my second speech meet of the year. The first one didn't go great, so I'm hoping tomorrow will be better. I also have my first ever conflict -- in prelims! Hooray!
On an entirely different note, I was informed today that when I presented in Spanish class yesterday, I had a French accent as opposed to an American one. I don't know if I like the idea of that or not.
On an entirely different note, I was informed today that when I presented in Spanish class yesterday, I had a French accent as opposed to an American one. I don't know if I like the idea of that or not.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Mathcamp
Mathcamp quotes, usually taken completely out of context!
"I don't discriminate against silicon based life forms!"
"If you program a computer to grow towards the light, is it a plant? YES!"
"The other three boys on the team were male..."
"I don't think the campers are distinct. All campers are the same."
"Are his shoulders distinct?"
"Oh no, I got ketchup in my ketchup!"
(later)
"Great, now I've got keys in my ketchup!"
"Mathcamp has destroyed my ability to enunciate or pronunciate anything!"
"Giraffes are not made of metal."
"Optimal Bear Strategy: n-1 bears on same hyperplane as camper. One bear, Bear A, on hyperplane perpendicular to other one. n-1 bears follow plan n-1. Bear A follows plan 1. Camper is eaten."
"Algebraic Topology, Topics in Topology, Bears = Topology...TOPOLOGY."
"If you want to know if there are any other Mathcampers nearby, call out, 'I lost!'"
(group breaks out into "I lost" and "Apple lobster.")
"I can't believe I'm actually encouraging this."
"All these people touring in the summer must think that UPS is full of people in sarongs."
"If we find a model that believes ZFC, then ZFC is consistent, which means ZFC is inconsistent, so the universe explodes and we all die."
"NO! Why is there a diamond on the chalkboard!"
"Cats are more likely to fly then dogs are?"
"Hello! That is Nathan. He is speaking in his native language of food tongue."
"Tomato crush water..."
"Hey! Rule 4. Rule 4!"
"No two campers are not on fire."
"I don't discriminate against silicon based life forms!"
"If you program a computer to grow towards the light, is it a plant? YES!"
"The other three boys on the team were male..."
"I don't think the campers are distinct. All campers are the same."
"Are his shoulders distinct?"
"Oh no, I got ketchup in my ketchup!"
(later)
"Great, now I've got keys in my ketchup!"
"Mathcamp has destroyed my ability to enunciate or pronunciate anything!"
"Giraffes are not made of metal."
"Optimal Bear Strategy: n-1 bears on same hyperplane as camper. One bear, Bear A, on hyperplane perpendicular to other one. n-1 bears follow plan n-1. Bear A follows plan 1. Camper is eaten."
"Algebraic Topology, Topics in Topology, Bears = Topology...TOPOLOGY."
"If you want to know if there are any other Mathcampers nearby, call out, 'I lost!'"
(group breaks out into "I lost" and "Apple lobster.")
"I can't believe I'm actually encouraging this."
"All these people touring in the summer must think that UPS is full of people in sarongs."
"If we find a model that believes ZFC, then ZFC is consistent, which means ZFC is inconsistent, so the universe explodes and we all die."
"NO! Why is there a diamond on the chalkboard!"
"Cats are more likely to fly then dogs are?"
"Hello! That is Nathan. He is speaking in his native language of food tongue."
"Tomato crush water..."
"Hey! Rule 4. Rule 4!"
"No two campers are not on fire."
Saturday, July 4, 2009
June 10
Madame had said that we would meet downstairs at 8:30 on Wednesday morning. Jeanne, Melissa, and Stephanie were up at 7:30 and downstairs by 8:25. At 8:40, Cate, Madame, and I still weren't there. The other girls came upstairs and found us asleep. Oops...no one had set an alarm. We apologized repeatedly, and the others went to get breakfast while we showered and got dressed. They came back with pain au chocolat and a bottle of apple-orange-passion fruit juice. As we ate, we also commented on Madame's blog, though Madame insisted we keep the comments short.
When we got downstairs, we discovered that right outside the hotel was a market, which we walked around in for fifteen or twenty minutes. Then we went to the Opera Garnier. When we exited the metro station, we expected to immediately see the amazing Opera, but instead were surrounded by a crowd of people. Oh yeah, it was that protest Madame had heard about on TV!
Once we got inside the Opera, we bought our tickets for the unguided visit. Madame stayed on a bench near the ticket window while we spent an hour walking through the building, which is absolutely gorgeous.
We walked down a hallway to the grand staircase. Melissa later mentioned imagining a ball, and she's right. It's easy to picture a girl sweeping down those stairs in a large dress -- Cate said a prom dress; Melissa and Stephanie imagined quinceanera dresses.
Melissa and I went a little bit ahead of the others (they were taking pictures of each other). We could have walked around for a while before going into the theater, but we went in immediately. I remembered how gorgeous the place was -- as I nine year old I had told my mother that "it would mean something" to dance on the Palais Garnier stage.
The first thing you see when you go into one of the boxes is red velvet. The boxes and seats are covered in it, with gold detailing. You look across the theater and see more of the boxes and seats; you see the columns and railings, and they are in gold and so intricate. Then you see the ceiling. The small white lights are all in a circle, against the intricate gold, and then there's the colorful almost childlike paiting, with yellow, green, red, blue, white, and smaller but just as colorful characters on top of the color splashes. It is modern and yet ancient, held by no formal rules.
And then you can see the chandelier, which is gold and of many white lights, bigger than any photo demonstrate.
The place is magnificent, exquisite. I cannot imagine being a dancer on that stage of the red velvet curtain.
Oh yes, the stage. There were stage hands doing something; I couldn't tell what. The set was a white-gray, all big doors, pipes, and columns. It had a modern feel to it, but I later found out it was the set for a little performed, 18th century opera. Hmm. There was one large window on the set, looking onto onto blackness and one half of what was implied to be a full moon.
Melissa and I then got the other girls and took them into the box. They were amazed, especially Jeanne, who is a Phantom of the Opera fan. Seeing the setting for PotO was especially exciting for her. We then walked down into the museum, which has paintings of dancers, actors, different plays, operas, ballets, and audiences. There were also models of sets for scenes in different plays -- those were very cool to see.
After we finished at the Opera Garnier, Madame gave us 1.5 hours of shopping time at Melissa and Stephanie's request. I walked all the way around the Opera and looked into the Swatch shop, then went into a cafe where Madame was. I ate a croque monsieur and read Petit Nicolas, and Madame had soupe a l'oignon then a main dish. At 1:30, Jeanne and Cate came back, having finished their shopping. They had looked forever for a perfume shop and had finally found one, where Jeanne had selected a perfume for a friend who had given her $100 and said, "Buy me something cool." They then went to a small sandwich shop and ate.
Stephanie and Melissa came back at 2:00, Stephanie with a sandwich. They both complained that the shopping had been better in Amiens, but they had saved their money for Paris. Oh well. Melissa had bought a large black purse, and Stephanie had bought jeans. We got on the bus and went over to the Musee Cluny.
On the bus, Jeanne discovered that her Paris Visite ticket was missing. Therefore, she had to pay for the bus. she then came and sat beside me and asked if I had known that the five of us were paying for Madame's museum tickets. No, I'd thought it would just be transportation, as had Jeanne. This was a problem for her, because she had not been given much spending money. The other girls complained, too. Not Cate, who argued that Madame was being our tour guide, but the others, who said that sure, Madame was being our tour guide, but she wasn't always doing a great job of it.
I thought that Madame was trying to get us to see what was considered important and not consulting us, though she insisted many times that it was our trip, that she would be back in Paris the next year and we might not.
In the Cluny, Madame rushed us through the museum except for a few rooms where she allowed us to browse. She immediately led us to the room of the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. They are intricate and well done, as opposed to busy, and in the appealing mille fleurs style, but I didn't find them very interesting, even after Madame explained how each one is related to a sense, and then how the sixth is about obedience and love. They are excellent tapestries, the best examples from the time, but not what I want to spend much time looking at...
After the Cluny, we took the metro to the Louvre, where some people did miniscule shopping -- Cate bought candy for her sister and Madame sent a postcard -- but most of us spent the majority of the 45 minutes hanging in the Starbucks. We all reimbursed Madame for what she had spent on museum entrance that day.
Then we went into the Louvre. Madame immediately led us to the Winged Victory of Samothrace. It is a beautiful statue -- I prefer it to the Venus de Milo. After that, we made our way to the Mona Lisa, called La Joconde in French. I tried to take pictures, but couldn't get a decent one. Besides, she hasn't exactly changed in the past five years. I know it's an amazing painting, but I'm not very interested in the period of style. Then we saw The Wedding At Cana, a huge painting that again, I couldn't get a decent picture of.
Crowing of Napoleon was next, and I managed to get an okay picture of it. Finally, we went and saw the Venus de Milo, whom I actually got a good picture of! Amazing! Then we left the Louvre, after seeing six major works and walking through the rooms that just happened to connect them.
After the Louvre, we went back to the hotel, stopping at Chatêlet to buy groceries that Cate and Madame wanted tot ake home. AT the hotel, Madame looked up the times for the Bateaux Parisiennes. We were going to try to make the 10:30 boat, but later didn't -- we called the taxi too late. Grr. Anyway, for supper we went to the Italian restaurant where Madame and I had eaten on Monday night. We all ordered pasta. I got a four cheese penne which wasn't great.
That night, we all hung out in room 405, so at 11:00 everyone got to see the Eiffel Tower dance. Stephanie got photos, and we all watched the Eiffel Tower perform as it does four times every night.
When we got downstairs, we discovered that right outside the hotel was a market, which we walked around in for fifteen or twenty minutes. Then we went to the Opera Garnier. When we exited the metro station, we expected to immediately see the amazing Opera, but instead were surrounded by a crowd of people. Oh yeah, it was that protest Madame had heard about on TV!
Once we got inside the Opera, we bought our tickets for the unguided visit. Madame stayed on a bench near the ticket window while we spent an hour walking through the building, which is absolutely gorgeous.
We walked down a hallway to the grand staircase. Melissa later mentioned imagining a ball, and she's right. It's easy to picture a girl sweeping down those stairs in a large dress -- Cate said a prom dress; Melissa and Stephanie imagined quinceanera dresses.
Melissa and I went a little bit ahead of the others (they were taking pictures of each other). We could have walked around for a while before going into the theater, but we went in immediately. I remembered how gorgeous the place was -- as I nine year old I had told my mother that "it would mean something" to dance on the Palais Garnier stage.
The first thing you see when you go into one of the boxes is red velvet. The boxes and seats are covered in it, with gold detailing. You look across the theater and see more of the boxes and seats; you see the columns and railings, and they are in gold and so intricate. Then you see the ceiling. The small white lights are all in a circle, against the intricate gold, and then there's the colorful almost childlike paiting, with yellow, green, red, blue, white, and smaller but just as colorful characters on top of the color splashes. It is modern and yet ancient, held by no formal rules.
And then you can see the chandelier, which is gold and of many white lights, bigger than any photo demonstrate.
The place is magnificent, exquisite. I cannot imagine being a dancer on that stage of the red velvet curtain.
Oh yes, the stage. There were stage hands doing something; I couldn't tell what. The set was a white-gray, all big doors, pipes, and columns. It had a modern feel to it, but I later found out it was the set for a little performed, 18th century opera. Hmm. There was one large window on the set, looking onto onto blackness and one half of what was implied to be a full moon.
Melissa and I then got the other girls and took them into the box. They were amazed, especially Jeanne, who is a Phantom of the Opera fan. Seeing the setting for PotO was especially exciting for her. We then walked down into the museum, which has paintings of dancers, actors, different plays, operas, ballets, and audiences. There were also models of sets for scenes in different plays -- those were very cool to see.
After we finished at the Opera Garnier, Madame gave us 1.5 hours of shopping time at Melissa and Stephanie's request. I walked all the way around the Opera and looked into the Swatch shop, then went into a cafe where Madame was. I ate a croque monsieur and read Petit Nicolas, and Madame had soupe a l'oignon then a main dish. At 1:30, Jeanne and Cate came back, having finished their shopping. They had looked forever for a perfume shop and had finally found one, where Jeanne had selected a perfume for a friend who had given her $100 and said, "Buy me something cool." They then went to a small sandwich shop and ate.
Stephanie and Melissa came back at 2:00, Stephanie with a sandwich. They both complained that the shopping had been better in Amiens, but they had saved their money for Paris. Oh well. Melissa had bought a large black purse, and Stephanie had bought jeans. We got on the bus and went over to the Musee Cluny.
On the bus, Jeanne discovered that her Paris Visite ticket was missing. Therefore, she had to pay for the bus. she then came and sat beside me and asked if I had known that the five of us were paying for Madame's museum tickets. No, I'd thought it would just be transportation, as had Jeanne. This was a problem for her, because she had not been given much spending money. The other girls complained, too. Not Cate, who argued that Madame was being our tour guide, but the others, who said that sure, Madame was being our tour guide, but she wasn't always doing a great job of it.
I thought that Madame was trying to get us to see what was considered important and not consulting us, though she insisted many times that it was our trip, that she would be back in Paris the next year and we might not.
In the Cluny, Madame rushed us through the museum except for a few rooms where she allowed us to browse. She immediately led us to the room of the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. They are intricate and well done, as opposed to busy, and in the appealing mille fleurs style, but I didn't find them very interesting, even after Madame explained how each one is related to a sense, and then how the sixth is about obedience and love. They are excellent tapestries, the best examples from the time, but not what I want to spend much time looking at...
After the Cluny, we took the metro to the Louvre, where some people did miniscule shopping -- Cate bought candy for her sister and Madame sent a postcard -- but most of us spent the majority of the 45 minutes hanging in the Starbucks. We all reimbursed Madame for what she had spent on museum entrance that day.
Then we went into the Louvre. Madame immediately led us to the Winged Victory of Samothrace. It is a beautiful statue -- I prefer it to the Venus de Milo. After that, we made our way to the Mona Lisa, called La Joconde in French. I tried to take pictures, but couldn't get a decent one. Besides, she hasn't exactly changed in the past five years. I know it's an amazing painting, but I'm not very interested in the period of style. Then we saw The Wedding At Cana, a huge painting that again, I couldn't get a decent picture of.
Crowing of Napoleon was next, and I managed to get an okay picture of it. Finally, we went and saw the Venus de Milo, whom I actually got a good picture of! Amazing! Then we left the Louvre, after seeing six major works and walking through the rooms that just happened to connect them.
After the Louvre, we went back to the hotel, stopping at Chatêlet to buy groceries that Cate and Madame wanted tot ake home. AT the hotel, Madame looked up the times for the Bateaux Parisiennes. We were going to try to make the 10:30 boat, but later didn't -- we called the taxi too late. Grr. Anyway, for supper we went to the Italian restaurant where Madame and I had eaten on Monday night. We all ordered pasta. I got a four cheese penne which wasn't great.
That night, we all hung out in room 405, so at 11:00 everyone got to see the Eiffel Tower dance. Stephanie got photos, and we all watched the Eiffel Tower perform as it does four times every night.
June 9
On Tuesday morning, we all met on the ground floor and went to a cafe for breakfast. The breakfast at this cafe was a hot drink, a croissant, and a tartine. I drank hot chocolate. After breakfast, we went to the Invalides. We took the bus, but got off too early, so we walked quite a ways. Five years ago I went to the Musee de Plan-Relief in the Invalides; this time we were going to see Napoleon's tomb. The building is very pretty on the inside, but I'm not a fan of the golden dome. All around the tomb were pictures explaining how Napoleon bettered France.
After the Invalides, we went to Montmartre. We did a little bit of tourist shopping -- I bought postcards and magnets. Madame found a bookstore where she bought a Petit Nicolas book that I started to read later. After shopping, we found a small Italian restaurant. I had lasagna. We talked about songs that are very popular at the moment, but there weren't many that I had heard of, which isn't all that surprising.
Then we went to Sacre Coeur. Photos weren't allowed inside, but the photos of the outside are impressing enough.
The five of us (not Madame) went up into the dome of the basilica. I remembered what a hard climb it was -- twisty, narrow, steep...but I didn't quite remember how many spiral stairs there are. They go on forever, and then its still a long way to the top -- with another spiral staircase before you gets there. Up and down...down to go up? Yes. Those 294 steps are completely crazy. But once you get to the top, it's worth it, because you can see all of Paris, as if it never ends -- you can even see La Defense where all the skyscrapers are.
Then we shopped in the Montmartre area. I didn't shop, because I'd bought postcards and magnets earlier, which is essentially what I wanted to buy. (And I hadn't had any luck finding a gargoyle keychain, the other thing I was looking for, so I figured they would be more likely to be found near Notre Dame). So I sat in a cafe with Madame and read Petit Nicolas. Jeanne and Cate bought presents for their friends and family, finished pretty quickly, and went to find an ATM. Melissa bought a portrait. I have no idea what Stephanie bought.
After Montmartre, we went back to the hotel. Cate, Madame, and I got on the computer. Pierrot was on Facebook, so Madame and Cate talked with him. I looked up who had won the spelling bee -- Kavya did it! We all read our email, and a certain friend of mine wrote to me in German. I understood some of it, though not all...so I answered what I could.
For dinner, we went back to the St. Michel area because there are lots of restaurantst there that serve raclette and fondue. However, despite the fact that we were there for those specialties, everyone but Jeanne and I ordered off the menu. Jeanne just ordered chicken (she wasn't very hungry), and I got raclette. Yum. Cooking your own food is fun. I was given cheese (raclette cheese -- that's where the dish gets its name), some meats, and potatoes. And I'm pretty sure raclette is now my favorite French food.
Madame argued with the server about whether or not she had ordered off the menu. Madame had not said menu when she was ordering, but she had started to order her main dish after ordering her appetizer, and the server had stopped her. So they were both right, in a way -- Madame saying the waiter had stopped her when she tried to order her main dish, the waiter saying Madame had not told him she was ordering off the menu.
After supper we walked around the area. I did find a gargoyle keychain, which was good. We took pictures of Notre Dame and of the Seine. On the bank of the Seine an Italian film was being made.
We were very late getting back to the hotel. I'm not sure how many metros came through Dupleix after the one we got off of, actually. We got to the hotel at 12:40 or 12:50. Madame blogged, and Cate and I laughed some at Madame's way of phrasing things. Her blog made everything seem so perfect sometimes...it was ridiculous, but funny. We saw the Eiffel Tower dance at 1:00, which is when it closes and the base lights turn off, so it was just the white lights sparkling.
After the Invalides, we went to Montmartre. We did a little bit of tourist shopping -- I bought postcards and magnets. Madame found a bookstore where she bought a Petit Nicolas book that I started to read later. After shopping, we found a small Italian restaurant. I had lasagna. We talked about songs that are very popular at the moment, but there weren't many that I had heard of, which isn't all that surprising.
Then we went to Sacre Coeur. Photos weren't allowed inside, but the photos of the outside are impressing enough.
The five of us (not Madame) went up into the dome of the basilica. I remembered what a hard climb it was -- twisty, narrow, steep...but I didn't quite remember how many spiral stairs there are. They go on forever, and then its still a long way to the top -- with another spiral staircase before you gets there. Up and down...down to go up? Yes. Those 294 steps are completely crazy. But once you get to the top, it's worth it, because you can see all of Paris, as if it never ends -- you can even see La Defense where all the skyscrapers are.
Then we shopped in the Montmartre area. I didn't shop, because I'd bought postcards and magnets earlier, which is essentially what I wanted to buy. (And I hadn't had any luck finding a gargoyle keychain, the other thing I was looking for, so I figured they would be more likely to be found near Notre Dame). So I sat in a cafe with Madame and read Petit Nicolas. Jeanne and Cate bought presents for their friends and family, finished pretty quickly, and went to find an ATM. Melissa bought a portrait. I have no idea what Stephanie bought.
After Montmartre, we went back to the hotel. Cate, Madame, and I got on the computer. Pierrot was on Facebook, so Madame and Cate talked with him. I looked up who had won the spelling bee -- Kavya did it! We all read our email, and a certain friend of mine wrote to me in German. I understood some of it, though not all...so I answered what I could.
For dinner, we went back to the St. Michel area because there are lots of restaurantst there that serve raclette and fondue. However, despite the fact that we were there for those specialties, everyone but Jeanne and I ordered off the menu. Jeanne just ordered chicken (she wasn't very hungry), and I got raclette. Yum. Cooking your own food is fun. I was given cheese (raclette cheese -- that's where the dish gets its name), some meats, and potatoes. And I'm pretty sure raclette is now my favorite French food.
Madame argued with the server about whether or not she had ordered off the menu. Madame had not said menu when she was ordering, but she had started to order her main dish after ordering her appetizer, and the server had stopped her. So they were both right, in a way -- Madame saying the waiter had stopped her when she tried to order her main dish, the waiter saying Madame had not told him she was ordering off the menu.
After supper we walked around the area. I did find a gargoyle keychain, which was good. We took pictures of Notre Dame and of the Seine. On the bank of the Seine an Italian film was being made.
We were very late getting back to the hotel. I'm not sure how many metros came through Dupleix after the one we got off of, actually. We got to the hotel at 12:40 or 12:50. Madame blogged, and Cate and I laughed some at Madame's way of phrasing things. Her blog made everything seem so perfect sometimes...it was ridiculous, but funny. We saw the Eiffel Tower dance at 1:00, which is when it closes and the base lights turn off, so it was just the white lights sparkling.
Friday, July 3, 2009
June 8
Our train for Paris was leaving at 10:30, so we woke up around 8:00, finished any packing, and took a taxi to the Lisieux train station. Once again we ate breakfast at the cafe next door.
We thought we were going to have reserved seats on the train, but actually, the reserved seats had been for an earlier train to Paris. Oops. So once again, we had to take whatever seat was available and hope that no one had reserved it.
When we got to St. Lazare station in Paris, we went right outside to a Greek restaurant. There was not enough room in the restaurant for our suitcases; that was obvious, but for some reason Madame ignored it. Therefore, after we ordered, everyone but Madame stood outside with the bags. Then, she started calling us back in by what we had ordered -- they had gotten our order wrong? I'm not really sure what happened, and at the end we still didn't end up with what we had ordered, but we all survived. (For example, one of us ended up with chicken instead of meatballs. Poulet, boulettes...) We went back into the station to eat.
While in the station, we met an American veteran who was headed up to the Normandy beaches. Melissa was very excited, because so far we had not met any Americans, and she had been very disappointed by that.
We took the metro from St. Lazare to Dupleix. We changed somewhere, but I don't recall what station. Dupleix is on line 6, and only line 6, but it was very close to our hotel. Anyway. We went up and down so many stairs through the metro stations. Cate, Jeanne, and I would carry down our suitcases, one person would stay down, and the other two would go back up. Melissa and Stephanie would go down the stairs carrying one of their suitcases together, and then go back up and do the other one. Then the two of Cate, Jeanne, and I that had gone back up would carry down Madame's large suitcase, and Madame would carry down her small one. This was very tedious with lots of stairs in lots of different places.
When we got to the hotel it was raining -- the rain had arrived earlier than forecasted. We got our hotel keys and went up to our rooms to unpack. Jeanne, Stephanie, and Melissa took the room with a courtyard view, room 216. Madame, Cate, and I got room 405, which looked out onto the street. We could see the Eiffel Tower from our room, and the metro went right by it. The courtyard view ended up not being so beautiful as it sounded, but it was away from the noise of the road -- which wasn't that loud in the first place, though some people would have been annoyed by the metro.
The first thing we did was visit the Eiffel Tower. Like I said, it was raining, and Madame had decided not to go up. Having already been once, I stayed down with Madame (though I don't know if that was a good decision) while the other four girls went up the Tower. At first, they looked at the line and said they would take the stairs, but Madame told them that the line moved very quickly and was actually short at the moment. I think they were crazy to even consider the stairs. I don't know how anyone could climb up and down the Eiffel Tower in a reasonable amount of time. Madame and I looked in the gift shop, and she took my picture in front of a statue of George Eiffel (an amazing engineer).
While we were trying to stay out of the rain, we met two Mexican tourists who did not speak French and spoke very little English. So, I tried to speak to them in Spanish. It was terrible! I kept saying things I knew were wrong...and then they started asking about Versailles. Madame wanted me to explain to them that there is a package available in the RER stations which includes transportation and entrance to Versailles. Umm...that's a bit too much...maybe next year...so we waited for Melissa and Stephanie to get back. When they did, they translated for the tourists and Madame.
We then walked to the Human Rights Square. It was only slightly interesting, but from there one can take excellent photos of the Eiffel Tower. After that we went to the Arc de Triumphe. There was a military ceremony there, so we were not able to go up. We heard the Marseillaise played mutliple times. Allons enfants de la patrie...
And then we explored Champs-Elysees in the rain. O Champs-Elysees...but it wasn't too interesting for me. I don't shop. We took the metro to Place de la Concorde, where Madame explained how there had been guillotines there during the revolution and the Terror, and then she told us about the obelisk. After that, we got on the metro to Dupleix. It was raining very hard.
When we arrived at Dupleix, it had stopped raining, but the other girls were soaked. (I had worn my rain jacket and therefore only my shoes and the bottom of my jeans were wet). They went up to the hotel rooms to change, and Madame and I went to an Italian restaurant. We told the girls which one, and that they could meet us there, or they could go to another restaurant. (They chose the latter option, though also ended up eating Italian food...) I ate another Regina pizza. And then I had mousse au chocolat for dessert! Yum.
But the oil was in old wine bottles shaped like American footballs...weird.
Both groups arrived at the hotel at the same time. We were all fairly worn out, so we went up to our rooms. Madame, Cate, and I saw the Eiffel Tower "dance" at 10:00 and at 11:00 (the lights flash)...the Eiffel Tower is so beautiful at night. Madame blogged, and Cate and I commented.
We thought we were going to have reserved seats on the train, but actually, the reserved seats had been for an earlier train to Paris. Oops. So once again, we had to take whatever seat was available and hope that no one had reserved it.
When we got to St. Lazare station in Paris, we went right outside to a Greek restaurant. There was not enough room in the restaurant for our suitcases; that was obvious, but for some reason Madame ignored it. Therefore, after we ordered, everyone but Madame stood outside with the bags. Then, she started calling us back in by what we had ordered -- they had gotten our order wrong? I'm not really sure what happened, and at the end we still didn't end up with what we had ordered, but we all survived. (For example, one of us ended up with chicken instead of meatballs. Poulet, boulettes...) We went back into the station to eat.
While in the station, we met an American veteran who was headed up to the Normandy beaches. Melissa was very excited, because so far we had not met any Americans, and she had been very disappointed by that.
We took the metro from St. Lazare to Dupleix. We changed somewhere, but I don't recall what station. Dupleix is on line 6, and only line 6, but it was very close to our hotel. Anyway. We went up and down so many stairs through the metro stations. Cate, Jeanne, and I would carry down our suitcases, one person would stay down, and the other two would go back up. Melissa and Stephanie would go down the stairs carrying one of their suitcases together, and then go back up and do the other one. Then the two of Cate, Jeanne, and I that had gone back up would carry down Madame's large suitcase, and Madame would carry down her small one. This was very tedious with lots of stairs in lots of different places.
When we got to the hotel it was raining -- the rain had arrived earlier than forecasted. We got our hotel keys and went up to our rooms to unpack. Jeanne, Stephanie, and Melissa took the room with a courtyard view, room 216. Madame, Cate, and I got room 405, which looked out onto the street. We could see the Eiffel Tower from our room, and the metro went right by it. The courtyard view ended up not being so beautiful as it sounded, but it was away from the noise of the road -- which wasn't that loud in the first place, though some people would have been annoyed by the metro.
The first thing we did was visit the Eiffel Tower. Like I said, it was raining, and Madame had decided not to go up. Having already been once, I stayed down with Madame (though I don't know if that was a good decision) while the other four girls went up the Tower. At first, they looked at the line and said they would take the stairs, but Madame told them that the line moved very quickly and was actually short at the moment. I think they were crazy to even consider the stairs. I don't know how anyone could climb up and down the Eiffel Tower in a reasonable amount of time. Madame and I looked in the gift shop, and she took my picture in front of a statue of George Eiffel (an amazing engineer).
While we were trying to stay out of the rain, we met two Mexican tourists who did not speak French and spoke very little English. So, I tried to speak to them in Spanish. It was terrible! I kept saying things I knew were wrong...and then they started asking about Versailles. Madame wanted me to explain to them that there is a package available in the RER stations which includes transportation and entrance to Versailles. Umm...that's a bit too much...maybe next year...so we waited for Melissa and Stephanie to get back. When they did, they translated for the tourists and Madame.
We then walked to the Human Rights Square. It was only slightly interesting, but from there one can take excellent photos of the Eiffel Tower. After that we went to the Arc de Triumphe. There was a military ceremony there, so we were not able to go up. We heard the Marseillaise played mutliple times. Allons enfants de la patrie...
And then we explored Champs-Elysees in the rain. O Champs-Elysees...but it wasn't too interesting for me. I don't shop. We took the metro to Place de la Concorde, where Madame explained how there had been guillotines there during the revolution and the Terror, and then she told us about the obelisk. After that, we got on the metro to Dupleix. It was raining very hard.
When we arrived at Dupleix, it had stopped raining, but the other girls were soaked. (I had worn my rain jacket and therefore only my shoes and the bottom of my jeans were wet). They went up to the hotel rooms to change, and Madame and I went to an Italian restaurant. We told the girls which one, and that they could meet us there, or they could go to another restaurant. (They chose the latter option, though also ended up eating Italian food...) I ate another Regina pizza. And then I had mousse au chocolat for dessert! Yum.
But the oil was in old wine bottles shaped like American footballs...weird.
Both groups arrived at the hotel at the same time. We were all fairly worn out, so we went up to our rooms. Madame, Cate, and I saw the Eiffel Tower "dance" at 10:00 and at 11:00 (the lights flash)...the Eiffel Tower is so beautiful at night. Madame blogged, and Cate and I commented.
June 7
A note about July 6th -- I was NOT pleased when we missed the train that we had left the museum in such a hurry to catch. I like museums. And reading most of what there is to read in them.
Now, onto July 7th.
I woke up at 7:30 and showered. Cate, Jeanne, and I went out looking for a place to have breakfast, but nothing was open. We all went to the train station in a taxi, making a stop at an ATM on the way, and next to the station we found a cafe where we could eat breakfast. So, after buying our train tickets to Bayeux, we ate in the cafe. I had pain au chocolat and hot chocolate.
We had to take two trains to get to Bayeux -- one from Lisieux to Caen and one from Caen to Bayeux. On the train we met some British veterans with whom Melissa spent quite a bit of time talking. In Bayeux we met even more British veterans, and we talked to each one and then took a photo.
Madame tried to buy tickets for an organized tour of the beaches and the cemetery, but there were none, so instead we called a taxi. We were to meet the taxi at 2:30, so we had time to go see the Bayeux tapestry. I listened to the guide of the tapestry in French, which wasn't a great idea. It was very formal and difficult to understand -- evidently even the English version was overly formal. However, I really liked seeing the tapestry, and I bought a small book and some postcards.
For lunch we ate omelets. I don't think we should have gone to the restaurant -- we barely had enough time to eat there. However, the omelets were excellent. However, the sausage they used for the sausage omelet was essentially a hot dog, not something more flavorful.
We met the taxi immediately after we finished eating. It took us to the Normandy American Cemetery, where we had forty-five minutes. Right as we got there it began to rain. However, Madame said she was still going out to visit the grave of her adopted soldier and that we could to, just to meet under a certain tree afterwords.
It was raining very hard and was extremely cold. Because it had seemed sunny enough that morning, none of us had so much as considered bringing a rain jacket, so I was soaked by the time I reached the crosses of Robert J. Powers and Annis I. Altman. I had to walk quite a bit to even reach Plot B from Plot A, because the area between them was blocked off, causing it to be necessary to go all the way around.
I went back around after visiting each cross and stood waiting under the tree for a moment. None of the others were there, and I couldn't see any of them in Plot A -- not that I could see very far, for it was pouring down rain. However, I turned and saw Cate, and she took me to the others, who were standing in a covered area near a large statue. Just as I got back, Melissa said she wanted to go out to Plot B, so I went out with her. We talked as we walked about all the crosses, about the beach, about the rain, about how one could hardly see where the sea ended and the sky began.
We went back to Madame and Cate and were almost late for the taxi. I think Madame would have been mad, except Jeanne and Stephanie were even later than we were. Madame had told them to go look out at the beach, and evidently they had decided to go down, which takes forever. So they got back up twenty-five minutes later, and then went to the welcome center, not to where we were standing. So Melissa, Cate, Madame, and I waited for about five minutes, and they waited for us, when finally Cate called Jeanne and asked where they were. Madame was furious.
Because of the rain, we decided not to go to Point du Hoc but instead to Arromanches. We stopped to take quick pictures at a small port, and then we went on to Arromanches. It had stopped raining while we were at the cemetery, but when we reached Arromanches it was raining again. We were able to get some very grey pictures of the concrete remains of the mulberry harbour there, but then we got back into the taxi and went to the Bayeux train station. We took the train to Lisieux, where we looked for a place to eat. The two creperies we had seen that morning were closed -- perhaps for Mother's Day? It was Mother's Day in France...Anyway, we ended up eating at a rather good Chinese restaurant. I had chicken with black mushrooms and fried rice.
We went back to the hotel and repeated the night before to some extent, staying up in Madame's room very late blogging and talking. However, we also had to pack whatever had been unpacked, for we were leaving for Paris in the morning.
Now, onto July 7th.
I woke up at 7:30 and showered. Cate, Jeanne, and I went out looking for a place to have breakfast, but nothing was open. We all went to the train station in a taxi, making a stop at an ATM on the way, and next to the station we found a cafe where we could eat breakfast. So, after buying our train tickets to Bayeux, we ate in the cafe. I had pain au chocolat and hot chocolate.
We had to take two trains to get to Bayeux -- one from Lisieux to Caen and one from Caen to Bayeux. On the train we met some British veterans with whom Melissa spent quite a bit of time talking. In Bayeux we met even more British veterans, and we talked to each one and then took a photo.
Madame tried to buy tickets for an organized tour of the beaches and the cemetery, but there were none, so instead we called a taxi. We were to meet the taxi at 2:30, so we had time to go see the Bayeux tapestry. I listened to the guide of the tapestry in French, which wasn't a great idea. It was very formal and difficult to understand -- evidently even the English version was overly formal. However, I really liked seeing the tapestry, and I bought a small book and some postcards.
For lunch we ate omelets. I don't think we should have gone to the restaurant -- we barely had enough time to eat there. However, the omelets were excellent. However, the sausage they used for the sausage omelet was essentially a hot dog, not something more flavorful.
We met the taxi immediately after we finished eating. It took us to the Normandy American Cemetery, where we had forty-five minutes. Right as we got there it began to rain. However, Madame said she was still going out to visit the grave of her adopted soldier and that we could to, just to meet under a certain tree afterwords.
It was raining very hard and was extremely cold. Because it had seemed sunny enough that morning, none of us had so much as considered bringing a rain jacket, so I was soaked by the time I reached the crosses of Robert J. Powers and Annis I. Altman. I had to walk quite a bit to even reach Plot B from Plot A, because the area between them was blocked off, causing it to be necessary to go all the way around.
I went back around after visiting each cross and stood waiting under the tree for a moment. None of the others were there, and I couldn't see any of them in Plot A -- not that I could see very far, for it was pouring down rain. However, I turned and saw Cate, and she took me to the others, who were standing in a covered area near a large statue. Just as I got back, Melissa said she wanted to go out to Plot B, so I went out with her. We talked as we walked about all the crosses, about the beach, about the rain, about how one could hardly see where the sea ended and the sky began.
We went back to Madame and Cate and were almost late for the taxi. I think Madame would have been mad, except Jeanne and Stephanie were even later than we were. Madame had told them to go look out at the beach, and evidently they had decided to go down, which takes forever. So they got back up twenty-five minutes later, and then went to the welcome center, not to where we were standing. So Melissa, Cate, Madame, and I waited for about five minutes, and they waited for us, when finally Cate called Jeanne and asked where they were. Madame was furious.
Because of the rain, we decided not to go to Point du Hoc but instead to Arromanches. We stopped to take quick pictures at a small port, and then we went on to Arromanches. It had stopped raining while we were at the cemetery, but when we reached Arromanches it was raining again. We were able to get some very grey pictures of the concrete remains of the mulberry harbour there, but then we got back into the taxi and went to the Bayeux train station. We took the train to Lisieux, where we looked for a place to eat. The two creperies we had seen that morning were closed -- perhaps for Mother's Day? It was Mother's Day in France...Anyway, we ended up eating at a rather good Chinese restaurant. I had chicken with black mushrooms and fried rice.
We went back to the hotel and repeated the night before to some extent, staying up in Madame's room very late blogging and talking. However, we also had to pack whatever had been unpacked, for we were leaving for Paris in the morning.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
June 6
Cassandre woke me up for the last time, and I showered, packed my backpack, and ate -- cake and marbled cake. Yum. With fruit juice. Then Cassandre gave me all her contact info and also candy. :-D We then walked to the train station after I had said goodbye to her family.
When we arrived at the station, everyone was there except Pierrot, Melissa, and Madame. All the families were there, and we were all hugging and saying goodbye, handing out papers with our contact information, and saying, again, on se reverra. But this time, we weren't crying as much...
When everyone was there, we walked over to the platform and then got on the train, waving goodbye to our friends until we couldn't anymore.
The train went to Amiens, where we went to a small cafe right outside of the station to eat breakfast -- since I had already eaten I didn't get anything. Then we took a train to Rouen. On the way, I listened to Weep Not for the Memories, which is a Celtic song that I really like -- a very sad song that somehow convinces one not to cry, just to remember. I also talked to the other girls, read, and wrote in my journal.
When we arrived in Rouen, we left our bags at the station and took the metro to the Cathedral. Notre-Dame de Rouen is smaller than Notre-Dame d'Amiens but larger than Notre-Dame de Paris -- and yes, they are all called Notre Dame. The Rouen cathedral is very detailed, but most of my pictures came out a bit blurry.
All of us were taking turns pulling Madame's small bag through the city and carrying it across the cobblestones.
We walked to the place where Joan of Arc was burned by way of the Rue du Grand Horloge -- the road of the big clock, essentially. The big clock is indeed large (such a surprise) and blue and gold. We saw a small D-Day parade, and then we arrived at the flower bed that honors Joan of Arc. We bought sandwiches from a street vender, and I got, as always, a ham and butter sandwich. Then we went back to the train station, where I noticed some very strange modern art made of fluorescent lights...
We then took the train to Caen. In Caen, we took the tram and the bus to the Memorial, which is a WWII museum. There, we met two British soldiers who were on the Normandy beaches on D-Day 65 years ago. We talked to them and took photos. Then we bought our tickets and watched a very interesting film. It actually began with two films which were run side by side -- one American and one German, from just before D-Day to the events of D-Day. Then the film proceeded to show a map marking which territories were under the control of divisions, and the film showed pictures of major battles and slowly altered the map as areas were taken by the Allies. Not many spoken words were involved, but they weren't necessary.
After taking almost ten minutes to find the exhibit about WWII (we kept running into the one about the Cold War...), Madame told us girls to go in, that she had seen it at least eight times and wanted to look through the large gift shop. Melissa took maybe twenty minutes int he exhibit, but all of the rest of us took far longer. It was interesting and talked about somethings that I think don't really get emphasized in the U.S., or at the very least I've never given much thought to. I wasn't reading all the descriptions of items (some I just wasn't very interested in), but everything else I did read. Cate and Jeanne were reading every single word there was to read. Stephanie was taking pictures and reading some of the stuff. Stephanie took around forty minutes, then Cate, Jeanne, and I were the only ones left. We met up in the last room, and Cate came over to me and said, "How much longer do you think we have?"
"What time is it?"
She told me the time, and I started calculating in my head. Get to the station 10 minutes before the train should leave, especially since we had bags. Maybe make that 15. It would take us 30 minutes to get back to the station by bus and tram, and it would take us 5-10 minutes to get our backs from where we had put them in the museum and then get out to the bus stop. At the very least we needed to leave 45 minutes before our train left. And it was about 50 minutes until our train. So even though we had not seen everything we wanted to see, Cate and I immediately got Jeanne and went upstairs, Jeanne and I quickly bought postcards in the gift shop, and then we were out of there. Melissa, Stephanie, and Madame had already gotten the luggage.
Despite our speed in exiting the museum, as we neared the station we realized we were not going to make the train. We found a pizzeria near the station and went there to eat. The restaurant was nearly empty -- it was earlier than most French eat supper -- and there was plenty of room for our luggage. The cook/waiter was very nice, and Madame found out that he was Algerian so they talked about the Maghreb. All of us but Cate got the Regina -- cheese, ham, mushrooms -- though two people got it without mushrooms. I've forgotten what Cate ordered, though it was something I would never touch.
We took the train to Lisieux just after 8:00, and then we took a taxi to the hotel. Melissa, Stephanie, and I took the taxi to the hotel, then it went back for Cate, Jeanne, and Madame. When Melissa, Stephanie, and I arrived at the hotel, we checked in and got to choose between two rooms -- 107 and 203. We chose 107. We got into the room, dropped everything...Stephanie showered. Then we went upstairs to room 203 (the one Madame, Cate, and Jeanne were sharing) to comment on Madame's blog. We talked for a very long time, but it was fun, and it was after midnight when Stephanie, Melissa, and I went back to our room. Melissa showered, and I watched TV with Stephanie. She fell asleep before her sister finished showering. Then Melissa and I talked a little bit, and eventually we went to sleep...
When we arrived at the station, everyone was there except Pierrot, Melissa, and Madame. All the families were there, and we were all hugging and saying goodbye, handing out papers with our contact information, and saying, again, on se reverra. But this time, we weren't crying as much...
When everyone was there, we walked over to the platform and then got on the train, waving goodbye to our friends until we couldn't anymore.
The train went to Amiens, where we went to a small cafe right outside of the station to eat breakfast -- since I had already eaten I didn't get anything. Then we took a train to Rouen. On the way, I listened to Weep Not for the Memories, which is a Celtic song that I really like -- a very sad song that somehow convinces one not to cry, just to remember. I also talked to the other girls, read, and wrote in my journal.
When we arrived in Rouen, we left our bags at the station and took the metro to the Cathedral. Notre-Dame de Rouen is smaller than Notre-Dame d'Amiens but larger than Notre-Dame de Paris -- and yes, they are all called Notre Dame. The Rouen cathedral is very detailed, but most of my pictures came out a bit blurry.
All of us were taking turns pulling Madame's small bag through the city and carrying it across the cobblestones.
We walked to the place where Joan of Arc was burned by way of the Rue du Grand Horloge -- the road of the big clock, essentially. The big clock is indeed large (such a surprise) and blue and gold. We saw a small D-Day parade, and then we arrived at the flower bed that honors Joan of Arc. We bought sandwiches from a street vender, and I got, as always, a ham and butter sandwich. Then we went back to the train station, where I noticed some very strange modern art made of fluorescent lights...
We then took the train to Caen. In Caen, we took the tram and the bus to the Memorial, which is a WWII museum. There, we met two British soldiers who were on the Normandy beaches on D-Day 65 years ago. We talked to them and took photos. Then we bought our tickets and watched a very interesting film. It actually began with two films which were run side by side -- one American and one German, from just before D-Day to the events of D-Day. Then the film proceeded to show a map marking which territories were under the control of divisions, and the film showed pictures of major battles and slowly altered the map as areas were taken by the Allies. Not many spoken words were involved, but they weren't necessary.
After taking almost ten minutes to find the exhibit about WWII (we kept running into the one about the Cold War...), Madame told us girls to go in, that she had seen it at least eight times and wanted to look through the large gift shop. Melissa took maybe twenty minutes int he exhibit, but all of the rest of us took far longer. It was interesting and talked about somethings that I think don't really get emphasized in the U.S., or at the very least I've never given much thought to. I wasn't reading all the descriptions of items (some I just wasn't very interested in), but everything else I did read. Cate and Jeanne were reading every single word there was to read. Stephanie was taking pictures and reading some of the stuff. Stephanie took around forty minutes, then Cate, Jeanne, and I were the only ones left. We met up in the last room, and Cate came over to me and said, "How much longer do you think we have?"
"What time is it?"
She told me the time, and I started calculating in my head. Get to the station 10 minutes before the train should leave, especially since we had bags. Maybe make that 15. It would take us 30 minutes to get back to the station by bus and tram, and it would take us 5-10 minutes to get our backs from where we had put them in the museum and then get out to the bus stop. At the very least we needed to leave 45 minutes before our train left. And it was about 50 minutes until our train. So even though we had not seen everything we wanted to see, Cate and I immediately got Jeanne and went upstairs, Jeanne and I quickly bought postcards in the gift shop, and then we were out of there. Melissa, Stephanie, and Madame had already gotten the luggage.
Despite our speed in exiting the museum, as we neared the station we realized we were not going to make the train. We found a pizzeria near the station and went there to eat. The restaurant was nearly empty -- it was earlier than most French eat supper -- and there was plenty of room for our luggage. The cook/waiter was very nice, and Madame found out that he was Algerian so they talked about the Maghreb. All of us but Cate got the Regina -- cheese, ham, mushrooms -- though two people got it without mushrooms. I've forgotten what Cate ordered, though it was something I would never touch.
We took the train to Lisieux just after 8:00, and then we took a taxi to the hotel. Melissa, Stephanie, and I took the taxi to the hotel, then it went back for Cate, Jeanne, and Madame. When Melissa, Stephanie, and I arrived at the hotel, we checked in and got to choose between two rooms -- 107 and 203. We chose 107. We got into the room, dropped everything...Stephanie showered. Then we went upstairs to room 203 (the one Madame, Cate, and Jeanne were sharing) to comment on Madame's blog. We talked for a very long time, but it was fun, and it was after midnight when Stephanie, Melissa, and I went back to our room. Melissa showered, and I watched TV with Stephanie. She fell asleep before her sister finished showering. Then Melissa and I talked a little bit, and eventually we went to sleep...
Sunday, June 21, 2009
June 5
I ate lots of Chocapics on the morning of June 5. Maybe because I knew it was one of my two last chances to do so? Friday, June 5 was one of my favorite days of the whole trip.
Everyone met up at the school, and then the Americans, the biology teacher, Madame, and the French/Latin teacher left to go to the Somme American Cemetery. Melisa (I recently found out that this is how she spells her name...), Jeanne, and I rode in the biology teacher's car. He joked with us a lot -- "I'm not going too fast, am I? I'll slow down more...I'll go slowly this time, not like Saturday night, Jessie..." Melisa told him that he was a crazy driver, and whenever someone went past us on the road, he would say, "He's the crazy driver! I am not crazy driver!"
Melisa and Jeanne slept some on the way to the cemetery, and I talked to the bio teacher a little bit -- about learning French, how long I had been learning, etc.
We arrived in Bony at the cemetery. Our guide was an intern. She didn't speak much English, but she tried. First she told us such things as how many soldiers were buried in the cemetery, how many were unidentified, how many names were on the Wall of the Missing, etc. Then she showed us the graves of some interesting people: one of the men who won the Medal of Honor, one of the nurses. Then we went into the chapel and found the one soldier on the wall who had been Oklahoman.
After that, everyone went looking for their adopted soldier(s). Because I had written down the locations of my soldiers' graves, I went directly to that of Joe R. West, an Oklahoman soldier. I took a couple of photos, and then Madame took a photo of me beside the cross. Beside the cross I left the note I had written, and then I went to the cross of the other soldier I had adopted. I found it very quickly -- Henry Sierzyncki. I took photos, I took a photo of myself (or at least tried to!), and then I left the note.
At that point, everyone was looking for the other Oklahoma soldiers. So far, we had found four -- the one on the wall, and the ones Cate, Jeanne, and I had adopted. I found three others and took photos of their crosses. Eventually, we found all ten. I kept track of which ones we had found and where we had found them in my notebook, so that we would know whether or not a certain cross had already been counted. I felt very professional, going around with my pen and my notebook, searching among the many crosses for six specific ones.
Finally, everyone came back together after having found all the Oklahoma soldiers' graves and having taken pictures. Melisa went back to the welcome center, but the other Americans stayed. We formed a circle and all said the Lord's Prayer (except Stephanie who only knows it in Spanish).
"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, and deliver us from evil."
Then everyone else was silent -- Jeanne, Cate, and Madame are silent and don't say the next sentence, so it was just me:
"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever."
And we all said together, "Amen."
For some reason, that moment was very important to me, somehow powerful.
We left the cemetery and went to a spot near a German cemetery where we sat and ate lunch. I had a ham and butter sandwich with chips and a chocolate bar for dessert.
We then went to a small bar with lots of British WWI posters. There were some men there, WWII veterans, who told us that they were in France for the D-Day commemorations but had come a little bit earlier to visit the British WWI cemeteries in the Somme area. We talked to these men a little bit and took a few photos, then left for the Historial in Peronne. We were in somewhat of a hurry -- it felt like we were hurried all afternoon.
At the Historial, we had a short tour, but no time for exploring or reading everything. The tour was interesting but didn't cover much of what there was in the museum. Then we did an activity that was designed for French students learning English -- it was fairly easy for us. We were supposed to reconstruct the story of a soldier named William Ravin from clues that directed us to items in the museum and documents to read.
After the activity, we went into the museum gift shop. Unfortunately, I had left my money in the car...it seemed like I was always leaving my money or my camera that first week. Hmm.
On the way back to town I slept a little bit. I went with Cassandre to a shoe store because she wanted to buy new white shoes for the dance that night, and then we went to the supermarket to buy food for the dance.
At the house, I changed clothes -- kept on the same Coldwater Creek green shirt but put on a black skirt instead of the khakis I had worn all day. I started to pack, as I knew I wouldn't want to do it that night when I got back to the house and might not have time the next morning.
Then we went to the dance! We picked up Laura, Cassandre's guest (each French kid was allowed one guest), but she left the party early and I didn't have the chance to talk to her. At the dance, I stayed with Jeanne a lot of the time. We ate -- mostly desserts, because most of the food was dessert. M&Ms, Haribo stuff, cakes...yum. We sang, we danced...Jeanne taught me to play pool, and at one point I even played in Elodie's place when Elodie was trying to dance and play at the same time.
I took photos, mostly with Cate's camera but also with other people's cameras if they asked me to. When Cate's camera died, I gave up being the photographer and started dancing. The line dances were most fun, because being clueless in a group is a lot easier than being clueless alone. There were essentially five popular songs, and though we danced to others those five were played over and over and over. One of them was Ces Soirees La, a song I know from Lac du Bois.
And then, at around 9:30, Pierrot put on the slideshow he had made out of the week's photos -- ones taken by Jeanne, Melisa, and who knows who else. In the middle, Melisa and Pierrot started crying (we think it was when the photos of Melisa doing judo came up...), so then Alison started crying, and she went over to Jeanne, who started crying, and then I started crying, and after that soon our whole circle of friends was crying. Everyone was hugging each other and saying incomprehensible things into each other's hair, promising that we would see each other again, whether it be in October, next summer, or some other time -- mais on se reverra.
And after that, we talked, we danced, we sang, we went back to what we had been doing all night, but we also cried incessantly. There was something heavy and sad but powerful...a friendship that I hadn't thought possible in a week. Sometimes, in a situation like that, when the moment is over, the feeling falls apart, but not that night. That night it stayed, just until I went upstairs at the house and fell asleep, that house that became chez moi in a way, even though it was chez Cassandre. Before going home, we cleaned up and talked some more, shared photos...
When I got home I finished packing and went to sleep, and maybe even then that moment hadn't broken...
Everyone met up at the school, and then the Americans, the biology teacher, Madame, and the French/Latin teacher left to go to the Somme American Cemetery. Melisa (I recently found out that this is how she spells her name...), Jeanne, and I rode in the biology teacher's car. He joked with us a lot -- "I'm not going too fast, am I? I'll slow down more...I'll go slowly this time, not like Saturday night, Jessie..." Melisa told him that he was a crazy driver, and whenever someone went past us on the road, he would say, "He's the crazy driver! I am not crazy driver!"
Melisa and Jeanne slept some on the way to the cemetery, and I talked to the bio teacher a little bit -- about learning French, how long I had been learning, etc.
We arrived in Bony at the cemetery. Our guide was an intern. She didn't speak much English, but she tried. First she told us such things as how many soldiers were buried in the cemetery, how many were unidentified, how many names were on the Wall of the Missing, etc. Then she showed us the graves of some interesting people: one of the men who won the Medal of Honor, one of the nurses. Then we went into the chapel and found the one soldier on the wall who had been Oklahoman.
After that, everyone went looking for their adopted soldier(s). Because I had written down the locations of my soldiers' graves, I went directly to that of Joe R. West, an Oklahoman soldier. I took a couple of photos, and then Madame took a photo of me beside the cross. Beside the cross I left the note I had written, and then I went to the cross of the other soldier I had adopted. I found it very quickly -- Henry Sierzyncki. I took photos, I took a photo of myself (or at least tried to!), and then I left the note.
At that point, everyone was looking for the other Oklahoma soldiers. So far, we had found four -- the one on the wall, and the ones Cate, Jeanne, and I had adopted. I found three others and took photos of their crosses. Eventually, we found all ten. I kept track of which ones we had found and where we had found them in my notebook, so that we would know whether or not a certain cross had already been counted. I felt very professional, going around with my pen and my notebook, searching among the many crosses for six specific ones.
Finally, everyone came back together after having found all the Oklahoma soldiers' graves and having taken pictures. Melisa went back to the welcome center, but the other Americans stayed. We formed a circle and all said the Lord's Prayer (except Stephanie who only knows it in Spanish).
"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, and deliver us from evil."
Then everyone else was silent -- Jeanne, Cate, and Madame are silent and don't say the next sentence, so it was just me:
"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever."
And we all said together, "Amen."
For some reason, that moment was very important to me, somehow powerful.
We left the cemetery and went to a spot near a German cemetery where we sat and ate lunch. I had a ham and butter sandwich with chips and a chocolate bar for dessert.
We then went to a small bar with lots of British WWI posters. There were some men there, WWII veterans, who told us that they were in France for the D-Day commemorations but had come a little bit earlier to visit the British WWI cemeteries in the Somme area. We talked to these men a little bit and took a few photos, then left for the Historial in Peronne. We were in somewhat of a hurry -- it felt like we were hurried all afternoon.
At the Historial, we had a short tour, but no time for exploring or reading everything. The tour was interesting but didn't cover much of what there was in the museum. Then we did an activity that was designed for French students learning English -- it was fairly easy for us. We were supposed to reconstruct the story of a soldier named William Ravin from clues that directed us to items in the museum and documents to read.
After the activity, we went into the museum gift shop. Unfortunately, I had left my money in the car...it seemed like I was always leaving my money or my camera that first week. Hmm.
On the way back to town I slept a little bit. I went with Cassandre to a shoe store because she wanted to buy new white shoes for the dance that night, and then we went to the supermarket to buy food for the dance.
At the house, I changed clothes -- kept on the same Coldwater Creek green shirt but put on a black skirt instead of the khakis I had worn all day. I started to pack, as I knew I wouldn't want to do it that night when I got back to the house and might not have time the next morning.
Then we went to the dance! We picked up Laura, Cassandre's guest (each French kid was allowed one guest), but she left the party early and I didn't have the chance to talk to her. At the dance, I stayed with Jeanne a lot of the time. We ate -- mostly desserts, because most of the food was dessert. M&Ms, Haribo stuff, cakes...yum. We sang, we danced...Jeanne taught me to play pool, and at one point I even played in Elodie's place when Elodie was trying to dance and play at the same time.
I took photos, mostly with Cate's camera but also with other people's cameras if they asked me to. When Cate's camera died, I gave up being the photographer and started dancing. The line dances were most fun, because being clueless in a group is a lot easier than being clueless alone. There were essentially five popular songs, and though we danced to others those five were played over and over and over. One of them was Ces Soirees La, a song I know from Lac du Bois.
And then, at around 9:30, Pierrot put on the slideshow he had made out of the week's photos -- ones taken by Jeanne, Melisa, and who knows who else. In the middle, Melisa and Pierrot started crying (we think it was when the photos of Melisa doing judo came up...), so then Alison started crying, and she went over to Jeanne, who started crying, and then I started crying, and after that soon our whole circle of friends was crying. Everyone was hugging each other and saying incomprehensible things into each other's hair, promising that we would see each other again, whether it be in October, next summer, or some other time -- mais on se reverra.
And after that, we talked, we danced, we sang, we went back to what we had been doing all night, but we also cried incessantly. There was something heavy and sad but powerful...a friendship that I hadn't thought possible in a week. Sometimes, in a situation like that, when the moment is over, the feeling falls apart, but not that night. That night it stayed, just until I went upstairs at the house and fell asleep, that house that became chez moi in a way, even though it was chez Cassandre. Before going home, we cleaned up and talked some more, shared photos...
When I got home I finished packing and went to sleep, and maybe even then that moment hadn't broken...
Friday, June 19, 2009
June 4
At about 8:00 in the morning, all of us met in front of the school, and we went in a bus to Amiens. It was very cold, and the first place we went was les Hortillonages, which are floating gardens. Going around in a boat on a river didn't do much to make us feel warm...anyway. Les Hortillonages are very pretty, but a bit too green for me. There weren't many other colors. However, I did see baby ducks and baby loons...very cute.
After, we had until noon to roam the city. My group went to all of the stores I had been to on Saturday night. I didn't buy anything, but I think everyone else did, even Jeanne. Some girls stopped at McDonald's and some other girls at Quick. We then went to a playground where we met up with the others and ate lunch. I had a ham and butter sandwich (Before this trip, I would never have thought I would like a ham and butter sandwich, but I ate a ton of them while in France) that Cassandre and I had bought at the bakery that morning. I also had chips and candy. I drank a P'tit Oasis Orange (if you've ever had Crystal Light Orange Sunrise, it tastes exactly like that). We sang and danced -- the people walking by must have thought we were exceedingly strange.
After lunch, we had another thirty minutes of roaming time, so we went to an area near the train station where we met up with some of Alison's friends. We stood, talked, and danced for twenty minutes. Then we headed towards Notre-Dame d'Amiens, a very large cathedral.
Most of the French kids did not go inside the cathedral -- only Pierrot. Strangely enough, Melissa, Pierrot's host sister, was the one American who didn't go inside. The French teachers gave those of us that did go in a tour. One can see the age differences in the sections of the cathedral, both by the building itself and by the stained glass. This cathedral is better lit than most because so much of the stained glass is clear. During WWI, the stained glass was sent to America to be stored, and when it was brought back to France some of the colored class was gone, so it was replaced with clear glass.
The teachers who were giving us our "tour" pointed out interesting aspects in the stained glass windows, on the floor, and inside the chapels.
The cathedral claims to have the head of John the Baptist -- so do 6 other churches in Europe. Everyone was looking in through this small window at a shrunken head...
At the cathedral I bought five post cards.
After the cathedral, we went to Jules Verne's house, which is now a museum. I am in the middle of Around the World in 80 Days, so this was very cool.
Various things I learned:
Verne didn't really like women, but he finally fell in love with Honorine. He wrote 63 books and only one of them has a female main character.
He was the oldest child in his family.
He had one son, Michel, who was a troublemaker. Verne named his three boats St. Michel, St. Michel 2, and St. Michel 3.
Verne didn't travel much, but his research was meticulous. In the room that was his study were two large bookshelves of encyclopedias and maps and such.
He woke up at 5:00 each morning to write...
He had a contract with Hetzel that required him to write 2 or 3 books per year for 20 years.
I really enjoyed that museum...
In the gift shop I bought a book with pictures from the museum, one post card, and one book of three rarely read short works by Verne.
Then we went back home. I got on the internet, chatted on Facebook with one of my friends...then Cassandre and I left the house again at 6:40. We drove to Alison's house and picked up Jeanne and Alison, then went on to Pierrot's house. Alison and Cassandre told us that they were going to pretend to be American -- it was a joke on Pierrot's 14-year-old brother.
When we got to the house, we all sat in the living room or the dining room and talked -- Pierrot, his brother, Sandra, Alison, Cassandre, Jeanne, Timo (a German student who was staying with Pierrot's family), Melissa, Pierrot's parents, and me. Melissa showed us the "little" dog (When she first arrived Pierrot's mother told Melissa she had a "very petit chien") who is the biggest dog I've ever seen. With most big dogs, it's just a joke to say one could ride them, but one really could ride this dog...
For supper, we ate mini-crepes, which we made ourselves on a machine that made six at a time. We had two machines going, one for each end of the table, so we were making 12 crepes at once. I think I ate six, all with some combination of cheese, shrimp, mushrooms, or ham on them. Yum. During dinner, Alison and Cassandre were speaking English and kept asking how to say words in French. Finally, one of them said something about having eaten mini-crepes before, and Pierrot's mother said, "And how is that, girls?"
"Because we're French!"
Pierrot's brother looked so shocked; it was amazing. We laughed for ages.
After supper we walked down a road to a field where we hung out, sang, and played tag. The French kids told me I should have brought my jump rope...I guess I had told Cassandre about that? Anyway. The French kids smoked, Pierrot showed us his sheep, and then we went back into the house for dessert.
Dessert was more mini-crepes, but sweet ones this time, not savory. The first one I had was with salted butter and sugar, the second was with sugar, and then the third and fourth ones were with white chocolate.
After dinner we looked at the slideshow Pierrot had made of photos from the week, watched Melissa play Rock Band with Timo and Pierrot's brother -- she can't play at all, so that was hilarious. Then Alison's dad came and took us home, and we went to bed.
After, we had until noon to roam the city. My group went to all of the stores I had been to on Saturday night. I didn't buy anything, but I think everyone else did, even Jeanne. Some girls stopped at McDonald's and some other girls at Quick. We then went to a playground where we met up with the others and ate lunch. I had a ham and butter sandwich (Before this trip, I would never have thought I would like a ham and butter sandwich, but I ate a ton of them while in France) that Cassandre and I had bought at the bakery that morning. I also had chips and candy. I drank a P'tit Oasis Orange (if you've ever had Crystal Light Orange Sunrise, it tastes exactly like that). We sang and danced -- the people walking by must have thought we were exceedingly strange.
After lunch, we had another thirty minutes of roaming time, so we went to an area near the train station where we met up with some of Alison's friends. We stood, talked, and danced for twenty minutes. Then we headed towards Notre-Dame d'Amiens, a very large cathedral.
Most of the French kids did not go inside the cathedral -- only Pierrot. Strangely enough, Melissa, Pierrot's host sister, was the one American who didn't go inside. The French teachers gave those of us that did go in a tour. One can see the age differences in the sections of the cathedral, both by the building itself and by the stained glass. This cathedral is better lit than most because so much of the stained glass is clear. During WWI, the stained glass was sent to America to be stored, and when it was brought back to France some of the colored class was gone, so it was replaced with clear glass.
The teachers who were giving us our "tour" pointed out interesting aspects in the stained glass windows, on the floor, and inside the chapels.
The cathedral claims to have the head of John the Baptist -- so do 6 other churches in Europe. Everyone was looking in through this small window at a shrunken head...
At the cathedral I bought five post cards.
After the cathedral, we went to Jules Verne's house, which is now a museum. I am in the middle of Around the World in 80 Days, so this was very cool.
Various things I learned:
Verne didn't really like women, but he finally fell in love with Honorine. He wrote 63 books and only one of them has a female main character.
He was the oldest child in his family.
He had one son, Michel, who was a troublemaker. Verne named his three boats St. Michel, St. Michel 2, and St. Michel 3.
Verne didn't travel much, but his research was meticulous. In the room that was his study were two large bookshelves of encyclopedias and maps and such.
He woke up at 5:00 each morning to write...
He had a contract with Hetzel that required him to write 2 or 3 books per year for 20 years.
I really enjoyed that museum...
In the gift shop I bought a book with pictures from the museum, one post card, and one book of three rarely read short works by Verne.
Then we went back home. I got on the internet, chatted on Facebook with one of my friends...then Cassandre and I left the house again at 6:40. We drove to Alison's house and picked up Jeanne and Alison, then went on to Pierrot's house. Alison and Cassandre told us that they were going to pretend to be American -- it was a joke on Pierrot's 14-year-old brother.
When we got to the house, we all sat in the living room or the dining room and talked -- Pierrot, his brother, Sandra, Alison, Cassandre, Jeanne, Timo (a German student who was staying with Pierrot's family), Melissa, Pierrot's parents, and me. Melissa showed us the "little" dog (When she first arrived Pierrot's mother told Melissa she had a "very petit chien") who is the biggest dog I've ever seen. With most big dogs, it's just a joke to say one could ride them, but one really could ride this dog...
For supper, we ate mini-crepes, which we made ourselves on a machine that made six at a time. We had two machines going, one for each end of the table, so we were making 12 crepes at once. I think I ate six, all with some combination of cheese, shrimp, mushrooms, or ham on them. Yum. During dinner, Alison and Cassandre were speaking English and kept asking how to say words in French. Finally, one of them said something about having eaten mini-crepes before, and Pierrot's mother said, "And how is that, girls?"
"Because we're French!"
Pierrot's brother looked so shocked; it was amazing. We laughed for ages.
After supper we walked down a road to a field where we hung out, sang, and played tag. The French kids told me I should have brought my jump rope...I guess I had told Cassandre about that? Anyway. The French kids smoked, Pierrot showed us his sheep, and then we went back into the house for dessert.
Dessert was more mini-crepes, but sweet ones this time, not savory. The first one I had was with salted butter and sugar, the second was with sugar, and then the third and fourth ones were with white chocolate.
After dinner we looked at the slideshow Pierrot had made of photos from the week, watched Melissa play Rock Band with Timo and Pierrot's brother -- she can't play at all, so that was hilarious. Then Alison's dad came and took us home, and we went to bed.
June 3
Wednesday morning Cassandre woke me up, I showered, and then I ate a breakfast of brioches and Chocapics. Then we went to school!
First hour was math class with premier L (so our 17 partners). They did crossed tables (I'd never seen some of this done in the U.S., so crossed tables is just a direct translation) and percentages. Very easy, and I did math and spoke French.
Second hour, Jeanne and I stayed with the same teacher in the same room and did more math -- this was the class with terminale ES. The class was essentially business calculus, and I had a lot of fun. It was very interesting to see the slightly different methods and to hear the familiar terms in French. The class was doing maximums and minimums.
Third hour was biology, but we didn't do anything in that class. It was the same teacher that I had gone bowling with, and the whole class was talking and looking at some pictures of the past few days, of the French with the Americans.
Fourth hour, Cassandre went to the bakery to buy sandwiches, and I went to Spanish class with Jeanne, Melissa, Alison, Cate, Stephanie, Charlotte, and Noemie. The level seemed about the same as the Pre-AP Spanish class I just finished, and they were also studying the same subjects. Corridos, romances, the Mexican Revolution...I understood everything the teacher said -- both in French and in Spanish. When she changed languages, though, it took me a few seconds to realize and that always threw me off.
The class wasn't really responding to the teacher's questions, which aggravated the teacher. The only people responding were Alison, Noemie, Charline, Stephanie, and me. I think that most of the class hadn't read the poem or the article...
We ate lunch outside the school. I ate a sandwich, chips, small cakes, and cookies.
Then we -- the Americans, the French history teacher, Madame, our five host siblings, and Elodie, and the French French/Latin teacher -- went to the Somme Archives in Amiens. An archivist talked to us about the archives and then we split ourselves up into groups. I worked with Jeanne, Alison, and Cassandre. Our group was "researching" destruction caused by the war. We looked at photos of destruction and temporary housing, and we compared census documents from 1911 and 1921. One of the things we noted was the more prominent place of females in society after the war (which isn't surprising...). The two other groups studied the world of a French soldier during WWI and the necessity of remembering the war. Most of us said later that we had learned very little...
After finishing at the archives, we all walked to a cafe. I drank hot chocolate, and Jeanne (who sat beside me) had strawberry juice. Madame said on her blog that sitting at the cafe and having something to drink made us feel French, but I must say that I didn't feel French at all...
Then we went back home. For supper that night, we had rice, ratatouille nicoise, very good strawberries, and what was left of the quiche. Cassandre was tired (and also a bit frustrated with her parents), so she ate a few strawberries and then went upstairs and fell asleep. I got on the internet, talked to my mother, sent emails...and then I watched television with Cassandre's parents while eating Haribo candy.
Later I wrote in my journal and went to bed.
First hour was math class with premier L (so our 17 partners). They did crossed tables (I'd never seen some of this done in the U.S., so crossed tables is just a direct translation) and percentages. Very easy, and I did math and spoke French.
Second hour, Jeanne and I stayed with the same teacher in the same room and did more math -- this was the class with terminale ES. The class was essentially business calculus, and I had a lot of fun. It was very interesting to see the slightly different methods and to hear the familiar terms in French. The class was doing maximums and minimums.
Third hour was biology, but we didn't do anything in that class. It was the same teacher that I had gone bowling with, and the whole class was talking and looking at some pictures of the past few days, of the French with the Americans.
Fourth hour, Cassandre went to the bakery to buy sandwiches, and I went to Spanish class with Jeanne, Melissa, Alison, Cate, Stephanie, Charlotte, and Noemie. The level seemed about the same as the Pre-AP Spanish class I just finished, and they were also studying the same subjects. Corridos, romances, the Mexican Revolution...I understood everything the teacher said -- both in French and in Spanish. When she changed languages, though, it took me a few seconds to realize and that always threw me off.
The class wasn't really responding to the teacher's questions, which aggravated the teacher. The only people responding were Alison, Noemie, Charline, Stephanie, and me. I think that most of the class hadn't read the poem or the article...
We ate lunch outside the school. I ate a sandwich, chips, small cakes, and cookies.
Then we -- the Americans, the French history teacher, Madame, our five host siblings, and Elodie, and the French French/Latin teacher -- went to the Somme Archives in Amiens. An archivist talked to us about the archives and then we split ourselves up into groups. I worked with Jeanne, Alison, and Cassandre. Our group was "researching" destruction caused by the war. We looked at photos of destruction and temporary housing, and we compared census documents from 1911 and 1921. One of the things we noted was the more prominent place of females in society after the war (which isn't surprising...). The two other groups studied the world of a French soldier during WWI and the necessity of remembering the war. Most of us said later that we had learned very little...
After finishing at the archives, we all walked to a cafe. I drank hot chocolate, and Jeanne (who sat beside me) had strawberry juice. Madame said on her blog that sitting at the cafe and having something to drink made us feel French, but I must say that I didn't feel French at all...
Then we went back home. For supper that night, we had rice, ratatouille nicoise, very good strawberries, and what was left of the quiche. Cassandre was tired (and also a bit frustrated with her parents), so she ate a few strawberries and then went upstairs and fell asleep. I got on the internet, talked to my mother, sent emails...and then I watched television with Cassandre's parents while eating Haribo candy.
Later I wrote in my journal and went to bed.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
June 2
Cassandre woke me up, and I took a shower. I was getting a little bit better with the handheld showerhead, but not much. For breakfast I ate bread and butter and Chocapics. We walked to school -- Cassandre's mother couldn't drive us. It took fifteen or twenty minutes, I think, but the town is very pretty and I enjoyed the walk. It was cold, but though I carried my sweatshirt I didn't put it on as I didn't want to stop to do so.
Jeanne, Melissa, and I went with D-D and Pierrot to art history class. It was two hours long, and the subject for the day was realism. I took notes, but I didn't know how to do it in the French style so I did it like I usually do. The class was interesting enough and I would like taking an art history class if my school offered one. Jeanne and Melissa, on the other hand, were both very tired and at times nearly fell asleep. At one point, Melissa took out her makeup, but the art history teacher asked her in French to put it up.
Third hour I stayed with Jeanne, Melissa, D-D, and Pierrot; we all went to math class. The class was studying box and whisker plots, tables, and percentages. I understood the class and it was very easy. Later Cassandre asked me during what grade such subjects would be studied in the U.S., and I wasn't sure. Anyway, I enjoyed doing the math even if it was easy. Jeanne and Melissa got on the internet with the teacher's permission. At the end of class, the teacher asked if the next day I would like to go to a math class for kids in terminale ES (kids in the equivalent of 12th grade who want to go into the fields of business, economics, and the social sciences), and I said yes.
After math class was history with all of premier L (the class with our 17 partners) and the five Americans, plus Madame. We watched a very short video about WWI and then we analyzed a propoganda poster from the U.S. We used a method similar to SOAPSS to do this. This activity wasn't very interesting, but I was surprised to see so much symbolism in just one poster.
For lunch, we all ate together -- a typical meal of the Picardie region. The first course was la ficelle picard which was very good. It had cheese, ham, mushrooms...yum. The second course was duck, potatoes, and brocolli. The duck was good, as were the potatoes, but the brocolli was not. (But then, I don't normally like brocolli.)
To drink, there was water and cider -- yes, an alcoholic beverage was served at school. This surprised me (and the other Americans). I drank a little bit of it, but it was carbonated, so I finished my half glass and drank water for the rest of the meal.
Third course was okay cheese and baguette. The final course was two bavarois pastries, one raspberry and one apricot. I liked the raspberry pastry but not the apricot one, though I wasn't too fond of the texture in general.
I was seated near Elodie, Perrine, Lea, Pierrot, and Melissa, so I talked to them during the meal.
At 2:00, the Americans, the French history teacher, and the French French and Latin teacher left the school to go to Cantigny. We stopped beside a field, and the French history teacher explained the battle of Cantigny. I had done research on this while I researched my soldiers because my Oklahoma WWI soldier died at Cantigny. Then everyone except Madame, whose leg was hurting her, went into the forest to see the remains of a trench.
When we went back to the car, we were all singing...Sound of Music, Do Re Mi, and Alouette.
Not very far down the road was a monument to the U.S. First Division. It had an eagle on top who wore the Big Red One patch. Those of us who had adopted a soldier in the Big Red One found our soldiers' names -- I found both Joe R. West and Henry Sierzycki. Melissa and Cate left poppies by the monument, and then we drove on to the main town of Cantigny.
We then went to the house of the current mayor of Cantigny. He had two cannons from WWI, one German and one French, and a lot of grenades. He told us about finding these grenades each time he just wants to dig a little garden, about living with the war even after 90 years. We climbed over a fence into a field with cows to see the remnants of a castle. At the mayor's house, we looked through some books about Cantigny and World War One while drinking water and apple juice. On the back of one book I saw a quote from the Gettsyburg Address that I showed to Madame -- it explained perfectly why she wants to honor the Oklahoma soldiers buried in France.
We then went to another monument, a newer one, only two years old. The statue was of a soldier in the Big Red One, and it was very realistic. Also, the 1 on the statue was actually in red marble -- a real big red one -- which impressed me. The soldier also wore the Purple Heart...
Next was the Cantigny museum, which is in the garage of the former mayor, who is 92 years old. There were all sorts of objects, photos, and books there, so the museum was interesting though tiny.
After that we went back to the high school, where all the kids were just getting on the buses.
For dinner, Cassandre, her family, and I ate quiche and what was left of the spaghetti. Also, for dessert there was creme brulee ice cream which was excellent.
I called my mother and we talked about math, about my teacher's blog, and about my day -- just like normal. (During the school year, she asks me how my day was, class by class.)
Jeanne, Melissa, and I went with D-D and Pierrot to art history class. It was two hours long, and the subject for the day was realism. I took notes, but I didn't know how to do it in the French style so I did it like I usually do. The class was interesting enough and I would like taking an art history class if my school offered one. Jeanne and Melissa, on the other hand, were both very tired and at times nearly fell asleep. At one point, Melissa took out her makeup, but the art history teacher asked her in French to put it up.
Third hour I stayed with Jeanne, Melissa, D-D, and Pierrot; we all went to math class. The class was studying box and whisker plots, tables, and percentages. I understood the class and it was very easy. Later Cassandre asked me during what grade such subjects would be studied in the U.S., and I wasn't sure. Anyway, I enjoyed doing the math even if it was easy. Jeanne and Melissa got on the internet with the teacher's permission. At the end of class, the teacher asked if the next day I would like to go to a math class for kids in terminale ES (kids in the equivalent of 12th grade who want to go into the fields of business, economics, and the social sciences), and I said yes.
After math class was history with all of premier L (the class with our 17 partners) and the five Americans, plus Madame. We watched a very short video about WWI and then we analyzed a propoganda poster from the U.S. We used a method similar to SOAPSS to do this. This activity wasn't very interesting, but I was surprised to see so much symbolism in just one poster.
For lunch, we all ate together -- a typical meal of the Picardie region. The first course was la ficelle picard which was very good. It had cheese, ham, mushrooms...yum. The second course was duck, potatoes, and brocolli. The duck was good, as were the potatoes, but the brocolli was not. (But then, I don't normally like brocolli.)
To drink, there was water and cider -- yes, an alcoholic beverage was served at school. This surprised me (and the other Americans). I drank a little bit of it, but it was carbonated, so I finished my half glass and drank water for the rest of the meal.
Third course was okay cheese and baguette. The final course was two bavarois pastries, one raspberry and one apricot. I liked the raspberry pastry but not the apricot one, though I wasn't too fond of the texture in general.
I was seated near Elodie, Perrine, Lea, Pierrot, and Melissa, so I talked to them during the meal.
At 2:00, the Americans, the French history teacher, and the French French and Latin teacher left the school to go to Cantigny. We stopped beside a field, and the French history teacher explained the battle of Cantigny. I had done research on this while I researched my soldiers because my Oklahoma WWI soldier died at Cantigny. Then everyone except Madame, whose leg was hurting her, went into the forest to see the remains of a trench.
When we went back to the car, we were all singing...Sound of Music, Do Re Mi, and Alouette.
Not very far down the road was a monument to the U.S. First Division. It had an eagle on top who wore the Big Red One patch. Those of us who had adopted a soldier in the Big Red One found our soldiers' names -- I found both Joe R. West and Henry Sierzycki. Melissa and Cate left poppies by the monument, and then we drove on to the main town of Cantigny.
We then went to the house of the current mayor of Cantigny. He had two cannons from WWI, one German and one French, and a lot of grenades. He told us about finding these grenades each time he just wants to dig a little garden, about living with the war even after 90 years. We climbed over a fence into a field with cows to see the remnants of a castle. At the mayor's house, we looked through some books about Cantigny and World War One while drinking water and apple juice. On the back of one book I saw a quote from the Gettsyburg Address that I showed to Madame -- it explained perfectly why she wants to honor the Oklahoma soldiers buried in France.
We then went to another monument, a newer one, only two years old. The statue was of a soldier in the Big Red One, and it was very realistic. Also, the 1 on the statue was actually in red marble -- a real big red one -- which impressed me. The soldier also wore the Purple Heart...
Next was the Cantigny museum, which is in the garage of the former mayor, who is 92 years old. There were all sorts of objects, photos, and books there, so the museum was interesting though tiny.
After that we went back to the high school, where all the kids were just getting on the buses.
For dinner, Cassandre, her family, and I ate quiche and what was left of the spaghetti. Also, for dessert there was creme brulee ice cream which was excellent.
I called my mother and we talked about math, about my teacher's blog, and about my day -- just like normal. (During the school year, she asks me how my day was, class by class.)
Monday, June 15, 2009
June 1
June 1 was Pentecost Monday, which is a holiday in France. So, no school.
I slept late, took a shower, and ate breakfast -- bread and butter and Chocapics. Cassandre and I then went to the supermarket to buy food (sandwiches, candy, and drinks) for the picnic that day.
We met up with everyone at 10:00 at the Hotel de Ville. The English teacher, the French/Latin teacher, the history teacher, my French teacher, all the French kids, and all the American kids, and also Pierrot's parents. I went to St. Valery in the van with the other Americans, the history teacher, Alison, Noemie, and Charlotte. I talked a lot with the other American girls, and we also listened to music.
St. Valery is in the Baie de la Somme region. We did not see any of the seals for which the region is known, but the beach was pretty and we ate on some steps that led down to it. After the picnic, the teachers from France gave us a tour of the medieval town. Jeanne D'Arc was taken through St. Valery as a prisoner of the English, and there were multiple plaques that commemorated this. I took some very good photos of this town, both of a typical medieval town in France and of a typical town in the Picardie region, as St. Valery is both.
We then went to the beach at Cayeux, which is a pebble beach (and is pictured above). The pebbles were of all sizes, from very tiny to as large as my foot. I walked across much of the beach taking pictures and got as close to the water as possible without getting wet -- I was wearing socks, and wet socks are nasty. I also saw a white-yellow crab that was fairly large. I also saw some men playing petanque, a game similar to bocce, but I couldn't get decent photos such that you could actually tell what the men were doing.
The last thing we did as a tour group that day was visit the Chateau Rambures. It was built during the 100 years war but has been greatly modified since then. One thing that fasinated me is that it was built underground. Melissa thought that the big hole surrounding the castle was a moat, and it is, but not one that there was ever water in. The chateau was built underground so that cannons couldn't destroy the castle by damaging the base of it. Also, oil was not used to attack enemies -- oil was too expensive. Instead, heated sand was mixed with grease and that was poured over enemies.
The guide talked a lot about the modifications made to the chateau each century, which was very interesting. In some rooms, I only understood about half of what the guide said, but in some rooms I understood everything...
The guide explained that if a family had a simple coat of arms, then the family was old and very noble. If there are many symbols on the family's coat of arms, then the family hasn't been noble for long. In the 15th century, the English would ransom the captured men with simple coats of arms because they would have very noble families, but the captured men with complicated coats of arms would be killed.
On the way back home, I know I slept in the car, and I wasn't the only one. When we arrived again at the Hotel de Ville, I discovered that my face was slightly sunburned, especially my nose. My teacher, however, was far more red than I was.
At the house, I called my dad and we talked about sports. Strangely enough, he had to update me on the French Open, despite the fact that I was only 90 minutes away from Roland Garros by train.
For dinner Cassandre and I had spaghetti bolognaise and cake. Yum!
Then I wrote in my journal and tried to go to sleep, but for some reason it was harder than normal.
May 31
I woke up early and I wrote in my journal, but then I fell asleep again. (This was a Sunday.) When I woke up the next time, I wrote some more then took a shower, and the shower rod didn't fall, thank goodness.
I ate breakfast at 9:30 -- a croissant and apple juice. My family told me to eat more, but I wasn't hungry. They also told me that they don't eat croissants everyday --I think this is a common American misconception -- because they're too caloric.
We watched television and then Cassandre, her mother, and I went to E.LeClerc, the super market. Cassandre chose beef, pork, and sausage for the barbecue (In France, barbecue = grilled food. When they come here, we'll feed them some real barbecue.) at her grandparents' house later that day. We also bought drinks, ice cream, cookies, napkins, and plates.
We then went to the bakery to buy baguettes. The line was a little bit long, so we waited for about five minutes and then bought three baguettes. We went back to the house and then everyone left for the barbecue. I met Cassandre's grandparents, and Cassandre and I went and met Elodie at the park. We played on the swings and talked while waiting for everyone else to arrive. When Sandra got there, we went back to the house where the others were waiting. (But when Sandra arrived she asked me if I understood French and I said, "Well enough." I then heard Cassandre say quietly, "Not really." That bothered me, but I also realize that it is true -- here, everyone speaks French far more quickly than I am used to.)
We talked, we ate chips...I was seated next to Melissa, D-D, and Jeanne. I got a little bit homesick, I think, even if that was just the explanation I used because it was the easiest reason to say why I was crying. (In reality, it was the "Not really.")
I felt really silly about crying later...ick.
Then we all ate, first the meat off the grill with pasta salad, and then the ice cream. We went to an area outside the high school where we talked and the French kids smoked. Then we went back to the house, said goodbye to the adults, and left again. Pierrot and Melissa left, and the rest of us went back to the bar where we had been the day before. Jeanne and I were the only ones who didn't drink anything. After, we all sat outside of the Hotel de Ville. Alison, Jeanne, and Gaeton (Alison's boyfriend) all left, and Cassandre and I followed suit. I called my parents but they didn't answer; they were still at church. Cassandre told me that I could get on the computer, so I checked my email and replied to a couple, including one from my mother. I had to change my passwords to my email because I couldn't figure out how to type the @ sign, and ten minutes later I found it. *sighs* I'm too shy! I should have asked...
I also got on Facebook and found that one of my old friends from ballet now has one, so I friended her. Then I wrote on my French teacher's blog of the trip, as she had requested. (She had ordered Pierrot, whom she had seen at church that morning -- to tell me to blog.) I posted something on everyday that I had something to say about -- I don't remember if I posted about Friday, but I definitely posted about Saturday and Sunday. I described those days briefly, not at all like I do in my journal...
The second time that I got on my email, my mother began a chat with me, so we talked -- about France, about keyboards in Europe, about sports...everything.
For dinner we ate the leftovers from the barbecue. I also ate some bery good cheese. We (all of the family other than Ophelie, who wasn't there) talked about religion and some of the cultural differences between the U.S. and France. For example, Cassandre told me that she doesn't know the Marseillaise (French national anthem), which shocked me, partially because I know it, and I'm not French. Cassandre asked me if I knew the American national anthem, and of course I know Star Spangled Banner. Plus the Oklahoma state song, and the Texas state song...but the point was that the French aren't nearly as patriotic.
We also talked about religion -- how in France there are very few people who are actually practicants (sorry, using the French word cause I can't figure out a good translation.), and about how those who are practicants are either Catholic or Muslim. Cassandre's family does not practice a religion, and later Cassie told me that she doesn't feel comfortable in a church (when we were touring Amiens and went to the cathedral). Hmm...that might be interesting if she comes here...
After dinner we watched an old French film, and at ten o'clock I went up to my room, and Cassandre came with me. I don't know why, but I pulled out the book of Oklahoma pictures that I had brought as a host gift -- I hadn't figured out when I was going to give it to Cassandre -- and we sat down on the bed and looked at it. On Saturday and Sunday I hadn't known whether or not Cassandre liked me, and I thought that she didn't. But that night, loking at the photos, sititing on the bed together...we talked a little bit, in English I admit, but it didn't matter, and she told me that she really wants to live in the U.S. and that she thinks Oklahoma is more beautiful than the Picardie region where she lives. I think that they are both beautiful, but differently -- Oklahoma is more red, Picardie more green. In Picardie, the towns and buildings are old and that is beauty. In Oklahoma the old beauty is in the land. Everything in Oklahoma is red, even the people. In the Choctaw language, Oklahoma means red people.
Through talking and looking at the book, I found that even if I do not understand French as well as I thought, even if I'm not as fun to be around as Melissa, even if Cassandre and I never completely click, we are friends.
Then I wrote in my journal and went to bed. It was so odd, to go back to daily tasks after a moment that I felt was so important....
I ate breakfast at 9:30 -- a croissant and apple juice. My family told me to eat more, but I wasn't hungry. They also told me that they don't eat croissants everyday --I think this is a common American misconception -- because they're too caloric.
We watched television and then Cassandre, her mother, and I went to E.LeClerc, the super market. Cassandre chose beef, pork, and sausage for the barbecue (In France, barbecue = grilled food. When they come here, we'll feed them some real barbecue.) at her grandparents' house later that day. We also bought drinks, ice cream, cookies, napkins, and plates.
We then went to the bakery to buy baguettes. The line was a little bit long, so we waited for about five minutes and then bought three baguettes. We went back to the house and then everyone left for the barbecue. I met Cassandre's grandparents, and Cassandre and I went and met Elodie at the park. We played on the swings and talked while waiting for everyone else to arrive. When Sandra got there, we went back to the house where the others were waiting. (But when Sandra arrived she asked me if I understood French and I said, "Well enough." I then heard Cassandre say quietly, "Not really." That bothered me, but I also realize that it is true -- here, everyone speaks French far more quickly than I am used to.)
We talked, we ate chips...I was seated next to Melissa, D-D, and Jeanne. I got a little bit homesick, I think, even if that was just the explanation I used because it was the easiest reason to say why I was crying. (In reality, it was the "Not really.")
I felt really silly about crying later...ick.
Then we all ate, first the meat off the grill with pasta salad, and then the ice cream. We went to an area outside the high school where we talked and the French kids smoked. Then we went back to the house, said goodbye to the adults, and left again. Pierrot and Melissa left, and the rest of us went back to the bar where we had been the day before. Jeanne and I were the only ones who didn't drink anything. After, we all sat outside of the Hotel de Ville. Alison, Jeanne, and Gaeton (Alison's boyfriend) all left, and Cassandre and I followed suit. I called my parents but they didn't answer; they were still at church. Cassandre told me that I could get on the computer, so I checked my email and replied to a couple, including one from my mother. I had to change my passwords to my email because I couldn't figure out how to type the @ sign, and ten minutes later I found it. *sighs* I'm too shy! I should have asked...
I also got on Facebook and found that one of my old friends from ballet now has one, so I friended her. Then I wrote on my French teacher's blog of the trip, as she had requested. (She had ordered Pierrot, whom she had seen at church that morning -- to tell me to blog.) I posted something on everyday that I had something to say about -- I don't remember if I posted about Friday, but I definitely posted about Saturday and Sunday. I described those days briefly, not at all like I do in my journal...
The second time that I got on my email, my mother began a chat with me, so we talked -- about France, about keyboards in Europe, about sports...everything.
For dinner we ate the leftovers from the barbecue. I also ate some bery good cheese. We (all of the family other than Ophelie, who wasn't there) talked about religion and some of the cultural differences between the U.S. and France. For example, Cassandre told me that she doesn't know the Marseillaise (French national anthem), which shocked me, partially because I know it, and I'm not French. Cassandre asked me if I knew the American national anthem, and of course I know Star Spangled Banner. Plus the Oklahoma state song, and the Texas state song...but the point was that the French aren't nearly as patriotic.
We also talked about religion -- how in France there are very few people who are actually practicants (sorry, using the French word cause I can't figure out a good translation.), and about how those who are practicants are either Catholic or Muslim. Cassandre's family does not practice a religion, and later Cassie told me that she doesn't feel comfortable in a church (when we were touring Amiens and went to the cathedral). Hmm...that might be interesting if she comes here...
After dinner we watched an old French film, and at ten o'clock I went up to my room, and Cassandre came with me. I don't know why, but I pulled out the book of Oklahoma pictures that I had brought as a host gift -- I hadn't figured out when I was going to give it to Cassandre -- and we sat down on the bed and looked at it. On Saturday and Sunday I hadn't known whether or not Cassandre liked me, and I thought that she didn't. But that night, loking at the photos, sititing on the bed together...we talked a little bit, in English I admit, but it didn't matter, and she told me that she really wants to live in the U.S. and that she thinks Oklahoma is more beautiful than the Picardie region where she lives. I think that they are both beautiful, but differently -- Oklahoma is more red, Picardie more green. In Picardie, the towns and buildings are old and that is beauty. In Oklahoma the old beauty is in the land. Everything in Oklahoma is red, even the people. In the Choctaw language, Oklahoma means red people.
Through talking and looking at the book, I found that even if I do not understand French as well as I thought, even if I'm not as fun to be around as Melissa, even if Cassandre and I never completely click, we are friends.
Then I wrote in my journal and went to bed. It was so odd, to go back to daily tasks after a moment that I felt was so important....
Saturday, June 13, 2009
France Trip: May 30
May 30
Cassandre woke me up at 6:45, and I took a shower, though I did knock down the shower rod and have to put it back up...embarrassing...
I went downstairs and ate a little bit of breakfast -- some Chocapics cereal with milk.
I arrived at school with Cassandre, and we said hello to everyone -- I got used to the kiss on each cheek really quickly, simply because I had to do it so often! I talked a little bit to the other girls (and Pierre, the only boy in his class). A teacher told us to all go to a small room where there was pain au chocolat, coffee, and orange juice.
We ate, the French formally welcome us, and I listened to the kids at my table talking. Apparently I wasn't listening very attentively because I didn't hear everything that Elodie said when she then asked if I knew she was a girl. I just heard that end part, and I think I jumped a little bit, or something that showed my surprise, because Elodie looked shocked, too. She then asked me if I understood in general, and I told her sometimes. (If you aren't paying attention, it's easy to think that Elodie is a boy, which is why this all started in the first place.)
After we took photos of everyone together, the French kids went to class and the deputy head gave us a tour of the school. It is both a professional and a general high school, so we saw both parts as well as the library. The deputy head spoke to us in English, and Madame said, "Imagine our principal. First of all, he would not speak in French, and second of all, the French kids wouldn't understand his English!" Which is true.
We then went to French class with our partners, where they were studying a parody of Homer written by Marivaux. I understood the class well; it was my first taste of literary analysis in French.
Then we went to an exhibition about WWI that focused on comic books about the war. It was interesting, and I think I understood most of what I read.
Pierre, Melissa (called Micha by the French kids), Elodie, Cassandre, Alison, Jeanne, D-D (short for Audrey), and I all went to E. LeClerc, a supermarket, to buy our lunch -- a sandwich, chips, and a drink. I bought a ham and butter sandwich and potato chips. We all went to a park, where we sat on some steps, ate, and talked. Everyone said that Melissa was very fun, and all the French kids loved her. Jeanne and I were the shyer ones of the group. My advantage was my French -- I speak bettter than both Jeanne and Melissa, and I also understand better; therefore, I could serve as translator. Soon, Jeanne and Melissa were asking me for translations, and sometimes the French kids were asking me, too -- they asked either Cassandre, the best at English among them, or me.
After lunch, we all went to a bar and sat in a small back room. I didn't get anything to drink, and Jeanne only got a strawberry lemonade, but all the French kids got alcohol. It's legal in France to buy very weak alcohol at the age of 16, so that's what they were drinking. At the bar, we met Alison's boyfriend and his friend. Some of the French kids went out to smoke -- they smoke a lot! -- and Melissa went with them. She says she's used to cigarette smoke, as both her father and her step-father smoke constantly.
Elodie, Cassandre, Pierrot (that's Pierre's nickname), Melissa, and I were all going to Amiens that afternoon, so we went to the train station to buy tickets. However, the train was going to be two hours late, so we hung outside the station for two hours, talking and eating (and smoking in the case of the French kids). Finally the train arrived, so we told everyone goodbye and the five of us got on the train and left. On the train, there was this annoying little boy running back and forth; he kept pressing the buttons to open the doors, and he would just run the whole length of two cars, again and again. His mother had no control over him at all.
In Amiens, we shopped. I don't like shopping too much, but it was fun just to hang out with this group. Melissa bought a dress, Pierrot bought a t-shirt, and Cassandre bought a blouse. Then we went to eat at...McDonald's. They call it McDo's. I don't know what Madame would think, but that's where the French kids took us. After eating, we took the bus (and then walked for what seemed like ages) to the bowling building. There we met another girl from the class, Perrine, and the biology teacher.
I fail at bowling.
The first game, Elodie won easily and I only got a total score of 20. The biology teacher, who was playing for the first time, played very well and got second. He and Melissa tried to help me, though I'm not sure it completely worked. I did get better as the game went on...Melissa and I taught the teacher the difference between a strike and a spare. During the game, sometims the French would go outside to smoke, but somehow they almost always came back right before it was their turn...
They also drank the cocktails sold at the bar in the building. Melissa enjoyed taking sips of everyone else's drinks...
The second game was won easily by the teacher, and I ended with a total score of 29. Grr, my goal was 30.
After, Elodie and Perrine left, then Pierrot and Melissa left with Pierrot's mother. The teacher told me that I'm terrible at bowling and good at French, though I know that I'm not nearly as good as I thought I was before this trip. Also, I found out that Cassandre told Pierrot about me -- stuff that I'd written in some of my letters to her. He knew that Papa is a math professor and that I love math, and that sometimes I travel just for the sake of riding roller coasters.
Then Cassandre and I went home; the biology teacher drove us to Cassandre's apartment.
Cassandre woke me up at 6:45, and I took a shower, though I did knock down the shower rod and have to put it back up...embarrassing...
I went downstairs and ate a little bit of breakfast -- some Chocapics cereal with milk.
I arrived at school with Cassandre, and we said hello to everyone -- I got used to the kiss on each cheek really quickly, simply because I had to do it so often! I talked a little bit to the other girls (and Pierre, the only boy in his class). A teacher told us to all go to a small room where there was pain au chocolat, coffee, and orange juice.
We ate, the French formally welcome us, and I listened to the kids at my table talking. Apparently I wasn't listening very attentively because I didn't hear everything that Elodie said when she then asked if I knew she was a girl. I just heard that end part, and I think I jumped a little bit, or something that showed my surprise, because Elodie looked shocked, too. She then asked me if I understood in general, and I told her sometimes. (If you aren't paying attention, it's easy to think that Elodie is a boy, which is why this all started in the first place.)
After we took photos of everyone together, the French kids went to class and the deputy head gave us a tour of the school. It is both a professional and a general high school, so we saw both parts as well as the library. The deputy head spoke to us in English, and Madame said, "Imagine our principal. First of all, he would not speak in French, and second of all, the French kids wouldn't understand his English!" Which is true.
We then went to French class with our partners, where they were studying a parody of Homer written by Marivaux. I understood the class well; it was my first taste of literary analysis in French.
Then we went to an exhibition about WWI that focused on comic books about the war. It was interesting, and I think I understood most of what I read.
Pierre, Melissa (called Micha by the French kids), Elodie, Cassandre, Alison, Jeanne, D-D (short for Audrey), and I all went to E. LeClerc, a supermarket, to buy our lunch -- a sandwich, chips, and a drink. I bought a ham and butter sandwich and potato chips. We all went to a park, where we sat on some steps, ate, and talked. Everyone said that Melissa was very fun, and all the French kids loved her. Jeanne and I were the shyer ones of the group. My advantage was my French -- I speak bettter than both Jeanne and Melissa, and I also understand better; therefore, I could serve as translator. Soon, Jeanne and Melissa were asking me for translations, and sometimes the French kids were asking me, too -- they asked either Cassandre, the best at English among them, or me.
After lunch, we all went to a bar and sat in a small back room. I didn't get anything to drink, and Jeanne only got a strawberry lemonade, but all the French kids got alcohol. It's legal in France to buy very weak alcohol at the age of 16, so that's what they were drinking. At the bar, we met Alison's boyfriend and his friend. Some of the French kids went out to smoke -- they smoke a lot! -- and Melissa went with them. She says she's used to cigarette smoke, as both her father and her step-father smoke constantly.
Elodie, Cassandre, Pierrot (that's Pierre's nickname), Melissa, and I were all going to Amiens that afternoon, so we went to the train station to buy tickets. However, the train was going to be two hours late, so we hung outside the station for two hours, talking and eating (and smoking in the case of the French kids). Finally the train arrived, so we told everyone goodbye and the five of us got on the train and left. On the train, there was this annoying little boy running back and forth; he kept pressing the buttons to open the doors, and he would just run the whole length of two cars, again and again. His mother had no control over him at all.
In Amiens, we shopped. I don't like shopping too much, but it was fun just to hang out with this group. Melissa bought a dress, Pierrot bought a t-shirt, and Cassandre bought a blouse. Then we went to eat at...McDonald's. They call it McDo's. I don't know what Madame would think, but that's where the French kids took us. After eating, we took the bus (and then walked for what seemed like ages) to the bowling building. There we met another girl from the class, Perrine, and the biology teacher.
I fail at bowling.
The first game, Elodie won easily and I only got a total score of 20. The biology teacher, who was playing for the first time, played very well and got second. He and Melissa tried to help me, though I'm not sure it completely worked. I did get better as the game went on...Melissa and I taught the teacher the difference between a strike and a spare. During the game, sometims the French would go outside to smoke, but somehow they almost always came back right before it was their turn...
They also drank the cocktails sold at the bar in the building. Melissa enjoyed taking sips of everyone else's drinks...
The second game was won easily by the teacher, and I ended with a total score of 29. Grr, my goal was 30.
After, Elodie and Perrine left, then Pierrot and Melissa left with Pierrot's mother. The teacher told me that I'm terrible at bowling and good at French, though I know that I'm not nearly as good as I thought I was before this trip. Also, I found out that Cassandre told Pierrot about me -- stuff that I'd written in some of my letters to her. He knew that Papa is a math professor and that I love math, and that sometimes I travel just for the sake of riding roller coasters.
Then Cassandre and I went home; the biology teacher drove us to Cassandre's apartment.
Friday, June 12, 2009
France Trip Part 1
Translating my journal into English. The dates given are the dates for the days described in the entry.
Pre-trip
There are 6 of us going to France: Cate, Jeanne, Stephanie, Melissa, Madame, and me. Cate and Jeanne are sisters, as are Stephanie and Melissa. Stephanie and Melissa are Ecuadorian. Cate just graduated, Stephanie is a rising senior, Jeanne and Melissa are rising juniors, and I'm a rising sophomore. I was the baby of the group by two years and the only one who could not legally buy alcohol in France, not that I would have wanted to.
We did an 8 day homestay with kids from a school in a town about 40 minutes away from Amiens, in La Somme in Picardy. Then we spent 2 or 3 days in Bayeux, Lisieux, and Caen, which are in Normandy, during the d-day celebrations. Finally, went to Paris for 3 days.
May 29
I couldn't sleep on the plane yesterday/today because it was too cold, so I rested more than I slept. The supper on the plane last night was pasta with bread, salad, and a brownie. There was also water in a box. For breakfast this morning we were given bagels and orange juice.
The airplane landed on time, at 1:15. We got our bags and took the RER (a faster version of the metro that goes farther out into the suburbs) to the North Station. We left our bags at consignment and then went to Paris. We saw the St. Michel fountain, Notre Dame, St. Severin church, and also the oldest church in Paris whose name I have forgotten. Oh, and the modern art fountain.
On the RER, we were all taking photos of each other, and an accordion player came on the train, so we took pictures of him.
At the Gare du Nord, I payed for the consignment because I was the only one with euros; my grandparents had given my 45 (thank you!) euros, and we hadn't been to a BNP atm yet, so we hadn't withdrawn any money.
After visiting the churches, we ate lunch/supper at a crepe place on rue Cluny. I think I ate at that same restaurant with my family five years ago...anyway. Everyone drank either Perrier or flat water, except for Cate who also had cider. We all ordered crepes as follows:
Madame: La Flamande. Umm...I forget what's in this.
Stephanie: Ham and cheese crepe.
Melissa: Le Californien. Steak with an egg on top and then a crepe with I don't know what in it.
Cate: A chocolate crepe with whipped cream on top.
Jeanne: A chocolate crepe.
Me: La Maison, which has ham, cheese, and mushrooms.
At the restaurant, we saw a man who was giving bits of crepe to birds that came right up to his hand...
Then finally we found a BNP (Bank National de Paris...we were looking for one of these because with Bank of America there is no fee to withdraw money at a BNP).
Then we went to Notre Dame de Paris. Those rose windows are amazing...one is more blue and one is more purple. And the huge chandeliers! But they aren't as big as I thought they were five years ago. While we were there, mass began, so we toured Notre Dame while listening to mass, which I didn't understand at all.
Outside of Notre Dame is the point zero of Paris -- whenver a distance is measured to Paris, it is measured to that point zero. We all took a picture with our heads together on the star that makes the point zero. Then we went to an English language bookstore where struggling writers in Paris are allowed to stay; the bookstore is called Shakespeare and Company. I bought a book of short stories by James Thurber; I think there might be a few stories in there that I could do for prose in speech next year. I saw the beds with typewriters and desks and beds, and of course books everywhere!
We went back to the North Station and quickly bought something to eat, since we didn't expect our families to feed us when we got to their homes near 11:00 pm. We almost missed our train because we had to get all our large bags on, but we did make it. However, by the time I got to eat it, because I'd been holding it for so long while we tried to get the bags on the train in such a hurry, my Toblerone was very melted and difficult to eat. I did almost nothing during that train ride, just sat and nibbled on chocolate.
In Amiens, our partners greeted us: the French/Latin teacher, the English teacher, and Cassandre and her mother! (Cassandre was my host sister.) We went to the high school in two cars; Stephanie, Melissa, and I went with Cassandre and her mother. Melissa and Stephanie asked me while I wasn't talking much when I spoke French so well, and I told them it was because I was shy. Neither one of them understood -- they're both very outgoing, especially Melissa.
We talked a bit with Cassandre and her mother in English. We talked about the high school, the town, and our ages, as well as the other kids from the high school who were hosting us.
Melissa and Stephanie met their partners. Melissa's partner was Pierre Remi, and Stephanie's partner was Charlotte. Then the other car arrived, so Cate and Jeanne met Noemie and Alison.
We all left to go home, and right as we left Madame and I pointed out that it had been 24 hours since we had met up at the airport at home.
Cassandre lives in an apartment. I had what is normally Cassandre's room, and she slept in her sister's room. I took pictures later on. The apartment is not exceptional, but it is small and pretty.
Cassandre and I ate pizza, and I met all of the family -- her sister Ophelie, her mother Reine Marie, and her father Charles.
Then I went to sleep. I think I cried a bit...I was too shy to talk, and I feared that Cassandre thought I couldn't speak French well. I knew that I didn't understand nearly as well as I thought I would -- I had never heard French go that fast, and I wasn't used to the teenage slang way of talking.
Pre-trip
There are 6 of us going to France: Cate, Jeanne, Stephanie, Melissa, Madame, and me. Cate and Jeanne are sisters, as are Stephanie and Melissa. Stephanie and Melissa are Ecuadorian. Cate just graduated, Stephanie is a rising senior, Jeanne and Melissa are rising juniors, and I'm a rising sophomore. I was the baby of the group by two years and the only one who could not legally buy alcohol in France, not that I would have wanted to.
We did an 8 day homestay with kids from a school in a town about 40 minutes away from Amiens, in La Somme in Picardy. Then we spent 2 or 3 days in Bayeux, Lisieux, and Caen, which are in Normandy, during the d-day celebrations. Finally, went to Paris for 3 days.
May 29
I couldn't sleep on the plane yesterday/today because it was too cold, so I rested more than I slept. The supper on the plane last night was pasta with bread, salad, and a brownie. There was also water in a box. For breakfast this morning we were given bagels and orange juice.
The airplane landed on time, at 1:15. We got our bags and took the RER (a faster version of the metro that goes farther out into the suburbs) to the North Station. We left our bags at consignment and then went to Paris. We saw the St. Michel fountain, Notre Dame, St. Severin church, and also the oldest church in Paris whose name I have forgotten. Oh, and the modern art fountain.
On the RER, we were all taking photos of each other, and an accordion player came on the train, so we took pictures of him.
At the Gare du Nord, I payed for the consignment because I was the only one with euros; my grandparents had given my 45 (thank you!) euros, and we hadn't been to a BNP atm yet, so we hadn't withdrawn any money.
After visiting the churches, we ate lunch/supper at a crepe place on rue Cluny. I think I ate at that same restaurant with my family five years ago...anyway. Everyone drank either Perrier or flat water, except for Cate who also had cider. We all ordered crepes as follows:
Madame: La Flamande. Umm...I forget what's in this.
Stephanie: Ham and cheese crepe.
Melissa: Le Californien. Steak with an egg on top and then a crepe with I don't know what in it.
Cate: A chocolate crepe with whipped cream on top.
Jeanne: A chocolate crepe.
Me: La Maison, which has ham, cheese, and mushrooms.
At the restaurant, we saw a man who was giving bits of crepe to birds that came right up to his hand...
Then finally we found a BNP (Bank National de Paris...we were looking for one of these because with Bank of America there is no fee to withdraw money at a BNP).
Then we went to Notre Dame de Paris. Those rose windows are amazing...one is more blue and one is more purple. And the huge chandeliers! But they aren't as big as I thought they were five years ago. While we were there, mass began, so we toured Notre Dame while listening to mass, which I didn't understand at all.
Outside of Notre Dame is the point zero of Paris -- whenver a distance is measured to Paris, it is measured to that point zero. We all took a picture with our heads together on the star that makes the point zero. Then we went to an English language bookstore where struggling writers in Paris are allowed to stay; the bookstore is called Shakespeare and Company. I bought a book of short stories by James Thurber; I think there might be a few stories in there that I could do for prose in speech next year. I saw the beds with typewriters and desks and beds, and of course books everywhere!
We went back to the North Station and quickly bought something to eat, since we didn't expect our families to feed us when we got to their homes near 11:00 pm. We almost missed our train because we had to get all our large bags on, but we did make it. However, by the time I got to eat it, because I'd been holding it for so long while we tried to get the bags on the train in such a hurry, my Toblerone was very melted and difficult to eat. I did almost nothing during that train ride, just sat and nibbled on chocolate.
In Amiens, our partners greeted us: the French/Latin teacher, the English teacher, and Cassandre and her mother! (Cassandre was my host sister.) We went to the high school in two cars; Stephanie, Melissa, and I went with Cassandre and her mother. Melissa and Stephanie asked me while I wasn't talking much when I spoke French so well, and I told them it was because I was shy. Neither one of them understood -- they're both very outgoing, especially Melissa.
We talked a bit with Cassandre and her mother in English. We talked about the high school, the town, and our ages, as well as the other kids from the high school who were hosting us.
Melissa and Stephanie met their partners. Melissa's partner was Pierre Remi, and Stephanie's partner was Charlotte. Then the other car arrived, so Cate and Jeanne met Noemie and Alison.
We all left to go home, and right as we left Madame and I pointed out that it had been 24 hours since we had met up at the airport at home.
Cassandre lives in an apartment. I had what is normally Cassandre's room, and she slept in her sister's room. I took pictures later on. The apartment is not exceptional, but it is small and pretty.
Cassandre and I ate pizza, and I met all of the family -- her sister Ophelie, her mother Reine Marie, and her father Charles.
Then I went to sleep. I think I cried a bit...I was too shy to talk, and I feared that Cassandre thought I couldn't speak French well. I knew that I didn't understand nearly as well as I thought I would -- I had never heard French go that fast, and I wasn't used to the teenage slang way of talking.
I'm Home
...and experiencing jet lag.
Pictures from France coming soon, as well as descriptions, which I think will be the English translations of my journal entries from the past two weeks.
Pictures from France coming soon, as well as descriptions, which I think will be the English translations of my journal entries from the past two weeks.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Freshman Year
I'm leaving for France at 5:15 today, and I ought to be packing or something like that, but instead I'm here, because I wanted to post this.
As of Tuesday at 2:56 pm central daylight time, I officially survived my freshman year and first year of being at a public school.
*applause*
Major events this year:
First day -- I was nervous, I tried to blow off the fact that I was a freshman and it didn't work, and my chemistry teacher intimidated me by comparing me to an absolutely amazing girl she taught three or four years before, who won lots of awards and whom I greatly admire.
September-ish -- Academic Team starts. Thank goodness. We start with Hayden, John, Blake, Abel, and me. We soon end up with Hayden, John, Erick, and me, with Colton and Ian as alternates.
October 10th -- I fail at pipetting in chem class. I carry the knowledge that in chemistry I feel like I can do anything but pipet for the rest of the year.
October-ish -- First Academic Team competition. We win our first game by forfeit when one of the other schools doesn't show. We lose the other two games by a lot.
Some dates I have forgotten -- my French teacher tells me on the way home (I have private lessons with her at my house twice per week) that at a conference she was at, a Spanish teacher argued that 9th graders couldn't learn grammar in a foreign language, and that my Spanish teacher said that she had a 9th grader who is better at grammar than most of her 11th and 12th graders. I'm the only 9th grader in her class.
My chem teacher starts considering me as one of her studs, or best students. I'm not really sure how this happens, but it does. I'm not complaining.
The other kids in my calculus class figure out that I'm the one who has a 113 point something in that class.
Kids in Chem class talk to me. Kids in Calc class stop ignoring me, though they don't start talking to me yet.
November 1 -- NaNo starts, and there is a Fine Arts Academic Meet. I NaNo on the way to the meet, especially during our stop at McDonalds. I don't get much done because I'm talking to the others. We win our first game by 50, I think. Then we lose our next three games by quite a lot.
November 23 -- I win my Spanish NaNo, Mil Voces. Hooray!
November 27 -- Over Thanksgiving break, I win my English NaNo, Memory. *celebrates*
November 29 -- Still over Thanksgiving break, I win my French NaNo, Le Mouton. I am very proud of this. It is probably terrible, but it is by far the longest thing I have ever written in French, and it proves I can actually come up with a decent story line in French. Well, kind of.
December-ish -- An Academic Meet. We lose, we win, and lose some more...we barely make the single elimination tournament and we lose. That's okay, because we made the DEs, when we didn't think we would. However, we get stuck waiting at On the Border and are late for the DEs, but that's okay because the other team was late, too.
September - December -- Nutcracker auditions, rehearsals, performances. I'm a soldier. It's okay. My last year of Nutcracker. Sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating, sometimes impossible. I will miss doing homework on the steps of Par Terre by the lights on the arm rests at the ends of the rows during rehearsals...in that darkness lit by little bits of orange, just light enough to do my chemistry...
December -- School Scholastic Team Tests. This was to qualify for the team that could go to competitions in the spring. I took the Calculus test, the Chem 2 test, and the French 3/AP test. I got 1st in Calc, 1st in French, and didn't place in Chem. But that meant I'd made the team, so hooray!
January-ish -- Final Academic Meet. It was districts, a double elimination tournament. We win, and then we lose twice, but it's close all three times. The team improved a lot this year...no blowout losses at our last tournament. I can't wait for next year!
February 7 -- My first speech tournament. I perform "Why Lapin's Tail is Short" -- prose. I break to semifinals, getting first in my prelim room. Then I get a 3rd place, a 5th place, and a 6th place in my semifinal room and do not break.
February sometime -- American Mathematics Competition 12. I get a 94.5. I would have gotten a 100.5 had I gotten the other end of the interval right on that problem...I was so close!
American Mathematics Competitition 10. I get a 126 and qualify for AIME. I definitely could have gotten a 132. Oh well, AIME was what mattered.
February 28th -- My second speech tournament. Again, prose. The same piece. I get second in my prelim room, which is disappointing, but I still make semis. I get a 3rd place, a 4th place, and a 1st place in my semifinal room (what did judge-1st place see that judge-4th place didn't?). I make finals...but am thirty minutes late to them. Ick. When I get there I'm out of breath, terrified, and mad at myself. This is not a good environment in which to perform, and I have to do so immediately. I get 5th place overall, and the first four advanced to regionals. Grr. So close.
March 25th -- Local Chemistry Olympiad Exam. I come out estimating my score as a 42 out of 60. I don't think I'll ever know what I got, but I think I did better than that, because...(see April 14th)
March 26th -- The one and only Scholastic Team meet that I was able to attend. They didn't have either of the events I had qualified in, so I took Modern Mathematics (cumulative up through pre-calc, judging by the test) and Spelling. I came out thinking I'd done really well on Modern Mathematics. Even though everything could be done with pre-calc, calculus simplified some of it. There was a limit on there that was the formal definition of the derivative, so instead of doing the limit of blahblahblah I just took the derivative of the function. *grins* Also, I couldn't remember how to find the vertex of a parabola, so I took the derivative of the function, set it equal to zero, found the critical point, and knew that was the vertex. I found out later that I got 1st in Modern Mathematics. In spelling, I came out not sure of how I'd done...I'm good at spelling, but seeing incorrect spellings that are close to correct throws me off -- I won't be doing that test again next year. But I later found out that, despite this, I had gotten 3rd! Hmm.
April 1st -- I take AIME. It goes okay, not great. I think I was easily capable of getting a 5, I thought I got a 4, but it turns out I got a 3. *head/desk* I changed a right answer, because I thought I'd messed up a sign...who knows. But still, I'm pleased.
April 14th -- ...I found out that I qualified for National Chem Olympiad! I was in the cafeteria with my speech class, and I was practicing my Standard Oratory about Malapropism. Then I see my chemistry teacher walking toward me, her hands stretched out, grinning. I'm confused for a minute, and then I realize. And I think I dropped down to a squat? It was just amazing. I made it, and a boy whom I totally did not expect to make it did. We were two of the ten.
Plus, it was my birthday. That's a pretty awesome present if you ask me.
April 25th -- National Chem Olypmiad. I was nervous about the lab section, and that was the part that went the worst, though I should have done better than I did. MUCH better. Oh well. I didn't even think I would make it this year; I just wanted to practice the local exam so that I could make National next year. Hmm. But anyway, it went fine, except for the lab I was pleased, and I met cool people. The nine of us (only nine of ten showed up) all had lunch together -- pizza. The proctor also ate with us. We talked about school, AP tests, the exam we had just taken...and I made two friends, Jeff and Georgia.
April-ish -- I performed my Standard Oratory on Malapropism (in speech class; tournaments were long over). My teacher said that it was a very professional delivery and that I should perform it at tournaments next year, but that I don't need to walk so much! (I probably should have asked him about the walking...It was the one thing that had been bothering me ever since I started doing the piece).
April or May ish -- School awards ceremony. For every course offered in the school, one award is given out. I got the Pre-AP English 1, AP French, Pre-AP Spanish, and AP Calculus awards. I was especially happy about the Pre-AP English 1 and Pre-AP Spanish awards. English because that meant that the essay I had written earlier for this award (since multiple teachers have Pre-AP English 1, they had each teacher nominate one and then those kids wrote essays) had been good enough, even though I had summarized the literary work I used as an examble when I knew I needn't do that. And Spanish because I really didn't expect it -- I never go to the conversation times at a local coffee shop (I can't! I have fencing! It's always on Thursdays and that's epee night.), I'm not extremely talkative in class...I participate, I write good essays(and the longest ones in the class), and I do translate well when we read stories (though I dislike translation), but I didn't think I was the best...So I was happy. Plus, I got an award for having a 4.0 GPA or higher, and I got 4 scholastic team awards (one for getting 1st in the school in calculus, one for getting 1st in the school in French 3/AP, one for getting 1st at a meet in Modern Mathematics, and one for getting 3rd at a meet in Spelling).
May 4 -- AP French exam. Turns out there was an international problem with the listening CD...that didn't bother me. (Meaning that I didn't retake that part of the test later) Listening went well, reading went well, especially the articles because I'd read articles on those topics before. I liked the writing -- the grammar fill in the blank seemed easy and the essay topic wasn't too hard. Then there was the speaking. My first recording device failed, but my second one worked, thank goodness. Then the question off of the series of pictures went terribly...*shudders*. But I think I did well on the compare/contrast picture. I got some good vocab and good structures in on that one, and I didn't feel myself pausing and thinking on the spot nearly as much.
May 6 -- AP Calculus. Multiple choice went fine, Free response went fine...until problem 6, which I absolutely failed. And shouldn't have, because Taylor series aren't that hard. I hope my BC subscore doesn't suffer too much because of that problem...
May 11 -- Chem Olympiad Awards Ceremony at a local American Chem Society meeting. This wasn't that notable except that it was held at the science and math school, and I got to talk to one of the seniors there who has done research, and I got to hang out with Georgia and her mom and teacher again. Plus, it was the night before the AP Chem exam, which all of us thought ironic.
May 12 -- AP Chem test. Multiple choice went fine. Free response went fine, though I think on almost every frq I left a part blank. I might have messed up a couple of things, but I did fine with the torr and I did fine with the fractional rate law -- both of which lots of teachers are complaining about on the Electronic Discussion Group. So I think I did fine overall.
May 21 -- First day of finals. Chem final was easy enough, and I finished with a 100 point something in the class -- the highest grade in my hour, which was astonishing because I was sure that would be someone else. In English, the part of the test about Tale of Two Cities was easy, but then the literary devices part was based off of quotes -- half of which included similes. I was a bit annoyed -- does this one want simile, or should I be looking for something else? And is this imagery, or simile, because the simile is enhancing the imagery...
...Maybe I was thinking too hard. I don't know.
On the Calc test, I did okay, though I learned that study guides should be worked, not just reviewed, especially when you have nice teachers who will give you tests that are exactly like the study guide. It wasn't that I didn't use the study guide...I'd looked at it and said "I know how to do that, and that, and that..." I wasn't the only one, at least. But one of the few, which was annoying. Everyone else finished the test in 10 minutes and it took me 30 because I had to work the problems. That isn't happening again.
May 26 -- Second day of finals and last day of school. I went to school in a dress because my speech piece (With four other girls) was Pageant, about a beauty pageant. I was a weird awkward character. I didn't like this play very much, but I lived through it. Our performance mostly went smoothly, except near the beginning, but I think we pulled everything off all right. Then the written part of the test was extremely easy. Watched other people perform, watched Stardust...yeah. Easy final.
French was also incredibly easy, and the teacher gave extra credit for finding any typos she had made. I got a 104%.
Spanish...I was nervous about this one. The final was a conversation with the teacher for 4-6 minutes, and we weren't really sure how it was going to work. Plus, I'm shy. But it went really well. Everyone coming out (I was second to last) said that the time went by quickly and she just asked questions that you answered, and they were right. I got a 10/10 and finished with a 99.42 in the class. While someone else was talking the teacher, the rest of us played hangman in Spanish, bounced a balloon around, and talked.
There was one girl in the class who had an A sitting on the verge of becoming a B, and I helped her calculate what she would need on the final to keep her A. Based on her guess at her score on the final, she just barely lost the A. But after everyone was finished and the teacher came back in to put stuff in the grade book, she noticed that this girl's extra credit hadn't been put in! Then the teacher started calling everyone up to see their semester grade. When she called this girl's name, the girl said, "Yes?" so quietly, and the teacher said, "Do you want me to read it?" The girl nodded, and the teacher did, and it was just barely an A. I think it's been a while since I was that happy for someone else.
So those were the highlights of my freshman year...I left out some things, like moving up in fencing, and not being able to go on my church's spring break mission trip, but I think I got most things.
And I leave for France in 6 hours!
As of Tuesday at 2:56 pm central daylight time, I officially survived my freshman year and first year of being at a public school.
*applause*
Major events this year:
First day -- I was nervous, I tried to blow off the fact that I was a freshman and it didn't work, and my chemistry teacher intimidated me by comparing me to an absolutely amazing girl she taught three or four years before, who won lots of awards and whom I greatly admire.
September-ish -- Academic Team starts. Thank goodness. We start with Hayden, John, Blake, Abel, and me. We soon end up with Hayden, John, Erick, and me, with Colton and Ian as alternates.
October 10th -- I fail at pipetting in chem class. I carry the knowledge that in chemistry I feel like I can do anything but pipet for the rest of the year.
October-ish -- First Academic Team competition. We win our first game by forfeit when one of the other schools doesn't show. We lose the other two games by a lot.
Some dates I have forgotten -- my French teacher tells me on the way home (I have private lessons with her at my house twice per week) that at a conference she was at, a Spanish teacher argued that 9th graders couldn't learn grammar in a foreign language, and that my Spanish teacher said that she had a 9th grader who is better at grammar than most of her 11th and 12th graders. I'm the only 9th grader in her class.
My chem teacher starts considering me as one of her studs, or best students. I'm not really sure how this happens, but it does. I'm not complaining.
The other kids in my calculus class figure out that I'm the one who has a 113 point something in that class.
Kids in Chem class talk to me. Kids in Calc class stop ignoring me, though they don't start talking to me yet.
November 1 -- NaNo starts, and there is a Fine Arts Academic Meet. I NaNo on the way to the meet, especially during our stop at McDonalds. I don't get much done because I'm talking to the others. We win our first game by 50, I think. Then we lose our next three games by quite a lot.
November 23 -- I win my Spanish NaNo, Mil Voces. Hooray!
November 27 -- Over Thanksgiving break, I win my English NaNo, Memory. *celebrates*
November 29 -- Still over Thanksgiving break, I win my French NaNo, Le Mouton. I am very proud of this. It is probably terrible, but it is by far the longest thing I have ever written in French, and it proves I can actually come up with a decent story line in French. Well, kind of.
December-ish -- An Academic Meet. We lose, we win, and lose some more...we barely make the single elimination tournament and we lose. That's okay, because we made the DEs, when we didn't think we would. However, we get stuck waiting at On the Border and are late for the DEs, but that's okay because the other team was late, too.
September - December -- Nutcracker auditions, rehearsals, performances. I'm a soldier. It's okay. My last year of Nutcracker. Sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating, sometimes impossible. I will miss doing homework on the steps of Par Terre by the lights on the arm rests at the ends of the rows during rehearsals...in that darkness lit by little bits of orange, just light enough to do my chemistry...
December -- School Scholastic Team Tests. This was to qualify for the team that could go to competitions in the spring. I took the Calculus test, the Chem 2 test, and the French 3/AP test. I got 1st in Calc, 1st in French, and didn't place in Chem. But that meant I'd made the team, so hooray!
January-ish -- Final Academic Meet. It was districts, a double elimination tournament. We win, and then we lose twice, but it's close all three times. The team improved a lot this year...no blowout losses at our last tournament. I can't wait for next year!
February 7 -- My first speech tournament. I perform "Why Lapin's Tail is Short" -- prose. I break to semifinals, getting first in my prelim room. Then I get a 3rd place, a 5th place, and a 6th place in my semifinal room and do not break.
February sometime -- American Mathematics Competition 12. I get a 94.5. I would have gotten a 100.5 had I gotten the other end of the interval right on that problem...I was so close!
American Mathematics Competitition 10. I get a 126 and qualify for AIME. I definitely could have gotten a 132. Oh well, AIME was what mattered.
February 28th -- My second speech tournament. Again, prose. The same piece. I get second in my prelim room, which is disappointing, but I still make semis. I get a 3rd place, a 4th place, and a 1st place in my semifinal room (what did judge-1st place see that judge-4th place didn't?). I make finals...but am thirty minutes late to them. Ick. When I get there I'm out of breath, terrified, and mad at myself. This is not a good environment in which to perform, and I have to do so immediately. I get 5th place overall, and the first four advanced to regionals. Grr. So close.
March 25th -- Local Chemistry Olympiad Exam. I come out estimating my score as a 42 out of 60. I don't think I'll ever know what I got, but I think I did better than that, because...(see April 14th)
March 26th -- The one and only Scholastic Team meet that I was able to attend. They didn't have either of the events I had qualified in, so I took Modern Mathematics (cumulative up through pre-calc, judging by the test) and Spelling. I came out thinking I'd done really well on Modern Mathematics. Even though everything could be done with pre-calc, calculus simplified some of it. There was a limit on there that was the formal definition of the derivative, so instead of doing the limit of blahblahblah I just took the derivative of the function. *grins* Also, I couldn't remember how to find the vertex of a parabola, so I took the derivative of the function, set it equal to zero, found the critical point, and knew that was the vertex. I found out later that I got 1st in Modern Mathematics. In spelling, I came out not sure of how I'd done...I'm good at spelling, but seeing incorrect spellings that are close to correct throws me off -- I won't be doing that test again next year. But I later found out that, despite this, I had gotten 3rd! Hmm.
April 1st -- I take AIME. It goes okay, not great. I think I was easily capable of getting a 5, I thought I got a 4, but it turns out I got a 3. *head/desk* I changed a right answer, because I thought I'd messed up a sign...who knows. But still, I'm pleased.
April 14th -- ...I found out that I qualified for National Chem Olympiad! I was in the cafeteria with my speech class, and I was practicing my Standard Oratory about Malapropism. Then I see my chemistry teacher walking toward me, her hands stretched out, grinning. I'm confused for a minute, and then I realize. And I think I dropped down to a squat? It was just amazing. I made it, and a boy whom I totally did not expect to make it did. We were two of the ten.
Plus, it was my birthday. That's a pretty awesome present if you ask me.
April 25th -- National Chem Olypmiad. I was nervous about the lab section, and that was the part that went the worst, though I should have done better than I did. MUCH better. Oh well. I didn't even think I would make it this year; I just wanted to practice the local exam so that I could make National next year. Hmm. But anyway, it went fine, except for the lab I was pleased, and I met cool people. The nine of us (only nine of ten showed up) all had lunch together -- pizza. The proctor also ate with us. We talked about school, AP tests, the exam we had just taken...and I made two friends, Jeff and Georgia.
April-ish -- I performed my Standard Oratory on Malapropism (in speech class; tournaments were long over). My teacher said that it was a very professional delivery and that I should perform it at tournaments next year, but that I don't need to walk so much! (I probably should have asked him about the walking...It was the one thing that had been bothering me ever since I started doing the piece).
April or May ish -- School awards ceremony. For every course offered in the school, one award is given out. I got the Pre-AP English 1, AP French, Pre-AP Spanish, and AP Calculus awards. I was especially happy about the Pre-AP English 1 and Pre-AP Spanish awards. English because that meant that the essay I had written earlier for this award (since multiple teachers have Pre-AP English 1, they had each teacher nominate one and then those kids wrote essays) had been good enough, even though I had summarized the literary work I used as an examble when I knew I needn't do that. And Spanish because I really didn't expect it -- I never go to the conversation times at a local coffee shop (I can't! I have fencing! It's always on Thursdays and that's epee night.), I'm not extremely talkative in class...I participate, I write good essays(and the longest ones in the class), and I do translate well when we read stories (though I dislike translation), but I didn't think I was the best...So I was happy. Plus, I got an award for having a 4.0 GPA or higher, and I got 4 scholastic team awards (one for getting 1st in the school in calculus, one for getting 1st in the school in French 3/AP, one for getting 1st at a meet in Modern Mathematics, and one for getting 3rd at a meet in Spelling).
May 4 -- AP French exam. Turns out there was an international problem with the listening CD...that didn't bother me. (Meaning that I didn't retake that part of the test later) Listening went well, reading went well, especially the articles because I'd read articles on those topics before. I liked the writing -- the grammar fill in the blank seemed easy and the essay topic wasn't too hard. Then there was the speaking. My first recording device failed, but my second one worked, thank goodness. Then the question off of the series of pictures went terribly...*shudders*. But I think I did well on the compare/contrast picture. I got some good vocab and good structures in on that one, and I didn't feel myself pausing and thinking on the spot nearly as much.
May 6 -- AP Calculus. Multiple choice went fine, Free response went fine...until problem 6, which I absolutely failed. And shouldn't have, because Taylor series aren't that hard. I hope my BC subscore doesn't suffer too much because of that problem...
May 11 -- Chem Olympiad Awards Ceremony at a local American Chem Society meeting. This wasn't that notable except that it was held at the science and math school, and I got to talk to one of the seniors there who has done research, and I got to hang out with Georgia and her mom and teacher again. Plus, it was the night before the AP Chem exam, which all of us thought ironic.
May 12 -- AP Chem test. Multiple choice went fine. Free response went fine, though I think on almost every frq I left a part blank. I might have messed up a couple of things, but I did fine with the torr and I did fine with the fractional rate law -- both of which lots of teachers are complaining about on the Electronic Discussion Group. So I think I did fine overall.
May 21 -- First day of finals. Chem final was easy enough, and I finished with a 100 point something in the class -- the highest grade in my hour, which was astonishing because I was sure that would be someone else. In English, the part of the test about Tale of Two Cities was easy, but then the literary devices part was based off of quotes -- half of which included similes. I was a bit annoyed -- does this one want simile, or should I be looking for something else? And is this imagery, or simile, because the simile is enhancing the imagery...
...Maybe I was thinking too hard. I don't know.
On the Calc test, I did okay, though I learned that study guides should be worked, not just reviewed, especially when you have nice teachers who will give you tests that are exactly like the study guide. It wasn't that I didn't use the study guide...I'd looked at it and said "I know how to do that, and that, and that..." I wasn't the only one, at least. But one of the few, which was annoying. Everyone else finished the test in 10 minutes and it took me 30 because I had to work the problems. That isn't happening again.
May 26 -- Second day of finals and last day of school. I went to school in a dress because my speech piece (With four other girls) was Pageant, about a beauty pageant. I was a weird awkward character. I didn't like this play very much, but I lived through it. Our performance mostly went smoothly, except near the beginning, but I think we pulled everything off all right. Then the written part of the test was extremely easy. Watched other people perform, watched Stardust...yeah. Easy final.
French was also incredibly easy, and the teacher gave extra credit for finding any typos she had made. I got a 104%.
Spanish...I was nervous about this one. The final was a conversation with the teacher for 4-6 minutes, and we weren't really sure how it was going to work. Plus, I'm shy. But it went really well. Everyone coming out (I was second to last) said that the time went by quickly and she just asked questions that you answered, and they were right. I got a 10/10 and finished with a 99.42 in the class. While someone else was talking the teacher, the rest of us played hangman in Spanish, bounced a balloon around, and talked.
There was one girl in the class who had an A sitting on the verge of becoming a B, and I helped her calculate what she would need on the final to keep her A. Based on her guess at her score on the final, she just barely lost the A. But after everyone was finished and the teacher came back in to put stuff in the grade book, she noticed that this girl's extra credit hadn't been put in! Then the teacher started calling everyone up to see their semester grade. When she called this girl's name, the girl said, "Yes?" so quietly, and the teacher said, "Do you want me to read it?" The girl nodded, and the teacher did, and it was just barely an A. I think it's been a while since I was that happy for someone else.
So those were the highlights of my freshman year...I left out some things, like moving up in fencing, and not being able to go on my church's spring break mission trip, but I think I got most things.
And I leave for France in 6 hours!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Snow on the Redbuds
I know I haven't posted for a while, but the weather is so odd I had to post.
The redbuds have been in bloom for at least two weeks now, probably three. The pear trees bloomed in late February and earlier this month but are now all leaves, no blossoms.
And then today it snowed.
The snow looks normal on the evergreens; looking at one of the evergreens, it just looks like winter. But if you look at the pear trees, you see the little clumps of snow on these green leaves, and it looks odd, because that isn't the way it's supposed to be. When it snows, the pear trees are all sticks and pointy, not bushy and green.
Even better yet are the redbuds. Redbuds have thin, delicate looking branches, and very dark too, and then small pink-purple blossoms that hug tight to the body of the tree. Pictures online make the tree look bushy and out of control, and I don't know why, because that isn't what they're like. And seeing the snow on them, the stripe of snow on the north side of that dark trunk, and then the white contrasting against the magenta...it's beautiful, but it's also strange, because, as I said before, that isn't the way it's supposed to be. But maybe it is, because despite it looking so wrong, the colors and shapes look so right.
I think the problem with the pictures online of redbuds is that the tree's delicacy and the colors and the exquisiteness can't really be captured, unless you get very close in, and yet getting too close in doesn't let you see the tree.
And if the redbud as it is can't be captured, then the snowy redbud definitely can't be.
The redbuds have been in bloom for at least two weeks now, probably three. The pear trees bloomed in late February and earlier this month but are now all leaves, no blossoms.
And then today it snowed.
The snow looks normal on the evergreens; looking at one of the evergreens, it just looks like winter. But if you look at the pear trees, you see the little clumps of snow on these green leaves, and it looks odd, because that isn't the way it's supposed to be. When it snows, the pear trees are all sticks and pointy, not bushy and green.
Even better yet are the redbuds. Redbuds have thin, delicate looking branches, and very dark too, and then small pink-purple blossoms that hug tight to the body of the tree. Pictures online make the tree look bushy and out of control, and I don't know why, because that isn't what they're like. And seeing the snow on them, the stripe of snow on the north side of that dark trunk, and then the white contrasting against the magenta...it's beautiful, but it's also strange, because, as I said before, that isn't the way it's supposed to be. But maybe it is, because despite it looking so wrong, the colors and shapes look so right.
I think the problem with the pictures online of redbuds is that the tree's delicacy and the colors and the exquisiteness can't really be captured, unless you get very close in, and yet getting too close in doesn't let you see the tree.
And if the redbud as it is can't be captured, then the snowy redbud definitely can't be.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Speech Tournament Number Two
The last speech tournament of the year.
And my second one.
It's also the first one for a bunch of kids in my class...including two friends of mine who are doing a duet together.
The bus is going to be so crowded tomorrow. I would guess that between thirty and forty people from my school are going.
I already know that my first round is at ten o'clock, so I might go watch an eight o'clock round...except that it's a bit weird to watch a preliminary round, just in general. And the suggestion is that one practice and not go watch...but one also doesn't practice for an hour and a half or two hours solid.
However, perhaps one practices for forty-five minutes and does homework/socializes for forty-five minutes? It's possible.
Or I could always watch my friends practice their duet, because I think their first round is at ten o'clock, also...
Today after school I was talking to a friend of mine that was on Academic Team and is also in Advanced Speech, and he said that the senior who is Debate president at my school and has qualified for regionals in Domestic Extemp (DEX) and Poetry (PO) (with first places in both, and then with first places in Champs division in both) is glad that I'm coming. So I asked why, and my friend's response was, "He knows you're smart."
First of all, what does that have to do with anything? And second, how on earth did he find that out?
Of course, here I am talking to my friend, who probably told this other student. So...*shrugs*
I cannot believe it has been three weeks since the last tournament...can I have been this excited for the past three weeks? But it also seems like it was so long ago, because I've worked so much on the piece...
I hope I break to semis...I hope I break to finals...
And my second one.
It's also the first one for a bunch of kids in my class...including two friends of mine who are doing a duet together.
The bus is going to be so crowded tomorrow. I would guess that between thirty and forty people from my school are going.
I already know that my first round is at ten o'clock, so I might go watch an eight o'clock round...except that it's a bit weird to watch a preliminary round, just in general. And the suggestion is that one practice and not go watch...but one also doesn't practice for an hour and a half or two hours solid.
However, perhaps one practices for forty-five minutes and does homework/socializes for forty-five minutes? It's possible.
Or I could always watch my friends practice their duet, because I think their first round is at ten o'clock, also...
Today after school I was talking to a friend of mine that was on Academic Team and is also in Advanced Speech, and he said that the senior who is Debate president at my school and has qualified for regionals in Domestic Extemp (DEX) and Poetry (PO) (with first places in both, and then with first places in Champs division in both) is glad that I'm coming. So I asked why, and my friend's response was, "He knows you're smart."
First of all, what does that have to do with anything? And second, how on earth did he find that out?
Of course, here I am talking to my friend, who probably told this other student. So...*shrugs*
I cannot believe it has been three weeks since the last tournament...can I have been this excited for the past three weeks? But it also seems like it was so long ago, because I've worked so much on the piece...
I hope I break to semis...I hope I break to finals...
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