Its officially been one month and a day since I’ve been here! Time has really seemed to fly by and I know this year will go by way too quickly for me. Anyways, I’m gonna break this down into sections like some of the other Rotary kid’s did.. ok, here we go!

Toulouse: La ville rose could quite possibly be one of my new favorite cities. C’est trop beau!! There is lot’s to do and see and it is absolutely gorgeous! From good shopping, to museums, to restaurants galore, everything you could possibly imagine you can find here. It’s a big college town and it is filled with tons of students and it always seems to be busy at all times of the day. The shopping here is amazing.. any store you can think of, it’s probably here. The food is delicious.. what’s better than baguettes, nutella, and chocolate croissants? And the people are all soo friendly. I’m really enjoying living in the city and I love all the hustle and bustle of life here.. not like the suburbs of PA. When I grow up, I am definitely moving into a city.  

Home Sickness: I havn’t really been home sick yet, sorry to say parents and friends! Maybe it’s because I’m used to being away from home for periods of time or because I’ve been in Europe and France before so I knew what to expect? I don’t know what the reason is, but as of right now, I’m feeling pretty good! Also having skype and being able to email eachother is probably helpful too.. =]

Food: Baguettes, Nutella, Cheese, Wine, Fois Gras…Baguettes, Nutella, Cheese, Wine, Fois Gras…Baguettes, Nutella, Cheese, Wine, Fois Gras…Baguettes, Nutella, Cheese, Wine, Fois Gras…Baguettes, Nutella, Cheese, Wine, Fois Gras…

Weather: Up until this week, the temperatures have been sunny and warm everyday. However, it has finally started to feel like fall this week, unfortunatley! =[ I really don’t like cold weather so maybe next week will be better? I really hope so! The good thing though is that it is definitely warmer here in the winter than back home and they said that even with a little bit of snow they normally get off of school, soo thank god for that!!

Strikes: There seems to be un greve, or strike, here every week. My host dad was telling me that it is because the government is trying to raise the retirement age by a few years which people don’t seem to be very happy about. However, the one good thing about it is when there are strikes, usually we only have a few classes because teacher’s won’t show up for school. Unfortunaly because I go to Fermat, the teachers show up most of the time but I’ve heard that sometimes in other schools people don’t have to go to school at all.. lucky them!

Fashion: People here love their fashion..seriously! And I love looking at it! Everyone dresses amazingly well and I’m always soo impressed. I can’t wait to buy clothes here, although I believe it’s much more expensive here then back home.

Family: I LOVE them! They are all soo nice and very helpful! It’s hard for me to communicate with them in french but they are patient and very kind. I am with them until the 2nd of January where I will then switch into my second family. Btw, I met my 2nd and 3rd families this weekend who all seem amazing!! We went to my second families house, which is gorgeous, for some tasty appitizers and to meet one another. They all seem great and my second family even has a big dog ( kind of looks like a lab?) named Elvis. I’m soo happy about that b/c I miss my dog!

French: I feel like it’s getting easier to understand things but it is soo soo hard for me to speak french. I understand most things my host family tells me but it’s hard for me to respond back and by the time I think of something to say, they are on the next topic. It is definitely easier to understand them than my teachers however, because they speak waaay too fast. I really don’t understand anything they say during class at all and I end up reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in french or reading my English-French dictionary. Anyways, people like to speak to me in Enlglish which is not good for me because it’s hard for me to improve. Next week I am, however, going to start a month long learning french class which will hopefully improve my speaking skills!!! =]

School: As I said before, I really have no idea what’s going on in my classes. The teachers speak too fast for me and I get distracted easily. The first test I took, which was a pop quiz, I got a 3/20.. not very good right? But then again, atleast it wasn’t a zero! The only class I understand is English, of course, but it’s boring for me and the teacher has a really weird french/polish accent. I think I will ask her if i can study french instead in that class instead of learning english which I already know! haha. Other than not being able to understand my classes, the school and people itself are good. Everyone is really really friendly and I have already made some good friends. And as I mentioned in an earlier post, school reminds me alot like college. I have alot of free time to do whatever I want. I can go into the city or eat somewhere with friends, or I can hang out in the library or in the foyer and play cards. One weird thing I noticed about school was is that boys and girls share the same bathroom! It’s so weird! The first time I walked into the bathroom I thought I was in the wrong one b/c there were boys in there, but apparently here it’s normal! Also, everyone gets along here. Theres no popular cliques or jocks or nerds.. everyone is nice to everyone which I like alot! Another note, they all take perfect notes. They color code and highlight and underline everything and their handwriting is perfect. Compare theirs to mine, and mine looks like trash with doodles and half filled notes.

Smoking: C’est a la mode here. It’s very fashionable to smoke. I would say probably about 3/4 of the kids in my school smoke which I find disgusting b/c I hate the smell, but here its the norm. But hey, if they’re willing to take the risk, let them!

Rotary: I really like my Rotary District/Club and everyone in it! Everyone is really friendly and I have already hung out with a few of my new Rotary friends already!

Can’t think of anything else right now so…

 bon nuit!!