J'arrive

Currently, it is my fifth day in Lyon, France. I have experienced many new things! I arrived on Friday, August 31st at 10:35 am at the Lyon airport. My journey went well as I traveled through Chicago and Madrid to Lyon. Although the Madrid airport was very confusing, I made it with a little help from a Spanish couple who recognized I didn’t know what stop to get off the elevator. My host family picked me up with balloons and hugs along with my Youth Exchange Officer, Dominique. We drove to the village where I live and I entered my new life. Even though it has only been five days, I feel like it has been a lifetime.

The day I arrived, we ate curried chicken and rice and I unpacked all of my things. My room has a beautiful skylight and is very comfortable. I also went swimming in the pool with one of my host brothers. My first day was long and very hard to immediately speak French, but somehow I survived. My host family is very kind and help me feel like France is my home. I have two host brothers, one older and one younger as well as two host parents. On day two (Saturday) , I woke up and went to an aqua bicycle class with my host mother. It was a very different experience, but I had fun. The class instructor picked on me a lot, but I think it is because I am new. The rest of the day we relaxed and I went to the supermarket with my host dad and little brother to get a photo taken for my school application and buy shampoo and soap. That night, there was a party with about 15 people in the back terrace at the house for me. I met many of the Rotarians in the club that is hosting me and retained my French very well. It was a lovely party. On day three (Sunday), it was the day of “repose” as my host mom told me. My jet lag was not that bad, but I still was a little tired at times. In the morning we went to Lyon to buy raspberries from the large outdoor market to make jam, but everything was very expensive and not worth it. My first glimpse of Lyon was beautiful. It seems like a very lively city bursting with culture.

After grabbing a refreshing drink (I got Fanta), we relaxed during the day and I prepared for my first day of school. On day four (Monday), my school started at the irregular time of 10 a.m. so my host mother drove me to the home of Fernanda, a Brazilian exchange student in my area going through the same thing as me. Her host sister, Fernanda, and I walked to school. When we got to large doors of the school I got nervous, but we had to go inside. We met a teacher at the main courtyard and he questioned us in French. Then, we walked down the two flights of stairs outside to the high school building. We met the principal and she brought us to our first class.

My first class was Philosophy. I am in the Terminal class Economic (Senior class economics) section of students so I take classes like geography and social economics. I am also taking Italian for my second language. I walked into the room and 33 pairs of eyes stared back at me. I was very nervous, but after I sat down in the open seat in the front row I was ok. The head teacher asked me to give an introduction to myself so I stood up and spoke to the class. They said I have very good French, but I know that a whole lot of progress needs to be made. The rest of the day was long, but good. Some of my school days are very short and go to 12, but some continue until 5:30 p.m.. Today, Tuesday, I had a very difficult day. I feel very mentally tired from speaking so much French and am feeling like I have lost a little bit of independence in my life. In America, I am used to driving myself places, being responsible for some of my meals like lunch and breakfast, keeping my room clean, and just everyday things. I think that over time it will get better and easier. I think another thing that I am struggling as well with not being able to say everything I want to say because of my language barrier. I feel more dull here than I do in America. I think that, again, it will just take a while to feel normal and feel like I can be myself fully. I am going to be as optimistic as possible during this adventure because I am very lucky to have it. Tomorrow, schools in France on Wednesdays get out at 12 so I will have a short day and then I will start my tennis lessons during the night! I am excited. I have a lot to look forward to in this journey. I know that it is a long process that I just need to stick to it until the end.

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Things I have noticed that are different in France compared to America:

School schedules (and amount of time given for breaks)

Better lunches at school (and bigger)

No toilet seats or toilet paper at school

Peanut butter is scarce

Gum has less sugar

Down time is valued

When you bump into someone they don't automatically say “sorry” or “pardon” like in America

Students do not wear shorts, leggings, or sweatpants to school

Music is not played as much

Yogurt is eaten with every meal

You stand when a teacher walks into the classroom

No tap water

Dinner is at 9:30 p.m.

Some of the many new words I have learned:

Fossettes: dimples

Se baigner: to go for a swim

Croissance: growth (in Economics class)

Épreuve: an ordeal, trial, exam

J’ai trop mangé or J’ai bien mangé: I have eaten too much (I say this a lot at dinner)