PARIS!!

I went to Paris for the first time (besides the time spent in the airport during one of my many flight changes to get to Aubagne!) This was also the first Rotary inbound trip. We met up in the train station in Marseille around noon on Friday. Of the 10 inbound exchange students to my district only 8 could make it. Unfortunately the Australian girl had difficulties finding a ride to the train station and the Japanese boy confused the date of departure. It was also my first time on a real train so I was experiencing all sorts of new things that weekend. We all got along really well. We shared American sweets and joked that we were on a train heading to Hogwarts. We stayed at a youth hostile just a few blocks from the Louvre, which we visited briefly (very briefly) that first night. It was crazy to be able to see all the monuments I used to see in post cards, pictures, and text books in real life!The lighting was perfect for taking pictures, and I took a lot! I ended up saving 370 pictures from my short weekend in Paris. After we got settled in we went "promenading" and I got my first view of the Eiffel Tower! We were quite a ways away but it was beautiful, nonetheless. That night we also visited the Sacre Coeur Basillica. It was a beautiful Basillica with an amazing view of Paris. By that time we were all starving so we ate at a pizza place and were joking around and laughing the entire time. It was a nice change to be able to understand each others jokes right away. At the youth hostile all 7 girls stayed in the same room so you can imagine how late we stayed up that night! On day 2 we started out directly for the Eiffel Tower and spent about 3 hours there! As cliché as it sounds the Eiffel Tower was my favorite part of the weekend because it was even more magnificent than I had imagined. We climbed up the 1,665 stairs to the first and second balcony and finally rode the elevator to the very top. We definitely got a lot of exercise in that weekend, enough to make up for all the American sweets and crepes we ate! The view from the top was magnificent. You have a 360 degree view of Paris. There were even arrows pointing to the direction of major cities around the world and the distance in kilometers.
After the Eiffel Tower we took a boat ride on the bateau-mouche, which is a sight seeing boat that takes you up and down the Seine River. We started off right near the Eiffel Tower and passed by a bunch of landmarks such as...


...Notre Dame...

...the Alexander III Bridge...

...the Assemblée Nationale...


...and the Musée D'Orsay.


Of course, the only time it rained that weekend was while we were on the boat ride. So of course we got out our umbrellas and braved the cold rain to take better pictures!
Later that Evening we had an hour and a half to spread out around a mall and go shopping! We were also able to find a starbucks and we eagerly waited in line for our delicious drinks. Yummm, tastes just like in the US!We ended the evening with a walk down the Champs-Élysées (unfortunately we were not able to do the shopping there!) and of course L'Arc de Triomphe.

On day 3, the final day, we visited the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was so beautiful both inside and out. I am so glad we were allowed to take pictures inside so I can show you all.

Yes, I really did wear flip flops in Paris in November, and no, I'm not crazy! I had blisters on my feet from the previous day so I willingly wore flips even though it was a little cold!

I had an amazing Rotary weekend in Paris with the other exchange students. Although we were constantly on the move and doing and seeing as much as possible, it was comforting to be able to spend time, share stories, laugh, and give lots of American hugs with the other inbounds. Thanks Rotary for making the weekend possible!

So excited for Paris!

As you can see, I'm having a great time here in France. During the week I'm pretty busy with school, homework, and after school activities. We've been practicing yoga and going swimming at the pool or the beach at least once a week. So far I have been to the beaches of La Ciotat, Cassis, and Marseilles. I've also started taking hip hop and even though the teacher doesn't speak any English I can still understand and follow along. I'm really enjoying it because it's quite different than in the USA. There instructor doesn't just teach you how to dance so you look "sexy", he teaches us all kinds of hip hop, including break dancing!

On the weekends I've been traveling all over the region. We often visit Marseilles, a big city near Aubagne. I've been shopping there twice so far. Although I love the French fashion and would like to buy everything, I'm trying to not go TOO crazy.... You're welcome mom and dad!!!






Two weekends ago Patrick (Alyssa's father), Florance (Patrick's girlfriend), and I visited Grasse, a beautiful town about two hours from Aubagne. Grasse is the worlds capitol for perfume and trust me, it smelled amazing.







It was a very relaxing weekend spent in the "Little Red House." It was definitely not little.










It was built in the 17th Century and the roof is shaped like the silhouette of the mountain behind it (I hope you can see this in the picture).








I'm so glad that Patrick and Florance protected me from the giant spiders, I couldn't get anywhere near them. This one was about 4 inches!








On the way home we made a quick stop in Cannes where I've been told all the rich people live. We did a little shopping ;)









Last weekend we visited the Notre Dame de la Guarde, which is a beautiful cathedral that sits on a small mountain and overlooks all of Marseille.













They recently finished renovating the mosaic and it was so beautiful.










Check out the view from the cathedral!















I've been making a bunch of new friends, some from my lycée (school) and some who have already passed the bac and are attending a university. My school break starts at the end of October and on the weekend of November 6th the other exchange student and I will be going to PARIS!!!!!!! You have no idea how excited I am :D I'll keep you all updated. Also, if you want to write me an email, I would love to hear from everyone. My email is aerger5190@yahoo.com and even better, you can ask for my address and write me a letter because I love getting letters, it makes me feel so special!

Wow, when my previous exchange students told me I would be tired they weren't kidding!! I'm exhausted allll the time but I'm having a blast! I've been meeting so many new people at school it's hard to remember everyone's name. At school it's difficult because the kids all talk fast and the teachers use big words that I don't understand. Everyone at my school is so nice though and they help me understand everything.

I've been trying all sorts of new food and I like most of it. My favorite french food is still Crepes though! My host mom made me my first crepes in france and they were delicious.

The very next day I went to my friends birthday party and guess what we had!! CREPES!! It was a dream come true :D I've also made my host mom an "American meal". It was nice to have food from home even though I enjoy her cooking.

I attended my first Rotary Inbound Orientation this past weekend. There are 10 inbound students in my district. 6 of us are Americans.... ALL girls! There is also one boy and one girl from Japan and a boy from Mexico. We all get along really well and had a great day. We went on a boat tour of the Calanques and they are just beautiful! Unfortunately I brought my camera but forgot my memory card so I'll have to get pictures from the other inbounds.

On tuesday I attended my first host rotary club meeting. Suprisingly it was very similar to the meetings in the United States and I was very comfortable with everyone. I really enjoyed the meeting even though I didn't understand everything!

Cold-Froid-Froua

Well I survived my first week and my first day of school! It was a busy week and yes, I am STILL tired! But I've heard that's normal for the first month or two even. I am having a wonderful experience here. Sometimes it is difficult to understand people, especially teenagers because they talk fast and they don't always speak clearly, but people are very helpful when I don't understand. In my family it is tradition to take a first day of school picture, so I continued that tradition in France despite the minor accident I had the morning of my first day. Let's just say I'm probably one of the very few people who could accidentally cut themselves with a hairdryer!! Hahaha.

Sometimes I find myself wondering how does he make that noise with his mouth?? It's so hard for me to say cold=froid because I say it like froua or fwah. It's funny because people have told me that when I speak French I have a Russian or German accent!

Last night I had my Welcome party with a few of my new friends, my Rotary contact, a couple Rotaract members, and some of Catherine's friends as well. It was a lot of fun and all the food was French so I got to try a lot of new things.
Today I went hiking with my Rotary contact, Jean-Claude, and his nephew and his nephew's girlfriend. We hiked to Les Calanques which are so beautiful but very difficult to get to. I definitely got a good workout!