Maria's Second Report

October 12, 2005

Ever since I got here I've been so busy that I haven't had the time to get homesick and I am glad it has been that way. My first host family is great! they are really really nice and I love them! My host dad, Eric, is an architecture and a lot of the places I have been to, have been designed by him, for example: there was one time I went to Lille with the other exchange students and I took a picture of a garden I liked and it ended up being a garden that my host dad had designed several years ago. My host parents really like art very much and they have taken me to several museums around the city and I got the opportunity to see art from Picasso, Joan Miro, Dali, etc... Where I live is on the north, north, north part of France, so I am like 10 minutes away from Belgium, and the other day that we went to Dunkerque, we had a picnic at the beach and not far away were some buildings... and that was Belgium, but I haven't been there yet :( We have plans to travel to Germany, Belgium and to Paris with my host family! I am so happy they are going to take to those places!! also, the last week of October there's one week of vacation because the first of November is Toussaint which is a holiday, and we are going to spend the whole week at Île d'Ousseon!

The only thing that I don't like very much is school because there is a teacher that doesn't like americans and on my first day of school he started saying that americans can't read literature and blah blah blah right in front of my face! so that just pisses me off and if I could tell him something I would but I will when my french is much better than now... Other than that, my classmates were very welcoming since the first day I got there, and I have made some very good friends ! For extracurricular activities, I am doing a Fitness course, and I am in a really good shape more than ever because I also go to school by bike... but I don't think I would stand to go by bike on the winter :s but here, it is going to be the first time I'll experience the four seasons, and now autumn here is beautiful! the trees' leaves are changing colors and starting to fall, it is also a little bit colder and some days are colder than others  I think that now I can really say that I learn something new everyday because I never stop asking questions! and in this first month I have been here, I think my french has improved a lot already! hehehe

Everyone here is sooo skinny! and I don't know how they do it because they a lot of bread, cheese, pastries! and I loooove it!! The other day we went to eat at our neighbors' house and here is so different and there are times that no one invites you over for a fancy big dinner! just to eat hot ham and cheese sandwiches- or ''croque monsieur'', they were sooo good hehehe!!

I think that's it for now!!  take care and have fun like I am!!

A bientôt!!!

Maria