École

Ok, first I have a few random things I have forgotten to mention in the past
1. Instead of light switches, they have light buttons, which I think is more fun
2. We don't have a lot of thin sheets and layers on the bed, instead it's just one massive comforter. It is also very common to walk down the street and see these massive comforters hanging out the window to air out. More than once I've come home to find all the contents of my bed (including my stuffed elephant) sitting on my window sill.
3. There are no ceiling fans
4. Closets are not built into the wall
5. The parking garages are tiny because they have tiny cars. Everyone here is a champ at driving and can parallel park in a spot that I could barely stand in. Doris the taurus would not fit in here.
6. They have oreos and peanut butter here, which I think is fantastic!
7. To say hello some people say 'coucou' which I love.

So now it's time to talk about school! I attend Collège St-Michel, which was first built right around 1600, so the majority of the school is pretty old. There are a total of 6 buildings, some of which are more modern, but some are all stone with towers and swirly stairs, which I enjoy greatly. I like to pretend I'm at Hogwarts as my cool new european boots clack down the stone hallway and I walk through an archway as I make my way to the train station to return home at the end of the day. School here is extremely different, because we have one class that we stick with all day long. There are 21 people in mine, 15 guys and 6 girls. We all have the same schedule and move from class to class and building to building together all day long. I still can't decide if I like this concept or not. I think it will be beneficial because I will really get to know these 20 other people very well throughout the course of the year, but it also prevents me from meeting a lot of new people, because every class consists of the same students. but it's pretty cool because we do a lot of stuff together as a group including a trip at the end of the year! My class is trying to go to Croatia, so we will be fundraising throughout the year.
Another thing that is extremely different from America is our schedule. It changes everyday, so some days I have 8 classes, where as other days I only have 3. I finish my school day anywhere from 10:30 to 3:45, which is pretty awesome. And actually this friday we don't have our french class for some reason, so my school day is finished at 9:35! Throughout the week I take a total of 15 different classes, which sounds overwhelming but honestly isn't that bad. Some class I only have once a week like Science Religion, Art, and Physics. and then other classes I have 4 times a week like French, Math, and Economics. But even though I have those classes 4 times a week, they're not usually in the same classroom. The teachers don't seem to have their own room, because they're always moving around, so none of the rooms are decorated too much. And also, if the teacher doesn't show up we don't have class. Last week our gym teacher never came, so we got to leave early for lunch.
Currently I just kind of chill out in the classroom and don't really do much, because I can't understand a thing the teachers are saying. I really like my philosophy and math class, because those teachers write a lot on the board, so it gives me a fighting chance to understand. But my history teacher has yet to use the chalkboard (no dry erase boards here), he only lectures and the students take notes off of what he says... so that leaves me kind of stranded because our desks are separated which prevents me from copying other peoples notes, which I do in a lot of other classes.
On Tuesdays I have 2 blocks of 45 minutes that are free because my class is in German and English, which I'm not taking. So I usually wander around Fribourg, and I've found a couple of good bookstores where I like to chill out. It's really nice to have those breaks, because I've been getting really bad headaches from constant french, so it gives me some time to just listen to music and get a break from school.
The people are really nice in my class, and they're doing a pretty good job of being welcoming, especially because they started school a month before me and have already had a chance to get to know each other. I still don't know the majority of the names though, because in general I am so bad when it comes to names, but honestly none of their names would be used in America, so it's a little complicated for my brain to remember!
A random thing is that none of the classes have clocks in them, which drives me insane! So I am constantly taking out my phone to see what time it is.
So yeah, that's basically all I have to report for now! So if you'll excuse me, I have a new episode of Glee to watch!
Ciao

Harry... tu es un sorcier.

Ok so where to begin? Let's go back to last Thursday when I went to the Cailler chocolate factory with my french class! There are 8 of us in the class, and our teacher Cécile wanted to take us out to celebrate the end of our french class, and what better way to celebrate than with chocolate! We took a bus about 25 minutes, and then we took a small train until we got to the factory. Overall it was pretty boring, because it was a museum about how the company started, and i'm just not big on history.... but the end made up for the boring tour because there were SAMPLES! One of my personal favorite things in the world! We walked into a room that was just filled with tons of little chocolates and you could eat as much as you wanted. It was literally my heaven :) When is it chocolate time for you?





Friday was my last day of french class, which was actually pretty sad, because I was finally getting adjusted and having fun with the other kids in my class. and sadly the majority of them don't live near Fribourg, so it will be pretty hard to see them this year. We spent our last day painting... I don't really know why. We were supposed to paint something about our journey in Switzerland or something like that. I didn't fully understand the assignment... So yeah, this is my painting!

My french class <3>

It's easy once you know how it's done

It's been 4 weeks since I've seen all of my friends and family back in Bay Village, which is the longest I've ever been away from home. I thought that each day would get a little bit harder as I count the days I've been away from them, but surprisingly each day is a little bit easier than the last. Of course I still miss everybody terribly, but each day I'm settling in a little bit more in Switzerland and adjusting to my new life. The one thing I really miss though is driving. Whenever I'm stressed, or sad or anxious, or basically just any heightened emotion, I like to drive around. There's nothing more relaxing than blasting my music and driving down lake road or 480. But sadly I'm not allowed to drive this year :( So instead of killing time in my car, I spent my afternoon baking Nutella Chocolate Chip cookies, which was a very good second option :) It was so relaxing to bake again, because it was one of my favorite pass times in America, but I haven't had the chance until today. I love cranking up the oldies music and eating so much dough that I feel sick, it's just strangely comforting to me.
I spent the weekend at an AFS camp in Veysonnaz, Switzerland which is about 2 1/2 hours away. It was probably the most beautiful place I've ever seen, there were mountains everywhere! Not a lot happened that weekend, but it was a lot of fun to be with other AFSers from all over the country.

The mountains!

All AFSers from the French part of Switzerland

I'm in my last week of french classes, which I'm a little bit upset about. My french has not caught on as quickly as I would have liked, and I still feel very very lost in conversation. On Monday I start regular school, and I am so nervous for it! I'm scared enough about being a new student, because anyone who knows me knows that I'm horribly awkward when meeting people, so doing it in french will be even worse. I know there will be a few familiar faces, and probably a lot of people who speak english, but I don't want to rely on others to survive. It's really hard that I can't be independent yet, because the language just slaps me in the face everytime... but hopefully soon enough I'll be ok!
à bientôt!

These are a few of my favorite things...

-Trains
-Bread
-Chocolate
-Banana flavored hookah (in moderation)
-Care packages
-Asians with cameras
-Harry Potter in french
-Mountains

walk on, cause you can't go back now

Hello World!
In case it wasn't completely evident to the entire world, I'll let you know that I was having a horrible time adjusting here. and to be honest I wasn't exactly trying. But after receiving a massive shove from my dad I've finally accepted the fact that whether I like it or not, I'm here for the year, so it's up to me how I want to spend it. I can either sit in my room and cry and miss home, or I can go out and actually enjoy myself. I've been given an amazing opportunity that so many people would die for, and I already spent 2 weeks wasting it. So from here on out I'm actually going to start living. I realize that I can't just erase my homesickness overnight. Every morning I wake up and for an instant think I'm back in my bed in Bay Village, and a sense of dread washes over me when i realize i'm not at home. But maybe someday soon I'll wake up and be happy I'm not in Bay. I think this has been so hard for me because living my life has never been about where I am, it's been about who I'm with. and when leaving Bay I left behind all of my favorite people. So I know it's going to take time for me to be completely happy here, but I think I'm finally up for the challenge!


Here is our back porch :)

You have to leave the ground to learn to fly

I've officially been away from home for 2 weeks, and this is without a doubt the hardest 2 weeks I've experienced. Being thrown into this completely different world has already taught me so much, and it has really made me appreciate my small town and close family and friends. I'm still getting adjusted here, and it's making me feel like I don't have a home. I feel like I'm in limbo because I'm not comfortable enough here to consider these people friends and family, yet I'm so disconnected from Bay Village that it's almost weird to consider that home anymore. When I'm stuck in my challenging french class I always mutter to myself that I want to go home, but I don't even know what I mean by that anymore. I know it defiantly takes more than 2 weeks to adjust, so I'm trying to have a little faith! The major challenge I'm dealing with is that I haven't had an appetite since arriving here. My host mom has been making the most incredible food, but I literally can't eat anything. I don't know if it's nerves, or just the fact that I'm not adjusted... but either way it sucks because I'm basically living off of Diet Coke. Fortunately I finally figured out that it's a lot cheaper to buy Diet Coke at the grocery store as opposed to the little Kiosk's at the train station, so at least I can afford it now!
Here's something that might make you laugh: A couple of days ago I was walking to school from the bus station and I passed a lady in her 40's speeding down the sidewalk on a razor scooter smoking a cigarette. I was the only one staring, so I can only assume this is semi-normal. Now I don't know about you, but I haven't ridden a razor scooter since I was about 12. Perhaps I'll have to give them a second chance!