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