School is ............ Different?

So. Weekdays. Oh ! the horridness!

Well it's a 6.20 up-and-at-em for me. by about 20 to 7, i'm down having breakfast. I leave for the bus at 10 past. It's a really short walk, about 1km? or 900m? hardly anything at all.

The bus stop is incredibly funny to observe. There's a lot of littler kids, and all the girls (and girls + guys) kiss cheaks. I honestly thought it was a thing the older people would do, but the kids do it as well. Even seven year-olds. The boys all shake hands. Not a stiff-backed handshake, just a relaxed, almost wet fish handshake. The boys also do this when saying goodbye. It's sort of cute.

On the bus, all the college (junior high) kids are rulers of the bus and sit up the back.the older, more mature beings
(like me) sit at the front and listen to music.

At school, here's the estimated numbers:

75% of people wear converse.

40% of people smoke. There is no stereotypes of 'smokers'. it's just people smoke.

85% of people have Eastpak bags. About 50% of those people have black, maroon or grey bags.

And:

10% of girls wear heels. Most, thankfully, just were converse or flats.

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

School is long and very french. because it's all in french. Mainly, at the moment, i just look up words and write down everything on the board. Everything.Every single thing, so when i can read french, i can study what we've pearnt. it's annoying when the teachers only talk, so i have learnt to sit next to someone with very good handwritting that i can read.

Lunch is hot, with salads, main and dessert, and also bread and cheese. Fruit counts as dessert, in case you's wondering. To get into lunch, you carry your booklet around with you with your class and name on it. There seems to be some kind of order to the madness. Usually it's in whatevcer class you're in. Because all my friends are in 2 or 3, they get me in earlier with the whole 'she's an exchange student' card. So i get in earlier :)

Then school again.... pfft.

Then i come home on the bus. I walk home again and then i usually sort out my books and stuff, try to read and understand my homework, and blog????

And here's a link to my current favorite song. THANKS STEPH. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcmlshqyQ_s

(Because i can't work out HOW to save videos. please help!!! )

viola!

SO I went on this massive 30km bike ride.

THE END.



Well..... no. There's a lot more to it.

there's about 2500 budding [french] cyclists joining you and it does feel pretty awesome to be a part of something so massive and yellow (there's a lot of reflective vests).














As much as i recommend this, (whenever you're next traveling around france at this time of the year) please let it be noted that there IS a turret (up the Amboise castle....) and maybe you should actually change your gears BEFORE it. you're funneled in and it's like a bottle neck to the extreme.

And then you're out and it feels very good because your calves hurt from WALKING up hill like that. And you turn around, after nearly getting run over, and Amboise is all lit up and it's so beautiful!

Then you ride. gradually you leave the smooth, nice roads and find yourself in the middle of a paddock. And then you're in the forest and those paddocks look very nice from the pot holes and branches and stinging nettle (and if you stop, make sure you don't stop on and island surrounded by stinging nettle. that, or hold your breathe for about five minutes so you can escape).

When there's an accidant, or a large pottle hole, or everyone's stopped to walk up a hill, everyone shouts out something in french to warn those behind them. it's really nice, in a weird way. and when you stop, everyone shouts 'ça va!' at you and actually waits for a reply.


I gather there's massive amounts of history involved. I mean, it's france, afterall. I'd explain, but i can't. It's all in french.

xx