Mon Anniversaire!!

Sunday the 16th of October was my birthday. For the first time in my entire life I got to have a French birthday!
We had a big party at my house saturday night. In France 18 is the age of majority where you can drink and drive and have a job and sign your own absence slips at school( yes!!!). Its a big deal. So my host family wanted to do something special.
We had 14 people at our house to eat, drink and dance. It was fantasmagorique! We cooked all day and I got to help make quiche, apple pie and pizza. We had all sorts of little appetizers and bonbons. I got lots of fun french presents and really really enjoyed myself. We had 3 other exchange students sleep over and we all stayed up really really late talking and then had a Rotary day the next day (not a smart move). But all the people at the meeting sang me happy birthday at one point in just about every language there is. French, Canadian, American, Spanish, Finnish, ect. and there was diffinatly a chinse guy there but I don't know if he sang. It was fun and I don't think I've ever had so many people sing happy birthday to me at the same time. ( And mom, I didn't even cry!)
Anyway, I had an amazing first french birthday that I will remember forever, it was really fun and it was sad at the same time because it was my first birthday without my Canadian family too. I missed all of you guys at home and thought of you lots. I wish that you all could have been there too to expirience the crazy dancing that went on that night. It was truly the most unique birthday I've had so far. Vive la France!!

Flowers from the sweetest, bravest boyfriend in all of the world, that were sent to me all the way from Canada. That is truly magic. My Benny, I love you.

The biggest birthday apple pie ever!  

Striking poses on the dance floor. o la la  

Everyone sitting on the steps! 

Real live Champagne from champagne!!  

Retour des Alpages

I went to Anncey last weekend for the "Retour des Alpages" which was historically like a cattledrive kind of idea. All the animals come down form the mountians in the fall and there is a big parade in the streets of Annecy. There was lots of marching bands ( again) and men with those big horn like things that you see usually standing on top of an alp. These intsruments are also on Ricola adds. Their called a cor I think in french and I have no idea what in English. Everyone was dressed up in traditional Savoyard costumes as well as Swiss and Italian bands and costumes. The parade lasted for about an hour and a half. It was great. At the end there were all sorts of animals such as cow, goats, sheep, ducks with ribbons around their necks (waddling beside mother goose of course) and horses. Veronique's cousin works for a shop down town and so he brought us the most amazing things to eat standing on the sidewalk. I saw apple juice being made from fresh apples, which was the most delicious thing in the world and lots of other yummy things.

These cows were decorated like christmas trees! And they looked so happy about it too. 

Traditional Savoyard costumes. 

These are those Alp intruments. I also want to add that we definately heard some amazing yodeling too. 

This had to be one of the most fantastic things I have ever seen. Ducks with ribbons, who knew that happened in real life!! 

Here are all of us exchange students beside the train we took to Annecy for the Retour des Alpages 

This is my host Dad, eating peanut butter for the first time. He didn't really like it.  

After a month and half here I achieved one of my french goals. These notes were taken by me all by myself, in french, during a french history lesson. I was soo proud and they are fairly organized too. 

I made a collage with my pics form home. All the french student love looking at them and they all think Brian ( my brother) is soooo cute. And Greg too ( my other brother). 

La Vie!

It has been just over a week since I last blogged. Sorry about this. I don't like to spend copious amounts of time on the computer. It tales away a bit.
Time is totally flying. I can't believe that i've been here 7 weeks now, Thats almost 2 months!! I have lots of things planned for the future here and the time will fly even faster looking forward to them.
1)I am going to England for a week on the 24th of October!! I am trés excited!
2)I am going to Paris the 10th of December to see the christmas lights and the incredible window displays, and see the cemetery, Pere-Lachaise. That is also trés exciting.
3) Its my birthday Sunday. 18 is the leagl drinking and driving age so its always a big party. I will have a bunch of friends at chez moi to dance and drink champagne !!
I have also gone to Annecy again, but I don't have pics yet so I'll write about that another day.
Hope you enjoyed some pics, previously, of the last week at random.

Yesterday there was a strike in Chambery of all the social service. Bus drivers, trian engineers, postal workers and some teachers, as well as other, were all stiking, as they have the right to. Stikes in France are fantastique. I have never seen any stirke like it. It was like the biggest parade I've ever seen. At least a thousand people took to the streets with their banners, umbrellas and voices and all marched to the nearest Castle, down town. There was vans with huge speakers blasting latin music and a little farther down the line another blasting pop. There was a marching band chanting their strike slogan in french as loud as they could. There was fireworks, hence the smoke in the picture. It was just so exciting. And to top it all of, I only had to go to 3 of my usual 8 hours of courses!! 

October the 2nd was Carlin's Birthday. Being a fellow Canadian from Ontario, I thought it would be best to give her a truly Canadian afternoon. We had normal chocolate cake with normal icing (very rare here) and watched Bridget Jones Diary, in English. The other girl who came is Iliana, from Mexico, who speaks English as well. 

Pictures from home.

I miss all of you guys!! I miss my Mom and dad, and brothers and boyfriend and friends and assorted small and large animals too. I miss each and everyone of you reading this (except you carlin, I'll see you tommorow. )

So today I recieved a care package from home. Like the best movies out there, this package made me laugh, it made me cry. It made me miss home.
In it contained peanut butter, dristan nose spray, a clinique bonus pack, as well as other assorted items which are not sold here at all. But most of all in contained pictures. *insert tears here*
For all of you at home, I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for being there with me in my life and making those pictures so damn sad. Sad because of all the beautiful friends and family that have shared so many funny, precious, happy and just silly moments with me, who are now 10000 miles away. When I look back on those pictures from the last 4 years I am sad because I cannot continue to make more memories and special times with the same people for this year.
However this year is special and of course, its not all just sad. Its the year that I have to make my very own memories with new people. As much as I feel ready for this, when it comes down to it, it hurts my heart to leave everyone I love for this year, because I love you all so much. You have made me who I am today. To forget or replace any of you in my heart would be impossible, but this year I must face the exchange student challenge: to be able to make it without all of you, to find others to make memories with, to laugh, be silly still, find more room in the heart to love all over again.

So for all of you at home, appreciate who you have around you and take the time every once and a while and look through your old pictures. You never know how many beautiful memories you may run across.