In which I state a few facts

*Claire, Me and her sister in Paris

*The restaurant where Rotary meetings are held every Monday

*Compiegne Town Hall

Fact: The French have 6 more minutes for news.
Apparently, an hour is not enough for the French to watch the news. They need something more satisfactory than just sixty measly minutes of information. But what, but what? What could possibly be better than sixty minutes of news? How about SIXTY- SIX minutes?
The equivalent of the American news program “60 Minutes” here is called “66 minutes”. It never ceases to entertain me…imagine only ONE HOUR for news…ppshhhh, we Americans…

Fact: Cuckoo is not for birds…or clocks.
In France, the word “Cuckoo” is used to announce your arrival (example, if I just came home and didn’t know if anyone was there, I would yell “CUCKOO” and see if I got an answer) or to get someone’s attention. It is something I still feel much too silly to say, along with “OHHHH LA LAAAA”, but keep timidly trying out every few days to see if it feels more natural.

Fact: Croustys chocolat noir-chocolat blanc is THE BEST cereal in the world.
This is not an opinion, it is a fact. My host mother buys this cereal called “Croustys chocolat noir-chocolat blanc” and it is truly heaven. I honestly wake up in the morning EXCITED that I get to eat it. It’s like a chocolaty granola with little bits of white and dark chocolate mixed in. I don’t know what it is about it…but I’m completely addicted and could eat an entire box by myself (of course I would never consider eating an entire box of my host family’s cereal by myself as it would be terribly rude and I would most likely get sick…but I do NOT exaggerate when I tell you how wonderful it is).

Fact: The French move at hyper speed.
At first, every time I went out with a host family member or a friend from school, I thought we might be late for something. Then gradually I came to understand that the French are just fast…at everything. They walk fast (I never thought of myself as a slow walker…I like a comfortable speed somewhere between brisk and leisurely…but here, I am a sloth), they speak fast, they bike fast (by the end of my bike rides with my host brother, Valentin, I’m embarrassed to be panting and out of breath while he hasn’t even broken a sweat), and boy, do they DRIVE fast. Maybe it’s something in the water, maybe they’re all superhuman…but whatever it is, everyday my energy is completely gone from just trying to keep up.

So, things have been going extremely well as of late. True to form, I have become busier and busier and I can’t believe I’ve been here for 24 days. It feels like it’s been a lifetime, and it feels like I just left. I’ve been making more friends at school and have become really close to Franzi, the German correspondent. We totally “get” each other and are into a lot of the same things. I’m surprised at how close I feel to her after so little time…but one strong bond we have is that we are both exchange students and understand each other’s moods and struggles. It’s the same with all the other Rotary kids I’ve met, we could all be as different as night and day, but one thing we ALL understand is this experience – the highs, the lows and all the in-betweens.
Last Saturday, I had my first Catholic mass…with the Pope. We left for Paris at six in the morning on a bus (it was a bus trip with the church my host family attends and I went with girl I know named Claire and her sister), arrived, walked to where the mass was held (it was outside and there were a TON of people, so we watched on a giant screen that had been set up) and when it was over, walked down the Champs Ellysee to the bus and came home. It was an exhausting, but exhilarating day, and though I’m not Catholic, I am still in awe and completely understand the significance of the experience.
Other things I’ve done this past week:
Attended another Rotary meeting: It was my first time sans Helene (my country contact), but I was fine on my own. My club has about 15-20 members and they’re all very nice and for the most part remember to speak slowly to me. Just like in Oneonta, they ring a bell to start and end their meetings too! Last week, I gave everyone a New York State quarter and the man who sat next to me this week brought me 10 Franc – which is a little gold coin with a picture of Victor Hugo on it. It was very nice.
· Babysat two more times for the Armstrongs: Astrid works with an American man (named Curt Armstrong) from Georgia who lives here with his French wife (Anne-Christine) and they have four children who I’ve babysat for once previously. This week (Wed night and Thurs night) I babysat again and all went well. The children speak English and French and I help them with their English, they help me with my French. I really like babysitting for them as for the most part they’re very well behaved. And I learn a lot besides the language…I now know how to change diapers, comfort a rambunctious three year old and give a baby a bath.
· Had my second EPS class (gym): I was WRONG last time when I said it was a slack off class. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. This week, they took us into the forest near the school and made up run around all these trails and find hidden flags…FOR TWO HOURS. Oh, yes. Two hours. At first I thought I had misunderstood the teacher and after asking three separate people in the class to slowly repeat the task for me, I was in shock. I just could not believe they would actually make us run around the cold, damp forest for two hours, mais c’etait vrai. I really don’t know what else to say about this, besides that I’m dreading next week like the plague.
· Went out to lunch and shopping again with Franzi on Wednesday. We went to a “centre-commerical” which is like a mall and I bought a belt and a scarf. At lunch, I had the most glorious open faced sandwich of vegetables, cheese, chicken and a creamy sauce finished off nicely with a crepe. It was very fun to say the least.

And there’s been so much more that I’ve done…but I can’t possible write it all down. Suffice to say, each day is better than the last and I’m really enjoying myself here as I make my transition from American culture to French. Thanks again for all your comments, letters, emails, love and well wishes. I love hearing from home and miss everyone a ton. I often wish I could just easily fly people here as every day I find something I want to show one person or think of something to tell to another.
As a last note a VERY happy late birthday to my beautiful mother (Sept 13) and a VERY happy early birthday to my wonderful daddy (Sept 21). If you see them, give them an extra kiss for me. :]

BISOUS,
Kristen