Blogs from Metz, Lorraine, France, Europe - page 3

On Saturday the Galvez's had a big engagement party for their eldest son Matthieu and his fiance Claire. Claire's family arrived late in the afternoon, and then her mom came later. She has two siblings whose names I completely forget (yeah, kinda typical of me!), and her parents are divorced. We started eating around 9:30pm, and finished at 1am! Seriously, when people have ANY type of party in France, it lasts until midnight or 2am even if it is totally awkward. In America, we end things at 10pm! I think we need to learn something from the French... including eating. Anyway, we ate a traditional Spanish food called Paella. Antoine Galvez is Spanish, and it's one of his favorites, so obviously Rosa learned how to make it even though she is Portuguese. Basically it's a mix ... read more

At first, when I applied to the WIA exchange program I honestly was not thinking about the long term effects this year would bore on me. I thought, "Oh hey, it's just a year, and I don't know French but I don't think that this is really a big problem." Not knowing French was a HUGE problem at the beginning! I was just downplaying everything, and I am almost glad that I left myself as a blank canvas not knowing the language. I have proved to myself that I can learn anything fast; it just takes dedication and large amounts of time. My first day at Julie Daubie Lycee (my school in Rombas) I was completely terrified. I could not say hello to anyone, let alone say my name! I had no friends for a good ... read more