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Published: September 26th 2009
Schueberfouer
This is the main entrance sign. Really, it was huuuuge.The festival of Schueberfouer is held once a year in the city of Luxembourg in the country of Luxembourg. This huge celebration is basically a giant carnival. I went on the last day with my host parents. There were lots of rides and games and food! I had some pretty initresting eats while I walked with my host parents. We didnt go on any rides, but we did walk around the area for quite a while. I learned that the Schueberfouer is a festival so that everyone who lives in Luxembourg can get together for one day of the year in the same city. I dont really understand it because it is such a small country, but that's the general idea!
For future reference, it is pronounced: Shoo-ber-fwhere.
The same day as the Shuberfouer, but a bit earlier, some of the girls from my district got together and we went to a place known as Schengen. This place is very well known, because it is where the documents for the European Union were signed. They weren't signed on land, however, but on a boat in the river between three countries: France, Germany and Luxembourg. After the signing, the Euro became
Gaufre
Gaufre is a specialty of Luxembourg. It is a waffle with sugar, whipped cream and strawberries. It is really good! the currency for all the countries who were in the Union. It also made it possible for anyone who lived in a country in the EU to travel to another country in the EU without their passport. As I have a French visa, I also have this priviledge. Unfortunately, since England didnt sign, I cannot go there without getting a whole bunch of paperwork done :P. It was a very momentous day indeed ;D.
On the 13th, there was a rotary meeting in the capital of my region: Metz. Everyone from the district was there. There were a lot of amazing kids! The two people from Australia were sort of the tour guides because they have been here since Febuary. They leave in January, but their French is a lot better than any of ours. The kids who were exchange students last year were also at the meeting. Total, my district is hosting 27 young peoples :D. Here is how it stands: USA (7), Canada (1), Ecuador (1), Mexico (4), Taiiwan (4), Japan (2), Argentina (1), Chile (1), Brasil (1), Finland (2), Sweeden (1), Australia (2). These were all amazing people! From the United States, there were six girls
Schengen
These are the girls in my area. From left to right: Laura from Finland, Yuko from Japan, Lizzie from Australia, Doris from Brazil, Carla from Ecuador, and Amy from the United States. All of us in Schengen. and one very lucky boy 😉. The girls were from L.A., Vermont, Arizona, Utah, Wisconsin (me), and Colorado. The boy (and my new best buddy) Chris is from Springfield! The newspaper also had an article about us! I sent a copy to my mom, but everyone else will have to ask her if they want to see it! (It's in French anyways :P)
On the 15th, I had my first day of swimming in the local club. It was hard because it was the first time I had been in the water in a long time! There were some nice girls who helped me understand the names of the strokes, and they spoke slowly in French so I could understand. There was one girl, Charlotte, who spoke English very well! It was nice to speak in English with someone, but I forgot some words in English, and could only remember them in French! They all thought that that was very funny. There was one small boy who didnt believe the other girls when they told him that I was an American and he was yelling that he didnt believe them the whole practice. Finally, they told me what he
Three Americans!
From left to right: Amy from Rice Lake WI, Gabriella from Vermont, and Chris from Springfield MO. They are totally amazing!! This is at the giant district get together for the first time! was saying, and he came up to me and said something but I dont remember what it was. One of the girls told me to try to convince him, so I just spoke very fast in American English. It was hilarious. His eyes got really wide and he said: "D'accord, je croix!" and ran away! (That means, "Okay, I believe!"
I finally got my cell phone on the 17th. It can only make calls to inside of France, so I can't call home, sorry. 😊 It has texting though, which is more than I could say about my phone in the US :D. The only people who have my number are the students through rotary and
my host parents! On the weekends there is a lot of texting going on for invitiations to come into the city and shop! I am looking for a nice winter coat, because I didnt bring one and it actually gets pretty cold here. I have gained weight. Yes, it happens. The food is much better here though 😉.
On the weekend of the 19th and 20th, all of France has what is called
Journée du Patrimonie, or the Journey of Patriotism. It
Lunch with Rotary
Its a bad picture, I know, but the strange looking one is the Australian boy. He got here in Febuary and will leave at the end of December. He is funny, and I will miss him! :) is the one weekend in France when every museum and art gallery is free. Completely free for anyone who wants to come and view the wonders within. Yes, even the Louvre was free on this weekend, but I did not go there 😊. Instead, I went to a museum that is very well known in the area called the Usine de Uckange, or the Uckange Factory. It was a factory that made iron ore (
fer) and sent it all over the country. It was a very controversial factory, and it was shut down in 1980. It was refurbished during the 80's and reopened as a museum in 1991. There is STILL controversy about it today. It was a very intiresting tour, and I took it at night, when the whole factory was lit up with the red floodlights. It was very very very cool!!
Other than that, the Rotary has been keeping my weekends very busy! I went to a tennis match in Metz (the capital of my region) with the president of the district and it was awesome! There were a few other exchange students there as well! The last four weeks have gone by so fast! I
Usine de Uckange
This is the Uckange Factory. It was shut dow in 1980 and reopened as a museum in 1991. It was an audio tour with headphones! It was very cool! am publishing this on the 26th, which, according to the French is exactly one month after my arrival. It seems like I have only been here a few days! On the 2nd and 3rd of October, the Rotary is taking all the exchange students in district 1790 to Langres, which has two spectacular museums. We will spend the 2nd in one museum, stay in a hotel overnight and then visit the second museum on the 3rd! I am very excited for it!!
I miss home, but not as much as I thought I would. LOVE YOU ALL
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mom
non-member comment
wonderful descriptions
Hello Amy, How wonderful of you to up-date this site. It has been very exciting to see the descriptions of all you are experiencing. I am so glad you get to see so many nice places with your host family. It is nice to see the pictures and hear your descriptions of the new places. Glad you have a chance to get some excercise...Keep swimming hard! Love, Mom