1 Month!?

So a lot has happened here. I can't believe it has already been a month! It went by so fast... I know that is cliché to say, but it is true! I seriously don't know how it happened so quickly!

So about France, it really isn't that much different from America. If you look past all of the superficial surface stuff, French people act and interact just like American people. Everyone has been very receptive towards me, and as my French skills have developed, I have been more comfortable talking with people.

One thing that I can say is very different here is school. Everything from schedules, to curriculum, to classroom etiquette, to school spirit is so different! Schedules are blocking schedules that work on a weekly basis, so every monday is the same, all year long, every tuesday the same, etc... the students have random 1 hour and 2 hour breaks during the day sometimes, but have to stay at school as late as 6 o'clock some days, It doesn't really make sense to me, and all the kids hate it. Lunch here is crazy, kids wait in line for 45 minutes to get their lunch because the school where I study is a Middle/High School, which is atypical for France, and there are a lot of kids! school meals are like a real 4 course meal though... I'm not saying the food is always delicious, but they get a hefty helping of some sort of salad, a main dish which is usually a protein and vegetables, a dairy dish, i.E. Cheese or Yogurt, and a desert, which is usually fantastic! plus up to 3 slices of baguette bread if you so please... In America we are lucky if we get 5 chicken nuggets, a dixie cup of green beans, and a cardboard bowl of stale pound cake... Curriculum is so much different here! Because the grade is split up into 3 specialities, Me being in the literature and language speciality, there is a much more focused curriculum. In my group, we take Biology, Physics, Chemistry, and Earth Science all in on class, which we only have once a week for an hour and a half. I don't see how we can learn anything with such a broad range of study, with such a small amount of time. On top of that, I was helping another student with math homework, hard to believe I was doing someone else's math homework when I couldn't even do mine right? and they are learning, as juniors, what we learned in Math I (Freshmen Math) in America... and they don't use any of the same formulas or methods, and they overcomplicate everything! For example: the F-O-I-L method first, outside, inside, last.... THEY DON'T USE IT! I was shocked! I don't know how these kids learn anything! and they kept talking about how they use their "tay-ee" to do the equations, and I couldn't figure out what they meant... Tay-Ee is the french alphabet pronunciation of "T.I." (texas Instruments) which means they use their graphing calculators, which are extraordinarily expensive here like $40.00 more than in the US. In my French literature class, we don't read books, we read excerpts from ancient texts, and try to dissect the meaning, I dropped AP English because I really don't enjoy dissecting books... and now i have to do it in French!? ugh! but the teacher is really nice and knows that I don't understand, so he lets me read this really effed up graphic novel in french about some sort of religious conflict that happened, I understand most of the content, but I still can't figure out where they are, and why they're doing what they are doing... And these kids, for being seemingly defiant outside of class, are extremely obedient and well mannered when the teachers are around. There is absolutely NO gum chewing, No drinking bottled water, or eating of any kind, they even frown upon cough drops... when another teacher enters the room, everyone stands and greets the teachers, then remains standing until they are told they can sit down. No one ever doesn't do their homework, and you aren't allowed to leave during class to use the bathroom. None of these things are that majorly harsh, but it is just things to get used to.

On top of all of that, teachers strike, A LOT, so there isn't school because all of the teachers are protesting for something, and in Public school, teachers just take random days off, and there are no substitute teachers! so if a teacher is missing, you don't have class! all in all I really like school, but it is totally different. I miss being able to go to a school sporting event, wearing blue and silver, and cheer for the bulldogs. there is Zero school spirit here aside from the people at my school, thinking that there school is better than one of the other public schools in Rouen (Jean d'Arc) haha.

I went into Rouen on Wednesday to go shopping with an American friend who lives in Elbeuf, a town south of Rouen and my town of St-Etienne du Rouvray. It was nice, I needed some more clothes... I didn't realize how much stuff I took out of my bag to avoid weight problems and having to pay $200 for an overweight bag! I didn't spend a lot of money, but I bought a good amount of stuff, and I bought a Striped t-shirt (everyone here has at least one)! I officially weigh 3 pounds less than the lowest weight in my old weight fluctuation zone, I am happy about that. French sizes are so weird though! Clothes are made for strictly skinny people... In America I am a pretty steady medium, sometimes a small even, but never a large or extra large... here, I wouldn't be able to fit my head in a medium... The larger the size, the longer the garment, but as the garment gets longer, its width stays the same! I am now usually a large, sometimes an extra extra large, My body type isn't rare here though, I don't know if everyone else buys the sizes I do, or if they shop somewhere else, but I found this somewhat surprising!
On top of shopping in Rouen, I got to take more pictures! I love exploring the city, it has a lot of history and a bazillion old churches, I want to see them all before the year is done! Sometimes I am jealous of the people that live farther out in the country because they get beautiful fields and rolling landscaped, but then I remember just how beautiful Rouen is and I get over it.

Because of the strikes, I didn't have school on wednesday, or thursday, and I also didn't have school this morning, so I am pretty excited about sleeping in!

I got a haircut on Wednesday, the Hairdresser came to the house and cut my hair right in the kitchen. It was really cool, and only 11 Euro which isn't bad considering if I went to a salon, it would cost about 25 Euro. The woman was really nice, really fast, and did a really good job. I am not used to no tipping people here. I always forget that they include tip in the price of the good or service, so tipping isn't really something that people here do.

Well I think I should get up now, It is 11:30 AM and I still haven't emerged from my room.
More to come!
Until next time
Love and Cheeeeese!
Jared