Je deteste le prof d'anglais!!!

Time for blog number two! I had my first proper day of classes yesterday with Sophie, and we had to be there early (at 8am). We headed off to school in the dark! I went to Spanish first, and I didn't listen because I have never learnt Spanish, and then SES, which is like Social and Economic Sciences. That was quite boring, and Sophie's teacher is a bit odd! We had a break then, but unlike at home, they don't have a snack at this time. The day was really busy, with 5 hours of class in the morning so i was really hungry by lunch. After break we had English, which was an experience.

I should mention that the French kids my age have been learning English for about 8 years or so, and they are really good at it! However, their teacher seemed to think otherwise!

They were discussing an advertisement for the Civil Rights movement in the US, which was a poster about Martin Luther King and some murderer called Charles Manson, and they went through their tests on this reading comprehension about some French immigrants to Louisiana in the 1850s. I think their textbook is written in American English, and that's basically what they were being taught. They only seem to learn about the US and a bit about England.

We had more English in the afternoon and it got more confusing! She was being really mean to them, especially this guy called Antoine, coz she asked him to read something that they were meant to have learnt, and then she asked him questions which they hadn't had to learn, and they weren't in the book. Then we listened to something which started in English, and then changed to American English. They talked about it, and wrote stuff down but she confused them and got things wrong. Like, for example she said the word 'illegally' like 'illegally' with pronouncing the work 'leg' which was odd. And she had some problem with the word during, i don't know why. She's quite painful, and mean to the students. Then it was quite odd, she was asking them what someone who cleans houses is called, and i'm thinking of a maid, or a cleaner, or even a housekeeper, considering it was a text about the past, and she disagreed with those things, especially when one guy said 'maid'. Then I think she saw me looking confused, and asked if she was right. Here's the gist of the conversation:

"Olivia, am I right?"
"Er, well, no not really. You can use the word maid for someone who cleans houses, or you can just say a cleaner"
"But what about someone who works in a restaurant?"
"Er, that would be a waitress"
"Even in a bar or pub?"
"No, that would be a barmaid"
"Oh, as in a female barman?"
"Yes, exactly"

Some of the words she chose were quite odd, like she said 'we can suppose' when she really meant 'we can guess or assume' & alarm bells went off in my head but of couse I couldn't say anything! And her accent is bad!!

Anyway, we also had History/Geography, and did maps of Europe, which i sorta understood, and Maths...took me over half the lesson to work out they were doing quadractics, and i worked out the equation, i was very proud of myself! But i was still very lost. Sophie's friend Eden, a guy called Jean and I spent much of the lesson giggling because the teachers shirt was slightly open at the waist, letting us see a bit too much!!!

After school, some people hadn't finished yet, so all the exchange participants had the chance to talk to each other in small groups. Then we went to the Town Hall of Nogent to meet the mayor (who didn't turn up!). I was saying to some of the girls how hopeless the teacher was, and the French girls said they hate her and I should tell her how much she sucks before I leave!!! So now everyone (French and Aussies) are in agreement I must learn to be mean and tell the teacher off!

Today I've had a quiet morning coz we don't have to go to school on Wednesdays, as they only have school in the morning, so I slept in, called mum and dad, chatted on msn to people and Skype to Charli, Grandma, Paul and Kayla, so I'm happy! Now Sophie is doing her homework and I'm blogging. We have to go food shopping a bit later, that will be very interesting!

Bisous,

Liv

Bonjour mes amies!!!

Bonjour mes amies!

Je suis en France!!! And now I will switch to English because I know most of you will have no idea what I am saying otherwise!! I am having an amazing time so far, but I'm so tired! I left on Saturday night, Melbourne time, and crossed 3 time zones at least! We stopped in Singapore, which was good because we could get off the plane and stretch our legs...and there wasn't any creepy military dudes with guns this time!!! That was a seven hour flight, and I tried to sleep, not easy on a plane, especially not in cattle class, but oh well!! C'est la vie! But it was fun, Hannah was with me, and it was her birthday, so I brought her a cupcake, with a fake flame because you can't light anything in the airport. She opened her presents on the plane, and she loved them - and was very shocked to find one from Ari.

We had fun chatting on the plane though, but we did try to sleep sometimes. I left her in Dubai and the 12 of us going to France had a much quieter journey (with better TVs lol).

The flights were very long and i was so tired yesterday, and i am now too. Sophie and her mum met me at the airport - it was snowing when we got here, we were so shocked it was so cool!!! They are really nice, and speak good English, thank goodness because my french is seriously hopeless, i feel like i have no idea what i am doing!!! I'm trying really hard but i can't seem to remember the right forms of verbs when i want to say something!! Or the tenses...it's very confusing!!!

I gave them their presents too, which they liked and we started playing Australian Monopoly last night but I was dead on my feet by 7 so i went to sleep!!! I had to explain where everything was, and what it was about, so trying to explain the ANZACs and why we pick on Tassie and Queensland (i told them the banana bender joke of Dads...but of course i explained it i don't think they really believed me lol) even in English is hard to people who really don't know the country at all. We looked at an atlas, and I showed them my photo album so they all know who all my friends and family are.

I had school today, but i start going to classes tomorrow. I caught the bus with Sophie and Gabrielle, and we started later (at nine). We sorted out schedules and had a tour of the school, its really nice a lot of it is new. We had lunch in the cafeteria, which was kinda cool, but they have a full on meal which is different, but i could actually eat it which was good! Then we finished at 12 and the group took the metro to Les Champs-Elysees!!!!!!
It's sooooo cool, I know i've been there before but its still amazing!! We walked and looked at all the shops, and looked like tourists taking so many photos (Dad would have been very disappointed!) I bought some postcards and these cute black and white drawing things of La Tour Eiffel et L'Arc de Triomphe. I'm going to put them on my wall at home. We went into Louis Vuitton too, OMG it is soooooo cool, the stuff is just gorgeous, but the cost is outrageous. I saw these cute scarves, for 90 euros, which is $180!! I know, these things are lost on you, my friends who hate shopping, but i think everyone would have seen something they liked, the watches and jewelery were so cool. Then we had to go back to school because some girl's sisters finished at four. Sophie didn't and the rest of us when to Mme Deligne's English classes (she's their teacher who organized the exchange), and introduced ourselves, in French with the older group and we showed them Korowa brouchures Mme Popa brought. There was that photo of me in House Arts last year on one, it was so embarrassing!!!

So, that is a summary of my first real day in France!!! I am so tired it is ridiculous and I have to get up at 6.45 tomorrow because Sophie starts school at 8. Ah, c'est la vie!!!

Bisous,

Liv