The bus and I have mixed feelings about each other. I want to like it but the things it does to me make me not like it.

I ride the bus every morning to school with Guillaume (sometimes to the house also) unless I start later, then my host mother will take me. I have had three bad incounters with it. I will tell you them all in detail!!!

 1.
It was my second week of school and I was suppose to ride the bus home alone. This was my first time without Guillaume. I was nervous about getting on the wrong one because the buses park in a line in front of the school and you are just suppose to get on the right one. The first week I didn't really pay attention to what bus we were getting on so when I saw all the buses lined up without my city's name on it, I started having a mini panic attack. So since the buses normally leave right once school gets out I had to move fast. I jumped onto one bus and just said "Vallabregues?" to the driver and with my accent the bus driver had no idea what I was saying. I started to get embarrassed because people started laughing and the driver was getting really angry. Finally one of the kids yelled "VALLABREGUES" and the driver just looked at me and said "No"!! I got off and just stood outside and looked at the buses. I was pasing back and forth trying to see somebody I recognized on one of the buses. Then the buses started leaving, at that exact moment I recognized the bus driver (it's always the same).. but the bus already started moving. I was too late. Then a car pulled in front of the bus and it stopped. I ran and knocked on the window and he let me in. I was so lucky. That was so embarrassing and taught me to pay attention so if I have to do something by myself again I would know what to do.


2. 
This time it happened in the morning. I haven't missed one bus through out the past five months, until Wednesday, May 23. I was ready 10 minutes earlier than I normally am. I decide to start walking to the bus and just sit there with my music and wait, but when I went to open the front door it was locked. It's one of those doors where you have to open it with a key on BOTH sides. I don't have a key and I don't know what it looks like. I am the only one in the house. I first start laughing because this of course happened on the one time I did good and was early. I start running around and circles asking myself "HOW DO I GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE? DO I GO THROUGH A WINDOW? DO I......" And then I figured it out. I did this long big train of things to make sure all the doors were locked and everything was normal. Then I looked at the clock, it was 7:30am. That is when the bus arrives. I started RUNNING and RUNNING. I arrived right when the bus took off, I started waving my hands behind the bus but the driver didn't see me. I missed it. After, I called my host mother and she drove me to school.

3.
At this point I get the feeling that the driver doesn't like me. I enter the bus and normally everyday he says "Bonjour", but today he didn't so I just walked on and didn't say bonjour either. We arrived at the school and I let everyone exit first, to be nice, and as I am walking down the stairs to get off the bus the door closes on me. Before I can even realize what is happening the bus starts driving away, with me still in it. Guillaume starts laughing and starts waving his hands around that is suppose to mean "tell the driver". I run up the three stairs and yell "Monsieur, la porte!! S'il vous plait!", in my cute, loud, innocent voice, he then grunts at me, stops the bus, opens the door, I hold my laughter, exit, he immediately closes the door and drives away, and I start laughing histerically. All I can think of is it was karma for not saying Bonjour to him! 


There are my intense bus stories for you. Other than that, riding the bus is actually kind of fun.


I can't believe in a month, I will be leaving my host family, friends, and school.  This is when the count down begins but I am not looking forward to leaving. I am really going to miss this place. 


- Tifani Ciotti 

Coucou!!

In France, we have a lot of unnecessary days off of school. We didn't have school Thursday... not sure why? But since on Friday we had school and then we have the weekend, a lot of people didn't show up to school because that way they had a four day weekend versus just two. My friend's parents allow it too. People here call it "le pont" (The bridge) when you skip the middle day between two holidays. The school was really empty and even the bus didn't show up Friday morning!! Luckily, my host mother was able to drive us to school. 

So on my day off I decided to take some pictures of my host family's house so you can see what a typical French house looks like. In America, I don't cook so since I have been here I have tried to cook and bake as much as I can to see if it helps my hate for cooking. So far, it's been really fun!! I helped my host mother make ratatouille the other night!!

In my house there are two bathrooms/toilets, an office, 4 bedrooms, a kitchen and dining room, a living room, and a game room/workout room, with of course a pool! The upstairs is all for the kids. It has all of the kid's rooms and our bathroom. The downstairs has everything else.

This is our bathroom upstairs.
 

Our bathtub.. I think there are more bathtubs then showers in France.


The sink on the right is mine.


My host sister's bedroom. She is an artist so she put up all the things she likes or designed on her walls. It's really cool actually.

 
My host brother's bedroom. 

 
The angle isn't too good but you get the idea of what it looks like!

The view from my room!


The lovely kitchen.


The dinning room with the posterboard of pictures of all the activities they have done.

The living room.


My host father's office room.


The work out room!

The front yard is soo green! This was the first lawn I have ever mowed!!


It is impossible to take a picture of all the house because the house is surrounded by a big gate with a lot of bushes... so this is the best I could do!


Voila! There is my French family's house! Really comforting, I love it!

Now for some pictures of food and my host family.

This is chicken, cooked tomatoes, and mango soup! The greatest soup ever!
 

The greatest nutella cake I have ever assisted in making..!! 


We made this for my host sister's birthday brunch!


My delicious Ratatouille!!!


A little bite size entree with fruit and cheese.


Had a big lunch outside in the first hot day of the year!


(left to right) My host brother in law, host mother, and host father. Pork, duck, ratatouille, salad, sausage, and bread!


My adorable nieces, Laly and Nessa!


My whole host family plus some really close friends. (Left to right) Delphine (host sister), Eric (host father), Carlos (host brother in law), ME, Manon's little brother.. I forgot his name, Noémie (my host sister), Manon (my friend from school), Guillaume (my host brother), Vincent (Manon's dad), and Josiane (my fabulous host mother).


Noémie and my two little niece's at the museum of Haribo!!


Noémie and Laly.


Luckily, my host family hasn't made escargots or frogs for me to eat yet... not sure if I will be able to eat it or not! French meals are delicious and not too unnormal. It's not strange crickets, bull guts, or anything crazy like that. Which I am happy for!


- Tifani Ciotti

I would like to start this post by saying, I am obsessed with music. I couldn't live without listening to it 20 hours in the day! Since I am in France I have been trying to find some GOOD French music which is kind of difficult but I think I have found some really good ones. I remember when I was in the US, I seemed to find only the old, bad ones. If you have the same problem here are some links.

Here are my favorites!! (I am going to also add some that is mixed with English and French)

This guy is not only a good singer but he has some good looks too.. he is my french crush!! 
2:20- 2:22 = ADORABLE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ-uPxVYsbA&ob=av2e

This is my all time favorite French song. Great message and I like the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=nq2cr1D3bvQ

Some people may not like this song but I like it. It's kinda rap but soft rap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0Tq6cnxAkk

I don't like the video but this song is catchy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeompIt8fpA&ob=av2n

Andy Grammar speaks English... he is just amazing.. I love him. Mélissa NKonda speaks French. Here is a remake of Keep Your Head Up. It's English and French!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0LxwOjffu8

Remake of another English song!! You can never go wrong with a Linkin Park song!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxtfFoFwrmA

This band is ridiculous but funny. Love the blonde... :p
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OMa_iZIFtg&feature=related 

Great song!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOHVRabET4w&ob=av3e

This isn't French but it's EXTREMELY famous in France right now and I love it!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcm55lU9knw&ob=av3e

Once I hear more that I really like I will post them... IF I hear more..

Tifani Ciotti 

These aren't in any particular order. I just put in some of my favorite moments. Btw: I am the blonde in these pictures.. just so you know.

When you travel, make sure to take as many pictures as you possibly can! You will regret it later if you don't. It's nice to be able to look back at all the friends, adventures, and moments I have had. I wouldn't want to forget these one tiny bit!! 

I am on a two week "spring break" vacation. (I love these long breaks they give us!) It started last Friday (April 20th) and it ends May 6th. (but that following Tuesday I don't have school so I have a lot of days off.) SO for my spring break my host family decided to take me to SPAIN for a week. I was really excited to go because we would finally be going to a place where my host siblings couldn't speak the language so they knew what it was like to be in my shoes but I think the majority of people spoke more French then Spanish.. so that was a fail!!

Imagine this: A French family going to Spain with an American to meet with a Dutch family... that was us this week!! So many languages!! It was awesome!! Besides the stomach flu or food poisoning that I got, I had a lot of fun! (I am fine now, it took three days but I sucked it up the last two days and kept going. Which probably wasn't the best idea, but since I have been back, I have just been resting.) We went to Barcelona, Port Adventura (an amusement park), and the surrounding areas. 

Although Spain was fun and had cool achitectural buildings, I am glad I picked France to live in. I am in LOVE with France!

P.S. Some homesickness advice. I haven't gotten the big culture shock or major homesickness yet, but I did have a little homesickness during the last week of my spring break. SO instead of making it worse by sitting in my room, I decided to go for a bike ride to get my mind off of it. IT WORKED SO WELL. I went alone (make sure you are alone when you go). I brought my camera and started taking pics of the neighborhood and of random things. It was really refreshing! Also, one of the CIEE orientation people, Nate, told me something that has also helped. He said whenever you are having a bad day just remember why you are there (meaning your goals). So whenever I feel like I have just wasted all my time here. I remember my main reason was to improve my understanding of the language, so I always remind myself of how bad I was before I came and how much I have improved. It helps.
If you just remember those few things, your homesickness will be a lot more manageable.

P.S.2. Another advice. In America, whenever I take a shower I let the water run the whole time. In France, they turn off their water when they are not rinsing off. For example, get in the shower, get your hair wet, then turn off the water while putting your shampoo in. It saves water and your host family will love you for that!

P.S.3. USE AS MUCH SUNLIGHT AS POSSIBLE FOR LIGHT BEFORE YOU TURN ON YOUR LIGHTS.

Okay, that's all for now. I hope my posts are benefiting you in some way!! Making you want to come.. maybe??

Tifani Ciotti 

Random blog post!! :D

I never really understood how coming to France would improve my French, to me, it just seemed like it would confuse me more (but who would turn down a trip to France!). While being here,  I have realized why coming here helps so much! When you are here the words stick with you so much more. When I hear the same word more than three times during the day I will look it up and normally just after that one time of translating it I remember it. I then am constantly thinking about how I can put that in my sentences, instead of just being in USA and hearing it then never needing to use it.

Valentine’s Day is very different here in France! When Valentines Day came around I was so excited to see all the different cards, flowers, and chocolates being passed around just like in my American school, but here it is totally different. Nobody even mentioned it was Valentine’s Day. It is only for couples to celebrate.  Couples here are also very private. Even at school they don’t hang out much or eat lunch together. They normally just are together after schools and on the weekends. Which means less drama and more time for your friends. It's brilliant!

Where I live they have an interesting tradition with bulls. It is similar to bull fighting but instead of fighting the bull, the people run in and out of the cage to avoid being attacked. It is both amusing and scary to watch. I went to one a couple days ago and the bull almost escaped twice! I never went into the cage because I was too scared… I mean I was too brave to even try (;P) but my friends went in.

The language barrier can be pretty upsetting sometimes just because I want to communicate and have long conversations with people but they either talk too fast or they just talk to me in English. At school it is hard because they abbreviate their words and use slang but after awhile you get use to it. That never seems to stop us from having fun though!

I was always told before coming here “Try every new thing possible while you are there! If an opportunity arrives, take it!!” so that is what I am doing. Even small new things I have been doing! My host mother asked me if I wanted to go to Bingo night about a month ago. In America I would have turned that down so fast. Bingo, seriously… no!!! But since I am in France I decided to say yes. I made my host brother come with me so I wouldn’t get bored and so I knew what was going on. Lets just say that will be a night I will never forget! The man running the Bingo night found out I was American and made hilarious jokes, tried to obviously rig the game so I would win (which failed), it was so much fun! I left knowing my numbers in French three times better than I did before I walked in and had a blast! My host parents LOVE everything medieval. They are part of every medieval festival that happens around here. Which is pretty cool! They asked me if I wanted to be part of it with them. I decided to go and make the best of it while I am there. My host mother makes the costumes herself. She made my host sister and me acrobat costumes. It ended up being not as much fun as I hoped but I enjoyed wearing the costume and I do not regret going at all! 

If you want to watch good French movies but don’t know what to watch. Here are a few I have enjoyed since being here: 
L’Arnacoeur, Safari (weird but funny movie), Intouchables (AMAZING movie! I recommend it to EVERYBODY!), Neuilly Sa Mère, and the rest of the movies I have watched were American movies in French with English subtitles. 

It's crazy remembering my first day here. Before I came I was only good at reading and writing in French. Hearing and speaking French was almost impossible for me. Even after the 2 or so years I have been studying French. Now I understand pretty well, the teachers don't seem to be speaking Jibberish to me anymore! Speaking is still kind of difficult but I know I will get to the point where I speak without a lot of trouble. I have been influenced to learn another language after French. I love how in the French schools they learn multiple languages while growing up. I think that is brilliant. 


I will be back soon with more random stories/information.

Bisous et à bientôt,
Tifani Ciotti

P.S. I am going to post pictures of my adventure in another post. It won't let me in this one.

SALUT! Welcome to my first blog,
I have been in France for about 3 months now and have absolutely loved it! In total, I will be here for 8 months, 6 months with the program and then an extra 2 months traveling around Europe in the summer.

I have a host mother named Josiane, a host father named Eric, a host brother named Guillaume (17), and a host sister named Noémie (16).  Guillaume and I go to the same school but I rarely ever see him. My host sister is in the same grade as me but we’re in different schools. They are extremely funny people! I could not have asked for a better host family. They are sportive, sarcastic, and just overall a nice family.

My first day in the Lycée was crazy. The night before I was so nervous. I was about to go to a high school where French was their first language, I had no friends, and my schedule was confusing. The first day of school in America is stressful but when you go to another country and do it there, it's nerve wracking! I was so excited! I arrived with my host brother and he introduced me to some of his friends and the staff. He showed me the area so I didn't feel too lost. My first class was French and I had no idea what was going on. The teacher talked way too fast and we were analyzing poems. Luckily, the kids in the class are very nice so they helped me find my classes and understand them a little more.


In France the grade levels are named differently.

In the College (middle school):
Cinqième = 7th grade
Quatrième = 8th grade
Troisième = Freshman

In the Lycée (high school):
Seconde = Sophomore (I am in this grade)
Première = Junior
Terminale = Senior

In Première and Terminale you get to choose between two different levels.  Literature and Scientific, if you choose Literature you focus more on languages and little to no Math and Science classes. If you choose Scientific, then you focus more on Science and Math and little to no languages.

This is my schedule:

Lundi (Monday):
8:00-9:00 French
9:00-10:00 History/Geography
10:00-11:00 Math
11:00- 12:00 English (My English teacher won't speak to me in English, only French, so I barely do English! I love it!)
12:00- 1:15 Lunch
1:15- 2:45 Physical Science
2:45- 4:15 Biology
4:15- 5:15 Math

Mardi (Tuesday):
8:00- 9:00 French
9:00- 10:00 étude (Study hall)
10:00- 11:00 étude (Study hall)11:00- 12:00 Physical Science or English (depends on the week)
12:00- 1:15 Lunch
1:15- 2:15 No class
2:15- 4:15 EPS/Sport (P.E.)

Mercredi (Wednesday):
8:00- 9:00 E.C.J.S.
9:00- 10:00 History/Geography
10:00- 12:00 Math

Jeudi (Thursday):
8:00- 11:00 Science
11:00- 12:00 History/Geography
12:00- 1:15 Lunch
1:15- 2:15 Physical Science

Vendredi (Friday):
9:00-11:00 French
11:00- 12:00 English

There are a few major differences between American schools and French schools and they are…

American

• Normally more than half the kids are unorganized in their backpacks
• Double or triple use a paper to write a couple notes down for several classes
• Talk a lot
• Call the teachers by their last name and if it’s too long then abbreviate it
• Only participate when they have been chosen by the teacher
• School starts around 8:00am and ends around 3:00pm
• They use letters to great papers (A, B, C, D, F)
• Nobody smokes
• Only learn English and a little bit of another language

French

• They use many different colored pens (normally never use a pencil)
• Very organized
• All kids write notes
• There is never school on Wednesday afternoons
• Use a certain type of paper for each class and activity
• Call the teachers only Madame and Monsieur
• Are never shy to participate in class or say what they think
• School starts around 8:00am and ends around 17h (5:00pm)
• They use numbers to great papers. It’s out of 20. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc, all the way to 20. 1 = horrible. 10 = okay. 20 = perfect)
• Almost all the kids smoke at breaks (in the Lycée)
• They have to learn three different languages in school
• It is courtesy to not sit down until the teacher gives you okay when you first arrive in class
• There are no substitute teachers so when the teacher is not there you don’t have class 
  For example: my French teacher won't be at school tomorrow (Friday) so I only have one hour of English and then I can go home! Winning!

There are a lot more differences but I only gave the major ones because if I said all the differences I would be here all day writing them!

My friends in school are crazy, funny, caring, helpful, and very well dressed! I always tend to attract the hyper people! I don’t know why? I guess people would say I am a tad hyper but when I first arrived in France and in the school, I barely talked and I still attracted hyper friends! I love it! It’s like no matter where I go I will always be able to find good friends! (If you are planning on being an abroad student and are worried about making friends, don’t even stress it! These people are very interested in foreigners. They want to know everything about where you are from and they ask a lot of questions. Even if you can’t speak their language perfect, you can understand each other because you will either speak French, English, or Frenglish. All three work!)


WARNING: If you are blonde and planning on going to France, be prepared to have a lot of people stare at you. Blonde is not normal here. At all. I feel like I am secretly a celebrity because I am constantly having people come up to me and either fall in love with me or they want to be my friend. Both are fine but it can get really annoying sometimes. So be prepared if you are blonde!

Bisous! À bientôt,
Tifani C 

Check back soon...

Look at me, the mad poster! Hardly anything gets posted for weeks and weeks, and then suddenly it's like I'm doing nothing else!

I mean, sure, they're not block-of-text posts like I usually do, but at least they're still interesting. Right?

So, today's post is going to be a photo show. I recently went down to Nîmes in the south of France to visit some friends who live there, and we went to a lot of really awesome places and took a lot of amazing pictures.

A picture's worth a thousand words, right? Right. Let's get started, then.

And...I've officially run out of good pictures. I hope you liked them, anyway.

~Jocelyn Harris

Okay, now, this is just getting to be ridiculous.

It starts out like a bad joke. So, an American walks into a French store...followed with the inevitable punchline of "Your card doesn't work."

Which is nonsense. It works just fine. It's just that the cashiers happen to be French, and, keeping with French tradition, assume that every customer they meet is going to be stupid, wrong, or both.

My exchanges tend to go like this:

The cashier rings up my purchases and I dutifully hand them my card. They turn it right side up, look at it with a small frown, and try to put it into their chip-reader. The machine fails to make the 'accepted' beeping noise.

"Mademoiselle, your card doesn't work. Have you got cash?"

I shake my head and point at my card.

"Try swiping it."

The cashier looks, confused, at the card in their hand. They try again to push it in. The machine stands resolute in it's decision that my card is chip-less.


"It doesn't work."

I sigh and point at the card again.

"It's an American card. You need to swipe it."

The cashier looks relieved to have something, finally, to blame.

"Oh! Well, sometimes American cards don't work."

"This one does. It's a visa. Try swiping it."

The cashier pushes the card in again.

"I'm sorry. It doesn't work."

"Alright."

I take my card back from the cashier, smile at them, and then reach around their arm and the cash register to swipe my card. The machine beeps.

"Did that work?"

The cashier looks astonished.

"Payment accepted."


 ~Jocelyn Harris