Fort la Latte

We had our first excursion today! We went to thecoastal town of Erquy,

then an old lighthouse, then to Fort la Latte, an awesome medieval fort!

The first photo is of the coast. I uploaded only a few because it takes so much time! There was one place where the cliffs dropped sharply and formed a dramatic U. Further into the ocean, there was a massive rock just like the one Harry and Dumbledore stood on in the sixth movie. Hmm...

This is the fort! It was SO COOL. There were two drawbridges and a horrifying place for the prisoners... Maybe I'll tell you about that later. See the tall tower in the photo? That's the dungeon, but it wasn't for prisoners. It is the most secure plqce in the fort, and the lord of the area and his family would go there if the town was under attack.

"Pas anglais! Pas anglais!"

Laura, your letter came today!! Quelle surprise! : ) I haven't found the post office yet to reply, but I will! The mail woman came up to the door instead of putting your letter in the mailbox, and she asked my mom, "Mme Legrand, who is this?" It's their American. That's how my mom introduces me! Their American, Kate. Or Katelyn. (But it sounds like Ket and KetLEEN.)

Eh, c'est pas grave. It's no big deal. Everyone in France says that! My parents said it after I got lost in St-Brieuc on my first day of school. My culture professor said it when I forgot to do my first homework assignment. The kid who sits next to me in my communication class says it when he talks too quickly and I can't understand him. It's so nice! It's a great reminder to learn from my mistakes then let them go. C'est pas grave.

In other news, I found the apostrophe!!!'''!'!'!'''''' And the cord for my camera fits in the computer here, but I haven't figured out where my photos are on the computer... I'm working on it. Sorry if there are a lot of typos in these posts! I'm getting better with this keyboard and will probably have trouble with the keyboards in the US when I get back. It isn't too bad, but the q is where the a should be, and the z is where the w should be. And the period doesn't have his own key, but I have to use the Alt key with the semi-colon button. Those are my trouble spots. Does that make sense? No? Eh, c'est pas grave.

Can I tell you about my classes? My favorite changes from day to day. Monday it was grammar; today it's linguistics.

Ryan is my linguistics professor; he is considerate and friendly, but he almost always stands so that I can't see what he has written on the board. C'est pas grave. He eventually moves. His class is so interesting! We have been discussing how a language evolves with its people. He has been teaching us the phonetic alphabet! Like when the dictionary describes how a word should sound with upside-down Rs and backwards Cs and such. It was fun when our homework was to discern the French word from the jumble of symbols. It was like Mad Gab; we went through and made the sound of each symbol then said the sound faster and faster until we reconized a word in it. Like this: "Ah...mm...uh...r...ie...k...eh..........Amuh...reek.....uh.....Oh, je sais! Americain!" Et voila. But my homework this weekend is to go the opposite way: I have a list of French words and I have to write them phonetically. It's confusing when I have to discern a vowel's sound from among French's many sounds, but I think it's really fun! Weird, huh?

My first class of the day is Culture with Amber. She's cool but she talks too quickly. When I catch her jokes, she's really funny! She's like our mother; the rest of my professors are men, and they don't panic like she does when we think a student is missing because he missed his name during role call. At first I wanted to tell her to loosen up and calm down, but if I were responsible for 32 students, I would panic too if one may be missing. Her class is interesting and very practical. I have learned so much! Our discussions on the differences between the American and French cultures are my favorite. As Americans, we love the idea of individualism. To us, it it independence and creativity. To the French, it has a very negative connotation. L'individualisme is selfishness; it is to value yourself above others and seek your own good instead of the good of the community. Interesting, non? We talked about that today. Yesterday we listened to a song about the differences between the cultures of France and Quebec, sung by a Quebecian woman (or whatever the adjective is). The lyrics I understood were really funny. She made fun of the French's long meals and les bisous (when they kiss each other's cheek while greeting), and how the French expect the people of Quebec to live in igloos. I guess that means they have houses.

For the French, it isn't necessary to smile at everyone. I'm glad we talked about that in culture! Everyone seemed a little hostile. Look for that the next few days! When you make eye contact with someone, even a stranger, you smile, right? Not here. I thought, "Oh no! They know I'm American! They hate me!" Or something like that. Nope, that's normal. It does make me self conscious from time to time. Especially when another teenager makes eye contact with me; instead of a polite smile, he or she normally looks me over then looks away, like they disapprove. Awesome. It's easy to shake off, but sometimes I get prideful, like when the teenager is wearing Chuck Taylors. He should be thanking me and my country, right? We also learned that the French are apprehensive about talking with strangers because making friends is serious business. Friends are friends for life.

After culture is my communication class with Jamie. He is soft-spoken, has a lip ring, often wears plaid, and likes Harry Potter and knitting. In this class we practice conversational French with our classmates, learn how to better communicate with our host families, and learn peculiarities (is that spelled correctly?) (weird stuff) of the culture. For example, the French only say bonjour once a day to each person. They have other phrases and actions to avoid saying it again. It seems strange to me, because I can say "hello" to someone when I first arrive at school, again when I have class with them third period, at lunch, and also when I see them after school!

After communication is grammar- yay! It has the most work though. My grammar notebook is at least twice as thick as any of my others. My prof, Larry, is intense. He's so funny though! Definitely my favorite prof. He is très intelligent, so his humor is too. He is creative and enegetic, and he has an opinion about everything. His class is tough; we get down to the nitty gritty things, and when we give an answer for whether or not the verb agrees with the subject, he asks, "Why?" Aw man. It's improving my spoken French as well as my written.

I also joined the choir.... Where do I start with that? There are maybe 15 of us, and our director is I  N  T  E  N  S  E. We spend 20 minutes doing exercises to prepare our voices, including scales and neck massages. And lots of stretching, like yoga. The first day, she had the boys do the flamenca while doing scales. One of the boys quit after that practice. Man, can this woman sing! She can sing every part but the bass, and when she hits the high notes, I kinda want to cry because it's so beautiful.

Mic, I've had ratatouille!! Twice now! It's so good : ) I'm going to ask my profs if it is impolite to ask someone for their recipe. If not, I'll get it for you!

I'm posting today instead of tomorrow because TOMORROW WE LEAVE IN THE RV! Holler. I don't know what we're doing or where we're going (it depends on the weather), but it'll be cool!

Oh! Something I love about France: my mom offers me dessert after breakfast AND dinner. Win. Dessert is usually cookies or fruit or yogurt (which is much sweeter than ours).

My profs said that our brains will start developping a spot for our French. It's happening! It's becoming easier to use French. My classmates and I can speak a little quicker! Sometimes English will slip out with reflex words like "sorry!" or "no, wait!" Even when I think in English (which is happening less and less) my brain is conjugating the verbs in French. It's also becoming harder to use English! Several times in this post, I've started to type the French word but caught myself... AP Language next year will be good. May I take it in French?

Thank you for commenting on my posts!! It's so nice to hear from you all! Love you.

Je comprends!

After I wrote the last post, my mom said she was going to her parents home and asked if I wanted to come with! Yes, please! I met her parents last night at dinner, and I want to take every opportunity Im given! I forgot to say that last night, after we were at the dinner table eating and talking for 2 hours and 40 minutes, my mom sent me to bed because I was so tired. I was up for a while, unpacking and putting my things in their new places, and everyone was still at the table when I fell asleep! Its really neat how my mom brings the next course of wonderfulness out, but everyone is so wrapped up in the conersation that the food isnt passed around till that story is finished or topic exhausted.

So then we go to her parents house! Her brother was also there. We went just to visit, and there was coffee, which was delicious, and cookies with strawberry filling. My grandma offered me a drink and I asked for Coke; she sent the whole 1.5 L bottle home with me when we left!

Ive been feeling pretty lost in conversation (especially when they spoke breton last night), but today I told myself to just try. Great idea! Her brother is so nice,and very funny! Yes, I understood the jokes he made--score!! I was elated when I realized I got the jokes. He was very easy to talk with. He was very patient with me! We talked a lot about difference between the US and France. He was shocked that we get our drivers licenses at 16. He told me they can get theirs at 18, but can drink at 16. "Les Etats-Unis sont tres differents," he said. Oui. We also talked about differences in our diets. When he asked what kind of meat we eat, I could only remember the word for porc, so he made animal noises to help me name the rest.

My mom was skyping her other brother in the office, and my grandma explained to me that he is living in Madagascar for his job, and he lived in Tahiti for several months for his job also! She said it is a 24 hour plane ride from France to Madagascar. Now my 8 hour flight doesnt sound too bad... After this conversation, I realized, "Holy cow. I understood what she just said." Ha, YES! I cant explan how good that feels. Im beginning to communicate. Im starting to know what they are telling me! How long have I been here? Oh right, two days... Imagine how much I will learn this summer!! Ah, Im so blessed.

My mom has been telling me about this RV she and her husband are getting, and I kept smiling and saying that was cool. When we were at her parents, she showed me the "camping car" (they will borrow it from her parents) and told me that next weekend they were taking me in it to see Brittany!!! Are you kidding me?! Awesome!!

Then we went behind their house to the garden. Mygrandpa must grow every kind of vegetable! It was très grand. Oh, and he raises rabbits and carrier pigeons. Yes, really. The pigeons are kind of cute! There are so many, and of so many colors! And they can fly around because they always come back. By this time I was feeling more confident in speaking, so I wasnt embarrassed to say bonjour to the pigeons.

 My grandpa was working in the garden, which is by a big pen with two little spaniels! They were so so cute and very friendly. They got excited when they saw us come around, and they wanted to come out and say hello! They jumped up on the fence and barked, so my grandpa yelled at them to go back. He stomped his feet like he was coming after them while waving his little spade. The dogs ran into their chicken coop-like  home. One stuck his head out the door to keep watching us while the other jumped up to stick his little face out the window.

We took the long way home so that I could see the coast. Oh. My. Word. All I could get out for several minutes was "Ohh. Cest très magnifique.... La plage est trés belle!" Words fail me still. There were several times I forgot how to breathe as we looked on the jagged cliffs that lead out to the sea. Ill take pictures, but you all should come out to see them for yourselves.

I have loved driving around St-Brieuc and Yffiniac. Everything is stunning in its beauty and simplicity. The buildings have steep roofs, many have walls of stone, and they seem to be worn by hundreds of years of sea breeze. Even still, they are charming, with their petite windows and elegant gardens. And every house has a beautiful gate! Each house is unique. Its those details that make this place wondrous. Why cant America look more like France? Cest different, je suppose.

A lot of American music has made its way here though. Ive heard Maroon 5, Kesha, Flor Rida, One Direction, "Call Me Maybe," and "Somebody That I Use To Know." Oh, and the Police, but my mom didnt like it and switched radio stations. When we arrived at my grandparents, she was watching Monk!

I think thats all for now! I love you all beaucoup, and Ill write down lots that happen so I can tell you! And I will try to find the apostrophe on this computer.

Je suis en France! Finalement.

Hey!!! First post in France. Keyboards are a little different here, so this is taking me forever. My parents here say bonjour to you, Mom and Dad.

Sheesh, where do I start? The flight was so long! Then we had a seven hour bus ride from Paris to St-Brieuc. This town is beautiful!! But more on that later. We passed two Ikeas before we got here! Très chouette.

On the flight, as we got within minutes of landing, we chatted excitedly as a group (even though we were scattered across the plane. Désolé to our fellow passengers...) Once we touched ground and the language commitment started, however, la silence. We spoke a little bit in the airport and during the bus ride, but it was small talk and mostly over frqnçais-anglais dictionaries. When we arrived in St-Brieuc, we could see several families ready to take their student. Then we started admitting to each other how scared we were. What were we doing here??

The language hasnt come easy, but its getting better. (Sorry, I havent found the apostrophe yet!) Last night, my mom and sister came and whisked me away to their home. In the car, my mom told me that we were having her parents, her aunt, and her uncle over for dinner. Oh good, lets display my loose grip on your language while Im disoriented from jetlag and sudden immersion in a foreign culture. It was nice though! They were very kind and super talkative. The French seem to be very informed people; their conversation covered so much! Merci beaucoup, Mme Hayden for covering Frances recent election in class. I could contribute when it came up in conversation! Sort of. Their family asked many questions about Indiana and the US; my favorite was when my grandma asked about how we tell time. She asked several times, to be sure, "You have a 3 in the morning AND a 3 in the afternoon??" Oui, cest bizarre.

And the food! Oh my. It kept coming and coming, and it was so good! We started with different types of sausage, radishes, tomatoes, and a yummy rice dish. Then bread and melon. Then salade and three kinds of meat and potatoes (which they peel at the table with their knives). We had something that looked and tasted like applesauce, but may or may not have been applesauce. It went with everything! It tasted so good with the potatoes and the meat. Mm.

My dad walked me to the bus stop in our neighborhood today; thats the route Ill use tomorroz for my first day of class!

Bisous! (Kisses!)