WEEK 1

28/11

This week was all about adjusting;
But first, a bit about Rouen -

I've kindly circled my town just for you!
Susan is in Metz (north east), and Katie is in Dijon (east).
So yes, compared to them I'm in woop woop. -.-

My House;

My Garden!

The Family (from left) - Raja, Cathie, Nadim, Hager (Nadim's wife)

Evaaaaaa! ((:


Rouen is called "The City of 100 Churches", and they weren't lying! It has heaps of history about about the World War... I dunno which one though HAHA. But Google it, if you're into that kind of stuff. It is also the town where Joanne of Arc was burned at the stake, kinda sad, but historic. It has beautiful old fashioned houses and tiny streets, and everything is within half an hour walking distance. :)

Rouen by day

...And by night

Le Croix de Pierre, aka. The Cross of Peter
- If you ever get lost in Rouen, you ask how to get to it and you'll be on your way again.

The jetlag was worse than I thought, I had a few nights waking up at like 2am, but French coffee is MEGA strong so I ended up staying awake! Some cons of this time difference was that I was getting hungry at weird times, and also - THE FRENCH DON'T SNACK! So I'm sitting at school telling Eva I'm hungry every 5 minutes. But you know me, a fatty on the inside ^_^

My little kitchen! :D


School was an interesting experience, a lot of being excluded from conversations because I couldn't understand, but then everyone trying to speak english to me; it's super cute :D Also, they say many english words, ones which aren't really suitable for my blog... haha. In every class I was introduced as "the australian correspondant". Eva's history teacher is the craziest teacher EVER though! Even I was laughing, and I couldn't even understand half the things he was saying!

Hmmm..Oh, a funny story. So on Sunday, aka my first day, we went to a thing a bit like the Perth Royal Show. In fact, it was bigger than that, heaps more rides, and every 20m there was a crepe place ^_^

The Rouen Show

Juliette, Eva, Me

Ok, so here's the funny story. So I got hit on by my first french boy. -.-
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So i was sitting at the bus stop with Eva and her friend, and this guy comes up and starts talking to me. I looked at him blankly, and eva's friend begins to tell him that i am australian and that i dont speak french. so THEN he asks her how to say "belle" in english, and so he goes

Guy: You are very beautiful!
Me: Haha... thankyou?
Guy: I kiss you!
Me: ohhhh non non non non non ! !

So we get on the bus and he sits near me and keeps talking

Guy: So, what is your name?
Me: *looks at Eva* ummm... Danielle.
Guy: Oh, it is a nice name.

And so he asks me how old i am and we all sit there awkwardly until he gets to his stop;

Guy: *says something in french*
Me: *realising he is asking for my number* umm noooo...
Guy: ah ok... bonsoir

So we wait until he gets off the bus;
Us: AAAAAAAAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHA
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Yep, it had to be me didn't it. But this week has been the first week of a great adventure. I LOVE the Salmans to pieces, I feel like part of the family already. I've struggled with communicating, but we always find ways to. :) Oh and I saw New Moon in french! Didn't understand much, only like "Je t'aime" hahaha.

Looking forward to:
- The Christmas markets! (They sometimes have ice skating!)
- Our trip to Paris! (most likely after Christmas)

Anyway, I'm out!
à bientot!
Dani. xoxo

THE JOURNEY

Bonjour mes amis!

Bienvenue à ma blog ((:

OKAY OKAY, I'll speak English!
Here's a little insite on the journey to France:

Yep, Perth --> Paris!
We made a stop to KL on the way

Honestly, it was the most draining 21 hours of my life! Having to say goodbye to family and friends for 2 months was the hardest part, I'm missing them like crazy right now...
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The family minus Nathan :)

The Grandparents ^_^

The KCC Crew :D

Mum - The person I'll miss the most.
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ANYWAY, enough of the soppy stuff haha.
So there we were; Me Susan and Katie. Off on a BIG adventure by ourselves!
- Notice the attractive "Nacel" hats *giggles*

It was hours of attempted sleep, cookie eating and practicing French. I was EXTREMELY disappointed when the stupid airport man took my Vegemite off me! So what if it was 142g, I'm not gonna make a bomb out of it! It was interesting that on the way to Paris we were surrounded by french people, most likely thinking "Those stupid Australians and their awful French!"
Oh and there were these Asians behind us that kept complaining about me. ^_^

So it was 6.05am, and we arrived in Paris. The weather - Cold but fresh.
I said goodbye to Katie at the Airport, and Susan at the station. :(

But my spirits were then lifted by my first French coffee! I tell you what, it was AMAZING!
I also asked for a croissant, YES - in French! It was terribly exciting :D

So then it was Me, Erin and Maxile (the chaperone) on the train. After about an hour or so, I arrived in Rouen! Tired, hungry and smelly I met my homestay family - The Salmans. They were SO welcoming, and fed me up straight away! ^_^ So here I am, Rouen France. Trying to keep up with the French, and jetlagged to the max.

à bientot!
Dani. xoxo