Too short to even care.

Yeah, I'm getting down there in numbers.

I've just returned ('Just' being a relative term) from Ireland. I was there with Max, a friend from BC who lives in a tiny farming town called Gray in the Franche Comté. We left Strasbourg after watching 'Mariage à la Islandaise'(An Icelandic Wedding) which was an enjoyable film.

Leaving on the 9th of June, we didn't do that much that night. We were picked up at the airport by some of Max's family and went home with them. To be our base of operation for the next little while. We saw lots in Dublin. Chester Beatty Library, National Gallery, National Museum (Collin's Barracks), Guiness Brewery at St. Jame's Gate (One of the best parts of the trip), Jameson distillery, St. Patrick's cathedral, Grafton Street, Temple Bar area...Much more that I can't recal perfectly. We also got out to the Rock of Cashel, which is a lot smaller than you'd expect. But still breathtaking as you round the bend in the road and see a mystical ancient fortress rising out of the ground.

We also visited some little (and I should stress that adjective...) fishing towns outside of dublin. It was really interesting seeing the Irish Sea. We went in the 'wrong' direction first, so we didn't et the chance to take a boat out to Ireland's Eye for a few hours. But...Oh well. We still enjoyed ourselves. We also had a Dr. Pepper for the first time in...Months. Heaven.

Moving right along, we enjoyed the Aran Islands (which cannot be stressed enough HOW MUCH we enjoyed them) thanks to their great landscape, a beautiful beach, and an absolutely breathtaking view from Dun Aenghus, the most famous fort on the island. A sheer drop down to the Atlantic Ocean. With spectacular views of the islands cliffs. Some great photos were taken there. We moved on to the area known as 'The Wormhole' which was great. A giant, near perfect
rectangle somehow cut into the rock. Complete natural beauty. I'm still awestruck.

After that we were around Limerick, Blarney Castle; and Cork. Not much to say about these areas, as I've already mentioned them in a previous blog.

Cliffs of Moher, however. Wow. Been YEARS since I was out there. As breathtaking as always. There's nothing to be said here. If you haven't seen them, you can't understand it. If you have, you do. Pictures cannot convey the feelings they evoke. Words do not do them justice. Visit Ireland!

Right..That's about it. I don't know if there will be another blog post before I leave, as I may not have time. We'll see.

Another 26

Hmm...My last post was the 42nd. I should have remarked that, and made it better.

Today we were out in Europapark all day. Leaving at 8 in the morning (funny story, we were supposed to get up at 6:30ish to get our ride on time. I had my alarm set for 6:15. When I was woken up at 7:00, I was a little confused. Still managed to get out the door in 5 minutes!) and getting there at 9.

I'm reminded once again that the manufacturers are the same ones that do Wonderland. behemoth has existed for years here in teh form of Silver Star. This is not a bad thing, because they have a new ride open in the Iceland (Brand New) section which can knock quite a few things off. I can't wait for them to bring it over to Canada. It's something like 0-100 km/h in 2 or 3 seconds. Amazing.

Unfortunately none of 'my' friends could come, but we had some of Nela's(Equatorian girl) friends, so it wasn't just us foreigners. Although if the park is in Germany, does that make everyone a foreigner there? Except the Germans?

Well, it was an incredibly fun day, and I'm really sad I won't be back for a long time. I'm really starting to feel the end of the year now, with pretty much my trip to Ireland, Fete de la Musique and a Rotary Weekend left to look forward to. I don't mean to say that these things are bad, I'm just pointing out that I only have 3 'things' left to do. Ahhh!

One day at a time, then I'm home.

A Lowly 28

I just got back from the local office of Medecins du Monde. (Doctors Without Borders? maybe?)

A few weeks ago we had a fundraiser at school and raised 206€ to give to them. To present the cheque and all the toothbrushes/toothpaste/soap we collected we went as a small group today to the office and had a tour, which was really interesting. I wish I was 18 so I could help out there, they really need it. There are a lot of people in this city that never go to a doctor or get help when they desperately need it.

35 to Go!

YesterdayI ran into Canadians. Waiting for Nela with Janavi infront of a store near the center of town, Place Kleber. Of course, we SHOULD have been speaking French, but I find it hard to speak another language with anglophones. It's just how it is. Two girls sneak up behind us and shout about how much the love english-speakers.

I found this hilarious, being something I've always wanted to do.

Turns out one is from New York, the other Toronto.
That was a shock.
Two of their friends wandered up as we were talking and turns out another of them is Canadian, also from Toronto.

That was really cool.

Then Janavi, Nela, Iitu and I went to see Looking For Eric. A very cool film. It's NOT just about Eric Cantona. An interesting and funny story. Great directing, acting, everything a film needs.

I'd recommend.
(Angels and Demons...not so much....)

48 to go!

Well the Eurotrip was certainly interesting. Here's a little sample of what happened.

The first day we visited Paris, and like all the times I've been there...meh. It's really not that impressive. It's nice to see all the shiny things and hear about famous places, but it's still not that impressive. The second day we came to Strasbourg, which for me is technically comeing BACK to Strasbourg. It was great showing my friends around the town I live in though. After that we moved on to new and interesting things.

I have to say, I had the best beer I have ever had in Munich on the Third day. It's also a beautiful city. Surrounded by beautiful german countryside. I enjoyed it thouroughly. After that was Innsbruck, and I'm fairly sure I want to LIVE there once I'm older. Beautiful city, in the heart of mountains, wonderful youth life....I wanna go back there now. But good things must always end. After that we headed into Italy.

Italy, was meh. We visited Juliet's balcony in Verona. It was nice, but still...meh. We went to Venice, Lac de Garde (which I'm not exactly sure why is important) and Milan. Again, meh meh meh. It's not that impressive. Now that I've actually been there I can say this with honesty. Italy is nothing big for me.

Monaco,however, is a beatiful city. The most interesting thing is that in some places to boarder can be as much as a city street. It's really incredible. An entire country only 2km wide. It really is just a city. Stunning though. On the Cote d'Azur, so the water is this brilliant blue, and the sky reaching around for miles. Everything is ancient, but new at the same time... I really wish I lived closer to it. Avignon and the Palace of the Popes was rather boring because there wasn't anything to do, but it was nice to see.

After that we wandered into Switzerland and went to the UN. That really was incredible to see. So many important things affecting the future of the world are made in that building. It was amazing. Geneva is a wonderful city, and I'm sad that we only got 3 hours to see it. After that the trip was basically done. The last day was just driving back into Paris so we could get our trains home. I'm man enough to say I cried when we had to say goodbye to the new friends I had made, and the friends I already knew.

Anyway, that was my vacation. I thought it was pretty interesting. Cost me a good €910 euro, and then everything I bought, but it was fun.

Now I'm getting ready for this weekend, which is the last time I'm going to see a bunch of people. Sunday is a picnic for the exchange students. And a bunch of us are meaving before the next get together, the 27th of June.

Paques

This weekend, being that of Paques (Easter), we had Friday and Monday off.

Friday, nothing special happened. I slept in, as I do all weekends, and hung around with my host siblings. Boring regular day in Stutzheim.

Saturday, Nela invited me to a picnic with a bunch of people. Unfortunately, due to the nature of last minute things, I was given hourly updates on what had changed. The original plan was to go bowling, then have a picnic. This was good. That changed at some point, for some reason, to adding a movie. Then, we decided to change it and just go for the picnic. Keep in mind, I received about two texts inbetween each of these changing times and what not. Finally, when we organized everything, the bus I intended to take DIDN'T EXIST. This has happened many times to me, and is really starting to tick me off. Once I got there (about 2 hours late due to bus issues...) it was great. Sunny, warm, right by the artificial lake and fountain. On top of that, all the Alsacian Storks...I wish I had taken more pictures. But Nela has lots. Of course....There were only 5 of us. Me, Nela, Claire(french friend of ours), Suujin (which I'm spelling wrong...) and the other girl who I can't remember the name of. I have no doubt that eventually those photos that were taken will be given to me, or put on the internet somehow.

The Sunday, a wonderful lunch with the parents of my host dad. First barbecue of the season, with duck, sausage, porc, potatoes and cooked veggies in a tomatoe sauce. Lots of fun getting to meet host grandparents and one cousin.
This is difficult to write at the moment, because I'm being distractde by Into The Wild and a friend talking to me.
I'm fairly sure nothing else interesting happened on Sunday...

Monday, today, was just as fun. We went out to...SomethingHeim and had lunch with my host mother's mom. We had an amazing meal, and I got my very own Easter Lamb. Alsacian Tradition, we get lamb..cakes....NOT like Cowpatties... Anyway, after that the three Forgeois kids (I count myself in there) played at some Monopoly. Antonin, is a horrible player. As Marine says continuously, he thinks it's real life. Takes it WAY too seriously.

Right, that's everything interesting that's happened since I last put a post up. I refuse to talk about the NATO summit.

Oh, there's a tradition in Alsacian villages. They get up around 4 in the morning. And they have noisemakers. And they walk around the town. And they yell. It is NOT funny, or interesting. it is irritating.

Anyway, I'll try to get something up after next weekend, but before the tuesday, as I'm leaving on the EUROPEAN BUS TRIP that day, and will be completely incommunicado until the 2nd of May. Which will be my 2 Month Left date. Not fun...

Toulouse

Right, so I've almost given up on journaling everything, because I'm doing TOO MUCH.

I'll talk about Toulouse, and MAYBE get my bus trip done before I come home.

We left Stras at 11:30 thursday night, and got down into toulouse at 12ish the next day. We were the first ones to arrive at the hostel, which kinda sucked, and we had no idea what we were doing. A few hours later, some buses started to arrive. That was when the fun started. We saw people we hadn't seen for months. Then the buses just kept on coming. And coming. There were nearly 400 people there this weekend.

The first night was just hanging around, eating dinner, and screaming. Still amazingly fun. All the Canadians sat together and had a rocking time chanting.

The second day was great. The 'conference' was kinda boring, and we were all really tired. But it did get kinda of interesting when an astronaut started talking about Airbus and all the fun stuff. After that we all mingled for a while as groups went off to walked around Toulouse, the Museum of Natural History, Museum of Space, and the Airbus Factory. There's not much to talk about here, all I did was talk to bunches of people and exchange pins and cards, but it did take a good few hours.
My group (not my district, my group) wandered around the city for a bit, then headed off the the Airbus Site. I was disappointed with it, it was still interesting, but it could have been so much better. Like, they could have had a fully assembled A380 for us to walk around in, not just watching them 'almost' assembled.
Dinner was a great affaire. We ate, had talks, had a flag/anthem ceremony, ate, watched district shows... It all blurred into one huge party. The program said we were going back to the hostel at 00h30..We didn't leave until 2h30. After that, not many people slept. Me in particular. Me and five others spent the whole night talking and enjoying ourselves in my room. All the mexicans, however, spent the whole night drinking and dancing. Good times.
That morning at breakfast we all profited from our sleep deprivation.
Sunday we had a circus/carnaval thing. Team Canada/Mexico/Italie/USA came in second. This is where I get in a bit of trouble though, as I took place in a sack race and jumped *at* the ground. Landed on my leg, which had my camera in my pocket. Camera's fine, but I have massive bruising and swelling. Then somehow, my glasses broke. My spair pare is too old to work, so I'm about to embark on the adventure that will be buying a new pair and working out the insurance.
The bus ride home was depressing, especially when we had to leave the hostel and say goodbye to all our friends. Then all the boring people slept. Excpet for us who hadn't slept. Some of us dozed, others (Luke) had Heat Exhaustion. I'm fairly sure if I hadn't been there, he would have gone down into Heat Stroke and possibly died. As it is, we made sure he drank and got his coat off and everything that needed to be done. But Damn, that was stressfull.

From Saturday morning at 8h00 until Monday morning at 5h00, I did not sleep. I impressed myself. I also participated in sports, used my lifeguarding skills, and cried my eyes out when I had to leave Sarah, even though we're on the same bus trip.

That weekend was awesome.

Bus trip and Ireland

More will be written, again once I've got it all down.

Just let it be known that I spent the greatest two weekes ever wandering around Ireland, then Paris, then the south of france, then Spain, then Paris, and now I'm home.

Day by day update will come hopefully this weekend.

Freaked.

I dreamed in french last night.
I dreamed in FRENCH last night.
I DREAMED in FRENCH last night.
I DREAMED in FRENCH LAST night.


I guess I'm not totally failing at this language thing.

Wow.

Ok, so this family is incredible.

We play chess, and, and I mop the floor with my face, ping pong, same thing happens...
But it's still more fun than sitting in my room and doing nothing. The little village is pretty fun too.

I have a host brother a year younger than me, and I spend a lot of time with him. My host sister was in the States last year, but I refuse to speak english with her. She's at boarding school, so I only see her on the weekends. But everyone is extremely nice.

Concert was incredible on thursday. Marillion is great and hilarious live if you ever get the chance to see them.

Right, that was the last week. Going to dinner with a buinch of people today. May talk about that tomorrow.

woah...what?

Ok, good things first.

Tonight a bunch of Canadian university students and myself went out to dinner with Petra and Kate (Australian girl) and the students' teacher. It was good, Alsacien things, as is the custom for tourists, as well as steak because it's been soooo long since I've ad had a good steak dinner.

It was great talking to people that know the same things as I do.

Right, but I also got some..disconcerting news...yesterday. Apparently one of the few people I actually made friends with in my class before I buggered off to do something useful committed suicide on monday. I didn't know, not being the the class, I didn't see him that much. But still...wow. That shocked me.

Moving tomorrow. I believe I'm ready, but that's probably delusions.

Oh god.

Again, still writing out what's been going on. I'm lazy, and there's a lot. And I have other things I need to do as well (like learning my lines for this play...)

BUT. I got news last night. Apparently I'm changing my host family THIS sunday. I did not know this. I thought it would be NEXT sunday. I am now packing like a madman.

A few weeks ago there was some issues with host families, I'll deal with that in a massive post that will show up in a week or so. I'm not going to my original family, I'm going somewhere else. A town outside the city. Hooray. My bus hours SUCK.

Cue Greg's voice in my head saying 'Suck it Up.'

Back to packing and writing so you can all know how my New Years/ subsequent month went.

Overwhelmed.

Right,

I've done too much lately. No chance I'm going to get it all done. I'm still finishing up the journal, I'm nowhere near blog time yet.

Let it be known, New Years was spent in the city, with friends, being assaulted by fireworks and firecrackers. I shall expand on this at a later date, like when I've got it written down in the bloody journal.