I know it's been a while since I've done this, so I'm sorry for the wait. The more I do here, the less I want to do this, but I know it's not fair to keep you guys in the dark for two months at a time, so here goes.
Last time I wrote, the 15th of December, I wrote about Thanksgiving in France; this time, I'll write about Christmas (and much more) in France. Christmas here is not much like American Christmas: presents are opened Christmas Eve night, and the meal is consumed likewise. You tend to stay up late into the night and early into the morning, drinking champagne and enjoying each other's company. Christmas is spent relaxing and enjoying your gifts.
Another Christmas tradition takes place the first weekend of January, and celebrates the arrival of the three wise kings in the Christmas story. Usually, you go to a friend or family member's house, or they come to you, and you eat a cake called the "galette des rois," or the kings' cake. Inside is a "fève," or a small hard plastic item depicting anything from Disney characters to the baby Jesus himself. If you find it inside your piece, you are the king for the year and get to wear the cheap Burger King-esque crown for the meal. They place a lot of importance on the fève- adults and teenagers want it just as much as the little kids.
The 2nd of January, I changed host families. With my first family, I lived about half an hour outside of the city (by car). It would often take me an hour and a half to get to school in the morning, taking two or three different buses and still having to walk a ways. But now, with my second family, I live in the city itself. I live less than a minute's walk from the beach, and less than 10 from the mall and city center. I also live a 20 minute's walk from school, which means I can get up at 7:30, dress, etc, and leave by 7:40 to get to school on time. It's much more convenient.
My new host family (new for you, I've been here more than a month) consists of Bruno, the dad; Sophie, the mom; Margot, 19, a sister; Simon, 16, the brother; and Clia, 9, another sister. They are all extraordinarily nice and helpful, and I'm happy to be here, even if I was more comfortable in my first family. This family is much more like an American family than my first: they are all over the place, and often only Sophie and I are left at dinner time. Sophie and Bruno are both doctors, Bruno being a surgeon and Sophie a hybrid nurse/psychologist. Simon often works late at night at his school, as he is in a specialized section of his class taking cooking and restaurant serving courses. Margot goes to Paris every weekend with her boyfriend, and Clia often has a little friend over up in her room. Even though I go out three to four times a week myself, it amazes me how busy these people are compared to the other French. I've become accustomed to having whole sections of the day just spent in relaxation, reading or engaged in other pursuits, not only because I only have 12 hours of class per week but also because it is the French way of doing things. The French families I have seen all place emphasis on these precious hours of family time, because it's the only time they get. Without it, in my new host family, I don't feel that I have the connections I had with my other family, which, while not making it awkward, makes it rather lonely when I'm at the house.
Another momentous event that will happen in the near future is my impending change of schedule at school. Since I'm nearly always at my house when my friends are in school, I've decided that, now that I'm far better equipped in the French language, I need more classes. So, after a meeting with my counselor, I decided on adding 12 more hours to my schedule, for a whopping total of 24. In addition, I get to keep my Fridays completely free of classes; something that is important to me, since the French have school on Saturdays until noon. If I were forced to go to school six days a week, regardless of the fact that Wednesday and Saturday end at noon, I would go crazy. So, instead of having Saturday and Sunday off, I'll have Friday and Sunday off. It's a fair enough trade in my eyes.
That's about it for now. Much more has happened, that is either too mundane or too hot for me to write here. See you in two months.
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