Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Joyeux Noël !!

Joyeux Noël !!

It's unbelievable... it's already December!!  Four months have passed by too quickly.  I exactly remember last December when I had no idea about my host country.  And voila.  I am here in France, with a wonderful host family, with plenty of new friends and an incredibly widened vision of the country as I never imagined it to be.  Sometimes, I find that speaking in English is harder than French!


Christmas is not very different compared to Canada.  It's the time of getting together with family and friends, enjoying LOTS of food and chatting to catch up on news.  Usually at home in Canada, my family and I eat roasted turkey.  However here, we eat raw oysters (well I tried it but unsuccessfully...), smoked salmon, escargots (in shells this time), smelly cheese and lots of bread.  (At least that's how my host family prepares for Christmas dinner.) 


My host father is busy with his work so we stayed in Louhans and ate as a family of four (me, my host parents and host sister), but this Thursday, we are travelling to a village named Cambrai located in northern France  It's very close to the Belgian border as it is around 45 min drive away from the biggest city of the region called Lille.  (It's where Bonnie lives!  She was a French inbound of my Canadian district and I will see her too!)  Thus, I am SUPER excited to see a new area of France as I was told that people there speak with a different accent known as chti, houses are made out of red bricks and they have delicious (and fatty) fries sold at La Baraque à Frites.  I am one happy exchanger.


If I didn't get any presents this year, I wouldn't be disappointed at all because being here in France for me is more than enough.  To experience this unique culture with wonderful friends and host families is like having a year-long Christmas present.  Homesickness is far, far behind me (as it really never reached me from the first place anyways) and ahead of me is another exhilarating adventure.  Thanks everyone in Canada for their Christmas greetings!



À bientôt dans le nord!

Sari


ps: I was however lucky enough to get Christmas presents from my first and current host family, my friends here in France and my dear friend in Japan.  Thank you to all, and I love you all very much!  ♥  Merci à tous, je vous aime beaucoup! ♥


ps: Here are some photos!



My first handball match! (Next to me is my Mexican exchange friend!)


I got a tour of my host father's workplace at the Gendarme!




My friends and I at the town's theatre to watch our other friends act in a play


My lovely second host family!

2 comments:

  1. I have a present for youu ! <3

    From : Marine :)

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    Replies
    1. Merci beaucoup Marine!! Tu es trop gentille. Sans toi, mon expérience ici en France aurait été mal!!

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