Author: Emily McConnell

So it’s the end of harvest season in France and it has been such a cool experience. When you drive along the highway and fig trees grow as often as weeds, it’s a pretty amazing thing. My house is on the edge of the country and also a river, so if we drive where no people would go to pick fruit and hazelnuts around the river, there are the best figs that are bright and sweet. My host sister Lana likes the figs when they are bright red and often it would take me lifting her up to the tree to reach them (we are a family of shorties).

There also happened to be a vineyard with rows of beautiful grapes growing, so my family went in and picked a grocery bag full of grapes to make jam. Which of course turned out amazing. The favorite jams we eat every morning on breakfast toast is apricot,  grape, and fig jam it’s also wicked good on crepes which we enjoy every Sunday afternoon.

Also surprisingly I have found a different appreciation for bugs.In Canada it is rare to find a mosquito with legs as long as your fingers or moths with the wingspan of your palm but they exist here. I cannot say I have conquered my fear of moths having killed one that kept flying into my face, but I have however grown to love beetles. The beetles in France are very beautiful with interesting designs on their backs.

The weather patterns are also messing with me because it is still +30 Celsius here and it will be until about half way through November, which is new to me. I think what I will miss the most is snow.

Thanksgiving is coming up next week, and I plan to make a big dinner with them with all my family traditions and a piece of my home.

So far, I have spent 2 weeks at school and I feel that I have been here long enough to give an explanation of a day in the life in Carcassone for my high school exchange in France. School is a little bit different than my regular school in Canada. First things first, my school is divided into three different buildings; building A, building B, and also a cafeteria with building C attached to it. There is also one last building and it is an apartment block for anybody who lives too far away to make the commute everyday. There is the option to rent an apartment there and students can return to their families when the weekend comes. The school here is also not quite as technically advanced as at home. If I want to know what class I have in block 2, I have to ask my first block teacher (not the office) and all their documents are hand printed instead of on a computer. (Forgive me, my photos of school are off the internet so there are no people blocking the view)

The paper is also quite different here. North American kindergarten children use the paper with the dotted lines in the middle; the paper here has four lines so you can write different sizes and write proper handwriting. There is also a graph paper incorporated into it so it becomes confusing at times and is even difficult to look at because of all the lines. Writing here is also another story, most people hand write instead of print, because printing is very choppy. It is also quite normal to have a glue stick, small ruler and scissors so that you can make your work as neat as possible without using a binder (instead, students glue all teacher handouts into a scribbler). The teachers here will give us an hour to write one page because they believe that if we have neat work we will understand it better.

I find all my classes more difficult because they are in French and my teachers speak really fast. A technique I use for paying attention is copying all the words they say. If I do this I can hear the words again in my head long enough to translate them as well as learning pronunciation of the French language.

Today in English class we spoke about the United States, particularly New York City and the topic of colonization came up. It is surprising to me that French students do not know the meaning of the word “colonization” because the French point of view it is different learning history in Europe vs learning history in North America (where our only history is colonization). From my perspective, being First Nation, it is interesting to hear how the teachers speak about my history and how Europeans communicated with First Nations people at the time. It is also interesting to see from their perspective what they think of the United States. Here, New York is the best city in the United States because it is big and because there’s lots of people, diversity and everything is new with lots of attractions. My teacher is very proud that France gave the USA the Statue of Liberty and is now one of the main monuments of the United States.

Also regarding my classes, I get a new timetable every single week because my classes change. No two weeks will ever be the same, which makes it very confusing when trying to build a routine for which classes to follow next. There are also a lot more breaks at school here. I have my usual Saturday and Sunday weekend, but I also have Wednesdays off, as well every 6 weeks there is a 2 week vacation and a 2 month summer holiday.

Many of my classes are learning the exact same things that I learnt grade 10 high school in Canada but the teachers go into more detail and explain things clearly a devoted love for their job. This is the overall attitude in the south of France,  you don’t buy something unless you love it, you don’t eat something unless you love it, you don’t do something unless you love it. It ensures that everything is done well and everyone can stay remotely happy.

Friends are coming along for me too. I have made four really good friends so far, and we can communicate by a couple of English words, a couple of French words and a lot of sign language and facial expressions. I’ll try to take a couple pictures with them soon.

I had my first day of school on September 2nd to start my study abroad program in France. It went alright, but school is a lot different than I expected. For one, my Lycée (high school) does not have lockers. It is normal for everyone to carry their books everywhere they go. Also some classes are an half an hour, an hour, or two hours so people come and leave as they please according to their classes which change every week.

The students in Carcassonne are really shy, it could be because it is my first day but I found it was a but difficult to talk to them. The teachers speak really fast. I could understand maybe about a quarter of what they were saying but it will come.  French is a difficult language to learn but if you stay motivated it will get easier.

After my classes I had lunch in the cafeteria with my host brother Jakob, another exchange student from Germany. After that the students go home because on Tuesday it is a half day. Wednesday we also have the day off school. Overall the school is very nice the teachers are very patient with me and knowing that I have to learn how to speak French. It will take some time to get used to the way things work here, but it’ll happen.

My first day in Carcassonne for my study abroad program in France was great. I was greeted from the train by a friend of my host mother who is really sweet and speaks English (which is a bit of a relief in case anything serious happens I can just ask her).

My host mother is very kind, and so far I have been greeted with dinner and an amazing outdoor party with Spanish music. I met my host sister, Lanna, as well. She was shy at the beginning, but I brought paper and a pencil so we could communicate with little French and by drawing pictures.

Carcassonne is a really cool city, with a giant, historic wall around the old city, although now people live outside of the wall. An interesting fact about the walled city is that it was the inspiration for Disneyland and Disneyworld in the United States. Inside there are a lot of touristy things to do. A lot of food, souveniers, and shopping.

One thing that is interesting, is that I have a friend Tobias from Germany who has come to France and he has told me he has a friend who is also living in Carcassonne like myself. When I arrived at the train station his friend in Carcassonne and host family pick me up because they are friends of my host mother (small world!) and I think we may also be in the same classes.

I have to say that I am a bit scared of going to school and not speaking a lot of French, but the most important thing is confidence. I know this but it is still nerve-racking all the same.

Something that I really enjoy is having a lot of siblings. At my home in Canada I have five siblings and here in France I have two in my host family, but also two other exchange students from Mexico and Germany, they are also my brothers. We spend so much time together and can understand things a bit differently than most so it is special to share experiences with them.

School starts in a couple days and I have no clue what classes I take so…. wish me luck!

Today is the last day I am in Quebec. I had the time of my life here learning enough French at Eduinter (Merici Collage) for my year abroad in France and also made amazing friends around the world also facing the same challenges as myself. Many people come from Colombia, Mexico, Denmark, Canada, Spain and even Thailand. The hardest thing to do is to leave it all today. However, this is also a blessing, something I have learnt really quickly is that people are supposed to be in your life, for a long amount of time, or a short amount of time, it doesn’t matter; it’s is just an honor that they were there in the first place. As I write I am in the airport heading to Montreal so I can rejoin with my mother after 5 weeks of separation and finally begin my new adventure in Paris, France.

Today is officially my third day in Quebec city but I am going to recap my last couple days. In one month I leave for France for my high school abroad program, but I have already left my life at home so I feel I should share what that is like since it is part of the exchange process regardless of where in the world I might be.

The night of my last day, my family, Noah, and I had a tea party with French pastries and macaroons. For supper my mom made french onion soup which is my absolute favorite and tasted completely amazing and fit the French theme of the night.

I flew out of Alberta and landed in Quebec on July 6th (My Birthday) I said goodbye to all my family an my best friend Noah. He even made the effort of waking up at 4:00 in the morning to see me off the plane. When I finally landed in Quebec City I was driven home to meet my new French Canadian family. Now, I feel compelled to type in French because I have been using it all day! Especially when I am alone my brain mentally speaks in half English, half French and it takes me a while to type this blog because I am not used to the English language, it is not accepted. In fact at my French school, If I am caught speaking English 5 times I can be sent home.

When learning French the word “Oui” (yes) will be your best friend because it is a plausible response for majority of comments. However, this tip is only useful for the first day or so. It is important to try and respond to people in complete sentences even if it includes repeating half of what the other person asks because the best way to learn a new language: repetition. Already my family and I are making conversation at the dinner table all in French, as broken as it might be it is in French and we are communicating.

One thing I find difficult in Quebec is the bus system. Because I am from a small town, I don’t take the bus often. I am also living with a girl from Mexico in the same house who doesn’t know how to use the bus system. It turns out yesterday we took 4 hours to finally get home to a well deserved supper and and extremely appreciated bed.

So, the number one question I get asked: Why I want to move to France and study abroad…

First of all, I didn’t want to. The thought of moving so far from home and missing my life here, all my friends and and still relying on my parents so much, boggled my mind. I wasn’t going to see them for an entire year. However, these are some of the mini heart attacks travelers have. The more I thought about it, the sound of escargot and and the beautiful old cities became more appealing, and any concerns about living without my Canadian life sort of dwindled down to a small fear; then it became possible.

I really want to study abroad in France so I can step off the hamster wheel of life. Traveling  is a dream that controls my life on a regular basis (I’m sure my history teacher hate me for dreaming while he teaches the class about the place I am dreaming of!). Upon the walls of my room are landmarks of the world and chartered maps of places I’ve been and where I have yet to explore. I have to say France and Sweden are at the top of my list. Now, believe it or not, daydreaming within the four walls of my room is not very effective. Luckily with the support of my amazing parents, I have the opportunity to live and study abroad.

There’s something wrong about feeling displaced in the area a person is situated in, and I feel that more and more when my feet are in Canada but my brain is wired to France. Teens often face the dilemma of trying to be unique but they are too afraid to step too far out of their comfort zone. Think about it, language, school, interests, music, goals, clothes, they are all extremely similar. Until a person is able to displace themselves, move out of their comfort zone, and see life in a new perspective, realize how many lives and friendships can be created, they miss a whole opportunity of life experience. I refuse to let this opportunity slip by for small fears. So the solution is France, soon to be my home away from home.

In life, I think the key is being happy where ever you are, but it can be even more incredible when you are content with yourself and in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Maybe this post is a little too enchanting verses the reality, but that is for me to find out! Today I have 72 days left in in my home country and I never would have thought to be as ready to leave as I am.

All in all, I love all fellow North Americans, but I am officially ditching you to become French.

Au revoir! Vis Ta Vie Pleinement  (Live Your Life to the Fullest) 

Do you dream of studying abroad in France? Comment below and tell us your travel goals or tips!