Je Suis Arrivée

Yesterday, I arrived in France. It's all very strange at the moment. I'm staying in the countryside, or, as my host mother, Sylvie, says, "in the bush," which is very different from my home in California. My family speaks English well, but they're nice enough to speak mostly French with me. I'm doing okay, but there's a lot I don't know, and when many people talk at once, very fast, I get confused and give up trying to listen. At first, my body was very confused; I was hungry, but when I tried to eat I felt sick, and Iwas tired, but could not sleep. Everything was confusing. Even the keyboard layout is different, and I couldn't figure out how to login to my Facebook and Blogsopt accounts because the numbers are different.

Besides that, I've been doing well. Today, we visited a friend who had a pool, and I went swimming. I learned a card game called Jungle Speed, and even won twice (Jungle Speed is most like a combination of Uno, Egyptian Rat Screw, and Set, but mostly like none of them). I also met a little deaf girl, and she was hard to understand at first, but I got better.

Today, at dinner, I discussed American politics and the Civil War with my host mother. It was difficult, but very fun. And after dinner, my host sister and I cleaned up the dishes. I even made a joke about le chevre, the goat, and got her laughing, which is good, because I'm pretty sure she doesn't know what to say to me, so it's often awkward.

School starts next week, and I'm Sylvie has arranged for me to participate in the theater. That's right, there school has a theater! Also, she has arranged for me to go on a boating week, to learn to sail. I'm a little scared.

C'est tout! The keyboard has worn me out.