Aleana King's March & April Reports from France

Sponsor Club: Prince George Downtown Club

Counsellor: Gerhard Rotter

Host Club: St Nom la Breteche

Host Family Name: Hurbault

Host Family Address: 24 Chemin du Bois des Arpents St Nom la Breteche 78860 France

Host Family Phone: 01030802063

Health Report: I find it interesting how the format of these reports requires me to start off with my health... During the months of March and April I was incredibly busy. It was only in April that I caught some sort of unpleasant bug. I’ll get to it later, but I lost my voice the 3rd day of the Europe Tour – it was not amusing at all.

School Report: As the year goes on, I am finding myself less and less motivated at school. The only courses that I now find interesting are French and History. I still do well in my other classes, and my teachers are pleased with my progress in French. Here are some comments from my last report card.

Economic and Social Sciences: Attentive and interested. A continued effort to ameliorate her written work. Bravo!

History and Geography: Of good interest and willingness.

Math: Very positive attitude, a serious and attentive student. Very good, continue as such!

French: A student who is making the best of her year to improve in her written expression. A very positive attitude.

Science: A student interested, who makes efforts to understand the subjects. Continue as such!

Overall Impression: Of good willingness, serious work, we compliment you.

Rotary Attendance Report: I was looking through my journal to find all of the things that I did over these past two months, I can’t believe how much stuff has happened! It’s crazy how much I have had the opportunity of being involved in here.

On March 31st, I gave my Canada Presentation for my Rotary club. It lasted about 30-40 minutes. It went over very well. I have been asked to do another presentation before I leave in June to talk about what I did during my year.

I mentioned an Exotic Meal in my last report. My district did one as well, on April 2nd. We raised enough money for two Shelter Boxes for Japan; we also sent money to a children’s literacy program in Brazil.

My Canadian contribution to the meal was a meatloaf and a chocolate zucchini cake.

The following morning, I, my host mom, and a friend from school, supported the project of an “Inner Wheel” club. The three of us went to Paris to watch an early release of Blue Sky Studios’ animated film “Rio”. It was a lot of fun, an effort worth-the-while.

I attended a Rotaract meeting on April 6th. It was interesting to see the “younger generation” of Rotarians.

Other Activities Report: Here is a concise list of the major events from March and April.

•     Jace in Paris (March 15-17)

•     Taylor Swift Concert (March 17)

•     Canadian Family in France (March 19 – 29)

•     Bus Trip (April 8 -19)

•     Canada vs France Hockey game (April 24)

•     Easter at my French Grandparents’ house (April 25)

•     Clemence (my host sister) left for Australia (April 27)

The events, in detail:

One of the exchange students, Jace Foubert, from my Canadian district

- 5040, came to visit me in Paris. He stayed at my house for two nights. It was very nice to see someone from Northern BC again.

Along with one of my good friends, I went to a Taylor Swift concert in Paris on March 17th. It was my first concert.  I am glad that I attended.

The most significant event of March was having my Canadian Family in France for 10 days, from March 19 – 29. They met my two darling French families and were able to see several of the most famous monuments in France.

With comparison, the most memorable time of my spring was the Europe Bus Trip. There were 48 exchange students, 4 chaperons, 1 bus driver on the bus; these were 12 days of the most incredible, amazing experiences I have had yet. Some awesome memories were made. We started in Paris and travelled west to Strasbourg. From there we went to Munich, Germany and Innsbruck, Austria. After Austria, we arrived in Italy. It was amazing for me to see how much the landscape could change in such a “small’ region. I noticed the change in the mountains and even in the rocks – incredible! We continued on to Verona, and during the next few days saw Venice, Florence, and Pisa. After we left Italy, we returned to France and toured the town of Lyon, in the south of France. Our trip also included a bit of time in Geneva, Switzerland.

On April 24, I went with my Finnish friend, Tuulia, to see the Canada versus France hockey game in Paris. Canada won 3:2, but I wasn’t terribly impressed with their playing skills. Still, it was good to see the greatest game on earth again. ;) I spent Easter Monday with my grandparents, Morfar and Mormor. My host mom’s sister and her two children were there as were Papa, Maman, Clemence (my host sister), and Pierre-Nils (my host brother). We had brunch together, painted eggs, swam in the pool, and had an Easter egg hunt. It was a lovely day. Even though I have had fewer years and memories with my French family, it didn’t matter. I felt like a member of the family – it was something really special.

My first goodbye came on Wednesday, April 27th. I had to say goodbye to my lovely sister, Clemence. She has left to Australia and won’t return to France until I’ve returned to Canada. It was very hard to say goodbye, I really miss her.

Comments-Requests: It’s taken a long time, but finally I can say that I feel like I really belong here. I feel French. When my Canadian family was here, it was really nice to see them again – but it was weird to see how much I’ve changed since I left Canada.. Even my host family comments on the fact that I am now very open minded and non-judgemental. One of the things that helped me in that respect was that I wrote down my core beliefs and values. Looking at that list, I realised that everything else could change, and it’s ok not to know what I think about certain things. That realisation has made a huge difference.

Nowadays I can’t tell you if we do certain things in Canada or not, I’m trying to focus as much as possible on absorbing as much French culture as possible. The time goes by too fast, I’m not ready to leave; I don’t know how I will be able to leave. It wasn’t hard to say goodbye to my Canadian family, I know that I’ll see them in a couple of months. However, saying goodbye to my French sister, Clemence, was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do since I’ve been here. I have no idea when I’ll see her in person again. That’s one of the sorrows of being an exchange student. You meet and develop wonderful relationships with the most amazing people, but there comes a time when you must say goodbye without knowing when the next hello will come.

I’ve changed so much; this year has been a real catalyst for me growing up. I have the Rotary to thank for that. Thank you so very much!