5 Months Abroad In France

It’s been one month since I’ve been on exchange, which means I’m 20% through, (yeehaw). This one’s dedicated to all of those people who won’t stop hassling me about writing another one. Here it is. Step off.

It doesn’t feel like it’s been anymore than a couple of days since I’ve arrived, and yet it feels like I’ve been away from New Zealand for a lifetime already, when in reality I was in my room only four weeks ago.

A lot has happened over the course of 4 weeks here, and I already have plans to do so much more. I haven’t exactly kept a precise diary of what I have done every day, but I will use my camera roll to reflect on my exchange so far:

To begin, the first thing I noticed about my host town was how historic it was. There were a lot of narrow cobblestone streets with ancient looking roofs and walls. But these were nothing in comparison to the churches and monasteries looming over the city center. In the very center of town is the Bourg-en-Bresse Cathedral; a mammoth church compared to anything from Blenheim. You can hear its bell tower chime from anywhere in the city, which I suppose is the point.

Just in front of my school gate is the ‘Basalique du sacre coeur’, which has two prominent towers that loom over the school. It makes it very easy to make my way back to school if I’ve been in town, I just have to follow the two massive spires.

The final notable building is the Brou Monastery. I visited it for the first time last weekend with another exchange student. We were given a guided tour of the church and cloisters by a wonderful tour guide, of whom I could not understand. The monastery is in the center of a large field a couple of blocks from the big sports arena, which yes, is rather ironic.

I’ve tried putting in some photos of them, but WordPress seems to get their name from compressing the photos into weird croppings so I will leave you, dear reader, and or parent reading this with my favourite, from the time I got lost in the city center with nothing but my blunt wits and a wet map:

As for my host family, I think I got very lucky. They are kind and patient with me, and especially help me to improve my french. They are always organizing events and getting me involved in french life. I had the chance to meet other exchange students and their families the first week of my stay. From what I had seen, I think that the relationship between the student and host family isn’t always going to work right away, so I’m glad that my host family and I get along well.

I have to host brothers; Diego and Ruben who are both already very good at English, which can be rather embarrassing when I have to attempt to speak french with them, as things go a lot smoother if we speak English. Speaking of speaking English…

School is a weird limbo zone for an exchange student, especially for someone like me, who has already graduated high school in New Zealand. There is a constant struggle of will and discipline when it comes to school work. It’s easy to fall into the trap of “I’m an exchange student, it doesn’t apply to me” when it comes to deadlines or assignments you don’t want to do, especially when the work is impossibly difficult to understand for a foreigner. This is made even worse by how unexpectedly tiring classes can be when it’s only in french. It becomes tiring to have to give 110% into listening and translating the course of the lesson, so much so that when you are given homework at the end of it, it feels unfair.

However, I do enjoy school. The subjects and flow of the class is significantly more interesting and profound than that of my school in New Zealand, albeit perhaps less physically engaging. Because of the way class streams are formed in France, I am usually with the same group of 20-30 students for classes, which means it was very easy to make friends, and receive assistance in understanding the lesson. The only issue comes when they want to speak English, and with someone like me with such feeble disciplines, I find myself speaking more English than I should, (But don’t tell my french teacher or she will hunt me down).

Being an exchange student also gives you weird social super powers. People of whom you may not have been acquainted with otherwise become fast friends, and it’s easy to chalk social faux-pas up as a learning experience, which people let slide a lot.

My subjects at school include French (for foreigners), English, Spanish, History-Geography, Philosophy, Maths, Foreign literature, as well as my favourite; lunch. These are all spread out over a 10 hour day, of which may or may not be completely full of classes. It can be really tiring to have to be attentive for 9-10 hours of school a day and then go home with extra homework, but if I’m going to complain about something I’m going to complain about the fact that I cannot get into the school without a key card, of which they are taking their sweet time in processing. 😦

There’s a lot more to school than I can talk about on a blog that I’m not allowed to swear on, some good, some bad, but ultimately a worthwhile experience I will be glad to have had.

My host family have packed the first month of my exchange with heaps of awesome activities. I’m not going to talk about them chronologically because, to be honest, I forget when they happen.

Snow Day: Last weekend, I went with my host family to Plateau Retord, a really awesome plateau with heaps of snow, sledding spots and for some reason, horses. Also on the plateau was a small hotel / restaurant with a very rustic theme, or it was just old, either way I enjoyed it. From the top of the plateau we could see Mont Blanc, which was neato. We went sledding, went for a walk, ate lunch and had a lot of snowball fights, which ended very badly for my host brother, who has now forfeited the privilege of have children.

Monastere de Brou: As mentioned before, I went with another Slovakian exchange student and their family to the Brou Monastery. There we learned about the history of it’s construction as well as got to see the apartments and cloisters that housed Margaret of Austria. The tour was in french and I kind of didn’t bother to translate the french pamphlet yet, and because I am not being graded on this blog, I’m going to go ahead and end this paragraph before I get the information wrong.

Conscription Ball: The ‘Bal de Conscrit’ are events that are unique to villages, where a traditional party is held at the ‘salle des fêtes’. The tradition dates back to the wars, where the ball would serve as a farewell to soldiers. Though I have no intention of fighting any french wars, I attended the ball with my host brother Diego. The ball was similar to any organised party, say, at a bar, with a bar full of drinks, dance floor and DJ. It was an enjoyable night, but there’s not much more to say.

Basketball Match: Last week, My host father, host brother and I went to a local basketball game. Bourg en Bresse won of course because their mascot was Jiki, a lovable Satan thing. I’m not much of a sports fan, however the atmosphere and occasion was nice, even if one of the opposition’s players pretended to sprain his ankle, like, 100 dang times.

There is probably many more things for me to say, but they escape me at the moment, and thus, instead of spending the time to articulate my thoughts like an adult I will end the blog here. Have I forgotten to give a sincere and enlightening reflection on my stay? Perhaps. Will I develop my thoughts and feelings over a series of top quality blogs? Probably not. However if you have enjoyed the elements that I have spoken about, and are looking to become an exchange students yourself, I will say that after my first month, I think I’ll find it difficult going back home. I’m enjoying my role here, and have made awesome friends who I hope i never lost contact with.

However what I have learned from my first month is that it is really important to have discipline and to integrate yourself properly into the school life, and not hold yourself at arms length because you are a temporary exchange student. Avoid speaking English if learning the language is your goal, and just attempt to explain or ask for things with your limited language skills if you need something, it’s the only way you will improve.

Questions I foresee Jamie Thomas asking:

Are you fluent in french yet?

No I am nowhere near fluent in french, however I am happy with my progress. I reckon my progress has been slowed by my constant intake of English media as well as tendency to speak English with my friends. However even with that handicap, my passive french techniques (reading and listening) have improved greatly, and I am able to understand a lot of spoken french at a natural pace. Speaking and Writing are slower to improve, however I do feel my language ability getting a lot better, and I’m excited to see my progress after 5 months.

Have you caught the Corona Virus?

Yes. Haha, just kidding. Yes

Are you still single?

It is discouraged for exchange students to date while on exchange. Mind your damn business Jamie.

Do you want to stay longer than 5 months?

Definitely. However, even if I were to stay on in Europe independently, I must work on ameliorating my french, and consider when I intend to go to university. I also really want to see my NZ friends again before everyone is separated. Hi Katie.

When will you write your next blog post?

I am a simple man, and I have been given the specification that I must write 1 blog post a month, and thus with my tendency to do the absolute minimum expected of me, you will see another post in a month.

Anyway no more questions Jamie Thomas.

I hope to have plenty more to write about in a months time, but for now I have mountains of Philosophy homework to catch up with.

Thanks for reading.

Alex G

It’s officially just been over two months since the beginning of my exchange, and that means that it’s time for another blog post. To all of you who have kept an eye on the news, it wouldn’t surprise you to hear that this previous month has been the lead up to numerous changes in France due to the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). As such, this blog post will be a little shorter, and also WordPress is horrible to post photos on so this will also mainly be a written account.

As per usual I will follow the photos on my phone to recall the most exciting parts of this month:

A Trip to Italy

Yes, it sounds horribly unintelligent at this point in time, however around the starting days when the virus was just beginning to become a prominent issue, my host family and I took a trip to Italy. There, we visited the parents of my host father, and stayed at their house. We also visited Florence, and visited several places there such as The Duomo, the Galleria Academia, an opera, the Ufizzi and other random cafes and Gelato shops. Because of the virus, several of these famous places (including the gelato shops) were close to empty. The virus itself barely affected the flow of life at the time, and we really enjoyed our trip to Italy. It was good we had gone when we did before all of the country wide closures. Now, if I am hearing correctly, schools, businesses and next to every non essential shop in Italy has been closed in response to the virus. Later we returned from Italy without any issues, aside from a couple of people who were afraid of us because we had passed through an infected country.

School (Terminal S)

A couple of days after our return to France, I returned to school. After a rather heated debate with my french teacher before the holidays, I politely asked to be placed in Terminal S, the senior year class that studied the sciences. She argued that I would have a much harder time in comparison to Terminal L, but boy was that wrong. I loved Terminal S. I was able to comprehend and follow the lessons as they were always subjects that I had studied before in NZ. The people were nice and welcoming and helped me a lot to ameliorate my french and learn new words. I felt as though my french was finally sharp enough to participate in classes. However, the twist is that at the end of my first week in Terminal S, President Macaroni announced the countrywide closures of all academic institutions for (what I have heard) to be at least 5 or so weeks. I have been told also, more recently, that these closures would continue until the end of the next holidays, ultimately obliterating the entire term.

For me this was not too much of an issue, I believed I could continue to study french and improve at home and around my village, however the more recent closure of all non-essential businesses in France (and the rumor of mandatory quarantine) have begun to install a sense of urgency within me again. All of my friends who are going to sit their BAC have been given supplementary lessons to complete at home, and many of them have been forbidden by their parents from leaving their homes. It feels surreal and strange, however there isn’t an impending sense of doom or anything like that. We understand the situation, and we understand how to minimize the risks we take.

The Fire

I had almost forgot, we had a fire. Not a ‘I’m going to kill you and destroy your entire house’ fire, but an issue with the electrical (Box? I don’t know) in the garage, which ended with an unplanned visit by the fire department, the mayor and several neighbors. The fire knocked out all electricity and hot water in our house, and so we were sent to live in another, temporary accommodation for the first week of school. There isn’t much else to it. There was no dramatic permanent damage, and we are now back in the house, ready to wait out the Corona virus.

What’s up now?

That’s essentially all that has happened in the second month. Of course I’ve glossed over several minor things. I’ve improved my french enough to read simple novels (I’ve just started the book “Wonder”), met and spent time with awesome new people from my new class as well as outside the Lycee, went for walks in the Treffort mountain range. Forgive me if several things has slipped my mind, but the corona virus has been occupying it for the previous couple of days.

There’s always more to say, more questions to answer, but now I must focus on the next month, my third month (If I don’t get sent back home), where it looks like I will be spending a lot more time in the house.

Thanks for reading,

Alexander Gasson

Today is April 18th 2020, and that means that here in France the quarantine has been in place for 33 days. I think, therefore, it is a given that this post won’t be filled with the crazy places I’ve been or the people I’ve met, because… well… it’s illegal now. I suppose that the two things that have popped into your mind must be:

1. What do you do during the quarantine?
2. How has this affected your exchange?

What I do

Lucky for me, my host family lives in a lovely area in the french countryside, and even better, the quarantine started at the beginning of spring, and so there are heaps of outdoor activities that I can take part in to pass the time during quarantine. My days now usually consist of studying my french in the mornings, cooking either lunch or dinner (sometimes both), and playing obscure Finnish games by the pool with my host family. The weather has been nice, and ultimately it feels like it has been the summer holidays… minus the part where i get to go out into town or socialise… so yes basically my summer holidays.

Sadly it isn’t all fun and games for my host parents. They continue to do their jobs through the internet, as well as head outside regularly to get supplies such as food, pharmaceuticals or utilities. They always bring back stories of how the stores are packed with people wearing strange items in an attempt to protect themselves from the virus.

Here, to be allowed outside you require a signed form called an “Attestation” which declares your reason for leaving the house. These reasons include shopping or sport activities. We often use these slips to go for walks in the forest or do activities outside of the household.

Ultimately there isn’t much as in terms of activities. I could write a list of many things, but ultimately we spend our days filling our days with games and little snippets of work. We’ve replanted grass, played games and cooked for the most part. I feel like the days move a lot faster than they ever have before for me, and I find myself asking whether or not that’s what I want. On one hand the quarantine feels like it’s moving quickly, yet on the other it feels like I’m losing precious time abroad trapped in the house. However, “Nous sommes en guerre”, so I guess all I can do is make the most of it.

How has this affected my exchange?

Obviously, COVID-19 has affected my exchange dramatically, but not all of it has been so bad. I get plenty of time to do the things I want to do in a household that speaks french, and so I feel my french still improves, albeit not at the same rate as when I was at school. I was given the option to return home at the beginning of the confinement, however with my extended insurance and passport I decided I’d wait out the storm, and I’m very glad I did. The experience of living through the confinement in France has not only given me more time to improve my french, but also allowed me to see the responses and worries of the french people through primary sources such as domestic media outlets and through my host family. Ultimately, that’s what I came here to do, learn about france and it’s identity, and that shows itself a lot bolder in times like this.

There are several other exchange students I met over here who decided to stay as well. Most of the american kids have been sent home forcefully, so i’m very glad I was given the opportunity to stay. One thing I will mention about school as well is that I’m still sent work to do from my french teacher. However now, as today is the first day of the holidays, I can finally say that I will not be receiving anymore exercises from… HER….

I wish there was more to say. Emanuel Macaroni announced live a couple days ago that the quarantine has been extended until 11th May, it sucks, however it does give a sliver of hope to see an end date, whether or not it will come true or not.

I look forward to the day I can step outside.

AG

Emerging from my stank dungeon on the 11th of May was one of the greatest feelings of my life. The 11th of May 2020 marked the official enactment of “Le Déconfinement” a wonderful day marking the end of the harsh quarantine and movement restrictions here in France. There was singing, there was dancing, there was alcohol with adult supervision and for legal reasons low quantities! We were finally free, unleashed, liberated.

Since that day the sky gods have favored us with beautiful weather, warm temperatures and low prices at stores to stimulate economic growth, we have thrived. What majesty, what grace, what splendor fell into our laps.

I think you get the picture. The ‘deconfinement’ (which my keyboard insists is not a word that exists in English) has been a definitive step in the battle against COVID-19 here in France. With the ‘deconfinement’ came fewer restrictions on movement, dropping the obligatory ‘attestations’ and allowing french citizens in Green Zones the ability to travel up to a 100km radius away from where they live.

“But Alex”, I once again here Jamie Thomas asking. “What have you done since the release?”

Excellent question Jamie, however you should really get back to your university work about now. Since the 11th, I have done a few of the essentials: Barely survived the social interaction of having my haircut for the first time since confinement, went shopping for new shoes and new books, and even visited some historical areas around Bourg.

Pérouges

One of the major places I visited once my basic liberties had been restored (kidding), was a beautiful commune called Pérouges. Pérouges is a small commune in the Ain department, where it has been preserved in its medieval aesthetic. Pérouges is special not only for its great historical value, but also because it remains the home of over 1000 inhabitants. Pérouges’s houses, roads and church remain built from archaic cobblestones, with the interior of buildings being renovated for a modern aesthetic, which was amazingly classy.

I went to Pérouges with my host mother as the first real adventure after the deconfinement. We visited the church, walked around the main village center of the commune, and even climbed the watch tower to get a great view of the region.

However the most surprising thing about my visit to Pérouges under the current circumstances, was how many people and how much business had kicked off there in the few days we had been out of confinement. There were HEAPS of people, most wearing masks, and most socially distancing themselves from other visiters. Restaurants in Pérouges had worked around the ban on restaurants and cafes by adapting to be take away stalls, and so the village was booming with several english speaking tourists even making purchases in gift shops, museums and food stalls, and I must say it was a breath of fresh air to see this all happening again here in France.

Hay

The deconfinement also brought with it the opportunity to travel further from our current places of residence, and that meant that we were able to visit my host family’s family, as well as friends that I had made at school during the first two months of my exchange.

One of these visits was significantly more interesting, and that was when my host family and myself went to visit the sister of my host mother. Their family lives further south of Bourg en Bresse, and so there was a bit of a drive into the nearby hills, and into a beautiful region filled with hills farms and forests. We had lunch at their house and then went for a walk…

and that is when it all went wrong.

My eyes began to itch and my nose started running faster than Usain bolt down my face. I couldn’t stop sneezing, it was agony. I had no clue what was going on because it was the first time in my life this sort of thing had happened to me. My host mother calmly informed me that it was “The Hay Sickness” which I masterfully translated to mean “Hay Fever”. I was crushed. I was dejected. Never in my life had I been the subject to such genetic weakness, bu there I stood, in the middle of the french country side sneezing my guts of hay fever.

There are some nasty things in this world… Murder,Kidnapping, Theft, Lying, Greed, Selfishness, but hay fever is the king that controls these peasants. It’s horrible. I still suffer from this hay fever today. I’m not sure what exactly is the pollen I’m allergic to, but I’m glad it’s some exotic European pollen as opposed to like dandelions or something.

A few days later I went to the doctor to get some antihistamines and other things for it and I’ve been feeling a lot better, thank you for asking. However I do now need to apologize to some people to whom I’ve said it wasn’t that bad.

So Harry Jackson if you’re out there I’m real sorry about that.

But aside from the hay fever, it was a wonderful visit to down south a bit:

Cherry Pickin’ Finger Lickin’ Good

We also got to visit my host mother’s parents up in the north. It was a simple yet fun excursion where we went to say ‘hi’, pick cherries, and e even played Petanque, of which I was mercilessly thrashed 7-13 by my host father.

Again, as is a staple of eastern France, the countryside at my (I suppose you could call them “Host Grandparents'”?) house was absolutely stunning, and being out in the warm sun picking cherries felt like a celebration of our liberty in the face of hardship… Or at least it would have if the cherries had not stained my dang socks pink.

Oh no! The Economy!

As mentioned earlier, I had went out in to town to buy things. Some things necessary, and other things I have bought for the sake of stimulating the local economy… such as chocolate and books.

The face of the city center has changed dramatically in response to national and certain regional regulations, and so most to all business boast a beautiful collection of masks and hand sanitizer for customers upon entry. Nearly every store I went to imposed obligatory mask rules as well as capacity and spacing limitations in response to COVID-19, which was great to see. Clothing stores would wash clothes after people tried them on (which was still questionable but OK), and “Coiffeurs” (Hairdressers) would cut your hair while asking you to keep your mask on, which was impressive. Cafes, bars and restaurants are still closed here, but I look forward to seeing how France and Bourg cope with easing restrictions in the future.

The End

This is the final blog post to take place under my current NZIIU exchange parameters. However, opportunities have arisen for me to stay here in Bourg for a bit longer, and so I plan on doing at the very least one more blog post to sum up my experiences and how I feel about the end of my exchange in the future. However now, my host brother wants to play Minecraft, and thus duty calls.

I look forward to whatever the future may hold.

AG