"Quoi?!"

I felt like I had to write SOMETHING, or I'll forget everything that happened in the last few days. Everything has been going by so fast, and once we got to Paris, French hit me square in the face like a 2-ton battering ram (what is a battering ram anyway?). I got to Paris, and Outtum (our Youth Enxchange chairperson for my district) met all of the exchange students coming to our area in this area outside the terminal. He was the FRIENDLIEST person ever. He took my suitcase the second we arrived, shook my hand, and I finally learned how to pronounce his name (YES!!!!). He bought us pastries when we were waiting by security, and he talked to us about our integration weekend next week... in French (AAAAA!). When I went through security with my friend, David, all of the guards seemed to be in a REALLY bad mood. I even got my first pat-down ever. It was scary... I had no clue what I had done wrong. I think I forgot to take off my bracelet... fail.

When we got to Mulhouse, I was automatically hugged by Francois, my host dad. He is SO SWEET- he's been showing me around the city for the past couple of days- where I'll go to school the first four weeks, where the bus stops are, which bus to take, places to shop... I could go on! He and Christian (my club counselor) even got me a phone! I couldn't believe it! We just walked into the store (seemed kind of like a combination of AT&T and radio shack) and they set me up with a number, a phone, and even an SD card for pictures! It's incredible how nice they are- even though the language barrier is absolutely terrifying (Francois knows hardly ANY English at all). Veronique is great too! I haven't been able to spend as much time with her as Francois because she works as an architect during the day. I actually haven't seen her in 24 hours. I think she's on a business trip (when Francois told me where she was, I could only understand "300 km"). And that is what's scary: someone could say virtually anything about me and I'll be lucky to understand half of it. Oh well. That's the beauty of exchange! A constant combination of not understanding and learning. I think the most useful thing in my French vocabulary is either "Quoi?" (What?) or "Je ne comprende" (I don't understand).The good news is usually I understand it once they rephrase the statement (again in French). If I still don't they usually give me a hint in English (ex: "Feed the cats?" "Your computer" "Come this way"). The ironic part is that the hints they give in English are usually the aspects of the sentence I understand. Heh. Again, that's the beauty of exchange!
My bedroom is great! It has 3 parts. On the level where the door is, there is a sink, some kind of shelving unit, and a closet (Yes, there IS a sink in my bedroom. HOW COOL IS THAT?!). Then, there's a few stairs that go down to an area with a desk, a bunch of drawers, and a door that leads to the porch outside. Then, there is a steep, small flight of stairs (more like a ladder) right in front of the door that goes to the area I sleep in. Everything in this house has REALLY bright colors. I wonder if Veronique designed some of it... Her office is the same way!

The Microwave!!

We had something like spaghetti my second day for lunch. It was SO GOOD.

The dining room with the AMAZING light fixture

The kitchen!

the oven- it's so cute!

The front door!

our car! It's sort of like a mini van. The windshield area looks more like a Prius though... it's funny because it's modern, but it's stick shift!

My house!

also my house, and the view!

also my house...

my house again! The right side is REALLY old... and then the left side (where my bedroom is) is an addition they built recently!

I've already tried SO MANY new foods. The cheese is PHENOMENAL. It definitely beats American cheese. The bread is really great, too! Every restaurant usually serves free bread, and the water is always free too (the water they serve at restaurants is NOT CARBONATED!! GASP!). Last night, I tried Sardines for the first time (they taste a lot like tuna, I think), and I also tried this weird black pasta... I guess it's made with squid. It was really salty, but it wasn't necessarily bad!

And then there's the Buildings. Oh my gosh, the buildings are SO INCREDIBLE. The buildings are certainly very old, but they have 21st century shops inside these old buildings! Besançon is divided into two parts- the old city and the new city. The new city has all the 21st century accommodations- a mall, a grocery store (which is INSIDE THE MALL, might I add), and even, yes, a KFC (WITH 2 FLOORS!). What is this world coming to? In the old city, there are a bunch of places to shop, but they're all inside these old stone buildings. There is a park, several restaurants, and the university (the university, however, is in a very fancy-looking modern building). There's even a river here- the Doubs. It's really pretty!

Besançon <3

The university I'll be going to for the next four weeks is the white round building on the right. Cool, huh?

Well, It's almost time for lunch, but before I go, I'll leave you with a couple of random cultural differences:
-They use the metric system (duhhh)
-Yogurt with fruit inside of it is, apparently, for babies
-Distressed jeans are looked upon as "dirty" or "for poor people" (fail! I brought two pairs of distressed jeans!)

And now, for a few pictures of my French cats:

 À Bientôt, mes amis!

Tu Me Manques

5 days from today, I will be on Delta flight 4359, non-stop, to Detroit. I will have already ditched my giant suitcase, passed through security, and boarded the flight, completely on my own. That's kind of a scary thought.

Last Thursday, our German exchange student, Jérôme, went through the same process. It's been amazing getting to know him these past couple of days! He gave me a set of Euro coins, and told me about the backs of them (and, of course, which ones were German and French). A few days ago, we took him up to Ithaca to see the waterfall there. Because of the lack of snow the previous winter and several other reasons, the waterfall wasn't nearly as big as it used to be! It was kind of sad. We had fun skipping rocks though! I am not kidding- Jérôme skipped a rock more than halfway across the pool of water. That's crazy!

After that, we went to Seneca lake to meet up with my best friend Madeline's mom and Madeline's brother, Nick. She spent the entire week with me! She lives in Buffalo (about 200 miles away), but we're still super close! We see each other for about a week every summer. Some years she comes to Binghamton, and other years I go to Buffalo. It's incredible how great of a friend she is! It's funny- when I go to France, our relationship will essentially be the same. We will keep in touch through Facebook and E-mail like we usually do. I'm definitely going to miss her (I mean, I ALWAYS miss her). It's great, though, that even after that whole year abroad, I still know that I'll come back and we can pick up right where we left off!

On another note, I am having a horrible time deciding what to pack (see my previous post for more information on that). I am here, on my bed on the third floor, staring loathingly at the pile of miscellaneous debris that surrounds my unorganized suitcase. It looks terrifying. I asked Jérôme how long he was packed before he had to go to America. He shrugged his shoulders and replied, "a half an hour", so that made me feel loads better. People say we should begin packing weeks in advance, but from what I've heard from many previous exchange students, that rarely happens. Now, I know exactly what they are going through.

On yet another slightly different subject, my going-away party was a total success! Less people came than I imagined, which was really great! I'm going to miss everybody so much! I'm so happy that I have such great friends! They really are the best that I could have ever hoped for!

Anyway, I have a lunch date with my AMAZING Grandmother in about a half an hour! I should go get ready!

À Plus Tard!

The Noble Art of Packing

And yes, I am quite confident that the concept of packing is an "art".
I can't believe this. How am I supposed to fit an entire year's supply of American merchandise into a ginormous electric blue suitcase, and STILL manage to make it under 50 pounds? Oh, the horror. The hardest part is deciding what to bring with me and what to leave here. I already carried half the contents of my room upstairs to the third floor in two giant plastic tubs and a cardboard box. The shelves above my desk are bare for the first time since they were first put up. I feel like I'm moving again! In a way I am I guess. I just have a limit to what I can bring!  It's so hard to "water down" my room- sifting through childhood treasures, cosmetics, clothes, shoes... I don't know where to start! I feel like I'm on an episode of Clean House and Niecy Nash is persuading me to get rid of all my clutter... oh goodness. I'm afraid I'll forget something important- my passport, my retainer, my laptop... gosh, there's so many things to pack! Moreover, there are so many HEAVY things to pack. Ugh...
On top of that, I am preparing for the FANTABULOUS going-away party I'm throwing. I can't believe how many people are coming! My parents have no clue how we are gonna do it. If throwing a party for 30 people is hard, throwing a party for 60 or 70 people will be INSANE. It's moderately overwhelming, but ever since I got accepted into this exchange program, I've started believing that anything is possible. I just can't wait to see everybody- even if it is potentially the last time I see them before I leave for France. These events make me realize even more how much I love my friends and family... you guys are the best! I couldn't do this without you. It's hard for me to say good-bye to all of you, but it must be just as hard (if not harder) to say good-bye to me!! This year's going to have rough patches, that's for sure. I'm positive that it will be worth every second of them all!
Bonne nuit, tout le monde!

Counting Down The Days...

Hey Everyone!
I'm Audrey Sellepack, and I am a Rotary youth exchange student going to FRANCE! I am leaving on the 27th of August, and I am literally SHAKING with anticipation! One part of me just wants to pack up and leave right now! I've wanted to go to France, or Europe for that matter, since the day I realized such a place existed. The idea that there are cultures and landscapes and people so different from what I'm used to is just so FOREIGN to me! It's great! I can't wait to learn more about the French culture. The other part of me, however, is afraid to leave a place I'm so used to being immersed in. It's hard to leave your hometown when your favorite foods and people are all staying behind. It's hard to leave the old world behind for awhile, but at the same time, it sounds SO EXCITING!
About a week and a half ago, I went through the most impatient process of my whole life. We went to the French Consulate to apply for my visa. The process would have been a piece of cake... if it didn't take so incredibly LONG! I literally spent 2 hours in a waiting room, waiting for a distorted voice on a PA system to call my name up to a window. When the visa was finally approved, I was so relieved! That was the "last hurdle," as my parents had interpreted it.  The application passed. I could go!
The next day, we visited Stony Brook University! I must admit, my expectations were exceeded! I know where I'm going to college! After that, we went to Fire Island National Seashore. WHO KNEW beaches on long island could EVER be this beautiful? It was a side of New York I had never seen. I think everyone should have the privilege to see this place. It's unreal!

Me at Fire Island National Seashore :)

My mom and I went to New York City again Thursday to actually retrieve my visa. We woke up at 3:30 in the morning and took the train in from Tarrytown, New York. We were so lucky we factored in "buffer time!" I was so happy that we made it on time. It was a terrible feeling power walking down the street and freaking about whether we would get there on time. It was such a relief to receive my passport with that pretty sticker inside of it! I had done it. I am actually going! On our way back, my mom and I stopped at this really fancy diner in Times Square for lunch (the term "fancy diner" is such an oxymoron, but it is totally accurate). I tried an "Egg Creme", which is this carbonated milkshake-type-thing. It tastes better than it sounds, I assure you! While we were sitting there eating our lunch, my mom asked me, "What are you gonna do without us to be there for you?"
I told her that I was gonna see the world.
23 days from now, I will embark for France. I will begin my ultimate adventure.
I couldn't be more thrilled!