2 weeks, but so much more.

I have now been in France for 2 weeks. Some days it feels like I have been here for 2 months, and other times it feels like I have been here for 2 days.
I have learned so much in this short time. its unbelievable. I can practically feel my brain re-wiring itself, constantly thinking, making connections, re-learning basic things. almost every aspect of day to day life is different.

So far I have learned:

-French light switches make much more sense
-How to flush a french toilet (there is an art to it)
-There are NO chocolate chips here
-There are NO frozen perogies here
-Pain-chocolat is heaven
-The french are not 'cold' as we think them to be, just not as 'warm'
-Being an exchange student excuses all mistakes
-'je ne parle pas francais' is the most usefull phrase in the world
-No one drives trucks here
-Even the SUVs here are compact
-I'm the 'Canadian' a person of interest, something to study, look at, test - just as they are to me.
-French electricity has killed my hair dryer
-Family is the most important thing to me
-Going on an exchange isn't 'leaving home' its making a new one
-Being away and sick is the most difficult thing i have ever done.
-Family is always, always with you, in one way or another.


In this short amount of time I have already changed so much. My outlook on basic things changes everyday.
The moment I stepped of the plane into this country I gave up my 'pride' as it had been. Now it doesnt matter if someone throws me a funny look for the way I dress, it doesnt matter if I miss the bus (there is another one every 8min) , so what if I step in a puddle and my shoe is soaked, so what if I accidentally use the wrong word and embarrass myself infront of everyone?
My new pride is different sort of beast entirely. It is a pride in WHO I am, WHAT I am capable of accomplishing, and of what I am doing now.
I have learned that it really doesnt matter how someone dresses/speaks/acts, it is the person inside, the person that you are without words, that really counts. That is my new pride. It's not the same as it was when I got here, and it wont be the same when I leave. It will evolve, change, and wrap me up.

Someone who has not been through this experience can never truely understand just what it feels like: to be in a strange and different land, completly different than your own, and immense feeling of success when you realize that you are doing well. It is a roller coaster of emotions. A complicated stew of happiness, loneliness, joy, fear, pain, excitement, confusion, and most of all exhaustion.

I want to thank everyone that has made it possible for me to be here. You have given me a gift, that i have only just started to unwrap, that is irreplaceable. I cannot wait to share more of it with you.

These last few days have been a real test for me. I have been rather sick, which is very hard when you are away from home. But it has made me realize just how much my family here, and my family back home, support me.

I love you guys.

I have a meeting on Sunday with all the other Rotary students in Normandy. I can't wait to tell you all how it goes!