ive been here for one month! thats so scary!!!
but its been a good month. not sure ive learnt enough french in that time but thats ok.
saturday was really cool, i went to the tanning salon with diane....she got burnt it was sooo funny. then we went shopping and as always i had a lot of fun...and yes i did buy a lot......a l o t....
saturday night i went to the movies. the vinemas are different to the ones in nz. the only ads are movie previews and instead of listening to music before it starts the screen shows a whole lot of movie and film trivia. i saw the movie `bon cop bad cop` it was so good. it was set between ontario and montreal so there was a good bit o english in it for me :). the main actor was really hot....so that made it much better.
sunday i went to the arcades and played pool. they have DDR here it was soo much fun...and most of the songs were in french. i ate more poutine (i think ive scraped the whole take advantage of the health craze to get skinny) theres just so much good fatty food out there for me.
had an amazing morning at school. for french we are studying poetry so we went to the drummondville forest for inspiration for our peoms. so i soent two hours in the middle of a forest surrounded by trees changing colour with the seasons and heaps of squirrels!1 it was awesome.

so ive had a good month and i hope the next 10 are just as good

ive been here for one month! thats so scary!!!
but its been a good month. not sure ive learnt enough french in that time but thats ok.
saturday was really cool, i went to the tanning salon with diane....she got burnt it was sooo funny. then we went shopping and as always i had a lot of fun...and yes i did buy a lot......a l o t....
saturday night i went to the movies. the vinemas are different to the ones in nz. the only ads are movie previews and instead of listening to music before it starts the screen shows a whole lot of movie and film trivia. i saw the movie `bon cop bad cop` it was so good. it was set between ontario and montreal so there was a good bit o english in it for me :). the main actor was really hot....so that made it much better.
sunday i went to the arcades and played pool. they have DDR here it was soo much fun...and most of the songs were in french. i ate more poutine (i think ive scraped the whole take advantage of the health craze to get skinny) theres just so much good fatty food out there for me.
had an amazing morning at school. for french we are studying poetry so we went to the drummondville forest for inspiration for our peoms. so i soent two hours in the middle of a forest surrounded by trees changing colour with the seasons and heaps of squirrels!1 it was awesome.

so ive had a good month and i hope the next 10 are just as good

so glad its the end of the week!
im so tired...from hard pe and constantly thinking in french.
so i might have done bad in the history test but at least i did better in maths....a whole 75%
and in french i can actually do the work..but i get the teacher to check my grammar....lol....
this weekend should be good...we dont have to look after the lil boys so i will get some sleep...and im going tot he arcades saturday night. which should be good fun.
im still trying to figure out how to get photos to nz...ill either get them on a cd or print the good ones.
my host mum is so funny...this weekend we are going to the beauty salon to get our nails done etc. lmao
its getting colder here...last week it was lyk 22-26 degrees but yesterday it was 8 and it snowed just north of quebec city!!

oh and bcos no one ever comments on this blog thinkgy i feel very unloved...almost lyk i write for no reason....so get commenting or ill stop informing you of my life here!

so to show how much i actually thought i had the language covered...when i really didnt...i got 10 out of 50 in my history test :)

yay for me...i feel so smart tight now. especially seeing as most of teh class got 50 out 0f 50....

so i get 20% in a history test...atleast i can talk enough french to have friends! this weekend i mite be going to the movies and to play pool....as long as my host family say yes....so far they have but i dont really have much information so they arent too sure. today was like enrolment day for all the clubs etc and every went crazy trying to sign ppl up. i got heaps of photos it would be good if i can get them to nz

so i figured out the secret to all the skinny girls...their lunch consists of salad, iron supplement and a dietry pill. so i like my meaty sandwiches and occasional cafeteria speacialty....i dont particulary want diet pills so im happy to stay being b e a u tiful me :)

over the past week i have a flash of homesickness.....i missed everyone back hoome and i was pessimistic about everything. but i think im over it now...seeing as im happy nd all

but yes...i do still miss my peeps

home alone today. i went to a walk to river and it was amazing. all the trees are turning orange cos its fall but its still so hot. the river is really pretty and i got heaps of photos ill somehow get to nz. i was feeling pretty happy just chilling at the river when the church bells went off. it really struck me that im here in canada for a year. it was a lil overwhelming cos so far its been like a long holiday (with school), but for some reason sitting on a rock in the shade with my feet in the water and hearing the church bells across the river made me feel really privaleged to be here.

except the walk to the river and back was in the hot sun and over the only hill here so i got some good exercise...im probably gonna take the dog for a walk along beside the river tonite or flag the dog and go for a bike ride (i know im actually planning on doing exercise...shock horror ive lost my old procastinating ways)

friday i had no school so i spent the day with diane. we went for a swim and the pools are so different from in nz. they are quite small, and the lifeguards sit in high chairs on either side of the pool. the best part is the lifeguards are really hot and for their uniform they wear red boardshorts...and the girls wear the boardshorts with a white singlet...i think someone shoud get wcc to employ hot (younger than the current employees) lifeguards and change the uniforms so by the time im back in wellington i wont miss canadian pools too much.
after that swim i went to a really cool souvenir store. they had some very cool canadian stuff that some of you should watch out for...lol

that night i went to a protest for womans rights against sexual violence. it was funny learning french slogans. it was funny whenever we got to an intersection the police car that was leading us flashed the lights and used its siren. after i went to tim hortons for hot chocolate with my counsellor (no im not crazy its just the term afs use for our liason person). but i am now addicted to tim hortons....unfortunatley im too shy to order in french so i have to stick to having it with other french speaking ppl.

i made apple pie!!!

it was really fun it was with the coop geeks. every now and then we play around with recipes for the sec 1 and 2. we were just using a basic apple pie recipe and we just added what we thought was good to see which pie was the best. it was very funny when i came home with an apple pie...my host parents didnt expect it.

last night i went out to a cheese restaurant and tried poutine. for those of you who dont know its a quebecoise delicasy. its hot fries, gravy and cheese. very fatty but sooo good.

i did the beeptest the other day and did really well but i did something to one of my legs and its soooo sore :(
poo on a stick

apart from that everything else is going very well.

i made apple pie!!!

it was really fun it was with the coop geeks. every now and then we play around with recipes for the sec 1 and 2. we were just using a basic apple pie recipe and we just added what we thought was good to see which pie was the best. it was very funny when i came home with an apple pie...my host parents didnt expect it.

last night i went out to a cheese restaurant and tried poutine. for those of you who dont know its a quebecoise delicasy. its hot fries, gravy and cheese. very fatty but sooo good.

i did the beeptest the other day and did really well but i did something to one of my legs and its soooo sore :(
poo on a stick

apart from that everything else is going very well.

whooo! carribeans here i come!!!

its all paid for and im definatly going!!! im so excited!!!

and i might also be going to new york with school for a `field trip` but really its just an excuse to see new york...

so schools good i wen tto a meeting about the prom today. that was very funny.

some of us exchange students are planning a ski trip in winter

schools getting bettter i can now understand my teahers and it turns out the work is really easy

i now eat snacks like cauliflower and capsicum instead of chippies (i know shock horror)

sorry this is really brief i dont feel the need to develop an explanation of my life right now (oh and im really busy organising my social calender :)

so much to say............
first of all, for those of you who know mean girls...you will understand what im about to say.....i met the plastics. yes, the blonde, attractive, all-the-guys-want-to-be-with-you snobs. so that was funny.

i had my afs orientation. it was really good and i found out some stuff i should ask my host parents like curfews and chores etc. after i asked them those questions things got alot easier. now i load the dishwasher, help with dinner and what ever else needs doing...i know your probably thinking...what!! amy doing housework....but its good becos instead of hanging round before and after dinner like im just here to eat and sleep...i feel like im starting to be part of the family. and ofcourse my host mum was happy for me to offer to help. another problem that has been brewing is the fact my host mum always trys to speak english to me so i dont really get a chance to talk french with her. aparently all the host parents had a meeting and this issue was brought up. my host mum talked with me about it and she said she felt better speaking english because them we cou,ld get along and manage problems easier and then french will be ok once we have developed a better ealtionship. which i understand and im ok with it. im learing heaps of french at school now i have friends...yes i actually sit with people and tlak to them and im not being a blender. im invited to sit with them at lunch and they always sit next to me in class....finally! lol. its really cool. so things are starting to fall into place..

oh and even bigger news.......im going on a cruise around the jamacain islands!!!!how fricking cool is that!!!!so while canada suffers form winter in december...im away for 7 days on a cruise ship with my host family. i have my own room on the boat too. right now im smiling... alot!

i went bowling....it was fun....my host parents bowl alot but i still managed to beat them (by 2 points then 4 points). they were impressed. we were with the host family of a girl from school who comes from german switzerland. it was good fun.
i also did the shopping with my host mum. thats always funny because here in canada everythin is packaged with english and french. so whenever we dont know the word for something we just wait till we find it and its like having a dictionary on every item. but with my short attention span im always getting distracted by some strange food item thats not found in nz. supermarkets are huge. it would take 2 hours just to do speed shopping! the one we went to has 19 aisles and each one is very long (im really bad at guessing distances so im worried id get it really wrong...so ill stick with `very long`).

afs orientation tomoro...well really its just a big gathering with food and we talk. so not that interesting

im on the computer at school. the internet is way faster. its quite funny im actually in english calss. but because its regular english no one is really that good, so us english speakers are left to be `coaches`. so we get to go on the computer and send emails (its practising our english) and people will just come up and talk to us if we need help. its a really good set up... :)

so im having a lack of emails asking for my cell phone number...so i feel like no one really reads this and no one really wants to talk to me :( lol i dont actually mind im happy sticking with emails...its cheaper :P

life with my host family is going well...i talk english and french with my host mum...she likes Dr Phil but doesnt understand it, so she wants to learn english so she can understand, but for now i just translate for her. i learnt lots of new words in french...like divorce. :D
To communicate with Bernard its slightly harder...as its all french....so we do jigsaw puzzles. its fun and we always have a good laugh. were working on a 1000 piece puzzle for halloween. im sick of the colour orange tho...too many pumkin puzzle pieces.

schools much better now i have some friends! yes, people actally want to talk to me. conversations are limited but its still good. its mostly just people in my classes that sit next to me and we start talking about school related things...but its all french!

i have my afs orientation camp on sunday so that will be interesting. i really want to know about tavelling in and out of school time.

2 weeks!!!

wow i cant believe i left nz two weeks ago...so much has happened...

but the one thing inm most proud of is that i can talk to people(other students, teachers, my host family and shop assistants) im not saying its good french...i can understand what they say if they speak slowly and then im all good :) i even talk to the other exchange students in french...except the other nz girl who hasnt learnt any french

schools still pretty good...im slowly making friends (well not really, seeing as im an exchange student were usually labelled geeks until proved otherwise) which i think i did today in pe doing better than most of the guys in tennis sprints and sit ups. we had a test thingy and it was good fun...except when i got whipped with the push ups...i think i actually forgot how to do them. oh well

most of my teachers are pretty good with me not being able to understand the classes (so far anyway) if theres something i dont understand they just go over it slowly for me, or get and english speaking student to translate.

my phone is all sorted so ive got that number if any of you want a text from moi just email me and ill let you know my number.

:)

an interesting few days....

first of all lots of problems with my new cellphone but im hoping to get a refund and change companys...unfortunatly its all done in french, so the staff at the stores speak english and so far there has only been a few communication problems.

on sunday i had a good day, i ended up going shopping with geneveve and i found some very cool shops at the mall...i did restrain myself and only bought 4 tops :P

monday was a public holiday so i would have slept in if it wasnt for the two boys knockingéhittingébanging on my door...i guess it was because they were sleeping in the room next to mine and no one else was awake. I was going to go for a swim but because it was a public holiday..the pool was closed...but we only knew that after driving there. fun times. so instead of a swim i burnt calories stressing about the situation with my cellphone.

and today (tuesday) i had school. i had a career choice class first. very starnge but the teacher spoke fluent english so i managed to understand the class...although its really a class for people who cant decide which cejép to go to or what polyvolante to go to....etc. after that i had my sport class...im sooo indsnly excited. we do so many cool things. its assessed on performance and participation and 30% of the course is based at the pool, with swimming and waterpolo! i was so happy when i found out they play waterpolo here! next lesson we start tennis, then sports like self defense and boxing, gymnastics, latin danse, curling and another snow sport. the class is made up of 18 guys and 4 girls. so latin dancing will be funny. after a very long luchtime whick involed wandering aimlessly round school (due to the rain) i had history. and i didnt understand a lot. then i had my favourite class so far-english communication. there is another guy who is fluent english so we just talked the whole lesson but the teacher couldnt get mad because we were speaking english. it was a good laugh.

after school i went to the mall to try and sort out my phone but i have to wait to see the manager tomoro. then not much else has happened......

sorry i havent been able to get on the computer for a few days. but ill try and remember everything...

Friday:first official say of school. its very north american. with the whole lockers and carrying your books to class. onslow students would die at this school. at the start of each class the teacher takes the role, then someone takes it to the office. about 5 minutes later the little intercom asks if any of those people have arrived yet, and if not then they call your parents...straight away. and you cant have cellphones or mp3 players, they get confiscated for the lesson. so i had a vey stange art class...a great english calss...a french class i didnt really understand(but its interesting they study french not quebecoise. its like a francaphone class...and i can do debating if i feel im not too restricted with the whole language thing, maybe in may)and finished with coop. i only understood that i have 2 extra coop classes at lunch times and i need to give the teacher $5. and thats really all i understood. so far i havent got any friends (which sounds really sad) but i dont mind because im happier hanging out and watching everyone, than trying to fit in with a group of people that are nothing lyk me. that night (just to prove the family like their alcohol) diane made me a pepermint sunday. so when she told me that i was thinking nonalcoholic only to find the pepermint...is pepermint shnapps. its icecream, pepermint, chocolate and real whipped cream.....very good.

Saturday: a day with bernard. and knowing his limited english it was an interesting day. we went to the mall so i could buy a cellphone. which took 3 hours because first of all i had to explain to them that im only here for 1 year and dont want the 3 year plan. or any plan...just pre paid. then they went thru international costs, even tho i already know...just to check that i know its more expensive. bernard was worried because he knows i want the phone to text my peeps in nz. but in the end i got a very nice sony erricson phone which i can listen to french radio on. i dont know my number yet, but if you email me then ill get it to you (when i figure it out). saturday afternoon and evening was good fun. i went to a corn on the cob party at dianes sisters house. she has 4 sisters and 7 brothers. so there were a lot of people. and they all wanted to talk to moi. in english and french. some were very weird (just for you mum...they were lyk one of your sisters) and some were funny and interesting. i was offered alot of alcohol...but i stuck to budweiser and played with the kids...i know thats not a good mix but it was alot of fun and everyone was very drunk. i was quite suprised by these drunk, old, french people. it was....interesting.

and today (sunday) im looking after hugo and simon again, and they found out how ticklish i am. so theyre having alot of fun with that.