Samantha Lush French Exchange Coursework

Finally, the day had arrived! Everybody was excited but gradually the nerves amongst us were rising. By the time we had to leave there was a big rush for the back seat, and the first hiccup of the day followed! As Sam and myself had just discovered we had both bought very similar looking pieces of luggage and we got mixed up while loading them onto the coach!

The coach trip to Waterloo Station seemed to fly by tremendously quickly and before we knew it, we were on the train and heading for France! Personally, I was very excited because I was going to be with my friends and a sense of independence overwhelmed me! I think that because we were taking the Eurostar and were going to be in a carriage with other members of the public, it felt like we had more responsibility and that we weren’t just school children on a school trip but we were mature students taking an educational visit! However, I don’t know if the teachers that accompanied us on the trip would agree about the ‘mature’ part!

I had a little bit of trouble in lifting my luggage onto the train! As always as I suspected, I had over packed! It only took three hours to get to France and only thirty minutes in the actual tunnel! To be honest, I wasn’t aware that we were entering the tunnel until somebody shouted ‘Look out we are going under!’ The Eurostar was not at all what I expected! The journey was very smooth and at times you forgot that you were even moving! Whilst on the train, with the help of a girls magazine, we had fun posing scandalous questions to the boys and it resulted in finding out that one of the Year ten boys was heading for a very interesting, shall we say slightly raunchy career!

Amongst the people on the exchange, we felt that we had a new David Bailey photographer in the making! It was none other than trusty Mark Robertshaw who took a not so flattering photograph of Mrs Bentley-Davies asleep with her mouth wide open! The look on her face when she found out was hilarious, unfortunately though, Mark was not around to capture that one on film. How surprising?! By the end of the exchange, I think Mark had compiled quite an amusing portfolio of teachers asleep in some rather peculiar positions! Other victims included Mr Frost, Mr Rattew and I think Mrs German nearly escaped but I am convinced that Mark caught her on the last day!

It was then back onto the coach and time for us to head towards Houdan. By this time, I could feel the butterflies in my stomach getting slightly worse! But I was mainly excited because when Camille came to England, we had a great time. At first she seemed a little quiet but after she had settled in she was really talkative! We had a really entertaining weekend where our ability to play charades had definitely improved!

When we turned into the school, I was very surprised at the appearance of the school, it reminded me of a plain concrete block! We made our way up to the Dining Hall and the decor of one of the walls actually inside the school was some abstract graffiti. Now I was starting to wander what the house would be decorated like! In the dining hall, was where we met our partners but Camille was nowhere to be found! I thought that maybe they were fed up of me already but then she appeared ‘Hello Sam’ she said, and then we greeted each other with the typical French welcome; four kisses on each cheek. She then introduced me to her Mum, Elizabeth but she only kissed me twice, I was just getting ready for the third and fourth time but she pulled away! It felt a bit strange having to kiss a stranger on the cheek, when in England you would shake their hand! But we were in France and that was the traditional way.

We were given a welcoming speech and ate some small cakes and biscuits, which I might add were incredibly tasty! Then it was time to go home! The drive to the house was slightly uncomfortable and getting used to the brisk speed of their conversations was slightly nerve racking but all in all, the phrases that we had learnt in the classroom were definitely useful to break the awkward silences!

The family lived in a small village called Richebourg and the house was like an old cottage that had been modernized. The house really couldn’t have been more traditionally French, with the shutters on the windows and the fresh bread and cheese on the table in the kitchen. It was all very neat and tidy and if like my Mum then I would imagine that there had been a spring-clean prior to my arrival!

Next, Camille introduced me to her Dad who looked like a stereotypical French man! He had very dark hair and spoke with a very deep voice and broad accent but he seemed very pleasant. The only mix up was when I greeted him, I accidentally called him a woman, I was so embarrassed! but they found it very funny and I think it broke the ice!

The uneasiest part of the day turned out to be when we had dinner and being able to take part and understand the conversation at the table, takes some getting used to! The structure of the meal was very different and we had one plate and one set of cutlery for a five-course meal! After each course you had to wipe the plate clean with some bread! It did save on the washing up! What I did realise however, was that the French did not seem to eat potatoes and I think that is why the majority of them all have nice figures!

After dinner, I was so tired I just went to bed. I had survived my first day in France! I had enjoyed it very much and the butterflies in my stomach had disappeared!

The next day we woke up at six forty five, which was near enough the same as at home! We had breakfast and where I was not used to drinking out of a bowl, I ended up spilling it all down my top!

Today we were going to the Palace of Versailles; it was beautiful, the intricate design on the outside walls were very exquisite. But while going through the safety checks, we nearly lost a member of our group; because of him shouting to another English person ‘Do you have my gun?!’ Everyone around us laughed, all except for the security guard!

We all marvelled at the grounds as we sat and ate the masses of lunch that the French canteen had provided for us! We had about six boxes solidly packed of food, I am sure the school thought that we had been starving in England! Unfortunately not all of the food had been eaten and so we were able to witness the sneaky littering by Mr. Frost, however he claims that he was leaving it in the hedge to collect later! We were not convinced!

My favourite room in the palace was called the Hall of Mirrors, it was very picturesque, there were mirrors all the way down it and on the ceilings were these very elaborate looking chandeliers. The palace was huge, and if I had lived there, I would have been sure to get lost many a times!

After our tour of the Palace we went down to the waterfront and were going to hire out paddleboats, but to be honest, we had more fun watching. For starters, Mrs German accompanied a group of mature children however Mr Rattew was in a boat with some younger ones and a little year eight boy decided to fall overboard and got completely drenched! The next fiasco was when a small year eight girl dropped her purse into the water. I did feel very sorry for her especially as she insisted on fishing it out with a fishing pole but you had to laugh!

All in all though it was a very enjoyable day!

The next day we spent in school and at Houdan market. The market was lovely. It was quite small but had all of the typical French stalls such as fresh selections of cheeses that really smelt bad! And the fresh bread which you had to buy out the back of a lorry! The market was filled with lots of local people especially woman who wore little scarves tied around their necks with small weaved shopping baskets on their arms. The market was a great place to buy small local gifts for all of your family. Something that actually looked French and that did not just have a French label on it, which read ‘made in England’! I brought some honey for my Dad, which I had had on some toast the previous morning. The one thing that I fell in love with at the market were the French raspberries, they were delicious! All very big, very red and very juicy, I brought a small punnet of them and wandered around the market casually munching away on them! All I was missing was a pot of double cream!

We all met at the town hall where we met the town Mayor. He was not at all what I had expected, I had thought that he would be wearing big gold chains around his neck and a big red gown, but he just wore a suit. I think I have been watching too many French cartoons! He decided that he wanted to talk about the comparisons between England and France. One of the topics was marriage. In France, you had to be married in front of the town Mayor at a small but formal ceremony. After that, you could then get married in a church. So that we understood it easier he wanted to marry two English people but that we would not have to sign the register. The couple that were chosen were Sherdell and myself! Mr Rattew was my Dad and Mrs German was Sherdell’s mum! I must admit though, this was the last thing that I had planned to be doing on the French exchange! And then to be getting married in black trousers and a blue jumper was just totally diabolical!

In the afternoon, there was a basketball match between England and France. The atmosphere in the air for the last game was brilliant; each side of the spectators were doing their best to outdo each other and see who could shout the loudest! England scored and we were all hyped up but then France equalised! The tension was definitely hotting up! Finally when the last whistle was blown, it turned out that England had won! Luckily our basketball players were much better than our footballers!

That evening, I was told that I was going to a big show with some actors and fireworks and that we were going there with some other English people! I was getting really excited and was wandering what type of show it was going to be! However, when we actually arrived, it turned out to be a big bird show with herds of sheep and two solid hours of French that we couldn’t understand at all! Later, we found out that our partners didn’t understand it either because it was spoken in old French!

Luckily that night wasn’t an insight for the weekend! Firstly we played a game of cluedo that was actually really good. To be honest though, I had never actually played the English version before but luckily I realised what was going on! In the afternoon we went shopping in a small town that was brilliant! I was clothes shopping in France; it was a dream come true! That evening, I went to a fete that was held especially for a Saint in France. There was a huge bonfire that I later discovered you had to dance around once it had been lit! A small disco kicked off the lighting of the bonfire and then went on for the rest of the night, I am now definitely sure that I will never complain about my Dad’s taste in music again! Unfortunately the music wasn’t great but the atmosphere amongst everyone was really friendly! The French girls were determined to keep us all dancing for as long as they could. The boys were far less than pleased at this plan and kept thinking of cunning ideas for them to escape; no such luck I’m afraid, the girls wouldn’t let anyone out of their sight!

By Sunday morning I was in desperate need of a long lie in but I was woken at nine thirty and told to hurry up, as we were going swimming. Never before have I seen the light of day before ten o’clock on a Sunday morning and so to go swimming was slightly too energetic for that time of the morning! At the swimming pool, I noticed that bodysuits were a new high point of fashion in France! After we had replenished our energy with a mars bar we went to Sam Poliquins partners house and challenged to two girls to a game of football, miraculously we won! I think it was definitely luck because I can promise you that it was not our skills! They seemed to involve me kicking the dog instead of the ball and Sam managing to give my partner a swift kick in the shins! I was a bit upset on Sunday evening and I was starting to feel a bit homesick, I think Elizabeth picked up on it because after dinner she produced a big tub of ice cream and sad I would feel better after it!

I was so pleased to be meeting back at school on Monday; I was so pleased to hear English! We headed off for the Stade de France, (I was at the envy of Camille’s brother and he made me promise that I would take lots of photos and send some over to him!) Mr Frost was determined to be seen as a typical British tourist and insisted on wearing him knee length, Bermuda type shorts! The Stade de France was very impressive but while we were all admiring a model of it, my Mum decided to call me on my mobile, I wished that the floor would have just swallowed me up there and then! In the actual stadium we were sat in some seats that were not particularly close the pitch and we were told that they would have cost us one hundred and sixty pounds to sit and watch a game! I had never been inside a football stadium before so to be able to have a first time experience in one built for the world cup was very exciting!

It was then onto La Geode which was a big scientific museum in a big sphere. We went into the cinema that was truly breathtaking and watched a film about how special effects were used in films. Because of the cinema being circular, I actually felt like I was falling off of the tower or flying the plane! It was incredible! You were sat in rows like an ordinary cinema but wherever you looked, there was part of the film; you felt like you were embedded in it!

That evening, I thought that I would try and use some of the French at the dinner table and I asked her Dad what type of work that he did, he understood the question thankfully, but then he went into so much detail I really didn’t have a clue what he was saying, so I just smiled and agreed!

Today I had to remember to take my hay fever medicine because we were off to Monet’s house and garden and I was sure that I was going to have a sneezing attack while walking around there! The gardens were beautiful; there was every colour imaginable somewhere in there. The lily pond looked so tranquil it seemed a shame to stand on the bridge and invade the space! The weeping willow trees set it off brilliantly and I could see why it had been painted! It already looked just like a photograph, very delicate but very undisturbed.

The house was just as beautiful and each room was based around one particular colour scheme. My personal favourite was the kitchen, which was blue, and every piece of decoration complimented each other brilliantly. There were the blue tiles behind the arguer that looked great with the copper pans hanging down from the ceiling.

Rouen was very picturesque and was very much a typical French town; it was filled with small touristy shops and many little cafes that were very relaxing! The Cathedral reminded me very much of the one in the Hunchback of Notre Damn, the intricate detail on every part of it was amazing. The Cathedral lead out onto a cobbled high street that was filled with Tudor style brown beamed houses and many tourists admiring the setting. We went shopping in Rouen and had a brilliant time but we were not quite sure of our way back to the coach! When we finally returned, we noticed that most of the girls had been shopping and the boys had gone off to find a McDonalds or the famous sweet shop! Very cultured!

I was already positive that Wednesday and Thursday were going to be the most exciting days whilst on the French Exchange, and I wasn’t wrong! Paris was so exhilarating! The Eiffel Tower was amazing! However whilst we were all sat in the grounds eating lunch, salesmen trying to sell all sorts of things ranging from laserpens to bracelets completely swamped us! After a while it got very annoying but it was fun being able to barter with them and knock down their prices to some very unrealistic ones! The tower didn’t look like I had expected it to be! And was just iron links all welded together to form this landmark! While we were walking to the top, I started to count the steps but got lost at six hundred and thirty two! The view just from the second floor was breathtaking! But we decided that we wanted to be brave and go up to the third, after all, you couldn’t come to Paris and not go up to the top could you?!

We were queuing for about twenty minutes in what we thought was the queue for the lift, however it turned out that it was only the queue for people who already had their tickets! So Mr Frost kindly said that he would go and buy us the tickets but when he returned, he realised that he had actually brought us junior tickets for up to eleven year olds! But thankfully we were not stopped!

The view from the third floor was spectacular and we spent about ten minutes admiring it, the cars looked like ants and it just reminded me of a small toy Lego set! After we had finished trying to point out the sites of Paris we had difficulty in getting down! Unfortunately, we were already running late and when we eventually found the lift Mark got left behind! So we waited for him and ended up being over twenty minutes late! But luckily the teachers were okay about it which led me to thinking that maybe they had some of the same trouble!

Then it was onto the Sacre Coeur, which is my most favourite part of Paris. It is a really beautiful white church and the entrance is dominated by masses of steps! By this time of the day, my feet were killing but I was so glad when we made it! There were people covered in body paint who were miming and then there was a clown on stilts who acted out a small animation if you put some money in his box! Behind the church is a small square filled with cafes and souvenir shops, but the most famous part of Painters square is that in the inner part of it there is a covered array of people drawing and painting portraits and caricatures, most of the artists are dressed in black, which is stereotypically the colour of a French artist! Sam and myself sat outside at one of the cafes and had a chocolate crepe. The chocolate was so gooey that it ran all down our mouths! We were so pleased because now we had witnessed the ‘real’ side of France! We had our caricatures drawn and the expressions on people’s faces as they walk past and admire them are very worrying!

The hustle and bustle of people bartering with the artists and trying to decide on which painting to buy are definitely at the centre of the incredible atmosphere!

That evening we were going to eat dinner in a restaurant on the Champs Elysees! My taste buds tingled at the sight of just plain chicken and chips rather than a fancy five-course meal. Don’t get me wrong though, I really enjoyed the food but I was just missing a plain English meal! There was only one slight embarrassment that occurred at the end of the evening when a certain year ten boy had dropped a small blue packet of French letters! And the waitress had to come out personally to the coach and return it! The coach was in hysterics of laughter!

Today was the last day, and we were off to Eurodisney I could barely contain my excitement! And it really was brilliant, however it did remind me slightly of a birthday cake. Everything was very pink and sugary looking. The first few slices were delicious but if you ate too much you ended up feeling sick! I was very proud of myself because I was actually brave enough to go on a corkscrew roller coaster that I have never before even considered attempting! I have never been so scared in all my life but it turned out to be a great adrenaline rush!

We were queuing up for the Indiana Jones ride but when it finally came down to it I had to chicken out; it went backwards! We met a few characters such as the chipmunks and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, I felt as though I was five again! We hounded them for autographs and even managed to get a hug and a photograph with them! In the afternoon Sam, Megan and me decided to embarrass the rest of our friends and to become Disney characters for the afternoon! I was Pluto and brought a big yellow hat that made me very sweaty, I now had great amounts of sympathy for the people in the big costumes! Megan and Sam were Minnie mouse and brought some ears to compliment their idea! It was so much fun! I had saved my money for Disney land and so at the end of the day I went on a shopping spree and brought lots of goodies for everyone!

For our dinner, Mrs German kindly treated us all to McDonalds! The portions were huge compared to ours in England! After this, Ben, Mark and Sherdell decided to go and get Henna Tattoos, they did actually look very convincing but I didn’t want to boost their egos so I kept quiet!

On the walk back to the coach, Mrs Bentley-Davies had a sneaky look at Sherdell’s six-pack and was very impressed! She nearly passed out when Ben started to flex his muscles and Sherdell was showing off his pecs! She was enquiring on tips for her husband!

Eurodisney had to be one of the best days and rounded off the trip brilliantly! By the time that Friday came around, I was happy to be going home but sad to leave my partner and her family. I also made many new friends on the exchange and got on well with everyone! The main event that concluded the exchange was the fact that I received an award for the ‘Sunny Sunbeam’! I will always have happy memories of the French Exchange and plan to keep in contact with Camille and her family.