time flies!

December. Month #3. Whoa. During the first week of December I went to a play with my theater class called “Le Foret”. I had no idea what to expect and had honestly not even understood that we were going to a play in the first place. I walked in to the theater and was surprisingly handed 3D glasses. The play was beautiful. The entire script was narrated by four voices intertwining and with one man acting out the motions on stage. The stage itself was a few inches of water and with the lighting it reflected beautifully images and moved beautifully. It was very wonderfully. The voices narrated the beginning of earth and life itself and then explained its destruction and the corruption that had taken over. I watched the play intensely looking for any detail that would help me understand the words. The actor himself ended up completely naked on stage and thinking this was just, well, a very French thing, I looked around to see other people’s faces. Totally shocked as well. Glad to know I wasn’t the only one.

A few days later I took the ‘BAC BLANC’. The BAC in France is probably the most important test. It is many, many hours long and with out a good grade one does not pass the year. The practice was four hours long and well, a bit painful. I was given a test on the theater. Which means I analyzed 3 exerts from different plays and wrote a very long dissertation and answered questions. Such a lovely way to start the day. Luckily it was a Friday and after school I was taking to the bus to Tours to visit my bestest AFS friend, Abigale.

Two hours later, stressed that I had missed the stop, I arrived safe and sound. And in total awe. There were lights everywhere and stores, oh so very many stores. The buildings looked beautiful lit up and surrounded by buzzing people. Abby met me in the center, right next to the Hotel de Ville and the giant, giant Christmas tree. Soon we jumped on a bus and rode forty five minutes excitedly blabbering off in our very own language of oh so very elegantly mixed French and English. Her family greeted me with warmth and was very patient, accustomed to having someone that didn’t speak fluent French in the house. The next morning Abby went to school, while I slept in late and ‘did homework’. I jumped back on the bus around 11 to meet her when she got off school. After 45 minutes of utter confusion and adventure I met Abby and another friend and we ate a late breakfast. That afternoon we saw so much. Abby showed me beautiful churches and streets, secret corners and gardens, and little stores. We walked the marché de noel in search of Christmas gifts, tasted vin chaud, and ate way too many chichi and crepes (comme d’habitude).