JRJ Weekend in Paris!!!

Imagine this:

500+ exchange students from 35 different countries in Paris for the weekend.

Yes. It is as wonderful as you're imagining it. Maybe even better. 

This weekend, the two Rotary districts in Paris hosted the "JRJ Weekend" that happens every 2 (maybe 4?) years. Basically, Rotary gets all of it's inbounds together for a fantastically amazing, beautiful, unforgettable, exhilarating, and just all around wonderful weekend. 

Friday, my district took the bus up to Paris. After 7 long hours on the bus, we finally arrived at the Hostel. Now, this Hostel was not the classiest place. In fact, there were only 3 outlets per floor. On my floor, they were being shared by about 35 girls... Definitely not enough for all the hair straighteners and cell phones. But anyway that isn't what was important. What is important is the people. My district of about 40 students shared the hostel with two other districts of about 20 and 30 students. I was the first from my district to go talk to one of the others. Once everyone realized that no one was going to bite, everything went really well.

Saturday morning we piled into the bus after breakfast and drove to a spot in front of the Eiffel Tower. This was the first time that all the exchange students were in one place. It was so crazy and hectic. There were hugs happening everywhere and a bunch of different languages being spoken. I got to see some of the Americans that I got my visa with in San Francisco as well as some people who I had friended on Facebook knowing I would get to meet them. Everyone took lots of pictures. I, being the slightly crazy person that I am, went up to random groups of people that I didn't know at all and started random conversation and then hugged everyone. I also retained A LOT of names. I surprised myself at how many names I was remembering. 

After the Eiffel Tower, we went to a presentation. Now, mind you, we were 500+ exchange students who wanted nothing more than to TALK TO EACH OTHER. Needless to say, we didn't really pay attention to the presentation. I felt bad for the speakers, but at the same time, they didn't really consider the fact that we would all instantly love each other to pieces. Following the presentation, we took "Les Bateaux Mouches" along the Seine River with our districts. The sun was shining and everything was so beautiful. I spent the ride talking with one of my best friends just about life in general. I think it brought us a lot closer together. 

Saturday night was the grand event. It started with a chaotic "organization" of the flag presentation. 500 students in one hallway with Rotarians yelling different orders. Lovely. After the presentation got underway everyone found seats and waited for their turn to sing their national anthems. Once all 35 countries were done, we sat down to eat dinner/walk around aimlessly to find our new friends. During dinner the talent show started. Each district presented something really cool and/or adorable. Two of my Brazilian friends, one of my Mexican friends, and I sang a medley to represent our district. It went really well (despite the fact that we had been losing our voices all evening). 

Once the talent show ended, everyone went to the dance floor -- including the Rotarians. Now I thought it was weird when I danced next to all the Latin Americans, but Rotarians next to Latin Americans is something else (that is absolutely wonderful). The night ended around 2 am, but with the hour change, it actually ended at 3 am. We got back to the hostel at 3:45 am and had to wake up by 7 am that morning. I took advantage of the empty showers (there were only 2 per floor for the girls) and ended up going to bed around 4:15. Basically I was dead on Sunday.

Sunday morning we all went to Versailles. I had been to Versailles for the bus trip, but I didn't really get to see the gardens the first time. After walking through with my friend who had never been there, I met up with some friends I had made the night before and wandered through the gardens with them for a few hours.

My district left Versailles around 2 pm. The bus ride back was LONG. It took about 7 hours to get to Lyon, but those 7 hours seemed to last a day because I couldn't sleep. At one point, everyone on the bus was asleep...except me and the driver. Ugh. But it was alright I guess since I didn't get bus sick. I ended up back in Montélimar around 9:30 pm and at the house around 10:00 pm. 

This morning I woke up sick, so I didn't go to school. Hooray for sleeping all day. I just feel bad for the exchange students who had to face that today after such a gloriously tiring weekend. I wish I could go back and relive every second of it. Hopefully I'll be able to see some of these people again. They truly add a whole other side to this experience and I love them for that.

Bisous,

Amelia 

Paris/Barcelona Photos

Paris/Barcelona Bus Trip

For the first week of vacation I was on a bus travelling across France and into Spain. My host family  drove me to Lyon Sunday night. I stayed in a hotel with most of the other exchange students in my district who were going on the trip. We all hung out until about 11:00 or 11:30 and then went to sleep. The next morning we all woke up at an ungodly hour and got on the bus at 5:30 am. We drove to the airport/train station and picked up the rest of the students. Everyone was either from my district or the district in Lyon. 

We spent the first day driving up to Paris. Continuously riding in a bus with very few breaks is not very fun at first. Eventually everyone found their groups and talked (after sleeping for a few hours). Once we got to Paris, a tour guide got on the bus and talked to us about Paris as we drove around. After the tour we got to walk along the Champs Elysees and see the Arc de Triomphe. Afterwards, we went to the hotel and ate dinner. After dinner, no one was tired, so the chaperones took us out to a bar (no, we did not drink alcohol) so that we wouldn't disrupt the rest of the hotel. 

The next day, we visited the Eiffel Tower and the Palace at Versailles (pictures soon, I promise). At the Eiffel Towers, we took the stairs to the top, which was super super fun (PS that was sarcastic). We all took pictures on each level of the tower and some of us went to the very top, including me. On the third level, a group of us met some Italians and spoke to them in a couple broken languages. After the Eiffel Tower, we went to the Palace at Versailles. In the beginning they gave us portable audio guides, but no one really used them. Everyone took pictures and talked.

We later got on the bus again and drove to Limoges. We stayed in Limoges for the night and then went to Chateau de Chenonceau in the Loire Valley. We walked around and took pictures of course. We then began the descent to Barcelona, Spain. It was a looooong bus ride, but when we finally arrived, it was well worth the wait. 

The first day in Spain, we had another guided tour that was very similar to the one we had in Paris. Sadly, these tours are a little pointless since most of the exchange students weren't listening. The guide took us to a beautiful church and then a fruit market in the center of Barcelona. She then left and everyone had free time to go shopping in Barcelona. I walked around with one of my American friends and we went to STARBUCKS. I really miss that coffee sometimes. I got some in Lyon for the Fete des Lumieres, but it's such a change. You really start to appreciate how ubiquitous they are in the Seattle area after being so limited. 

The second day in Barcelona, we went to the Sagrada Familia and the Picasso museum. The Sagrada Familia is a stunning, unfinished cathedral that is in the middle of being restored. They are supposed to finish the restoration in 2028. Even though it was in the middle of construction, it was still stunning. The architecture is really different from any building I've ever seen. The Picasso museum was interesting, but we had a guide. I prefer to tour museums at my own pace so that I can focus on what interests me. Despite the guide's priorities, it was still really interesting. 

The last day in Spain, we went to the Dali museum. We once again had a guide with priorities, but the art was still really fascinating. Sometimes I wonder how this stuff manages to become famous. I will never understand it. Or art for that matter. After the tour and lunch, we got in the bus and went back to France. We stopped in Montpellier for dinner and dropped off our two chaperones. It was a tearful goodbye, but somehow everyone managed to get back on the bus and return to Lyon.

It was really difficult to leave everyone at the end, but we have Paris in two and a half weeks. In Paris, all the Rotary exchange students in France will meet up at a conference for 3 days. Knowing that we don't have too long to wait for that helped a little. 

I have one week left of vacation and then it will be time to return to school. I'm looking forward to seeing my French friends again, but not to waking up at 6 every day. Hopefully it won't be too difficult to transition to.

I promise I'll post pictures as soon as I can!!

Amelia