Hometime WOOT WOOT!!!

So this is it. I feel like a kid who has just been given a bucket of ice cream and told that they must eat it all...EVERY ... LAST .... BITE. Today I spent the whole day packing and after several failed attempts I finally managed to get it all stuffed in my bags AND all under the weight limit. Can I get a hip hip hooray? I had super yummy artichokes and my last fresh eggs (softboiled) for dinner and bought a USB port thing for my pictures and then went to soccer. Turns out they were just spending soccer eating chocolate and drinking coke so I joined them for a half hour and at the end they gave me a Phénix Cavaillon soccer warm up shirt and sport bag and pen (AWESOME!!!!) I spent the whole day kind of depressed and mopey about going home (I guess that means kudos to these three months) and now I cannot sleep and it is approaching midnight and I am waking up at 4:15. YIKES!!!

I guess the real reflection part is now. When I got to Aurore's house I walked around, touched everything, explored everything, said hello to everyone and felt such a sense of joy, excitement and adventure and inspiration. And here I am no longer sad about going home and reflecting on the past three months I feel the same sensation. That's it really, I just feel good. Which is nice.

This morning Aurore also gave me a book she made filled with pictures and all sorts of funky little Aurore sayings and drawings and decorations from the three months and was really nice and all "I'm really going to miss you, let's visit" which was also, incredibly nice. In 4some hours I head off the airport for my big day home and Aurore, Philip and Sylvie are seeing me off (according to Alix, it is much to early, so I said goodbye to her around 8pm) and I am pretty damn psyched.

So.....I love you all for being there and being yourselves and being encouraging and supportive and above all else faithful blog readers and commenters and I hope that some of these blogs haven't bored you to death =) and I will send out the link of my Ecuador blog through my mom in 3 or 4 weeks.

Te quiero mucho (aimed at everyone!!)
Jane, xoxo

May 15th, last day at Benoit and second last France day!!!

My class, Kayla's creepy arm thing, the nuts English teacher and the three people are Emilie, Jenn and Char, my friends from my class! <3 SOON!!!

Il faut que tu saches: J'irai chercher ton cœur si tu l'emportes ailleurs

So I went to the soccer game!!! Woot woot!! And it was awesome!!! I only played for like a second but I learned so much, had so much fun and I am really really superly happy that I went!!!!!!! (FYI, click on the picture to blow it up so you can see everybody!!!)

THIS WEEKEND has been amazing. A great last weekend. A superb last weekend. A last weekend to knock all other last weekends OFF the chart. First I spent all Saturday morning just getting ready for our guests and at lunch time we ate a great lunch (although lordilordy I cannot for the life of me remember what it was, hmm...) with our guests (aunt, uncle and half deaf cousin) and spent the afternoon shopping, (gorgeous red top btw) swimming, (god I love that pool) and relaxing and listening to music before another awesome meal and cake. In the evening I had a water fight with Aurore and Philippe (I kicked ass you will be happy to know!!) and then I watched a bit of the French Soccer Cup (between Paris and Marseille, L'OM lost by the way much to the disappointment of Aurore who was wrapped in L'OM clothing and a hat!) and 2 episodes of my guilty guilty endulgence/pleasure "One Tree Hill." I finally crashed around 11:30 pm and was up eating yummy cereal for breakfast and hanging out and all that. Around noon Hervé and Chantal from Morocco came to eat with us and I left around 12:30 for soccer. The game started around 2 and ended near 4 and I left, after several teams pictures around 5. So, I just got home. For the record, we WONNNNN!!!!!!! 3-1 contre all my fave Canadian enemies (just joking) in LE THOR, of all the places!!!!!! Anyhow, now it is 5:08 and I am going to do a little Spanish prep work and listen to music and veg for a bit and then we will eat, I shall indulge myself with some OTH (one tree hill) and then I shall snooze. Lovely plan huh? Trust me, I LOVE IT LIKE THIS!!!!!

That brings me to Monday which is school, homework and then shopping for goodies to bring home (FYI I am not overloading on candy to bring home because I just don't feel like it, plus the pressies I bought take up too much room!!!!) and then it's Tuesday which is school and then Wednesday which is homework, packing, nice dinner with the family and then I am going to soccer to take pictures of the practices, the team and my friends and then I am maybe going to sleep (I say maybe because I don't see the point considering I have to get up around 2 or 3 in the morning, it might even be better for jetlag if I just save the sleeping and all that for the plane!!! We shall see) and then it's Thursday and I'm gone. This weekend has passed so quickly, I have no doubt that Monday and Tuesday will as well because school days tend to fly by and then Wednesday will be busy packing and repacking and weighing my luggage. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah, time flies when you are having fun, time flies when you've had fun and time will fly when you're having fun. I am happy. Happy, happy, happy.

I DON'T WANT YOU HERE MESSING WITH MY MIND

I am a liar. My apologies for being a liar. Here I spit off crap about writing on Friday and then I blow you all off for what??? (A two hour soccer practice in which we did nothing but run and run and run in the heat AND a couple of relaxing episodes of One Tree Hill, my very guilty pleasure) Anyway, I am here today and here now. So here, ladies and gents, is your blog.

Soccer games dropped like flies and I've been given a chance to play one game tomorrow with the seniors (19+) which are mostly adults in their thirties and I would have to play the hardest I have ever played but I think I am going to pass on that because I'm not up to it. Wednesday I'm dropping by the practice to get a team pic!! Fun fun. Today we have 4 guest coming for the entire weekend and tomorrow at lucnh Hervé and Chantal (the couple that went to Morocco with us) are coming for lunch and they will give me their cd of pics from Morocco, that include more of meeeeee!!! Charming.

Today and Sunday I plan on working, swimming, soaking up the sun and just chilling (but mostly working and then swimming and then chilling and probably not soaking up the sun) and organizing some of my junk =). Monday and Tuesday is school and Wednesday is packing and Thursday is home. There is nothing amazing or even moderately great about the next couple of days so it's just going to be work and relaxing and counting the days. I know, not the best way to do it, but now that I'm down to five full France days left, I feel pretty okay with playing the countdown game, especially since the lack of airconditioning in this house and the recent heatwave are making me nutty. Ah well. By the way, how is the wheather in Canada??

This past week has been nuts. It has flown by (another reason why the next couple of days should too) and I have pretty much worked on Canadian homework, gone to school, played soccer and hung around the house. I have not blogged because I reall have not had much to say. Life - right now - kind of blows.

Wake up - computer - shower,chores - iPod - lunch - homework - swim - music, book, vegging - snack - homework, music, book, vegging - dinner - get ready for sleep - watch episodes - sleep

THAT is my current daily routine. It looks mundane it looks awful and it looks like something you would get bored of easily, but the truth is, I'm liking the days that are like this (only in small 5some days doses though) because they relax me and let me really relax. I think though that I will be tired of that when I come home which is perfect because once I come home I don't have a free weekend until August (which judging by what I'm doing is great but also a litte annoying as well)

So, not a wonderful, great blog but not a sad, Jane is in crappy mood blog. I am happy, really I am, I am just whipped and enjoying this kind of relaxing-ness and looking forward to seeing everybody again.

The high point? I kind of saw it (going back home to Canada) for awhile there near the end fo this exchange (like a week or two ago)as a my life is starting over again kind of thing and I was excited to do that. Now I am just excited to go home but I don't see it as a start over and nor do I see any reason to rush because I am perfectly happy just where I am. BREAKTHOUGH, what I wanted to feel all my last exchange and all this exchange, perfectly happy where I am and not living in anticipation of the going home part, I am feeling now and that for me, is a dream come true!!!

Ciao,
Jane
ps - I've been writing less frequently because these days don't give me tons to write about, but I will write atleast once more before I leave. One of those reflect back on what you learned, did, felt, regretted, etc. blogs!!!
LOVE YOU ALL, FIVE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm only human and that's my saving grace

Okay, so the picture above is of Kayla's arm. My self portrait on Kayla's arm. THAT is what Kayla and I do in music class (called chant choral here) and I just thought I would share because I love it!!!!!!! <333333

Anyhow, tomorrow as I have no school (only monday and tuesday left of school aaaaah!!!) and loads of free time (although I will be busy doing homework for canada, yuck) I will blog and give you a complete update. So look for that tomorrow.

Ciao until then,
Jane

ps - ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE WWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Lucy in the sky with Diamonds

So, it's the end, or the very near the end end and I find myself thinking. "Wow Jane, thinking, don't overreach yourself!" Or should I say "Janie" as my friends at good ol' JCI have taken to calling me, thus the wonderful name change on facebook for those of you who have facebook and were a little "is Jane going insane?" Donc, here is a photo of Jess and me that I love and wanted to share with you!! I felt immensely cheery when I first looked at this photo so I want to try and "share" that feeling with you before I launch into my blog. So, hopefully it worked. Here goes:

I feel like being near the end it's the time to "tell all" and be completely honest about stuff that I've kind of held inside. So, for starters I always felt insecure until now about the fact that I blogged so much and Emma so little. I always felt like Emma's absence from Canada (meaning her lack of communication with Canada) meant that she was having a better time than me and I didn't want to think that way. But now I feel like so much happens to me (thank you everyone for making it happen, je suis blessed) and if I didn't blog the way I do I would forget most of it and so I feel like my blogging is justified and I can sleep peacefully at night. On that sleeping note, since Morocco I have slept through entire nights and I no longer wake up seven bajillion times and toss and turn for hours!! Wonderful breakthrough, I just wished it had happened early because I am feeling way less tired and very energetic and positive, except for Friday morning because I went to bed way too late for my own good! Ah well. Things happen.

Now, just a quick chick note: They still are not born!! I think they are doing this just to spite me, oh we know how much Jane wants to see us and love us and ooh and aah over us so we are going to refrain from being born just to make her sad =( it's really a good thing that I have other things to occupy my time. Now, on to the other things.

Today is my first soccer game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am really excited because at 1 o'clock today we have a rendezvous at the Hippodrome (where I practice and some of the matchs are held) and then at 3 o'clock we play in Morremoiron (sorry I am not sure of the spelling) about an hour away from Cavaillon. Superbe!! Anyhow, that is not all -I have a soccer tournament on Tuesday too, all day and there is no school and apparently there is a party at Jenny's Monday night and then Wednesday I am heading to Avignon afterschool with Kayla and maybe meeting up with Madysin (Do you remember her? I blogged about her, she was the one Alex and I shared a room with in Paris, I didn't know where she was going near Avignon but it turns out that she is in Avignon so I invited her to our Wednesday shop and see the bridge day so maybe I shall get another chance to see her. Who knows. All together it has been a good week ending and yesterday's three hour history class was quite interesting.....

Yesterday we had an Auswichtz (sp?) survivor who is 85 years old come in and talk about his whole being in the concentration camp experience. He also told us about the time he had to kill a friend because he was dying and it would take about 24 hours of suffering so he had to put him out of his misery. Some parts I didn't understand but for the most part I did and it was really interesting. He showed us the ink number on his arm from his days there and then explained about the daily routine and all sorts of horror stories and how he was upset because not one of the movies made today accurately represents the camps, it is all really glorified and inaccurate and that makes him upset. He also went on about how disgusting English porridge was (the first meal he had when the Allies rescued him) but how nice the sugar in it was, and then he kept pointing at us and saying Canadians rescued me, Canadians like your Canadian comrades and making everyone turn around and stare at us and Kayla and I started laughing and giggling (you know the way you do when you are really nervous? Well it was like that) -not good. The lunch was also pretty good too for a change, porc and potatoes (although the recent lack of veggies at lunch has been disturbing) and then we had music class, my second last in France and in highschool since I quit music. It was crazy. First, Kayla and I were in a crazy mood so we drew all over each others arms (playing tic tac toe on our hands as well) and then we taught Simon the whole This is his face game, you know the one where you write this on your fingers, a face on the palm of your hand and then scribbles on the palm of your other hand? Well, Simon understood after awhile but thought we were insane because we were laughing so hard we were crying and then I accidently drew the face on Kayla's hand upside down so I changed it to be nostrils (the two lines that were eyes) and the mouthline became the egg shaped head (the head ressembled mr. potato head in the end) and I added a body and it was really ugly and crazy. Then when we had to stand up and sing this guy started waving his lighter around to the slow songs which made Kayla and I delirious (before he stopped and got in trouble) and then Max, who has a sweater that is covered with zippers that you can unzip -thus taking apart his sweater, spent the rest of the class fighting to keep his sweater on as Bastien and Simon spent the time trying to get it off, and pissing the hell out of the guy sitting in front of me who had the lighter because he was not in a good mood =( oh well, I was in an excellent one. THEN, because of the stupid train strikes (I'll love the TTC for the rest of my life) I was stuck at school for three and a half hours after my classes ended so I hung out with Jamie and we compared all the stuff that had changed with our families and friends in Canada while we were gone and we were quiet for a minute with awe because honestly? You may not realize it because your living it but so much has changed in such a short time. Already:

1 - Emma's rat Ice Cream died
2 - My one friend now has a boyfriend (finally, that took nine million years)
3 - My sister's boyfriends family met my family and now I am going to meet them, which means that they are serious (which I kind of already knew).
4 - My little sister got bumped up to a AA hockey team (I think, still not sure) AND changed schools.
5 - My ANCIENT sister auditioned for universities which means shes growing up, which is weird because this is her last year "at home."
6 - My dog has gone from normal sized to anorexic as my family -traitors- got her clipped.

So, just a little dose of what has changed at home while I am gone, there is more but my craptastic memory can't remember any more for the moment. Nowing me it will probably come back to haunt me at later moments in my life and I shall be like, oh yeah that was what changed, better yet, soon I shall be living the change. Oh yeah, my other friend is also now running for President of the student council. Weird.

Anyway, thats all I have to share with you this morning. I'm now going to go shower and indulge myself with some trashy magazines courtesy of ma mère and then think about soccer soccer soccer which is soon soon soon. Speaking of soon, Canada is soon and the more I think about it the more I feel confused and weird and uncertain about it.

ciaobella,
Jane

Vids

FYI I have changed the error that is the third scouts de france video, by accident it was the same as the English presentation but I have changed it and it now actually is the third scouts de france video

Videos that I have had for awhile but never ever bothered to put up. Seriously, the process takes nine freaking hours!!!


SCOUTS DE FRANCE VIDEO 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-GHoP5MmEs

SCOUTS DE FRANCE VIDEO 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4TLzfosnYA

RANDOM SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3flkF2SWIU

MARION'S (A FRIEND) AWESOME ENGLISH PRESENTATION

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sypIVZ3Nw2Q

SCOUTS DE FRANCE VIDEO 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzHtL7RdL44



Still no chickies, ah well, bientot j'espere. Ok, adios until tomorrow amigos when I shall write a new about this week. Until then, happy two weeks (although je crois que technically it's YOU who should be saying it to ME!!!) ciaobella

see me as I really am I've got flaws and sometimes I even sin

Français, that is what I am becoming. Alors, today was my first day back at school and it was not the best. First, it was raining insanely on and off was annoying. Second, I got to school for 8 am to find out that my two hour gym class was cancelled and I had until 10 to do absolutely nothing so I went to the library only to be told that the computers were all broken (does anything ever work? It seems like a day is either good or all bad) and to top it off because Ceilidh (one of the Canadians in my class) left it's just Kayla and I and Kayla didn't show up. Then at lunch I had to eat by myself (standard Wednesday lunch) but it was just not a good day for it because I was already in a crappy mood. The days only redeeming quality was that it marks two weeks to my last day (I try and I try and I try to not be so happy -honestly I am sad too sometimes=( ) and that I had started back at school which means my days are not slow, tiring nothing days that make me feel homesick. Mais, I managed to finish my French book report (translating it from the English rough copy and all) so I felt very proud of myself it pretty much means that I am done all my Science, French, History and Spanish (Friday Spanish should be done) homework and all I have left is Math and English which are taking a litte longer, so I feel pretty good. It was interesting being back and I'm excited for soccer tonight. AND my game this weekend, life is definitly great right now -especially with the baby chicks to be born any day now- and even though this morning was a little low I am feeling positive and happy and CHEERY!!!!!!!!!!! So, cheerio. ciao. toodles. a bientot. Je vous embrasse très fort et a la prochaine!!! <3>

April Showers (there have not been many) bring May flowers ANDDDDDDDDDDDDD CANADA!!!!

So my dear friends and avid readers and picture-lookers,
TODAY is MAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! And I come home in 16 days if you don't count the day I fly (I refuse to since I leave at 10 pm YOUR time yuck!) and tomorrow I start school again!! So, the last couple days have been interesting. Saturday we rolled in around 7 am after spending the entire night in the car and then the whole day I was tired and organized my room and just lounged about thinking about how close and yet so far away I was. It was not the greatest day
=( Sunday I worked and read and just chilled out and enjoyed French food again and yesterday (Monday) I did a lot of my homework and got a little homesick because it was the first time in awhile that I had talked to a lot of people in Canada and it just kind of made me a little sad. Anyway..... The baby chicks should be born any day now and here is an interesting (but kind of gross so don't read it if you puke easily) story. Sylvie went to collect the eggs Sunday (three of the chickens are covering (Don't know what the term is) their eggs to make them chicks but the rest just lay eggs and leave so we still collect those) and saw a bunch of eggs BESIDE (close beside) the chickens who were covering and assumed those eggs weren't being covered so they were just normal and cooked those for dinner. At dinner (we happened to have a large number of people over as guests) we had soft boiled eggs and two people found an ittty bitty baby chick body skeleton thing in their eggs because apparently the chicken covers the egg and then sticks it beside her and then covers it again, which is weird but the whole thing was rather gross and fascinating. So, thats my fun little story. Anyway, ciao toodles and talk soon!
<3 Jane