Invasion of the Swedish

Vacation is over. No more lounging around the house, time for tests and homework and loooong school days (on thursday it was dark when I woke up and dark when I finished school at 6:00 PM). It was only two days of school this week, which in usual circumstances would be nice to ease us back into the routine, but actually it has felt like diving into a whirlwind of activity. That's because there is a group of about 30 Swedish students here in town. Each one is staying with their French correspondant, or pen-pal, for the week and the French students have planned lots of activities and such for them. A welcome dinner Thursday night, bowling Friday, shopping in Caen Saturday afternoon, and then a party Saturday night. And there is more to come. That on top of schoolwork and whatnot is a lot going on, so it's kind of a shock to my system. But in a good way. I was wanting more social interaction.

The first day the Swedish were here, I was a bit wary. I think everyone was nervous and communication was hard so it was a bit awkward. They don't speak much French and the French don't speak much English. Actually, a lot of the time I am the translater which makes me feel really good about my language skills. But after that first day it has been great; I am really glad they are here. I haven't talked to all the Swedish girls, but the ones I've met are super nice and funny. I spent the day in Caen yesterday with some Swedish girls and had so much fun laughing and showing them around, and introducing them to delicious crepes. And because I was having such a good time, I let go of my inhibitions with the French people and talked to them a lot more as well. I guess when I am alone, it is easy to be scared and self conscious, but when I have people who are kind of in the same boat and are really friendly to support me, I stop caring about what others think so much and start just having a good time and talking. And the Swedish think my French is great so that gives me a little more confidence.

Speaking of speaking French, I think I am past the hardest part. I think I can even say that I understand fluently. I understand almost everything, even when they speak really fast. I don't speak fluently yet, and I haven't dreamt in French yet, but I speak well enough to be understood. Sometimes it is still hard to understand when my classmates slip into deep slang, but even then I can get the gist. It was actually hard switching to English with the Swedes, I had to talk for a while to warm up and speak smoothly again. It's a little confusing, switching back and forth, and sometimes I'll accidentally speak in French to the Swedish or in English to the French. But It's getting more comfortable and feeling easier. It worries me, though, that switching to English is hard, because that means after I return to America it will be hard to switch back to French.

Anyway, I am loving all these activities with the Swedish and feeling a lot more confident this week. I can bet that I'll be exhausted when they leave, but I am hoping adrenaline can carry me through until then. What else can I update you on? Well in History class I got back a test marked 8 out of 20, which may not sound so good, but the average was around 12 and the highest grade was 15. It still may not sound so good, but at least it was good enough to be graded, in science my test didn't receive a grade. I have a Math test Monday, French test Tuesday, and Economics test Wednesday, all of which I will start studying for after I finish writing this. All the leaves on the trees are golden and yellow and orange and red, which is beautiful, but the weather is steadily getting colder. The Swedish think it's really warm here, actually. Me, not so much. I think that is all there is to update this week. Miss everyone so so much! Write me and tell me about your lives!

Bisous!