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Fin..

Salut tout le monde!

I know this is vastly overdue…and I never really finished uploading EVERYTHING…but honestly I don’t think I would ever be able to even if I did have a ton of free time on my hands…which I don’t. So instead I will give you this link to my facebook, so you can enjoy whatever pictures I have/will upload on there as well as videos, status updates…etc. I think you need to be my “facebook friend” to view everything, so just request me and mention you got the link from my blog =]

Basically when I last left off, I had returned from my eurotrip and posted a little link with some pictures on it…but there’s definitely some better ones on my facebook that I have been tagged in, etc…since I mostly took video of the trip. These videos may never make it onto the internet, but hopefully someday at least a few of them will…like disco vampire cough cough…haha

After my eurotrip I did an internship with euronews which was beyond amazing and…well I’ll save this news for last ;D

I also changed families one last time and while I was only there for a month, I still loved them very much and definitely hope to see them in the future. They also lived right down the street from my school, in the center of Lyon, which definitely gave me time to enjoy my last few days in the ville I now consider my second home.

I left on June 1st, pretty early in comparison to some exchangers, but I needed to get back home for college orientation and work. At the airport I had everyone (including all 3 kids) from my second family, third family, Bronte, and Mathilde and her mom, as well as Natasha and her host family (because she was leaving the same day) there to say goodbye. Yes, I was a complete mess of tears…I felt extremely moved that they all got to the airport, that was about 45 minutes outside of Lyon, at 6 in the morning on a school and work day, just to wave me off. They even paid for my bags (NOT a cheap fee, mind you..) and helped me argue with the airline about why on earth they are making me recheck my bags at every plane change. Dang AirFrance wouldn’t check my luggage all the way through anyways…and if Natasha wasn’t in the Paris airport to help me with my luggage I don’t know what I would have done…but anyways…

I will forever be thankful to the amazing people who made my year as an exchange student so memorable. I’ve definitely learned more than just another language this year, I learned about me, and about life. I have friends internationally now, and made connections with people who I know can point me in the right direction with my future. Speaking of which…here is my good news;

I’M COMING BACK TO FRANCE NEXT SUMMER!

I am coming back summer ‘12 to do another internship at the euronews headquarters! I feel incredibly lucky to have this opportunity, and I am extremely blessed that my parents are behind me on this and making it possible for me to return when it cost my family so much for me to go over there in the first place.

There are so many people in my life who have done more for me than I will ever be able to repay back…my host families, Mathilde’s family, euronews, RYE District 1710, my own family…I know this year wouldn’t have even happened without any of you, so thank you, merci, from the bottom of my heart.

I will be starting a new blog now that the exchange is done, and I will post the link on here when I create it. It will mostly be about my college life, what I’m up to, and updates on my life when I head back to Europe. I hope this blog has been helpful to others looking to go on exchange in their future, whether in a matter of months, or even in a few years, if you get the opportunity then go for it. I will never regret my exchange year, and so far I haven’t met anyone who has. It’s an eye opening experience that if done right, can open even more opportunities for you than you ever imagined.

Gros bisous,

Mademoiselle Brittnee

Anonymous asked: What was it like going to France with your previous French knowledge? Was it awkward with your host family at first, because you couldn't speak as well as them? Was it hard to understand people who spoke French with a native accent instead of an American accent? And know is your french now, compared to then? How long did it take for you to be able to speak naturally and express your thoughts the way you wanted to?

Sorry this is like 8 questions in one, but I'm going on exchange next year, and I feel like an inbound is my best bet for answers! Thank you so much!

Hey there! You have some great questions and I am more than happy to answer all of them! Okay so:
1. I took 2 years of French in high school, and while that was a decent background…it honestly didn’t prepare me enough, but that’s all part of the experience. The accent, the speed, and the slang definitely takes time to get used to. The first few months will be difficult with that and you’ll probably latch onto anyone with basic English skills…but that is normal. I swear it does get better. So don’t panic =]
2. Yes and no…yes because well, they aren’t my family, I don’t know what is acceptable to them versus what is acceptable to me, I didn’t know if they would be mad at my limited French vocabulary or for wanting to sleep a lot (jet lag)…but also no because they actually did speak pretty good English and really made me feel comfortable my first few weeks, and when I got stuck with the language, they helped me work around it.
3. YES. 110% yes…like I said earlier, the speed and the accent really threw me…but eventually the “shock” of it goes away and now when they speak I can’t even tell there’s an accent…yet when I hear other American’s speaking I’m like, “wow…do we really have that strong of an accent?!” It’s weird, but you will definitely get to that point.
4. My French is so much better now than at the beginning I can’t even explain…I wish I had done more videos of me at the beginning of the year speaking French to compare to now, because if I’m not “fluent” then I’m pretty dang close. I understand everything, and can communicate what I want to say more or less even if I can’t find the direct translation from English. Apparently I sleep talk in French as well which is odd hahaha
5. This is a tough one…because like I said understanding and speaking came at two different times. I understood everything at about January (4 months in) and felt like I could fully communicate at about end of February/early March. It took awhile, and everyone progresses at different speeds, but I am extremely happy with the progress I’ve made and actually really enjoy the language now, because honestly it does get frustrating when other exchangers pick it up quicker than you and make you feel “inferior” in comparison to them, but don’t, everyone does click with the language at some point before the end of their exchange, some of us just need longer than others. =]
If you have any other questions (packing, more language or host family stuff, school, etc..) let me know anytime! Are you getting excited?? Do you know you’re city? You will have an amazing time, seriously exchange is probably the best thing I’ve ever done with my life, and most exchangers feel the same way. =]