its summer.

right now i've finished my suitcases. i'm sitting outside on the porch drinking coffee, wondering why i dont get to spend my summer here. its like I spent a year creating this life for myself and then I cant enjoy it when it finally starts getting perfect. all i have to do is wait for ben and then im on my way to paris. its bizarre.

Posting-every-day mode ACTIVATE!

So, today is my last day in Cholet. Tomorrow I'll leave around 11 AM to go spend the day in Paris with Max and my honey.

It's hard to leave like this. There are so many goodbyes I didnt get to say. I just hope everything works out so I can come back. Today I'll be spending my day the best way possible; now i'll be productive and get my packing done hopefully. Then I'll get to spend a couple hours with my Ben before going to a dinner with all of my families(: Well, half of my families. Karim's family wasnt invited for practical reasons and the Gazeaus were busy. So, it will be me, the Barbillers, the Reveillers, Meryl, her mom and Ben.

Sounds like a perfect end to a lovely year(:

The issue with blogging

is that I swap between it and my diary. I can't do both. Its one or the other and then one gets left out. Oh, the problems of a blogger. Life is hard.

So, I am panicking. It still hasnt quite hit that I'm leaving and thats sorta a good thing, but getting home is seriously stressing me out here. Now ill be going to thomas's house to say our last teary eyed goodbyes, and then tomorrow will be my last full day with Ben before the day that I'm leaving. Seriously though, the organization for Paris sucks. I was literally arguing with my host parents, crying, for three hours crying because
a) They dont know how to listen to my real parents.
b) They dont know how to see reason.
c) They dont get that im a big girl, and that i've travelled more than they have.
d) They apparently dont trust my boyfriend. Ugh. I dont get why either, cause they said they loved him.

At least we have a plan that makes me happy now, though I'll have to pay for two seperate hotel rooms in Paris. Meh.

Last party with my friends from school):

Last night was so sad, Thomas and I found ourselves crying at times D': It was my best friends (thomas) birthday party, I had to say my official goodbyes to everyone from school. At least the hard part is over, but its soo sad, we've already started making plans for me to come back (:

Now for getting to Paris, I've officially hit panic mode. I cant stay at Redhas house because we're too many people. Its me, Ben and Max and I would be the only one that could stay. Id say that Ben and Max could take me up there and I'd stay by myself but theres no one who can drive me to the airport in the morning. Ugh. So either I need to find a place to stay by myself where I can get someone to drive me WITHOUT TAKING A TAXI or I have to find a place for all three of us to stay.. -.-"

This is hard.

Woah goodness!

I have 1002 page views? What is this nonsense?! I guess i've decided I need to start blogging again cause I no longer need to avoid it by principal. By that I mean, now that my parents don't care if I blog, I will. I cant do it if they want me to, otherwise I would be disgracing the very foundation of teenager theory.

I'll be taking you guys with my in my return trip back home to sunny, warm (*cough*cough*) Seattle, Washington. Hell, I might even take you guys with me when I'm doing two years of school in one and working full time. That will be an adventure. If you want me to talk about something interesting turn to page 37.

So far my departure from France has been coming much too quickly. It still hasn't really hit me that I'm leaving in 4 days, and for those of you that know me, you know thats a bad sign cause I only get stuff done when I'm panicking. I havn't really been doing much and yet I'm still super stressed about my return home. Getting to Paris is becoming a massive inconvenience and saying good-bye to everyone is a serious pain in the butt when I dont have a car, I either have to beg for rides or walk everywhere. Cholet isnt a big city, but your legs start to hurt after trying to see literally every person you've met in a whole year. I'll be going to Thomas's birthday party tonight, and I'll be able to get about fifteen good-byes done at the same time. WOOPWOOP! Then Benjamin needs to get his butt back to Cholet to come spend time with his chérie (:

Wow, this is gonna be a long post. Let's update you all on my life since I havnt blogged since November! I'll try to be picky and short.

Hellfest was June 15, 16, and 17th in Clisson. Holy nonsense was it amazing, there are pictures up on my facebook if anyones interested. Most notably I got my lip pierced again, same place as before. But it was a seriously amazing experience. For those of you who arent farmiliar, Hellfest is the biggest metal festival in Europe. It's a three day festival that has taken place once every year for 8 years. I was lucky enough to go with my first host dad after getting tickets for Christmas. I crowd surfed, made some friends and got to experience the ambiance of such a well organized festival. Ill tell you guys right now, we dont have anything like that in the states. It was mind blowing. Especially the camping site, it reminds me of the beginning of the fourth harry potter, when they show the camp site before the quittich world cup. There were about 100,000 people in tents all over the place. There were flags flying everywhere for all the different countries, and it was pretty much a massive party day and night. We could hear their music from a kilometer away. There was even a guy from Cholet who gave free hair cuts, but he put you into a wooden brace and cut your hair however he wanted(: It was amazing. I crowd surved twice, got kicked out of an audience and got bruises all over from moshing. If it doesnt hurt, its not metal enough. If you're interested, look up Hellfest on google for the set list. I promise you know at least ten of the bands that played and you'll be jealous(;

Well, as far as my life plans go upon my return, they have changed yet again. I dislike that I change my plans so often. It's completely normal cause i'm so young, but it makes me nervous that every time I change plans, I do it with a certain sureness, completely convinced that I'm doing that before I change my plans again. Now I'm trying to come back to France for last years of college, though there are a couple of kinks in the logical aspects. We'll see where it takes us.

Anywho, I guess I'll stop there for now, I'll keep updating when I think of stuff to write.

Blessed be, I hope you have a lovely day(:

Long post potato:

Pancakes and Nothing

Havnt been doing that much lately, I suppose. Mostly just school. Butchyeah, I did make pancakes for my family today! they didnt have syrup so I tried to make it and ended up with ridiculously delicious, teeth-ruining gooey caramel. (:

Here's my word count for nanowrimo!

Good Day World!

Well, I only have two things to talk about today. Yesterday and NaNoWriMo.
Let's see. Right now for NaNo I'm at 9,517 words and I need 13333 for tonight, I'm a little behind. I can get caught up though! If I can't, I finish school at 10:50 tomorrow and I dont have school thursday or friday. yay:D

Yesterday I went to hang out with Marley after school and I waited for two hours because I didnt have my phone paid for yet and I didnt know what time she finished school. Once I could finally get ahold of her she had gone home and forgotten about the plans so I went home. Once I was on my street I saw my mom walking and she said she was going to run some errands so I decided to go with her to pay for my phone (which didnt even work anyway.) So long story kinda short, I got home at 6:45, ate something, then I checked facebook and realized I was being picked up at 7:30 for a Rotary meeting with the governor. Awesome. So I got stuck doing that right when I got home and didnt get home until 12:30 when I still had 2000 words to do, so I slept and got left behind in my writing. Right as we were leaving I got hit on by this really old guy, Jimena and I were trying really hard to be respectful and just let him talk but it was sooo hilarious xD

well yeah, thats it in the life of alyssa. :D

Donations/Sponsorship for my novel and Halloween!

Firstly, the office of letters and light is the organization that National November Writing Month is a part of. I'll be writing a 50k word book this month with the program. Any donations go towards my prizes at the end of the month and an awesome organization that helps bring creative writing programs to thousands of schools. Here's a video about exactly what they are and do: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/nanovideo/what-is-the-office-of-letters-and-light
 Donate? (:
http://www.stayclassy.org/fundraise?is_new=1&fcid=158985

Secondly, I got to carve a pumpkin and my brother did too! Heres some pictures:

Were just past the two month point!

I've officially been here for two months and six days.
The past two weekends have been pretty great, the first we went to La Rochelle to see the aquarium and that was the first time Ive eaten in a restaurant here. Then the weekend after we went to Clisson to see the castle and walk down this trail by the river. Its been pretty snazzy, I'm feeling well adjusted and getting used to the language. I wish there was more to do though; I've been sitting in the house on my computer ALL weekend and it actually hasnt been by choice, theres just NOTHING to do. The only time I went anywhere was friday night, I was going to stay at Jimena's. I got there and we decided to go to the store for some food. Right after leaving we realized she forgot her key and no one was home so we got some food, waited outside the house for like an hour to see if her brother came home, and just went back to my house and watched the Human Centipede.
Now I'm blogging with some kind of lethal coughing disease that people have told me could be as bad as pneumonia. C'est la vie! >.<
I'm gonna try to figure out some sort of photo album deal on here so I can put up all the pictures from the aquarium.
Lastly, ill be putting up a word counter for NaNoWriMo so you can keep up with me but I cant until after it starts. I suggest mom volunteer to buy me https://store.lettersandlight.org/merchandise/nanowrimo-ask-questions-later-ceramic-travel-mug if I can finish my book and https://store.lettersandlight.org/merchandise/nanowrimo-merit-badge-patches for my blazer;D

So!

Whos down for nanowrimo? I'm so doing it this year. Im starting mine now but my words wont count until november starts. Im so siked to finally finish a book! :D

Oh, and also,

Heres my rotary blazer so far:

A month and a half! OMG! O:

So for starters, i assume youve all seen this scene from harry potter:

Well, i recently realized this is what the tree in my back yard looks like the second the sun goes down every day. I seriously wake up in the morning, turn on the porch light and think about how im never going outside again. Just today, from at least ten feet away, I took this picture. This thing was at least two inches in diameter.

And then on the way home from a birthday party tonight i ran face-first into one... :/
But yeahhh. So, lets see. whats been going on in france...
well, yesterday i had plans to go to nantes with everyone. we were supposed to meet up at 6 but there was some train strike so i had to take a bus at 12:40 to get there on time. When I was 5 minutes from pulling into the train station in nantes, i got a text saying no one was going. the next bus wasnt until 16:35 so i had like 3 hours to run around nantes. That was pretty cool, though in the beginning  i was entirely pissed off.

Then last weekend we went to Mont Saint Michel. That was pretty amazing... The first day we walked about an hour to the island behind the castle, and then the second day we got to go through and check out the whole thing. Pictures of that are on facebook(:
then the weekend before that we went to La Baule for the orientation weekend. That was generally pretty rad though there werent many specific events to speak of. It was just like a big convention and we stayed at this campground after.
School has been going well, I dont have to take spanish or PE so my schedule is nice and full of holes. My french is getting pretty good, I realized about Wednesday that I can form coherent full sentences and I understand almost everything. Pretty much everyone in my class likes me so i imagine it couldnt be much better(:
The only part that sucks is that I miss my Peter, but I only have 8.5 months left ;D
I think i can, I think I can!!
Well, I think thats all for now. Ill try to update regularly or if anything special happens but its hard to keep up with people personally, a diary (that is a full time job) AND a blog. I'm working on juggling all three.
yupp. kthxbai:D

September is almost over

I've been here for just over a month and things are going swimmingly. I'm kinda starting to lose touch with the real world which i suppose is normal. Thats the idea, right? Im starting to get a lot better with my french and school is progressivly getting easier. I just got back from the first rotary weekend in La Baule and it was insanely fun, I love all of the other exchange students so far. I suppose i do need to get used to rotary though, I'm still not used to how waiting is the only thing they do. I guess theres not much else to talk about at this point because ive mostly just been trying to get adjusted to school and stuff, so ill update when something happens(:

First Week

I guess I have to keep writing on this thing...
Cholet is amazing. It's like the best vacation and I get it for a year! Its so sunny and beautiful most of the time. I havnt done anything with rotary yet (aside from a day out with some of the other exchange students) so we'll see how that goes. So far my schedule has been weird. Very slow and perfect but with enough to keep me well entertained. The problem is I'm finding myself on skype when I have free time so its turning my chill schedule into a hectic one. Im not too worried about skype though. I'm still very active with my host family and i'm picking up French quickly. I can understand people 90% of the time now, but replying can be difficult. Skype is actually helping me to improve my english because I find myself not knowing how to say things without saying them in French.
So far, all is well. I'll start school on the 5th, we'll see how that goes.

In cholet!

I am currently in my bedroom in Cholet. Everything is so beautiful!
My trip was a little over 30 hours in total and I was soo ridiculously glad to be here so I could sleep.
It was a 2.5 hour plane ride, 2.5 hour layover, 8 hour plane ride, 6 hours in a hotel lobby and then 6-7 on a bus to everyones respective cities. My host family is absolutely lovely, but I'm entirely lost without Orane here to help me translate.
I love the whole condition of this place. My bedroom is cozy and the only one upstairs, after a small set of hardwood spiraling stairs. It looks like an attic with new floors and purple walls! <3 (see pictures at the bottom)
The kitchen smells of baked parmesan and fresh bread.
I found out I will have three host families. My second, with Nina, will be in the next town over so I will have to ride a bus to school. I can walk from here, as I defiantly prefer that to taking a bus. I know almost nothing about my school aside from how beautiful it is. Its old and on a hill, and looks like one of the many old cathedrals. Its apparently quite old and looks small.
Here are the pictures ive gathered so far:

One day left

and I'm starting to get scared. I think im managing one suitcase but I'm not done packing yet.
My last day will be spent with my family at one of my favorite places, the aquarium.
(Ill post pictures later. I'm going to take many. I love fish.)
I was reading Aja's blog (http://ajacorliss.blogspot.com/) and she made me realize this is the last time i'll sleep in my bed for a year. This is the last time I'll get to hold my puppy or go shopping or go to the seattle aquarium.
I imagine people that move a lot can handle it because they take everything that is dear to them. They get to bring comforts. I definatly didnt think this would be easy but its harder than I thought. The feeling of change is just starting to set in.

(SO excited though!)

Visa and Packing!

I got my visa in the mail a couple days ago! I still need to get a passport picture taken for my isic card, but heres my fancy visa:

Im also having some packing troubles. Clothes and stuff are fine but makeup is concerning because its a whole year, I need options. I got a train case and filled it as much as I need to but its about 15 pounds, so I might have to bring another suitcase for it and space for things I buy. Heres what I'm thinking so far, as far as getting everything there.

Only two days left, hopefully it passes quickly before I get too anxious!

Got in my first car accident today...

Fun times. Of course, its right before I leave, when I'm super dependent on my car. I need to be able to go see people! D:

Surprise Going Away Party!

Well, today was a surprise!
My mother and best friend threw me a going away party! They sent me off to the mall to get my sister some food and when I came back, the house was covered in decorations and all of my closest friends/family members were there. I got some money from my aunt and uncle (always needed when trying to blend into a new culture) and a brand-spanking-new camera, which I really needed. Two days ago I didnt even have a working camera on my phone, let alone something nice. (Also just got a new phone, so yay, music/camera/internet!)
The party itself was pretty fun, it was mostly just us watching movies or eating. Here are some pics from it:
1. Conner and some of the decor

2. Marissa and I making duck faces with Francis in the background being silly

3.More of the decor, me, Marissa, Francis and Amber

4. Conner, Nolan and Frank

Then after I got to go see my friend Peter, so all in all, it was a pretty excellent day. It feels strange to be leaving it all behind in just 8 short days. I havnt gotten my visa yet, I dont know if thats bad. I got an e-mail saying it should have been here on the 12th but that was an estimate on the first day of shipping so it surely could have been incorrect. Oh well, we'll see. For now, its bedtime. Goodnight world.