Welcome to my travel journal for my exchange year in France! Here, I will post pictures, videos, journal entries, and updates on my experience studying abroad and all of the amazing things I will do and learn!
Check in anytime to see what’s new! I will post as much as I can! Thank you to everyone who has helped me become an exchange student!! I hope you enjoy:)
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
I’m on my way to New York! We will spend 2 days there until my flight to Paris!
For breakfast we ate at a French café! Also, on the way to the restaurant two french women sat behind us on the shuttle and I understood most of what they said!
Next we did a boat tour of the city! Another french family sat behind me and I listened intently to their conversation😂
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
Day 2 in New York!
Breakfast at Café Boulud! SO good!! Also I think I have a pancake obsession.
The Met! This is a view from the rooftop garden!
New York Public Library
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
St Patrick’s Cathedral, absolutely breathtaking.
New York City Ballet!!
We went on a Gossip Girl tour!! It was so cool! (I’m such a fan girl)
For lunch we went to another french café!! Super good!!
Dylan’s Candy Bar! We got stuff for my siblings but I doubt it will make it home...
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
Today is the day!!! I flew from New York to Paris with a really cool group of other exchange students from Mexico and the USA! When we arrived in Paris there were even more students to meet! From the airport, we went to our hotel where we delivered our stuff to our rooms, hung out with everyone and had dinner! I met a ton of Mexican and Asian kids! The hotel has tons of things to do and later in the night we all went to the basement and played piano and sang with a really nice french couple!
This was the map on the plane! Super cool!
Most of the exchange students speak english as a second or third language, so for now everyone speaks english to each other because it is the most commonly known language here. Many students in the program have never taken a french class and speak no french.
This is Liana, she’s from Boston and we do most things together!
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
Today we had cereal and croissants for breakfast!! The we had a meeting about our week in Paris where we were assigned groups based on a test we took! My friends and I all got the same group so I was really happy about that!! We also got a more detailed itinerary of what we’re doing the remainder of our time in Paris.
I also learned that tomorrow I share my birthday with two other people in my group!!! One boy from Mexico and my best friend here who is also from the USA! So cool!!
The hotel is so fun!! There’s a restaurant and tons of things to do! Also there’s a cat thay just hangs out in the lobby and he’s super nice!!
We went shopping downtown later in the day.
Lastly, we had dinner in a park!
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
Today is my birthday!!! I’m so happy I could spend it in Paris! Today we went to Notre Dame and went shopping all over Paris and then had lunch. It was SO PRETTY!!! The perfect place to spend my birthday!! Also, Liana has the same birthday as me which is crazy because we’re such good friends! We have done everything together so far!
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
Today I saw the Arc de Triomphe!! It was everything I imaged it to be and more!!
Also got a peek of the Tour Eiffel on the way back!! We are going to see it up close in a few days!
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
Sorry for not posting for a few days!! Today we went to the Eiffel Tower which was better than I ever could have imagined!!
The view was AMAZING!!!! Definitely like Paris better than New York!!
for lunch we had great pizza!! We also took a boat tour of Paris on the Seine!
Also went to Notre Dame yesterday!!
Amazing lunch again!!
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
Today I leave from Paris to meet my host family in Geneva!! I’m so excited!!
We’re on the train to Geneva!!!
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
I have arrived!!! I’ve been so so busy I haven’t gotten a chance to update here! Today was my first day of school!!
This CASTLE is my school!!! It’s SOOOO nice!! Not to mention, it’s right on the water!!
Here’s the view!! School here is very different than school in America. I take French, english, german, “math,” physics, chemistry, history, geography, sports, and earth science. We have a different schedule everyday of the week and we don’t take every class every day. I have at least 1.5 hours for lunch each day, and on tuesdays I have 3.5 hours! Each day we go home at a different time. Some days at 5:30, some at 4:30, and on every other thursday and friday we go home at 11:00AM!
Today my classes were very very hard to understand. We had a three hour long class with our “home room” teacher who explained things like our schedules, rules, \240and took us on a tour of the school. I am in the class “seconde,” which is like a freshman in high school, since I was 15 at the end of August. After, I had a 5 hour lunch!! My host sister and I went downtown and hung out by the water! Then, we had french class. The teacher was taking roll call and suddenly stopped when he saw my name. I thought it was because he was having trouble pronouncing it, but he then said that my name in Latin means that I was meant to be born and I am a bright light. This was the first time I’ve ever heard that!!!
After school was SO FUN!!! I came home at 6:00PM and it was very nice outside so my host Mom and I went swimming in the pool!! They have a really cool covered pool that’s still outside so we can use it when it’s cold or raining!! Then, we vistited a horse farm not far from the house!!
The sunsets here are AMAZING!! I had the best night tonight because I got to see an amazing sunset. The dining room has floor to ceiling windows instead of walls and I can see the entire lake!! It’s my favorite thing!! Also, I can see the mountains from my bedroom window!!
This is the dog, Fly!! He is SO CUTE!!! He loves getting his stomach rubbed and whenever I come around him he falls on the floor and rolls over😂😂 Also, he can’t swim, so when we’re in the pool he loves to run around it when you start swimming😂😂It’s so funny!!
Today was a great day! I am getting better at speaking each day. I am very comfortable with my host family now!! They are SO NICE! I especially love my host dad! He’s super funny and very patient with me. My host sister and I are the same age and in the same classes at school so I am very lucky to have some extra, much needed help!
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
Today is my third day of school!! I am already starting to understand things way better!! Math is the easiest for me to understand because the professor talks really....really....slowly, and he writes most things on the board, which makes it way way easier for me to follow along. Earth and life science is the next easiest class for me to understand since we take notes by copying powerpoints, so I can have a chance to comprehend everything. Today for lunch I sat at the edge of the lake and ate a warm nutella and fresh bread sandwich. The weather is absolutely perfect right now, super sunny and about 70 degrees. For lunch and between classes we can leave the school, and right now there’s no where Id rather be than outside.
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
I’ve had an amazing past couple of days!! Yesterday I went on a run with my host mom in the mountains with the dog!! So so pretty!! I was very surprised to make it all the way home😂 7 Kilometers! Had an amazing swim in the pool afterwards!
Today, I went hiking to the top of Mount Blanc with my host parents and the dog!!! SO beautiful!! We saw tons of cows and goats too😂😂 We passed a tiny tiny town on the way up that was so so cute, it was like going back in time!!
Climbing up the mountain was HARD but SO WORTH IT at the top!!!
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
Today is officially one month of school done!!! I can’t believe it! It went by so quickly!!! I’m one tenth of the way done! What?!?!
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
Spent the weekend in Dijon with my host family and some friends!! such a beautiful city!! I had tons of fun!!
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
OR
Copy the link to @orienda Journo below
