Artsy Fartsy

Below are days one and two of the France trip I wrote about in my Apricots post. I figured it’d be more entertaining than me telling you about my various ailments and illnesses of late. Please note, first off, that I was eighteen,  I was in love with exclamation points! and I am typing this exactly as  I wrote it in my journal.  I am not editing it whatsoever. Enjoy.

Thurs 6-30

I’m on the plane now, headed for France. It’s 6:30pm (12:30 in France), so far so good. I met a bunch of nice people! Caryn, Laura, Becky, Diana, and Niles came with me from Hartford. We all played cards at JFK while we waited for our chaperon and I like them all. At the airport I met Tanis from Alabama, and Sara from Oklahoma. Tanis is hilarious and can really tell a story! We waited in the airport forever and then on the runway even longer! I’ve been having fun with everyone and (surprisingly) haven’t cried at all. I miss everyone but I’m really excited. The French news is on right now but we’ll be seeing “Grumpy Old Men” later. I hope I can sleep or I’ll drag for days! I didn’t take any pictures because the batteries are dead.

Fri 7/1 (I think)

Well, that was a little slice of Hell! We waited at the airport for at least 1 and 1/2 hours in order to sort everyone out. No one knew what Torcy was, or if it was even in France! Finally I got on a bus, and got off on the wrong stop! Then the NACEL girl ran me all around the Air France terminal to get me back to where we started. Once I got there, the rude French guy found me and started to yell at me in French. I yelled back in English and then he proceeded to ignore me and swear to himself in French. When we got to the other group, he told them how “dumb” I was and ignored me some more. When we finally got to the train we’re on now, we almost missed it because he took off without us. He’s terribly rude and smells bad, too. It’s now 10:40 but feels like 4:40 to me. I had to stop writing there because the idiot put us on a train that was full. We ended up leaving our suitcases in 1st class and standing in the snack bar for an hour. I met some nice new people, like Alfredo, he’s from Colorado. He was funny. I finally met my family and they are so nice. They live on a beautiful countryside by a lake. Their neighbor came to the train station, and later I met his wife and son, Sylvan. They are very nice also. I feel like a jerk because I am so tired and I cry and I miss everyone so much. I slept for 2hrs and got up and went back for another 2hrs. I woke up feeling sick and still don’t feel too good. I miss everyone so much! Now I understand jet lag and culture shock! This will hopefully be the worst day out of them all. Tomorrow, Christelle is taking me, with her friend Christelle, to their school. That should be interesting. It’s very hot here and I want to go home, but I know I have to tough these few days out and the rest will be better. I miss everyone so much – I wish I wouldn’t cry so easily. I am very tired – I hope I can sleep because it’s when I’m alone that I cry and get really homesick. I miss everyone!!

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