Ok, rewind back to the beginning of January with me for a bit.....
On January 8 I turned 18, which was pretty big for me. It really made me realize just how fast this year is going by! I can't believe Christmas and New Year's have already passed. Anyway, I ended up changing families on my Birthday, which was a little hard for me, but both my old and new families were so nice, and each had a party for me.
Friday night (the night before my birthday), I went out with Julien and some friends, and we had a lot of fun, they were so sweet, when it was 11:59 they counted down to mid-night, and all sang "Joyeux Anniversaire" (Happy Birthday) to me.
On the 8th I had a Birthday lunch of fondue (très Swiss), and Birthday cake at the Ropraz's, and they gave me this really pretty charm bracelet. Leaving was very hard for me; because I had really come to feel like I was a part of the family. They were so great to me, and helped me out so much with learning the language, and adjusting to cultural differences. I had such a great 5 months with them! However, part of the Rotary exchange experience is learning how different families live, and so off I went to my next family. But not without having to have Simon sit on my suitcases so I could try and fit everything. I have absolutely NO idea how I'm going to get all this stuff back to the US, but fortunately I don't have to think about that right now. :)
Here are some pics from my Birthday at the Ropraz's:
Because of the afformentioned packing difficulties, I didn't get to my next host family until late-afternoon, however they just live a little further up the mountain in the same village, so not to long to go.
Les Famille Gendre:
I'm so glad I'm fortunate enough to have two great families, and such nice friends that helped me have an unforgetable, fondue, chocolate-filled, très Swiss, 18th Birthday.
More posts to come... :)
Au revoir,
Becky