Hello Everyone:
Maddy here again in France. I cannot believe that this is my last Blog of the trip. Thank-you everyone who has read about my adventures and have written me super nice notes. I am very excited to come home as I miss all of you very much.
Today's story is what I promised you all last week. It is about some of the really crazy differences between where I live in France and things back in the States. I hope some day all of you will come and visit me and I can show you some of these very strange things myself.
So, here we go!
1] Dogs Are Kings! Yes, that is really true. Dogs can go everywhere people can go. And we take Snoopy and Jolie with us all the time. Even to school with me every morning. And when dogs go to restaurants, the waiters bring them their water in a dog dish even before the humans get served. Amazing!
2] No Dollars Here! The money here is called Euros and they are very different. First of all they are all different sizes. The 500 euro note is the biggest and the 5 euro note is the smallest. (And they do not have a 1 euro note, just coins) Also, all the bills are different colors. Very pretty actually!
3] Rabbits and Chickens, Oh My! Do you know that they actually sell rabbits in the markets? People eat them all the time. And they still have their heads on. It is horrible to see. And even the chickens still have their feet and heads on. Yucko mucko. And the best tasting chickens actually have dark blue feet!
4] No Sand At These Beaches! That's true. The beaches of Nice have stones instead of sand. And these stones are very flat and very smooth. Millions of people come to Nice to go to the beach and the put out straw mats to lay on. It is supposed to be bad luck to take a stone from the beach so I cannot bring one home. And something else really amazing. The women do not wear swimming suit tops. Yikes!
5] Monkeys are Wild! That is really amazing. And fun to. At our zoo by our house there are great animals to play with. My favorite are the lemurs. You can touch them and they jump on your back and head. They are so soft and so nice. They don't even bite. Plus they love the grapes from my Dad's vineyard, but I can't tell him that I sometimes take some to feed the lemurs or he would get very mad. Maybe I can get one for a pet some day?
There are so many differences that I can't write about all of them. Just for fun today, my Mom and Dad and I made a list at lunch. We came up with over 40 to choose from. Like they do not use pounds here. I am 24.5 kilos and almost 120 centimeters tall. I feel like a giant. Plus things like no school on Wednesdays, no school buses at all as everyone walks to school, even in the rain. Plus, we have 2 hours for lunch every day at school. But the funniest thing is the bathrooms. There are no toilet seats on ANY of the toilets at school or at most restaurants. Hopefully, no little kids fall in!
Thank-you again Mrs. Herrera and Mrs. Santello for all your great comments. If it wasn't for the two of you, none of this could happen. My Mom and Dad say you are their Lighthouse. I think that is a good thing.
I miss you all and see you soon. Thank-you for being good listeners.
A bientot.
-Maddy
3 comments:
Maddy,
I really enjoyed reading your blog today once again. I love the Euros. What a great idea to have them different sizes and different colors. It would make them so easy to tell apart. I laugh when I see people walking their dogs in strollers down Lakewood Ranch's Main Street. I wonder if they have doggy strollers in France? I love the idea of a two hour lunch. Most of the time I end up with a 15 minute lunch after waiting for all of my students to get through the lunch line. It makes it very difficult to enjoy my food. I cannot wait until you return. I have a favor to ask of you and your parents. I collect spoons from all over the world. You know the kind that they sell at airports and gift shops. I was wondering if you have time if you would pick one up for me from France? I would greatly appreciate it! I watched the Home Makeover show last week and cried. What a deserving teacher! Hopefully people realize that we teachers truly love our jobs and our students and definitely do not teach for the money! Talk to you (and see you) soon!
Bonjour,
I loved reading all of your blogs entries ! What amazing pictures of champignons !!!I miss my two hours lunches ! I too only get 20-30 minutes here in the US...
I am very excited for your comeback and will see you very very soon.
much much love
Anne-Laure
Hi Maddy,
My name is Mrs. Tomlin and I am a fifth grade teacher at Willis Elementary School. I just happened upon your blog as I was looking for something on Mrs. Santello's website, and I was so impressed by it! Your writing and pictures are wonderful and I think this is a great way for you to keep in touch. Quite ambitious for a third grader! You obviously have great teachers, Mrs. Herrera and Mrs. Santello, who keep in touch with you while you are gone. Do you spend time in France and the US every year? My students are keeping e-portfolios (web pages with samples of their work) and must reflect on their learning, which you seem to be doing just naturally. I would love to share your blog with my students if you would be OK with that? I, myself, have never kept a blog, nor do I read one regularly, but I think I will check back in on yours from time to time. I will also share it with my son who is learning French in high school. He really wants to visit the country someday, and I can see he could learn quite a bit from the information you post. Anyway, keep up the good work, and I hope to meet you here at Willis someday!
Mrs. Tomlin
Post a Comment