Esbby's Blog :3

(Short Version at End. If it's a bit 'TL:DR' )

So, just to answer 2me's question in the Random Thoughts thread; I got there by train. In fact, several trains!

Firstly, we had a bit of a silly moment, as we took a train from the station closest to the school, to the next station on the line. This particular station is only about 5 minutes away (by car) from the former. So, we took one more train than necessary, but it was no problem. I quite like trains. Less the dodgy figures who may get them, however ;_;

After going from there to St. Pancras International (which is a very pretty, old station), we got the Eurostar to Lille-Europe, in the Centre of France (a bit north-east of Paris). Upon arrival, we had about 2 hours free time in the big shopping centre just outside the station. Much fun was to be had there, as 4 of my friends and I were discussing where we should get food;

Friend: "Here (Carrefour Supermarket), the Quick Burger Restaurant, or Subway?"
-Much arguing-
Me: "It comes down to this. We buy something in Carrefour that will last us the trip to Besançon, or we go to Subway and get a Sandwich, OR we go to the burger joint."
Friend 2: "Is there a Kiddy Plaything at Quick?"
Me: "I believe so, yes".
Friends Ensemble:

So after fun at the Plaything at the Burger Joint (from which no Burgers were had, apart from one of our group who had two :S ) We left to the SNCF (French Rail) Station, and boarded the TGV (Transport du Grand-Vitesse - High Speed Train ) straight to the Station in the Correspondant's respective town!

(So Tuomey, there's a long-winded answer to your very short question :3 )

So, after having returned from an uneventful, yet pretty Cheese Factory, I had lunch with the family. Another interesting conversation between the sister and my exchange occured:

Corres: "So X's Sister" (Bear in min, 'x' isn't the name, but it'll do for now XD )
Sister: "X has a sister?! Wow. Is she pretty?"
Corres: "No, she looks like a cow."

(X could have actually been her name, now that I think about it :S )
==

Lunch came and went, and after about an hour in my room on Warioare: DIY (with which I've made a Battle starring Yours Truly, and a Space Hero called Wind Squid), We left for Laser Tag! There, we split the Teams to the 5 English and 6 French. It looked a bit like this!:





And we won! Sweet Laser Tag Battles!

Short now; Got home, played Kinect (He got it for Christmas, it was fun!) and then Call of Duty! Yup, that's about it!

(TL:DR: Trains to France, Nice Family, Cheese Factory, Lunch, Fun at Lunch, Laser Tag, Games, Home)

AZERTY French Keyboards are slow to type on ;_;

Thanks for Reading!

Bonjour!

Today, we all had agreed it was the best day so far (Two days out of Five is enough to pass judgement :3)

In the morning, after having a speaking exercise with our exchanges (about aliens, Feline Armies, Blastoises, Ninja Confederations AND CHOCOLATE PUDDING) We left for the Ice Rink! I haven't been skating in a while, but as you can imagine, a Pokémon on Ice Skates looks ridiculous :S But anyway, I had made awesome laps of the rink (and didn't fall over once during the skate! :3). I even managed to get a slow, gliding 'Gentlemen?' to my teachers who were watching. That, there, is style (Something I'm well acquainted with)
*Scratches butt whilst blogging*.
Having left the rink (Not wet, I'm proud to say :3), we went back to the school and met up with the correspondants. From there, I went with two other friends (plus their exchanges) to the local Subway! I love Subway. I could live off Subway, it's Fresher than the Prince of Bel Air! Stop the Subway Propoganda! They'll eat me!


I would have had a Meatball Marinara, but I got rushed into ordering, so I just had Steak and Cheese. Which was nice enough, I guess... ;_; But then, after having eaten my Sandwich, we left to catch a bus back. There were two buses. We ran to try and catch the first one, but we missed it. Then we went for a second one. Maybe Two-Hundred Metres away, stuck at a Stop sign. It was the most Epically-Winning Bus-Catch that has ever happened. Ever! It was a bit like this!



So after having been awesome. ]Stricken for Modesty >:3] we got back to school and met up with everyone else. From there, we were told we were going to a chocolate Factory! The following conversation ensued after a briefing:

Teacher: "So, that's about it everyone. Any questions?"
Me: "Will there be Oompa-Loompas?"
Teacher: "I'm afraid not, my dear chap. Sorry."
Everyone: "Awww :("

Fast-Forwarding to the Chocolate Factory, we found that it wasn't really a huge, Willy Wonka-esque Emporium of Wonder, but more a small lodge with a petite lab at the side. Upon entry, we were taken in to the factory, and shown a short film about how Chocolate is made. We then saw a demonstration (in the lab), on how the beans are seperated, and how they were decorated. The two people working in the lab were apprentices there. One was a female, very mundane and silent. Not smiling whatsoever. The other was a much more perky, young man, who greeted us with smiles and overenthusiastic thumbs-up.


Not dissimilar to this.

After that demonstration, we then got to the 'Dégustation'. The Tasting! There were three types we had; All were quite similar, in the sense that they were filled with Hazelnut Praline (like Kinder Bueno!), however the latter contained Spices like Ginger & Pepper. (The eccentric Indian in our numbers got very angry that there was no 'Curry' Flavour, as a joke of course. He brings it on himself, the fact that the group finds him an ethnic Stereotype. Very friendly nonetheless :D)
The Boutique (Gift Shop) however, was very expensive, and I decided not to buy anything

The final leg before heading home, was going to a large 'Carrefour' Supermarket. It's like Wal-Mart, but French. All the stuff is sooooo Cheap! I got myself a Hello Kitty Pez Dispenser, and told the little group I hang with, not to question me, or they will be beaten.

So, uneventful heading back to school, then heading home after meeting up with the Correspondant. We were driven home by his sister's friend, and they were delighted to know that I knew of Tron's 'Daft Punk Soundtrack', and the exploits of Rémi Gallard. Now home, ate Yoghurt, good day!

Thanks again for bearing with me!

Many Hello's to you all.

Today was a semi-glorious day of visiting the local city of Dijon! Most famous for it's Mustard, and Burgundy Wines!
The Morning consisted of heading to the station, and hanging about there for about 15 minutes before getting on the train. In that time, we went into the 'Tabac', and I noted the huge amount of Magazines that were on Sale. They ranged from 'La Jeune Africain' (Young African), to several 'Erotisme' Magazines, and one that I thought was the Furries bi-monthly (from the Art on the cover), but turned out to be the cover of a Magazine based on a popular French RPG called 'Dofus'.


So anyway, after finally boarding the train, we had a carriage to our group of 15. This was nice, as I was certain not to sit next to a potentially dodgy French bloke, and/or his equally dodgy wife.


The journey itself was about an hour, so in that time, I managed to cram some Hendrix, Metallica S&M, and Joe Cocker! It was a Musical delight!
After exiting, we found ourselves walking into a very pretty city. Signs of Mustard or wine, yet unseen, but cool nonetheless. An hour's free time was on the cards, and it appeared that half of us went to the French Burger Joint 'Quick', whilst the others innovatively found a cheaper 'McDonald's'. At 10 in the morning, I personally wasn't in the slightest bothered for a bun, but most of my friends were, so there you go. :L

Upon return, I remembered my faithful 'Hello Kitty' Pez Dispenser! (Don't judge me >:C) and cracked out the Pez, which I was forced to 'Partager' with my 'Amis'. From in front of a glorious Red Telephone Box, like in London;


We met our tour guide. A slightly plump, yet very pleasant Woman of Spanish descent, who spoke with a very, VERY, strange accent; A result of being brought up in Peru, learning English in San Diego, and living in France, as well as having learnt Portuguese during her time in Brazil. Nonetheless, nothing of much interest occured during that time, apart from a conversation between me and a friend, reciting the Bowser & Peach sketch in 'Brawl Taunts'.

Friend: "You know Peach, you're the kind of Woman that sets Women's rights back about A hundred years."
"You bitchslap opponents"
Me: "You pull Vegetables from the ground"
Together: "And your most powerful move: Is your ass!"
-- In the meantime, Peach hits Bowser with a Frying Pan, enraged by his comments --
Friend: "Where did you get that frying pan?!"
Me: "Ummmm... In my kitchen?"
Friend: "You see?!"

After leaving the tour guide (who was very friendly, and wished us individual goodbyes), we went off to a p'tit shopping centre. It was... disappointing. :C We found that the typical short, plump security guard, and his lanky colleague forbade us to sit down in an open space in the middle of the shopping centre, alongside our teachers and other members of the pubic. So instead we stood there in Silent Protest.


But leaving from there (disappointed I hadn't bought a McFlurry Ice-Cream - I'd tried one of my friend's, and it was delish :3... Probably for the best, however), we went to 'La Musée de la Vie Bourgeoise' (The Museum of Bourgeoise Life - Life in Bourgogne). This was fairly interesting. The upside was that there were recreations of shops during the Victorian Era ('Seconde Empire', in France), but the major downside was that there were Manakins. Creepy, creepy Manakins :C It's like Taco and Clowns: We don't get along. But after not having run away to the slightly exaggerated subject previously mentioned, we left (Full of Knowledge...) and went back to the Dijon station. No Mustard was bought, but we learnt a lot about it.

On the train back, I was in a booth of 8 people, and many Harry Potter 'Hogwarts Express/Prisoner of Azkaban' references were thrown about.


The ride back was slower, due to more stops being made, but it was all good, what with music and the Hilarity Bunch alongside.

Upon arrival at the school, my Exchange and I were whisked away to a Friend's apartment (this was a friend of my exchange's sister. Very nice lady). There, I found it was the single, most awesome 'crash pad' I'd ever seen. The whole wall was covered in drawings (Most of them animals; Littlest Pet Shop and whatnot), several figurines, a Mini Sofa, TV & Wii, plus several animals, such as Gerbils, Hamsters, Fish, and a Cat who lived in a box beside the sofa! :3 He'd claw his misery away at the side of the box, and come out all happy.
After spending half an hour there (eating Chocolates, talking about stuff and admiring their palace, we left for the 'Soirée Bowling!'

The place was a huge leisure centre, called 'Ducky'. A huge, Neon light hung above it flashing between 'Duck', and 'Ducky'. (I managed to get the whole car - which was a hippy Camper van owned by the lady I mentioned earlier - to chorus 'Duck-y!' It was fun!

It took about 10 minutes after arrival for everyone else to arrive (this was a scheduled event).


And as all arrived, we split our lanes, and had a game of bowling! Our teacher had hyped us for this 'International Fixture', and that it was of great importance that we show them what we're made of:


I managed to (with an aggressive style of play) bowl a game of 98; the highest in the lane! We didn't calculate who won however, because we were two busy having (for me, my first of the trip) Burger!


Now I'm back home, after a very good day overall! :3

(But only quite annoyed due to the fact I did my back in whilst doing Circuit Exercises yesterday :C)

On a light note, that's all for now!

Hello Again! Today's events started veeeeeeery slooooooowly with a 'Gras-Matinée', which is their way of saying 'Lie in'. In fact, since I wasn't bothered to do much in the morning, I lay in for an hour, or so. It passed slowly, which made me very happy. Not much of interest happened until after Lunch (where I met the Dad, and found out he's a proud geek!).


I found that my exchange's little brother is part of the 'Scoots' (which I later found actually meant 'Scouts')


... and he had to go camping tonight (hence why he had a hugely oversized bag on his back as we got in the car). After dropping him off, we went to an indoor Sports Centre. There, I met one of my friends, and his exchange. We discussed Team Fortress and Youtube Poop (which he is about the only other person in my school who knows of itDelicious!
Another pair of Exchange and friend came, but that was all (apart from three dodgy-looking, but also friendly French People who came along to join our game). The teams were mixed British-French (so numbers didn't ensure a 'French' Victory... Memories of Bowling and Laserquest fresh in their minds >:3). Just a fun game, nothing much else.


Back on topic (as if this ever was on topic, we left from the Sports Centre, and walked beside a Motorway (not my choice :S) and headed for the bus stop. (One of the exchanges politely set out the idea that we should cross the motorway. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed, and we didn't end up like Pancakes.)


We got to the bus stop, with a Win in store, as the bus came seconds after we arrived!

After taking the back of the bus (with some less-than friendly Algerians), we arrived at the centre of Besançon. We paced up and down streets, and my Exchange bought me a Nutella Panini. :D. Whilst Nomming said Panini, we sat down on a silly Marble bench which was horribly disfigured. But luckily, I spotted one of our teachers walking through the Plaza. We stopped him, and had a nice chat. And then from there, he attracted a large amount of our friends (he stood out in his puffy jacket and big Decathlon Bag). We found that they had seen 'Love, and other Drugs'. (One of my friends informatively told me that because they wouldn't understand most of the film, they decided they would see it purely on the basis that it has girls in it. Wise men.)


We hung out in the plaza, but this was only for 10 minutes, as from there, we had to leave to find his Dad.
On the car journey back, I managed to take him down memory lane, by mentioning that I liked the French band 'Trust'. (For him, his two favourite bands when he was a child were AC/DC and Trust).
However, 'back', actually meant a quick stop at the Audi Dealership. Nothing much interesting. Managed a laugh by saying that the Minivan he was looking at was way too small.


But after having come back, my Exchange and I rocked it up on Call of Duty, ate Pizza and watched this Simpsons. Now I'm writing a blog here!

Thanks a lot for reading! :3

Not much to go into this final chapter. Anticlimaxes are always a shame :C However, what happened today can be encapsulated in the words; Bowling, Go-Karting, and Goodbye.
I've gotta be up at 4:45 tomorrow to catch the train from Besançon-Viotte to Lille, then the Eurostar from Lille to London.

As it ends, the final exchange and less travelling for me; this was hands-down the best School Trip I've ever been on. It was as close to perfection as an exchange can be: The Family, the Activities the learning incentive. The acquisition of Plutonium etc.

Thanks to everyone who read the blog, it was quite fun to write.