Emeline Ciesielski

2006-07 Inbound from France

Hometown: Lambres-les-Douai, France

Sponsor: Douai Sud Rotary Club, District 1670, France

Host: Jacksonville Oceanside Rotary Club, District 6970, USA

School: Fletcher High School

Bio

Emeline's Bio

So my host parents are Drew and Cori, and I have 3 host sisters who are 11, 10 and 5. They are so funny!

During my two first two weeks in Jacksonville, my host family showed me a lot of things. We did something different every day and it was so good! They wanted me to be very joyful and enjoy the beginning of this experience. So they organized a barbecue for me to meet some new people of my age. It was a very good evening, and thanks to that, I've met some kids at my school.

After two weeks during which I went out with my host family and with some friends, I went to the movies ... I've started school. It is so cool! I start school at 7:15 am, and I finish at 2:15 pm. I have 4 different classes everyday. It's good because it's the place where you meet a lot of kids. Of course, it's not only fun because you need to be attentive to follow the classes, and you spend more time on your homework than other kids from here, but it's the goal of this experience ... and it's so nice!

This weekend, we (all the exchange students) went to a camp. It was the first time that we saw each other and it was great! We had some meetings during the week-end, but we had above all a lot of fun. I have only one thing to add: I can't wait for the trip in October!

September 8 Journal

Hello! How are you ? I hope everybody is fine!

I've been in Jacksonville for one month and a half now, and everything is still so good! School is also good, and I'm glad about that because a lot of people told that it would be difficult. But if you really want to succeed, you will. The different clubs have started since last week, and I'm a member of two of them. So, everyday I talk to more and more kids, and also, I make new friends too. It's very good! Every weekend, I do a lot of different things: football games, shopping, movie theatre, lunch with some friends and above all: have fun!

But, I did something special last weekend, I went to Orlando with my family. We left on Friday after school, and we arrived around 8 pm. We stayed in the Nickelodeon Hotel which is the "home" of Sponge Bob, Dora the Explorer and some other cartoon characters. On the evening, after dinner, we went to a karaoke show in which kids could sing. My host sisters wanted to, but there were too many children. It was a good evening! On Saturday, we stayed in the hotel because there were many things to do: we could play some games, there were two pools, a mini-golf, and some places around the pools were you could just sit and read, or simply watch and relax. On the afternoon, we went to two shows which were for children, but also very funny for adults. On Sunday morning, we left the hotel to spend the day in SeaWorld. It was amazing! I went on the roller coaster which is called Kraken. I only learned after I've done that, that it takes you to the heights of more than 140 feet and turns you upside down 7 times, all at speeds reaching 65 mph! Isn't it cool ? But there were also a lot of beautiful shows, and animal attractions. I've seen dolphins, penguins, shamus, manatees, and turtles. I loved that! We came back home on the evening, and happily, we didn't have school on Monday.

Everything is very good! Thank you to my family, my host club and so, more generally the ROTARY!

Enjoy your life!

October 29 Journal

Hello everybody !

My new life here is going very good. Everything is really good, and I enjoy being here.

School is going well. I've received my first report card which was a good surprise for me when I got it last week. And even if I know that I need to still make a lot of progress, I'm glad of what I did on it. When I first came here, I thought I was going to have really bad grades, but I've seen that as I'm working and doing my best, I have good grades.

Also, during the last month, we've been working on the homecoming parade at school. It was really good to prepare the banner and to decorate the door. It was so much fun with my friends.

So, on the 20th of October, I had my homecoming dance. After school, I went to my friend's house to get ready for the evening. We went to the football game which was at 7:00 pm, and so, we saw the king and the queen of the school. It was coool. Then, we went to the dance from 9:00 to midnight. I had a really good time :-) Unfortunately, my homecoming dance and the weekend in Daytona with all the other exchange students were at the same time ... It was really hard for me to decide not to go in Daytona. I know you all had a very good time together, and I'm really looking to see you in Disney World which will be so much fun ! ;-) I miss you all.

Today, we decorated the pumpkins. One of my friends came over to do mine with me. It was so goood! I really enjoyed doing that.

This week is my last week with my actual host family. I'm going to miss them very much even if I'm sure that everything will be good with my second host family. It is a new experience in this big experience of being an exchange student.

There is my news.

Enjoy your life :-)

December 7 Journal and Pictures

Hellooooo!! It's time for me to give you some news. I continue to have a wonderful time here.

I've switched my host family on the 5th of November. It was kind of strange. I had to get used to some new habits. But it is part of our life during this year: experience different ways of life, and become a member of every family you live with. Everything is going good with my new host family. Now, I live with Jay and Jane (my host parents) and Emma (my host sister who is 15) who is at school with me. They also have another daughter who is named Joy (she is 18), but she is a student at the University of Miami.

We went to Arcadia - southwest Florida - for Thanksgiving. We stayed at the house of my host sisters' uncle and aunt during 5 days. We had a great time. On Thanksgiving Day, my host sisters and I helped in the kitchen, and prepared the tables, etc ... I met a lot of people. Then, we had a big meal that I really loved. I liked the sweet potatoes that I've never had before. After that, we watched TV.

The day after it, we did a tour in a ranch. I saw a lot of birds, some cows, and of course ... some alligators !!! I even took a baby alligator (3 years old) in my hands. I was scared but I did it. My motivation was that it would make a good picture lol :) Of course, in the following days, we went shopping. And we went to the movie theatre also with my host family. We had a lot of fun there because the movie theatre was much smaller than in Jacksonville, and we could pick only between 2 movies. It was good, we all had a good time. Then, it was time to come back here, in Jacksonville.

Last week, I met all the exchange students from Florida and some from Pennsylvania. I was happy to see the students from my district because I hadn't seen them for a long time; and it was very good to meet some new people. I spent four wonderful days with all of you :)

There is my news for today.

Bisous

Emeline

May 4 Journal and Pictures

Hello everyone :-)

That's it, the adventure is almost over ... already. I'm leaving Florida on June 2 to go back to France. One month left ... I don't even realize that I'm leaving in a couple of weeks. To be honest with you, I'm excited to see my family and friends but at the same time, I'm sad to leave Florida and all the amazing people I met here. This year was fabulous!! I cannot even find the right words to describe it.

These past months were great! In March, I did the Rotary Eastern Adventure: an amazing bus trip with 100 exchange students. We went to New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Niagara Falls. It was super!!! I also had a wonderful time with the 3 exchange students from this district with who I shared the room: Srushti, Fern, and Akemi. At night, even if we were tired, we would talk for 2 hours. It was so good! I met a lot of new people too, and it's great to still be in touch with them.

Last Thursday was my dance recital at school, I had so much fun! We did a presentation on the afternoon in front of the students, and another one at night. That was cool! I loved it. I loved taking this class! And after the show, my host parents brought me flowers, it was so sweet of them =)

And last weekend was the Rotary District Conference. It was a great moment. I'm proud to be part of this program. Meeting with all the exchange students is always wonderful. I'm always excited to hang out with my friends from all over the world! ;-) I love them!!!

There is my news. My year was simply wonderful ... thank you.