Monday, July 9, 2012

My pen-pal!

I am back from French class, and I have the first letter from my pen-pal!! Her name is Marie-Odette Lisle. (That's a really pretty name, isn't it?) She is ten years old and lives in Paris with her parents and her older sister, Chloe. Paris is divided off into sections, and Marie-Odette lives in Arrondissement 11, otherwise known as Popincourt. It is a lower-key section of Paris but contains some beautiful churches. Marie-Odette's favorite things to do are cook (cooking is considered a fine art in France!), draw, and ride horses when she gets a rare chance to do so. I have two horses in my backyard, and I have to drive pretty far to get to the city, so I guess we will have plenty to tell each other about!
Anyway, Marie-Odette told me a lot about her school. She goes to school on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and has Wednesday and Sunday off. That is not a bad idea, in my opinion. There is nothing wrong with spreading the weekend out! After school lets out, she helps her dad in his bakery, and her sister Chloe goes to ballet class. Apparantly ballet is very, very popular in France! Her family is Roman Catholic and they go to church several times a week, not just on Sundays.
I am kind of nervous about writing to Marie-Odette. She wrote almost perfectly in English, and besides that, she has beautiful handwriting. Plus, I live out in the country while she is in Paris. My mom pointed out that I have lived in two countries, and that will give me plenty to talk about, I guess. What do all of you think I should tell my pen-pal about?
Marie-Odette with her favorite doll, Emilie:

This is the picture I am going to send to her. I am holding my favorite doll, Rose. Maybe Emilie and Rose can become friends, too? :)

2 comments:

  1. Bonsoir, ma chère Samantha,
    Marie-Odette sounds extremely wonderful. Marie-Odette is a beautiful name. It reminds me of a princess name, since Odette is the name of the white swan in Swan Lake. There is a student at our boarding school from Paris. Her name is Christelle, and she is from the Latin Quarter. She enjoys making pastries because that is what her mom does. Christelle isn't very nice, though, so I'm glad that Marie-Odette is. I just think Christelle is sad and miserable, which is why she isn't pleasant.
    I think you should tell her about your life, siblings, and what you like to do. You should also tell her about where you live. You could also tell her that you know some French girls through your blog! *hint* :P
    Well, thanks for sharing with us! French handwriting is beautiful, no? We were raised to believe that handwriting is an art form, and we practiced our penmanship a lot in school when we were younger. It's actually part of the grade on many assignments. Fortunately, I can slack off with the writing here since Americans aren't too picky. Haha, I'm lazy when it comes to school.
    Gros bisous,
    Sandrine <3

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  2. Samantha,

    I think Marie-Odette sounds like she'll be a great pen-pal for you! I'll bet she was nervous about writing to you, just like you are nervous about writing to her. It can be very hard to be the first one to write a letter in a new pen-pal relationship. Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is to relax; you have nothing to worry about!

    Cooking? Ask her about Julia Child. Even though Julia was an American, she's still the first person I think of when I put the topics of France and cooking together.

    Ooh, ask her about what kinds of foods she and her dad have for sale in their bakery. Ask her what her favorite baked good is. Tell her your favorite.

    Tell her about life in England and life in America. She may not have been abroad, in which case she'll want to hear about life over here in the US. Tell her about your hobbies, describe your adoptive siblings, things like that. There is no way she can't like you - you're such a sweet girl!

    Sophie

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