Saturday, November 22, 2008

An American dream coming true

My daughter is fitting into American high school life to a tee. She got invited to her school's Homecoming dance (above) and was also lucky enough to be invited to a neighboring high school's Homecoming too:


Not to mention Halloween. She has always loved that holiday and our house here in France felt pretty empty that night without her traditional Halloween party. But she was able to participate in a Jack-o-lantern cutting session with a friend, and go to a party afterwards:


BEFORE




AFTER

Notice that only the pumpkin's expression has changed.

My daughter was thrilled to report to me that "Halloween is SUCH a big deal here!"

She's also been in her first high school choir concert. I had forgotten about those choir robes. Doesn't she look serious?



But that mood apparently didn't last too long!

19 comments:

Pardon My French said...

How beautiful! I'm hoping my daughter gets to experience something similar but I already start to break out in hives just thinking about being away from her for so long. I'm sure you must really miss her! Still, what an awesome opportunity and I'm so happy to hear she's having fun.

Pardon My French said...

Oh, and totally laughing at your counter on your sidebar!

Tinsie said...

Great photos! Looks like she's having a fab time :-)

Betty Carlson said...

To Pardon -- It's not as hard as I thought. The worst part was the time here in France leading up to it -- as I spent the summer in the USA with her helping get the year set up, I started to get just as excited as she was.

Of course we all miss her terribly, but we just take it one day at a time. And the possibility of sharing photos, conversations and various comments over the Internet makes her seem so much closer.

Randal Graves said...

Very cool! Glad she enjoys Halloween!

Anonymous said...

This is so sweet. I'm really glad she's having a great time!

Megan said...

How nice. I bet the guys are wild for her. Which is probably not what you want to hear. When I was in high school, we had a polish exchange student living with us my senior year. All the guys thought she was wonderful. But she didn't actually want to come to the US, her parents forced her (to learn english, etc) so she spent most of the year moping in front of the TV. At least your girl looks like she is trying to get the most out of it.

La Framéricaine said...

Hey, that's all very exciting news. I was born and raised in the USA and never made it to one homecoming dance, much less two! Good for her!

She is so cute and looks very happy! It is a wonderful gift of dual cultural life experience and language that you have given her via your choices in life. Congratulations!

Rebecca Ramsey said...

She looks beautiful! And so happy!
You must feel very proud that she's jumped right in!
Becky

Anonymous said...

Your daughter must be so happy to have a bi-cultural background. I'm sure that she'll enjoy US life. What a lucky girl she is!

Le laquet said...

She looks like she is having a great time! And NaBloPoMo is nearly over - only a week to go, hurrah!

Bruce Anderson said...

what an experience of a lifetime! I know you miss her, but she looks like she's having a blast. Good for her.

Ksam said...

Aww, it made me so happy to read this post - I hope that if I ever Franco-American kids one day, they will be able to do the same. What a great opportunity for her!

Marie Reed said...

Prom!!!She looks just gorgeous! Why do kids have to grow up so darn fast though!

deedee said...

As the Mom of two bicultural girls here in France like you, I love this post! I so hope at least one of my girls will go do the same thing as your daughter when they are in highschool.

christina said...

She's so lovely and she looks very, very happy in those pictures. What a great experience for her. I haven't been keeping track - will she have to repeat a year in France? I would LOVE to send my boys abroad (Canada) for a year, but with the recent changes in the already crazy German secondary school system, they're now only allowed to go for 6 months, if at all. If they're gone for longer they need to repeat the year they missed. We're thinking of perhaps sending them to Canada for a year after they graduate to work/study.

Papadesdeux said...

Oh no, growing up, boys, boys, boys. This is making me very nervous.

Betty Carlson said...

papadesdeux -- Well it's a ways off for you, don't start getting stressed out already!

But the day does one day come.

islandgirl4ever2 said...

Hey Betty!!

Wonderful and thanks for the update!! I bet she's very happy there--- I know that High School is such a big deal in the States-- It's a real social event as well as a lot of studying!! Glad to here she's doing so well..
Take care, Leese