In my last post I had a skating clip with a boat trip - and not the good kind. Well, a couple things did trip up my NaNo journey yesterday but they both proved positive in the end. First, no post yesterday due to server issues. But, said issues meant extra time for writing. And in the NaNo spirit of letting everything out, I decided to send my characters on a trip.
As a high school student, I loved foreign languages and took German, French, and Spanish. One of my favorite memories from high school is the summer I spent in France as part of an exchange student program. Since it was summer, no actual school involved - bonus! My first exchange family lived in an apartment in Paris and I had an exchange sister about my age. I grew up near the downtown of a small town with lots of places within walking distance so I never felt hindered by a lack of transportation until my exchange sister introduced me to the Metro. Suddenly, Paris was at my fingertips and I had the greatest guide.
My second family took me along on their family vacation. Hello, Mediterranean coast! My host brother and his friend wanted to stay in the hotel room and play video games - huh? I guess if your parents drag you somewhere with topless beaches every year it gets old? Anyway, I was happy to go along with his parents and enjoy the sights *cough* hot Italian boys *cough*.
We were supposed to bring small gifts for our families as part of the program, things that represented part of American culture, so I'd brought a box of Jell-O. My host mother told me they were hosting a barbeque and suggested I make this American dessert. Thinking it would be perfect for a cookout, I agreed. The "barbeque," however, simply meant that they were grilling most of the courses of what turned out to be a fancy seven course dinner - and I hadn't even made a Jell-O salad, just a big old bowl of plain lime Jell-O. Oops.
So why the memory trip today? Forget a road trip, there's nothing to shake up a novel like an impromptu flight to France. :-) I'm enjoying mining the memories of my own favorite high school trip and hope this post stirs up some great trip memories for you.
As a high school student, I loved foreign languages and took German, French, and Spanish. One of my favorite memories from high school is the summer I spent in France as part of an exchange student program. Since it was summer, no actual school involved - bonus! My first exchange family lived in an apartment in Paris and I had an exchange sister about my age. I grew up near the downtown of a small town with lots of places within walking distance so I never felt hindered by a lack of transportation until my exchange sister introduced me to the Metro. Suddenly, Paris was at my fingertips and I had the greatest guide.
My second family took me along on their family vacation. Hello, Mediterranean coast! My host brother and his friend wanted to stay in the hotel room and play video games - huh? I guess if your parents drag you somewhere with topless beaches every year it gets old? Anyway, I was happy to go along with his parents and enjoy the sights *cough* hot Italian boys *cough*.
We were supposed to bring small gifts for our families as part of the program, things that represented part of American culture, so I'd brought a box of Jell-O. My host mother told me they were hosting a barbeque and suggested I make this American dessert. Thinking it would be perfect for a cookout, I agreed. The "barbeque," however, simply meant that they were grilling most of the courses of what turned out to be a fancy seven course dinner - and I hadn't even made a Jell-O salad, just a big old bowl of plain lime Jell-O. Oops.
So why the memory trip today? Forget a road trip, there's nothing to shake up a novel like an impromptu flight to France. :-) I'm enjoying mining the memories of my own favorite high school trip and hope this post stirs up some great trip memories for you.
I'm watching your word count!
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