Léana:
After a 2h hours flight, we finally landed in London, very happy to be there but also tired. Waking up at 5 in the morning was indeed really tough.
However, we had not arrived at our destination yet. We had to go to the RGS by bus, which took us 30 more minutes. When we arrived to there, we were quite surprised to see all our exchanges waiting for us, at least that was my case. I guess you could say I didn't really realize the deal it was.
I then greeted my exchange, Charles, and met his family. They turned out to be very kind and happy to see me. Jonathan, Charles' brother, didn't come: he was waiting for me at their house. Speaking of their house, it was quite impressive. When we got there, the outside of the house was really lovely, but what impressed me the most was the interior: it looked very luxurious but yet heart-warming at the same time. I really like the way they decorated it! My room was also nice, not too big but not too small and well decorated as well. Charles let me in my room for a couple of minutes, so I could start unpacking and get familiar with my room, which I truly appreciated: I had some time for myself!
After I was done, we took place in the kitchen and had a "in between breakfast and lunch" kind of meal. It was my first time eating a "bagel meal" and I completely loved it!
I actually had brought french wine with me, no need to tell you the parents seemed really excited after hearing that! They also tried some madeleine and canelés, and it was quite funny seeing Jonathan making a funny face after eating it. Anyway, I could've spent the entire after noon with them, but Charles' father told me he would drop us at the train station 15minutes after we finished. So we went to High Wycombe.
We met up with 5 of his friend, who happened to also be part of the exchange thing (therefore, VH's students were also there: Solena, Savannah, Shauna and Hugo) and actually, Charles told me we were supposed to go bowling, but unfortunately, they couldn't book it because it was full. So we went to the cinema and watch a movie called "Coco". It was nice.
After that, Kiara and her exchange joined us, and we went to one of Charles friend's house, Ed's one. We spend nearly two hours there, did nothing special, didn't talk, put a movie on the Tv but nobody watched. The most awkward moment so far.
Luckily, this awkward time ended when we went to the restaurant, quite early, at 6pm. If it ended it is also because we joined another group, in which there were Elena, Eloïse and Romain, friends of us. So we enjoyed our italian pizzas and pastas, and made a debrief of our respective days.
After that, everyone was full and quite exhausted, so we all got back home.
Kiara:
January 27th, Toulouse Airport.
It was easy to tell that we all had woken up early. But I guess we were all happy to leave. It was a cold winter day, and some of us were taking the plane for the first time of their life.
About two hours after, we landed in London and stayed outside waiting for the bus. It was even more freezing out there. The bus finally arrived after what seemed to be ages, and took us to the Royal Grammar School. All the exchanges and parents were waiting for us. With Louis, my exchange, and his lovely mother, we walked for a couple of minutes to get to the house - which was actually more a castle than a house. I spent some time with the family, and tasted what they called an “English croissant” (plot twist: it’s awful.). We left the house to meet Clara and her exchange at the Eden shopping center, and walked under a heavy rain.
After spending the afternoon there, we joined other people to have dinner in a pizzeria. Here is a lovely close-up of Romain’s face
