Alexandra

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==Bonjour! Je m’appelle Alex! J’ai dix-sept ans. Mon anniversaire est le 19 de novembre. J’ai les yeux bleus et les cheveux bruns et longs. Je suis enfant unique. J’ai un chien et un lapin. Je joue au field hockey pour mon école. Les cours que je suis sont <> et français 4. J’aime faire la cuisine. J’aime lire. J’espère étudier la biologie à l’université. J’adore la musique. Mes artistes favoris sont Rise Against, 3oh!3, John Mayer, Saosin, The Starting Line et Red Hot Chili Peppers. ==

==I grew up in Fair Oaks, California. It's a small town in Sacramento. Personally, I don't think there's a lot to do around here but if I had to pick I'd say that Old Town Sacramento and Old Folsom are the coolest places to go. Old Town Sacramento has lots of old stores and museums. You can go on a ferry boat ride down the river or eat at Joe's Crab Shack. It's this cool little restaurant on the water and the waiters dance every hour! Old Folsom is cool because there is a variety of shops and lots of good food! Sometimes on the weekends my friends and I will go shopping at the Galleria or Sunrise Mall. What do you do for fun in Belgium? Do you live in a big city? ==

hello Alexandra
I'm julien. I' m from belgium so I'm belgian. I'm very pleased that we're going to be a pen friends. I'll tell you a little about myself. I live in Ath(we have a population of 20,000).I'm18 years old.I'm single. I play soccer. I've got a brother. his name is Nicolas. He's 22 years old. He makes engineer's study. I live with my parents. my father is self-employed. He's 50 years old. My mother is unemploy ment. She's 54 years. For the evening I watch tv with my friends and we l ow alcohol drinks together because my parents are not there. I like to go out in party with my friends because we can laugh together. I go to school to saint-françois in Ath. I'm in the 5th social and educ atif sciences. my favourite subject is mathematics.From time to time, I like chatting on the internet. my favourite country is turkey because that it is hot and my colour favourite is blue as my eyes. Are you single? what do you like eating? what's your favourite subject?....

==Hey Julien! You can call me me Alex, everyone does. I like laughing with my friends too! What tv shows do you watch? I've never been to Turkey! When did you go? My favorite country is probably Italy. I love the culture and the amazing places you can visit. Yes, I'm single. I like to eat chinese and italian food. How about you? My favorite subject is history, but I like science too. I'm awful at math! What is the 5th social and educatif sciences?? Is it like a grade or a program? So do you like living in Ath? Are there lots of places to visit? Do you speak any languages besides french and english?? ==

alors bonjour Alex. Tu vas bien? je regarde souvent les experts à la télévision ou les matchs de football. Je suis allé en Turquie il y a 2ans. Comme repas, j'aime bien les frites pour un Belge c'est normal et comme toi j'aime egalement la nourriture italienne. 5th social and educatif sciences? C' est une option que l'on peut choisir parmi d'autres. Avec cette option nous pouvons allé à l'université. OUI, j'adore Ath pour moi c'est une des plus belle ville du monde elle est pas trop grande mais elle est mignonne comme ville. De plus au mois d'août il y a une ducasse( c'est une festivité dans notre ville) et elle est reconnu dans le monde. A part le français, l'anglais, je parle également néerlandais. ET toi combien de langues parles-tu? lesquels? Aimrerais-tu venir une fois en Belgique visité ma ville??

Attention quand tu écris en français, Julien, tu es censé faire moins de fautes qu'Alexandra, non:)?
Oui, je suis bien! Et toi? Qu’est ce que tu fais à la ducasse? Néerlandais? Ça a l’air intéressant! Est-ce que c’est une langue difficle à apprendre? Je parle l’anglias et le français, mais à l’université j’espère étudier l’italien. Oui, j’aimerais venir en Belgique et visiter ta ville! Aimerais-tu venir aux États-Unis et visiter la Californie? Quelle type de musique aimes-tu? Puis que nous venons de voter pour notre président, je vais t’expliquer un peu les élections aux États-Unis… · Nous élisons un(e) president(e) tous les quatre ans  · <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(102,157,234); font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Le jour de voter est le premier mardi de novembre <span style="font-size: 90%; color: rgb(102,157,234); font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(102,157,234); font-family: Symbol;">· <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(102,157,234); font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Pour voter, il faut avoir dix-huit ans <span style="font-size: 90%; color: rgb(102,157,234); font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(102,157,234); font-family: Symbol;">· <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(102,157,234); font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Barack Obama a été élu cette année <span style="font-size: 90%; color: rgb(102,157,234); font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(102,157,234); font-family: Symbol;">· <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(102,157,234); font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Les grandes partis sont démocrates et républicains, mais il y a les petits partis comme Socialiste aussi <span style="font-size: 90%; color: rgb(102,157,234); font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(102,157,234); font-family: Symbol;">· <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(102,157,234); font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Les électeurs votent aussi pour les nouvelles lois ou d’autres projets <span style="font-size: 90%; color: rgb(102,157,234); font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-size: 90%; color: rgb(0,5,255); font-family: Georgia,serif;">Bella Vista (mon lycée) a une population de 2.000 éleves. Il faut compléter quatre ans au lycée : neuvième, qui s’appelle aussi «Freshman» ; dixième, qui s’appelle aussi «Sophomores» ; onzième, qui s’appelle aussi «Juniors» et enfin, douzième, qui s’appelle aussi «Seniors». Je suis une «Senior» donc je suis en ma dernière année de lycée avant l’université. A la fin de l’année il y aura une grande cérémonie pour rendre les diplômes aux étudiants. Au lycée, chaque étudiant doit suivre l’anglais (pendant quatre ans), les maths(pendant quatre ans), l’histoire (pendant trois ans), les langues (pendant deux ans) et les sciences(pendant deux ans). Certains cours sont considerés «avancés» et ceux-là sont très durs. D’autre classes sont obligatoires comme les économiques, le gouvernement, et une type de science sociale comme la psychologie ou l’anthropologie. Il y a d’autre cours qui sont considerés «facultatifs», par exemple la céramique, la photographie, l’art, l’auto, et l’art de verre.

hey alex Here I come back from school and I'm tired. But for you I'm going to write. the ducasse lasts 3 days. All city regroups to have a good time and drink. In belgium, there are two languages (the french and the dutch). the Dutch languages is a <span style="font-size: 90%; color: rgb(0,5,255); font-family: Georgia,serif; background-color: rgb(250,179,179);">languages rather difficult to teach <span style="font-size: 90%; color: rgb(0,5,255); font-family: Georgia,serif;">and it is a languages wich resembles German. It is necessary to know that in Belgium we speak 2 languages (french and dutch) so, we are bound to learn Dutch. In Belgium we have 6 years of primary school( there are the young persons from 6 to 12 years).Then we have 6 years of high school and then we can to go to University.At the moment I'm in 5th because I d <span style="color: rgb(245,107,107);">oubled (stayed back) twice <span style="background-color: rgb(245,148,148);">e t so normaly I should be in the university. The elections in Belgium is very complicated. I shall not even be able to explainit it to you because me even I don't understand. Fin <span style="background-color: rgb(249,108,108);">allyif but it would be too long and especially too much complicated <span style="background-color: rgb(252,126,126);">in explained. All that I can say to you it is that to us they are not a president but a king.YES I would like to visit california and meet you. Later I shall show you of photographs of my city.oh yes, I wanted to know in your city, there were festivities. love for the moment. In French they say "bisous" for love

==<span style="color: rgb(209,47,21);">Hey Julien! Having a king sounds weird, but cool! Do you like your education and political systems? The big festival that we have in California is called the State Fair. It is a big festival with rides, games, contests, food, and music. It travels around to different city's and lasts for a couple days. It is really fun to go with your friends especially at night because all the rides are lit up. What time does your school begin and end? I had this week off from school because Thanksgiving was on Thursday. It celebrates the meeting between the Pilgrims and native americans, like the start of America. There is a big meal that consists of mainly of turkey and stuffing and side dishes like sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, bread, cranberry sauce, green beans, and other things. Basically it is an excuse to eat a lot of food, but it is also a time to give thanks. :) So what would you like to do as a profession?? ==

==<span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Dear Alexandra, How are you? What do you do today? In Belgium, sports for the boys are soccer, tennis and basketball. For the girls, it's dance, gymnastics and horse-riding. I play soccer in Ath ( Ath is a small city. The population of this city is 25000). In my spare time, I play soccer, I visit my friends and also my new girlfriend. I play soccer twice a week for two hours. I like to do this sport because we meet quite a lot of people. When I'm with my parents, I mostly watch television. I don't do a tremendous number of things with them because they work in the evening. On the contrary with my friends, I spend a lot of time. We often have a drink together or we go to the cinema. During the days of school, I watch tv for about three hours and at the weekend, I watch tv four hours a day. I often watch series, French movies and American movies. The Belgian teens watch music pop videos a lot but now the teenagers don't watch tv anymore a lot but they play videos games a lot. I'm on my computer for two hours a day at the weekend. During the days of school, I go one hour. I often chat with my friends on facebook or watch the sport news. I have one computer and it is the office. The music is the most important to me because it allows me to release tension. Television is there to relax. I don't spend too much time on tv or the computer, so I never have problems with my parents. I prefer to spend time with my friends and have a good time. And you? What do you do in your spare time? Do you spend a lot of time with your parents/friends? What programmes do American teens watch? ==

<span style="color: rgb(109,105,221);">Hey Julien! <span style="color: rgb(0,0,0);"> I’m good. How about you? I just got home from school. Today we had a different schedule because the sophomores (grade 10) had to take the high school exit exam. Everyone didn’t have to go to school until 11:15, but we all got out later. What did you do today? I have a lot of friends who play soccer, both for school and on a club team. I have a facebook too! In my spare time I mostly like to hang out with friends, read, and in the summer, swim. I do spend a lot of time with my parents and friends. Well, some of my favorite TV shows are Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty, Gossip Girl, House, and American Idol. I know most of my friends like these, as well as CSI, Lost, and Heroes. And of course, reality TV is big here; some of the reality shows that I watch are Real World, and The Hills. What kind of music /bands are big in Belgium?

<span style="color: rgb(9,91,6);"> <span style="color: rgb(21,76,106);">  Ath is a small city. It's a city which includes 25000 people on average. It all the same you can visited quite a lot of things. For instance you can visit the "Tower of Burbant" which was constructed in 12th century. It's a tower which measures about 20 metres high. You can also visit a park where there are animals. This park is called "Paradisio Park". This site is in Brugelette (Brugelette is in 15 minutes of Ath). There is a swimming pool also but let us say that it's not an Olympic swimming pool. There are also seven different school in Ath where they can learn different trades for later. We have a park where people can go for a walk easy; this park is call "the Esplanade". It is a very pretty park. We have several magazines for young persons as Hit or Fashion who are located on the place of Ath. For normal clothes, prices are 20 euros for polo shirts whitout marks. For polo shirts whith marks, prices are 45 euros. Jackets cost about 50 euros. However, Ath is not a city where many people buy clothes. We often go to Mons where choices are bigger. Mons is a bigger city than Ath and which is in 30 minutes of Ath. And how to forget to speak about our "ducasse" whith a big place in any heart of the people of Ath. The ducasse takes place on the fourth sunday of August and lasts 3 days. From Friday till Sunday. In summary, it's giants who dance around folkloric musics of Ath. The first day consist in burning the trousers of the Giant "Goliath". The second day it is the marriage of mister and madam Goliath and then, it is the battle enters "Goliath and David" and if David wins, it wants to tell one year of happiness for the city of Ath. The third day it's the procession of the Giants who go around the city. Veils a small summary of Ath.

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; text-align: right;">Le 8 mars 2009 <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Salut Julien! J’espère que tu vas bien! Il y a deux semaines j’étais en vacances. Le premier week-end ma cousine d’Australie qui habite dans le Hawaii a visité ma famille. Samedi, nous sommes allés à San Francisco et Palo Alto. Nous sommes allés à San Francisco parce que j’étais acceptée à San Francisco State University. Nous avons regardé le campus. J’aime l’université mais j’aime aussi l’Université de la Californie, Santa Cruz. Ensuite nous avons visité mes autres cousins qui habitent à Palo Alto. Le voyage était très amusant et j’ai conduit pour la plupart du trajet. Dimanche mon père, ma cousine, et moi sommes allés au resto avec ma grand-mère. Ensuite mon père, ma cousine et moi sommes allés chercher un nouveau portable pour ma cousine. Ce soir-là ma famille a regardé les films. Ma cousine est partie lundi matin. Il faisait très mauvais, lundi et mardi pour les vacances! C’était pluvieux, nuageux, et il faisait froid. J’ai fini mes devoirs et dormi beaucoup. Mercredi j’ai fait du shopping avec ma copine qui s’appelle Kelsey. Nous avons fait du shopping aux les deux centres commerciaux à Roseville: la Galleria et Les Fontaines. Tu as regardé les deux dans le film que ma classe a fait pour ta classe, n’est-ce pas? Jeudi je suis allée au cinéma avec ma copine qui s’appelle Lyra. Nous avons regardé <<Confessions of a Shopaholic>>. C’était très mignon. Samedi j’ai nettoyé ma chambre et je suis allée à la maison de ma copine qui s’appelle Sarah. Elle était malade alors nous avons regardé les films. J’ai passé une bonne vacances et le dimanche avant l’école est arrivé trop tôt. Comment étaient tes vacances? Qu’est ce que tu as fait?

Toujours, Alex

Hey Julien! How have you been? It's almost the end of the school year for me. I graduate on June 4th and I have decided to go to University of California, Santa Cruz next year! I'm really excited to get out of Sacramento. Anyway, my teacher asked us to tell you about either a good experience we have had or a bad experience. I will tell you about a good experience because those are always more entertaining...When I was 9, my family and I travelled to Orlando, Flordia. We were planning on visiting Universal Studios, Epcot, and Discovery Cove. We were booked to stay at the Wyndamm Resort Hotel. Well when we got there the room had bugs in it, and was dirty. Not so much of a resort, huh? It was late so we decided we needed to stay the night and then change hotels the next day. However, that night I began feeling really sick. Turns out I had the flu, and this was the worst possible time. Not only was I on vacation in sunny Flordia, but the next day we were supposed to go to Discovery Cove. We had trainer passes and were going to be able to swim with dolphins, sting rays, and tropical fish. The next morning I was feeling awful, but nothing was going to stop me from swimming with dolphins! But after we got there, got our passes, and were waiting for our wetsuits and snorkels, I began to feel really sick. My dad took me to the nurses station and I proceeded to throw up everything I had eaten that morning, which was an apple. :) However, after this I felt instantly better and was able to spend the entire day swimming with, feeding, and learning about the sting rays, dolphins, and fish. Weird, huh? It was an amazing experience that has actually influenced what I want to study in college: Evolution and Ecology with a minor in Biology and Psychology. This is so I can hopefully become a behavioral ecologist, studying, training and researching animals. I hope to specialize in marine life especially dolphins. The rest of our trip to Flordia was spent at the Hard Rock Hotel. If you ever visit the US you have to go to a city that has a Hard Rock Hotel or Hard Rock Cafe. The experience was amazing and I have never stayed in a cooler hotel! The theme parks were a lot of fun and because we were staying at one of the hotels that was right across the water, our room key got us into the FastTrak line, basically the line that lets you go in front of people because you are special. :) Anyway, it was an awesome trip and I would love to go back and do it all again sometime! :)

<span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255,255,0);"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">I'm fine and you? Congratulations for your achievement. My teacher asked us to tell you about either a good experience we have had or a bad experience. I will tell you about a good experience because are always more entertaining. In 1998, I was 8 years old and I travelled to the south of France, in Saint-Tropez with my parents, my brother, my aunt and my godfather. When we arrived, My brother and I decided to go to the beach. In 1998, there was the World cup in France and the french won the final against Brazil. People were crazy in the streets of France. It was great. For accomodation, it was good. We were in a villa where there was a swimming-pool and the fact that the weather was beautiful, it was still inside. On a boat, we visited the Mediterranean Sea and we saw beautiful fish and I saw a plane on the seabeb that failed during the second war. Often, my brother, my godfather and me went to the beach during the afternoon. The sea was beautiful, it was all blue and had a temperature of 25°C. In the evening we ate either at the villa or in a restaurant. For the restaurant, as it was hot, we ate outside and people played music near the port of Saint-Tropez. It was great. we spent ten straight days together as a family. It was an amazing vacation: the scenery was breathtaking and the people were so friendly. Anyway, it was an awesome trip and I would love to go back and do it all again sometime

hey Alex, Après mes années secondaire, j'espère aller à la haute-école pour étudier le technique comme par exemple, la section du bâtiment. Si j'arrive à cela, je voudrais rester en Belgique pour travailler parce-que je n'aime pas trop les longs voyage à part pour les vacances. Si je gagne 500 000 euros j'aimerais m'acheter une villa dans le sud de la France car avec le beau temps je pourrai profiter d'une piscine s'il y en a. Ou, J'aimerai investir dans des actions pour m'enrichir si l'économie n'est pas au plus mal. Si j'ai des enfants à ce moment-là je leur ferais plein de cadeau et bien évidemment à ma copine aussi, je lui achèterai des bijoux, des colliers,.... tout ce dont elle a besoin.

Hey Julien, Thank you :) Graduation is next thursday, June 4th. It's crazy that I'm already done with high school. Your trip to Saint-Tropez sounds amazing! Anyway, it has been fun having you as a pen-pal. I don't think I have told you, but you speak English very well. :) I hope that someday you visit California: I may be biased but it is the best state :) I'm sure you'll love it; beach, forest, desert, and mountains all in one :) So now for my future plans... <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: FR;">Cette année a passé très vite! L’année prochaine, j’étudierai à l’Université de Californie à Santa Cruz. L’école est dans une forêt! C’est près de la plage et du « Boardwalk ». C’est un parc d’attractions fameux. L’école est très belle. Les gens sont heureux et sympa. Je voudrais étudier l’écologie de comportement (behavioral ecology??). J’espère étudier aussi la biologie et la psychologie. Je voudrais voyager partout dans le monde. J’espère me spécialiser aux études sur les dauphins. Mais, avant l’école en l’automne, je vais passer un été amusant. Mes amis et moi voudront aller rafting et nous prenons le « Zipline » à Lac Tahoe. Je ne peux pas attendre pour l’été et l’année prochaine. Je mes amis et ma famille manquerai mais l’avenir est très passionnant. Bon chance avec ton avenir! <span style="display: block; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; text-align: center; msoansilanguage: FR;">Toujours, Alex Strout <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-ansi-language: FR;">Si tu veux continuer notre correspondance, trouve-moi sur Facebook! Aussi, mon adresse courriel est alexstrout@b4music.com :)