July 24^th, 2009

This is my first blog about my French brother, Jacques. He is my family’s exchange student and arrived at our house on the 18^th. We have been busy giving him the “American experience.” Today, we visited the Mall of America. It was like nothing he had ever seen! Our joke was that we have the largest mall in the world and are privileged enough to drive there whenever we need something but France has nothing… except a city, Paris. In reality, Paris is not just a city. I would love to see the Eiffel Tower one day. Next summer, if I can save up enough money, I plan to visit Jacques and his family.

We found great souvenirs for his sisters and parents and he had the chance to shop at Abercrombie and Fitch, which is THE store all teenagers talk about in France but they don’t have one. We saw Legoland, went on a couple rides, and, of course, went shopping! Jacques was amazed that the rollercoasters were in a building. It’s crazy to think that that’s weird for other people to see!

After an evening at the Mall, we went to McCormick and Schmick’s for dinner to celebrate a friend of the family’s birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANK! I also tried raw tuna for the first time. Jacques really likes it so when his platter came out, I asked if I could try a small bite. My reaction, “I don’t eat pink meat,” but it wasn’t as bad as I expected.