By Chase L And Tre T

France’s Geography Frances has a size of 212,935 square miles France is the second biggest European state Two thirds is mountains including the alps, Pyrenees, and Vosges ranges. France has two bodies of water on two sides of it The Mediterranean and the Atlantic ocean. France is located between the equator and the north pole so temperature changes are either extreme cold or extreme heat depending on where you are in the country.

French geographical landmarks The Mediterranean is one of the biggest attractions for France for its hot summers and mild winters, which makes it a prime beach location. France's most recognizable landmark is The Eiffel Tower The Cathedral of Norte Dame is the largest church in northern France and was made fomous by the book the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

France’s government It is a semi-presidential system which means the president and prime minister are in control of day to day parliament The nation declared itself an indivisible, secular, democratic, and social republic. The constitution makes the government a separation of powers. There is a legislative, executive, and judicial branch’s The parliament is the national assembly and the senate

Government continued The independent judiciary is based on civil law system which was evolved from the Napoleonic Code It is divided into the judicial dealing with the civil and criminal law and the administrative branch dealing with executive decisions

France’s School system My epal Leo goes to Collège Gérard de Nerval in Crépy-en-Valois They go to school from 8:15 to 5:00 Leo is in 3eme (eighth grade) and he is goin into high school next year

Leo’s Hobbies &family My epal has a old sister named Margaux who is 19 He has played rugby since he was 9 He has rugby games on Wednesday and Saturday he likes to watch movies and South Park, his favorite actor is Jack Black He listens to rock music and his favorite band is Sum41

French customs/ holidays A hand shake or light kisses on each cheek are a common form of greetings You must call a person by their last names until you are invited to use their first name There are 8 public French holidays New years(Jour de l'an) Labor day(Fête du premier mai) WW2 V-day (Fête de la Victoire 1945; Fête du huitième mai) Bastille day (Fête nationale) Assumption of the blessed Virgin Mary(Assomption) All Saints day(La Toussaint) Armistice day(Jour d'armistice) Christmas day (Noël)

Current Events Recently in France a shed of 100 stolen garden gnomes were found be a women in Saint-Germain-du-Corbéis near Alençon the gnomes were taken into police custody and are awaiting to be picked up by their owners The police believe that theses gnomes were taken in 1966 during the Front de libération des nains de jardin or Garden Gnome Liberation Front who would steal or as they said “set free” garden gnomes and release them into nearby forest where they would live in little house. discovered-in-garden-shed/

Excerpts from Leo “I've got one big sister called Margaux and she is 19 years old. I have practised rugby since I was 9. I play it on Wednesdays and sometimes on Saturdays when I have to play matches against other teams. I haven't got any pets, I'd like a dog but my mom doesn't agree with that... When I'm bored, I like to watch movies (my favourite actor is Jack Black). I watch South Park or I listen to music. I usually listen to rock music or sometimes to Michael Jackson. My favourite band is Sum41 and I went to their concert 2 weeks ago : that was awesome! This month, I won't celebrate Thanksgiving because in France we haven't got any redskins. But I will celebrate Xmas in December and New Year with my friends. That's all for the moment, thanks for reading. By the way let's talk about my home, I live in a medium-sized house near my schoo,l with a big garden.”

Russia’s Geography Russia is the largest country in the world 149 million people Has a very different climate through out Russia due to its massive area 25% of population live in rural areas

Russian Government Russia is run by Dmitry Medvedev Russia has switched its governments throughout the years and of now a federation Russian federation is composed of twenty one republics and six okrugs

Russian Schooling Russia has only 11 grade levels No Choice in classes until senior level Russia has specialization schools for the profession they might want to be in Russian students may drop out of school

Russian Family Russian families tend to be big The family gets together often Russian families help each other out during hard times Learned to love family from young age

Greeting Customs Use a firm handshake when men are meeting men Direct eye contact must be held Women may greet each other with three kisses on the cheek

Eating Customs in friends Homes Don’t eat until invited to Hands always showing Use bread to dip up all extra sauce/gravy Leave a little bit of food on your plate when finished

Current Event Currently in Russia a television crew has gained access to an ancient monastery on mount Arthos, taking two years to get into. There haven’t been any women allowed inside the monastery for 1,000 years this included cats because they killed rats and other small animals. With the monks being devoted to their prayers they don’t take interest into things outside of the monastery, living with no radio, television, or newspapers.

Epal Letter “I`m Alina. I`m 15. Now some words about me. I live in Komsomolsk- na-Amure. It`s in the Far East of Russia. It isn`t big city. Its population is smth about Please, tell me anything about you and your place. With best wishes, Alina.”

Comparison France/Russia Russia’s government is a federation and Frances is a semi presidential system In Russia men greet each other with firm hand shakes and don’t break eye contact and women greet with three kisses on the cheek its almost the same in France