Upcoming Departure

Tomorrow morning a bit on the early side we will meet at Charles de Gaulle airport to head back to the states. We will travel to Cedar Rapids via Atlanta. Here are a few parting comments from our student travelers:

Libby: "2 weeks go very fast! This trip has been an amazing experience! We've seen the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, the Centre Pompidou, the Chateau Vaux le Vicomte, Versailles, Marie Antoinette's gardens, everything you could think of! I also got to see Julie - it was awesome! It will be sad to leave but I'm looking forward to my big bathroom. =)"

Michael: "2 weeks are gone it seems. I miss home a little but if possible I'd like to stay longer. The best thing I did here would probably be going up the Eiffel Tower or going to the WWII museum. If it's possible I will return to Paris in my future."

Megan: "As our trip comes to an end, I realize what a short time we've had here and how much more we have to see in the world. I have lived where Princess Diana died; I have touched what Renoir painted, and I have danced under the Eiffel Tower. Au revoir, la France!"

Ryan: "France was fun and I am going to miss it so much. Thank you Mme Z for this wonderful opporunity. I love ya Mme."

Mme Z: "I am very proud of these four students. It is always fun to get to know students more personally while traveling and to watch them discover things about the French language and France for the first time. It is always my hope that students leave with an appreciation for diversity and a larger vision of our world."

Au revoir, la France!! Sniff.....

See you in Cedar Rapids Thursday at 8:36 PM or at school on Friday. We will be armed with photos and stories!

Lyon Highlights

Bonjour all! We are in Lyon today visiting the stadium of the Olympique Lyonnais soccer team, the Fourviere Basilica, and Place Bellecour, a huge modern town square. The weather is beautiful and we're enjoying a bit of free time to buy souvenirs and get a snack. See added pics from Lyon.

Off to Lyon!

Early tomorrow we will <> our tickets and get on the TGV. We'll take a glance at the professional soccer stadium and then head to the center of France's second largest city. We'll take a funicular to the top of a hill where the Romans founded the city centuries ago. Lyon is known for the quality of its food, so I'll bet we'll try some! Miam miam!

Pâques

It's Easter in France! It's sunny and pleasant outside. The French take a 3 day weekend (with Monday included)for Easter to do excursions, visits, etc. I'm going to a flea market with my hosts today. The students and I will meet early Tuesday to take the TGV to Lyon.

Soaking Wet!

It's pouring today (Friday), so good thing the plan is to go to school!

"Il pleut, il mouille, c'est la fete a la grenouille..."

Thursday in Paris

We had a great daytrip in Paris today. We began with a boatride called Bateau Mouche, which gives a tour on the River Seine of all of the sites that border the river. It was nice enough to sit on the top of the boat out in the open for most of the tour and we got some nice pics.

After the boat, we took the RER to the Latin Quarter/St. Michel area where we got something to eat and bought some souvenirs. Right across the street from there is Notre Dame Cathedral. We walked through it and took some nice shots. It was very calm.

Then we walked across the Seine the other direction and took the metro near the Hotel de Ville to the Champs-Elysees. We visited the foot of the Arc de Triomphe. We had intended on going up on top of the Arc de Triomphe for photos, but there was a strike (yes, leave it to the French to go on strike again!) so it was closed.

Here are quotes from the students:

MICHAEL: "Having fun here. We walk a lot but it's ok. The RER was like a can of sardines: lots and lots of people."

MEGAN: "My family is wonderful. We just got back from Paris and I'm happy to say that no one got lost. The crepes truly are amazing!"

RYAN: "Everything's good in France. I am enjoying all of it, especially the football."

LIBBY: "Hey guys! We went to Paris today! It was a little cold but that didn't stop us. =) We went inside Notre Dame and my pictures turned out great. I can't wait to show them to you guys. Saturday I'm going back to Paris with Julie so we'll visit some other places. I can't wait! Love you!"

MME Z: "I am making an official culinary tour of all of the goat cheese salads I can find. Today I may have had the best one yet in the Latin Quarter."

Scroll down to check out our new pictures at the bottom.

Hooray, Hooray, Hooray! We love France! Oh la la!

Paris Bound

There is a chill in the air, but the sun is out. Here we go -- to Paris! Hooray!

Wednesday - mercredi

It's a pretty nice day today - blue sky and puffy white clouds. There is school this morning (but not on Wednesday afternoons) and then the students will spend time with their hosts. Tomorrow we meet for an 8 hour visit to the center of Paris together. We'll start with a boatride, eat some yummy lunch and then see a few sites.

Normandy visit

Today we headed north to the region of Normandy, which is known for its dairy products and cool air. We had a great visit at the Memorial museum in Caen. It's a very well-presented museum with a section on WWII, one on the cold war, and one on peace. The film montages were particularly interesting.

After the museum, we decided to spend some time in the center (downtown) area of the town of Caen. Mme Tourne and I decided to give the students 40 minutes to stroll and buy souvenirs before heading to the beaches and memorials. We set a meeting time of 3:30. Unfortunately the students thought we meant that they had three hours and thirty minutes to stroll. By the time we met it was past time to depart for Paris, which is what ended up happening. We arrived back in Paris about an hour and a half later than scheduled. Everyone feels a bit guilty about the misunderstanding, including me, Mme Tourne, and the students. We are fortunate, though, that we were able to see another region and a smaller French town. It was also fun just to spend time together and share stories about experiences in this beautiful country.

Shipping off!

We'll be off to Normandy in an hour or so. It is a bit nippy! It will be rather chilly on the northern coast (but not like in Iowa!). More news when we return...

Education System Strike!

So...some classes met today and some didn't. This strike is a very big deal. Students, teachers, and parents are all very concerned. There is a national strike tomorrow. I talked to each student during the class break and all are well. I'm very proud of them! I'll stick a few pics below from the school break down below. If you see garbage bags in the background, they taped them up on the school so they could spraypaint text on it instead of ruining the school.

Tomorrow VERY early we will head to Normandy. We'll first stop in the city of Caen and see the Memorial Museum describing the D-Day events (see its very good website at http://www.memorial-caen.fr/portail/index.php). This museum will, hopefully, give students good background information. Then we will go to some of the sites themselves including one or two D-Day beaches and the American cemetery. It is supposed to rain, but we'll hope for the best.

Going to School -- in France!

Tomorrow the students and I will meet during the between-class break at Martin Luther King High School in Bussy-St.-Georges. We are all hoping that there will be class tomorrow - there have been strikes (as Megan mentioned) the past few days because there is talk of letting some teachers go to save money and putting more students in the remaining teachers' classes. The students and teachers have already been striking and there is a national education strike Tuesday. So, we'll see for tomorrow. The plan is to go to school. The students will attend with their hosts and I will teach some English classes.

Last but not least, news from Libby!

LIBBY:
"Hey!!! We went to the Mall yesterday, then we drove out to the country for 3 hours seeing the towns and taking pictures. Lucille drove it was kind of scary! Then we went to Paris and ate in a resturant near Moulin Rouge. We walked up to Sacre Cour, and visited the Effile Tour! They are both much larger in person!! Today we watched Lucille at her gymnastiques meet. I think I am living in a book. Mmd I lost my billet guess I cant go back to America ; )."

HAHAHAHA! She knows I just might stay here with her!

Drippy

Il pleut! It's a rainy Sunday. Good day for some inside activities. It's the second round of the municipal elections here today, so people will still be out and about.

Chance meeting in Paris

I just bumped into Michael with his host father and brother in the center of Paris. They had a great time today visiting Sacre Coeur and the Arc of Triumph. He is having crepes tomorrow morning for breakfast. Michael was smiling and very happy about his experience so far!

More comments on the food...

And news just popped in from Megan:

"yesterday I went to the high school with Charlotte, and participated in the strike, and we went to the <> as they said. The food here is amazing!!! and forget what everyone says about the little portions, I had a panini that was HUGE!!!"

Soleil!

It's sunny and might make it to 60 today!

I just received a short update message from Ryan: "I'm having a good time with my family and the bread is amazing."

Bon week-end!

Arrival

We're here! Our planes were exactly on time and the flights were good. On the flight from CR to Cincinnati we were seated next to two Quebecois business people who were very impressed with the students' French. They said that they didn't think any Americans could speak another language. Then on the flight from Cincinnati to Paris we were surrounded by French people who made similar comments.

When we had just deplaned the students thanked me as a group for bringing them here. What well-brought-up children!It was really fun to watch all four of them craning their necks to catch the first glimpse of French land.

As expected, the weather is a bit grey and around 50 degrees. The grass is green and the trees and flowers are blooming. There is still plant life on our planet!

The families were all there at Charles de Gaulle waiting for us and were very personable. There was some talk of visiting Eurodisney this weekend. The next time we meet as a group will be Monday morning at school.

Here we go!

We're taking off! Bon voyage to us! See pic below.

A few comments from the students:

Michael: waiting to leave still board

Megan: Well, after rearranging bags, billions of pictures and going through security, here we are waiting to board the plane, and it still hasn't hit me that I'm going to FRANCE!

Libby: Love you guys thanks so much for sending me to France. Still waiting but thats ok were having fun : )

Ryan: Thank you to all who helped me get here. I am going to enjoy this. And no Dr. C, I won't get drunk... :)

Bonjour et bienvenue!

Next week we will be off to France! Hooray! Our new friends will greet us at Charles de Gaulle and we will embark upon two weeks of cultural adventures, fabulous cuisine, and the musical sounds of the French language. On y va!