End of week 2

Saturday, June 22nd, 4pm

 

Bonjour !

We're finishing week two, here in Saint-Brieuc, and we're already closing in on the halfway mark of the program! After getting used to their host families, the city, and France as a whole during the first week, students now have their habits and routine here. They have already become much more independent with taking public transit, going into shops, and accomplishing daily tasks in French!

The end of this week didn't include any excursions. On Thursday, we had classes as usual and had time for physical activities in the afternoon. Luckily, it was quite sunny, so some students chose to do yoga outside, while others played volleyball and basketball inside. On Friday, students worked on the program magazine and on the farewell show. They are coming along nicely! For the magazine, we already have drawings of le Mont-Saint-Michel and of iconic students' outfits, as well as some poems, interviews, and other creative writings in preparation. As for the farewell show, students are preparing quite a few musical acts, with singing, dancing, piano, ukulele, oboe, and flute among other things!

I realized earlier this week that had not really taken any pictures of our lunches yet, so this feels like the perfect time to talk about them. We eat at the lycée's cafeteria every weekday. Students have their choices of a starter (usually an assortment of salads, some paté, yesterday we had some melon!), a main with vegetarian options (sometimes a really French dish, but sometimes not so much), cheese, and a dessert. 

Here are some pictures of yesterday's lunch:




 

Yesterday evening was la Fête de la Musique. Each year, on June 21st, France celebrates the longest day of the year and the arrival of summer with an evening of festivities centered around music. In each French city, town, and village, amateur (and professional) musicians gather to perform a variety of shows in the streets and on main squares. It truly is a joyful evening as people are outside all evening long, singing, and dancing. Students were encouraged to attend with their host families, and I ran into a couple of them as I was walking around town. Some of them even participated in a group dance act!


 

Students are spending the weekend in their host families. I hope they get some rest because on Monday, we will have our next day trip, to Saint-Malo and Dinan !

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