Bonjour à tous et a toutes ! Hello everyone!
Last Sunday, July 3rd, we celebrated the 4th of July together. As we were unable to celebrate Independence Day on the 4th seeing as it was a normal workday here in France, we opted instead to share part of the day together on Sunday following our return from Normandy. You'll have to forgive the lower quality nature of the photos; I had completely exhausted all four of my batteries for my camera on the trip to Normandy, so I took photos with my phone, and Evie used her camera, so some photos are better than others!
We started the day at a demonstration of Boule-de-Fort. This is a game not unlike petanque (another kind of French game that has various well-known versions played in different ways all over the world), but instead of throwing heavy balls at a target, you gently roll them on a curved playing field towards a single target at the end of the "field." This is a game generally favored by older people. The mayor of Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent met us there as he is part of the association. Our coordinator, Marie Odile, also arranged for a special guest, Miss Saumur, to come and meet the students.
The goal is to get the cheese-wheel-like ball as close to the white ball as possible
The students all took a turn rolling the ball down the course. Some did better than others, but it was an interesting experience for them nevertheless! Evie, Marie Odile, and Dorisse, one of the host moms in attendance also gave it a go!
Following the demonstration, we had a light refreshment outside, and some students took photos with Miss Saumur before heading to the Nautical Base for a picnic with the students and the host families.
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Host Family Picnic
Marie-Odile spent a fair amount of time planning the picnic and arranging a lovely aperitif to start off the get-together.
While waiting for everyone to get situated, families and students mingled amongst one another, socializing
Katrina and Avery at the picnic
Thomas and his host Mom, Jo, and his host dad, Alain
Abby and Hannah with their host mom Beatrice, and Rachel Claire (hidden) with her host parents
Luka playing badminton competitively with one of the host family kids
I'm genuinely unsure of how this started or what exactly happened, but a group of students and families started dancing to some fun music!
Aminata, Annalyse, Christian, Cassie, Camille, and Dawne-Cheryl pose for a photo
The profs had to bow out a bit early around 3:00 pm to get some work and planning done for the week, but we were sure to take a photo with the whole group before leaving!
This past week was a busy one! We visited an animal refuge on Thursday to learn how such organizations work in France and to help fill water bowls and spend some time with some dogs! Photos are to come later this weekend or early this week at the latest.
Outside of that, we had a busy week of classes and afternoon activities in preparation for the fête des familles, a spectacle and show of sorts that the students put on for the families and other invited guests which will take place at Saint Louis on the 15th at 8:00 pm. I will do my best to upload photos from that event next Saturday before we leave for Paris on Sunday.
Students have been lamenting that we will be departing Saumur a week from tomorrow. It's amazing how fast the time has flown by, and the students have made excellent use of the time spent here, as evidenced by their progress in language ability and in their own personal growth. We are quite excited for the week to come, though it is somewhat bittersweet as we wind down the end of the program.
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