Chasse au trésor !

 Chasse au trésor / Scavenger Hunt

Hello all! We are all doing quite well here in Saumur. The days are becoming a bit hotter (today's high was 95, and tomorrow and Friday will be in the 100s), but our water bottles are remaining full at all times! This Friday, the 17th of June, we will be touring three major castles here in the Loire Valley. Chambord, Chenonceau, and Clos Lucé are quite well known in the region with the latter being rather famous for housing Leonardo da Vinci for the majority of his life. Dozens of his inventions and blueprints remain for all to see. 

Located near the Château de Saumur, this flower arrangement is created every year and is a source of pride among many locals as it depicts the blason (coat of arms) de Saumur (see below for reference)

On Monday, the instructors put together a scavenger hunt for the students to discover various parts of the city. It began at school (which I realize I have neglected to photograph, and will, therefore, do so tomorrow and upload some pictures), and then progressed to the downtown area and the various landmarks that the city is known for such as the theater, the city center, the large church, and it ended with everyone climbing up to the castle! 

At each stop, the students took a selfie with a landmark and then answered a question. Some questions were easy and the students could find the answer by looking around, but several involved finding out who, for example, the famous fashion icon born in Saumur was, who Molière was, and who wrote a famous piece of literature. To answer these questions, students had to ask passersby who may have known the answers-- a daunting task to be sure, but the students managed it flawlessly and put their awesome French skills to good use!

The church at the center of town located in Place St. Pierre 

I meant to take a picture of every group who found me on the third leg of the scavenger hunt, but we became a bit pressed for time with the last two groups, so I do not have a picture of every single group, but fear not, the students had a great time! 

Christian, Avery, Grace, and Mara

Evie, Summer, Katrina, and Monick

Annalyse, Jean-Luc, Dawn-Cheryl, and Abby

Yara, Rachel-Claire, Victor, and Emily

Cassie, Brooklyn, and Aminata 

Here, Evie is helping a group to find the correct location that they need to photograph

During the last leg of the hunt, we all climbed to the top of the city to meet up with Shane and Evie waiting at the castle. 

Château de Saumur, first constructed in the 10th century

At the top, we relaxed for a little bit in the shade (for some) and in the sun for those that wanted to work on their tan, enjoyed some cold water that our fantastic on-site coordinator brought up, and we all took in the panoramic view of the city.

Before heading back down, we took a group picture!

Classes started officially yesterday and the students have been learning quite a lot about French literature and culture, linguistics, and grammar. Almost everyone seems excited about the prospects of learning this summer! 

You can expect 2-3 blog posts a week here, more if I can manage it. This first week and a bit into the next is incredibly busy and I know that many parents have been patiently waiting for my next update, so I apologize for the delay. For the last four days, the instructors have arrived home between 8 and 9 pm every evening as there is much that needs to be arranged for the coming weeks! In any case, you can expect another update sometime Saturday (or Sunday at the latest) as we will not return to Saumur until around 9 pm Friday evening after our visits to the three castles in the Loire Valley.

Our First Day!

Bonjour à tous et à toutes ! Hello everyone !

We have arrived in Saumur. I want to apologize to those parents who I spoke with on Thursday when I said I would likely be able to update the blog sometime Friday evening France time. After our initial arrival yesterday, the trip to Saumur, and then arranging the pickup of students with their host families, we all were extremely tired! We are now well-rested and ready for the coming week!

Below is a picture in the Indianapolis airport of the students: 

During our wait for the flight to Detroit and the layover before boarding our flight to Paris, many students socialized, played card games, and generally spent time acquainting themselves with one another. 

We had a brief mishap in the Detroit airport, in which, during our search for the correct gate for our flight to Paris, we accidentally exited security and had to go through TSA again, but the students handled it like absolute pros... probably since they had just done the same process a few hours prior. 

Below is a picture of the plane to Paris. It was an Airbus A380 consisting of three sections of three seats each in the main cabin. You'll have to excuse the image quality, as the window was somewhat tinted and had a slight grain in texture because of it.

Once in Paris, and after clearing customs, we reunited with Evie and Hannah, a student who met Evie at Charles de Gaulle prior to our arrival. On the bus, Evie was gracious enough to snap a quick photo of the students (as well as Shane and me). You likely saw this photo yesterday in an email sent by IUHPFL.

We stopped briefly for lunch at a roadside cafeteria prior to arriving in Saumur. Once in the city, the students were quite excited to meet their host parents. We went over some brief information for them to keep in mind (which we also covered in English at the Indianapolis airport). Around 4 pm, parents began arriving. Below are pictures of the 20 student host families as well as the 3 families who will host an instructor each.

Host Families and Students

Brooklyn with her host mom, Caroline

Camille with her host parents, Deborah and Mickael

Molly with her host mom, Amélie

Cassie with her host family, the Lavievilles

Ruby with her host mom, Térésa, and her host sister, Lorena

Avery with her host family, the Queteys

Katrina and her host mom, Sandra, and her host sister, Jade

Monick with her host family, the Branlys 

Summer with her host mom, Julie

Annalyse and Grace with their host mom, Laurence 

Emily with her host mom, Sonia

Yara with her host dad, Marc

Christian and Jean-Luc with their host dad, Dominique 

Dawn-Cheryl with her host dad, Pascal

Mara with her host mom, Brigitte 

Luka and Victor with their host parents, the Orricos

Aminata with her host family, the Bertrons

Rachel-Claire with her host parents, Lydie and Laurent, and their dog

Hannah and Abby with their host mom, Béatrice

Evie with her host mom, Sandrine 

Families of Instructors:

Thomas with his host mom, Jo

Evie with her host mom (and on-site coordinator), Marie Odile

Shane with his host mom, Mireille

Bienvenue ! Welcome!

Bonjour !

Hello everyone!

We are incredibly excited to share this year's IUHPFL 2022 experience in Saumur with you all and we are looking forward to an exciting summer in France with all of our incredible stagiaires!

If you are wondering where Saumur is, below is a map of France with our future host city marked: 

Situated between Angers, a city known for its apocalyptic tapestry and university, and Tours, a city known for speaking the "purest" French, Saumur may seem like a hidden gem, but it holds its own with a variety of cultural institutions; most notable among them is the Cadre Noire, a renowned equestrian school that historically trained the French's calvary and continues the tradition still today. 

Located in the Loire Valley in the department Maine-et-Loire, this region is known predominantly for red and white wine, as well as some sparkling variations, certain kinds of goat cheese, and castles.

Our trip to Saumur from Paris will take somewhere between four and five hours by private coach, with a stop for lunch in between.

This blog will be updated regularly once we all arrive in Saumur in June. Until then please enjoy these photos of Saumur featuring its castle as well as a photo of a montgolfière (hot air balloon) over the Loire river (a common sight), both of which Thomas took in 2016.

À bientôt !

Evie, Shane, & Thomas

IUHPFL 2022

Team Saumur, France