We have arrived!

Hello again parents, guardians, friends, and family!

We finally arrived in Saumur yesterday around 15:30 (around 10:30am for those of you in Indiana). The plane ride was long and I don’t think much sleep was gotten by any of us, so the three-hour bus ride was quite short in comparison as everyone slept most of it.

Most of the group at the airport in Chicago! Unfortunately, I missed Tommy!! He was getting something to drink and the airport was so crowded I couldn’t get him in before we had to let everyone else pass. I felt so badly about it, I took a picture of just him to feature on the blog (see below) so you will know that I’m doing my best to get everyone in and get some good pictures. I got him in a group shot our first day in Saumur which you will also see below. I promise not to leave anyone out of the group shots again! 🙂

We were delighted to see the students’ host families waiting for us when we arrived in Saumur. They were so excited to meet the students and seemed to welcome them warmly into their homes for the summer.

Our first day today at the Institution Saint-Louis (a local middle and high school at which we are using classroom space) went very, very well! We had some orientation activities to help the students get to know the school, their classes and other activities, the director Monsieur Jean-François Boivin gave a welcoming introduction to the students, and we played some games and hung out in the beautiful courtyard. The students were still pretty tired from traveling, but they seemed fairly energetic and excited to get started.

Monsieur Boivin (on the right) as he gave his introduction to our students

The front of the Institution Saint-Louis

Tommy’s first day at the Institution Saint-Louis!

Some more excited students!

In one of our classrooms. We have four available for our use only this summer. There is also internet access and computers – quite a luxury in classrooms in France!

The pictures here were taken at lunch at the Habitat Jeunesse Saumurois where the instructors are staying for the duration of the program. This is where the students will eat lunch every weekday we are in Saumur. They have great food!

Happily fed after yet another orientation 🙂

During our support group meetings this morning we asked the students what they had eaten with their host families the night before. Some students tried many different types of cheeses they had never had before, while others enjoyed such traditional French delicacies as croque-monsieur (a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with cheese on the outside and mustard and ham on the inside) and quiche lorraine (a baked egg dish with a crust and various vegetables). We had a wide variety of answers for what the students were able to try and an overwhelming consensus that everything was delicious, so know that they are being well-fed in France!

Some students trying to untangle themselves from the “human knot” (a game we played) this afternoon. It proved to be quite a challenge and a great way to review some vocabulary like “over”, “under”, and “through”!

So far, the instructors have also been so impressed by your students’ French! They are strong speakers because they know how to ask questions and talk around what they wish to say for help with the right vocabulary words. Everyone remained in French all day today without much difficulty! They are only going to get better and they are already so strong so I am very excited to see them progress!

Tomorrow we will have our exam in the morning – the same exam the students took last fall in preparation for the program – so we can gauge how they’ve progressed since last year. I just know they are so excited about it, haha. But in the afternoon, after lunch, we will go on a “photo-randonnée”: a hike/walking tour through Saumur where there will be plenty of time to take pictures and see the city.

A group shot on in the courtyard. The weather is gorgeous!

I hope you enjoy the photos in this post – you can click on any of them to look at them in a larger format or to download them. There will be many more to come as we will continue to stay busy and have fun!!