Week 4

Hello once again from Brest!

Can you believe that we are starting our fourth week here in France? This past week was a calm one for the students. Students went to classes every day, and they started memorizing their lines or music during their activities for the end of the summer program.

Tuesday, it was actually sunny out (!) and so we were able to go to a beach and play sports right by the water! After that, most of the students and teachers went on a boat ride around the Brest seaport. Friday, the students did not have any afternoon courses, so they were able to spend a bit more time in town together. I know that many of them took advantage of this time to try new restaurants as well as go shopping. The annual “Soldes” (clearance sales) are taking place right now, so it is easy to get some great deals in virtually every store in town!

We have an extremely full week coming up ahead of us:

Monday evening is our soirée Danse Bretonne!! Students will have the opportunity to learn traditional Breton dancing with the help of their families! I am certain that a great time is to be had by all!

Wednesday teachers, students, and their families will be attending a ceremony and party that both celebrate the Fourth of July and commemorate the Franco-American collaboration during World War 2. The celebration starts with a ceremony at the American Monument in Brest.
Students will sing both the French and American national anthems. The area surrounding the monument is actually American territory, so the students will be on American soil for a few minutes of their national holiday. After the ceremony, everyone will gather for dinner and dancing.

We will wake up early Thursday morning for our excursion to Normandy that includes visits to the abbey of Mont St. Michel and the city of Dinan. We will be spending the night in a youth hostel, and then Friday we will visit the WWII memorial in Caen, the American cemetery, and Omaha Beach. The students have spent some class time studying D-Day and World War II, so their studies will tie in nicely with our second excursion.

I am more than certain that this week is going to absolutely fly by! Have a great week, and we are always ready to receive any comments, concerns, or questions.

Brest 2007

Photobucket Album

Week 3

Hello once again from (extremely rainy) Brest! We are at the beginning of our third week in France already!

Tuesday, the teachers met with most of the host mothers to discuss how the home stay is going. We got very positive feedback from the families and were able to answer their questions in regards to cultural differences, as well as communicate to them any concerns of our students. Last Wednesday was our first student evaluation. Now that everyone has adjusted and progress is being seen, it is time to kick it into full gear! More attention is going to be given to the fine points, and the already rapid progress is sure to become even more evident!

Last Friday was our first excursion. At eight in the morning, we all piled into a bus. The students were sleepy, but they began to perk up when the teachers put in a CD of French music of all different genres. There was much laughing, dancing, and—of course—singing in French! Our first stop was Locronan, a quaint medieval town. Students visited the beautiful cathedral, and took many pictures of the picturesque village. Almost everyone tried the Kouign Amann, a sugary, buttery Breton specialty! We boarded the bus once again, and headed toward the Pointe du Raz for lunch. The students picnicked right next to the sea. It did not rain, but the gray clouds and fog created a very dramatic and stunning scene. Our final stop was Quimper, a city famous for its pottery, full of history and full of shopping! We all went together to the center of the town, and then the students broke into small groups to explore the cathedral and all of the shops that line the streets. We returned home to Brest around 7:30pm, and although all of the students were quite tired, I am convinced that everyone had a wonderful time!

This week will be a relatively calm one. Tuesday, we are scheduled to go on a boat ride around the port of Brest (fingers crossed that it doesn’t rain!!). We were not able to take our group picture last Wednesday because of the rain, so we are hoping that this Wednesday will be a sunny one! Other than that, the students have a full week of classes and activities ahead of them. I think that some students were interested in organizing a group game of Laser Tag for Friday, so I will let you know how it goes! I am also attaching a link to a photo album that includes pictures from our visit to town hall, pictures of the town of Brest, and pictures from our first excursion!

As always, I hope everyone stateside is having a great summer. I know that ours is flying by!! Please do not hesitate to contact us with any comments, concerns, or questions! Have a great week!

Week 2

Hello, dear parents! How quickly time passes! Already we are into our second week here in (rainy) Brest!

Classes are well underway at the University of Brest, and the stagiaires are getting used to their daily routine of arriving at school (usually by bus) at 9:00 am, eating lunch together at 11:30 am, and finishing their afternoons at 3:25 after two more courses and their activities. The theatre groups and the choir have begun their daily rehearsals, and it is evident that we have a talented bunch of actors and singers this summer! After their activities, many students spend a few hours together exploring the stores, pastry shops, and restaurants of the downtown area. On Fridays we finish a bit earlier, and there are no afternoon activities. This allows the students to go into town and try new types of cuisine together—I believe that last Friday, many of them indulged in some delicious crepes!

Last Friday, the students and their host families came together for our reception at town hall. Zoe Masters and Allan Summers presented our program and thanked the city of Brest for its warm welcoming of the honors program. There was also an article describing the honors program and a photograph of the entire group in Le Télégramme, the city’s newspaper!

This week is, of course, a busy one! Tuesday, the teachers are hosting the annual mothers’ meeting—a kind of question and answer session with the host mothers and staff to make sure that everything is going smoothly for the students. We are taking our group photograph Wednesday afternoon, and the annual French music festival is on Thursday. Our first excursion is this Friday. We will be visiting the region to the south of Brest all day. Included are visits to a medieval village (Locronan), a city famous for its pottery and traditional Breton culture (Quimper), and a picnic on a seaside cliff (Pointe du Raz). Everyone is looking forward to it, and the culture class has already started preparing for it!

As you can see from our activities, everything is going very well in Brest. The students are learning a lot about French language and culture, and they are learning it very quickly! We are already seeing improvement, and we will only see more as the students become more and more accustomed to life in France. More updates will be sent to you in the next letter! I hope everyone is having a great summer. And as usual, do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns!

Week 1

We are well into our first week in France, and it is time to begin the weekly “Brest 2007” blog. Each week this blog will be updated with details of our activities and the progress of our students so that you can stay up to date with the activities of your children. Here is what we have been up to so far:

Due to bad weather in Indianapolis, there were two separate groups traveling to France. On Friday, the first group of thirty-two students braved airplanes to Amsterdam and Paris, as well as a long bus ride to Brest. They arrived late at night, but were met promptly by their host families, who were delighted to take them home and put them to bed! Saturday, after being bumped from yet another flight to Detroit, a lovely fourteen hour layover, two trains, the five students and four teachers ended their fifty-four hour journey with a "crepe"dinner. Although both trips were exhausting, the students did a great job of staying together, getting through customs, and not a single bag or passport was lost. They are truly accomplished world travelers!

After a restful weekend with the host families and some delicious home-cooked French meals, our students were put to work on Monday. They arrived downtown at the University of Brest to take preliminary exams, go to support groups to discuss culture shock and homesickness, and to go through the program and city orientation. After some discussion and a thorough explanation of how to take the city bus, the students and teachers took their first trip into town. The students got to see the city’s central square and town hall, the bookstore where they’ll buy their books for the literature class, and one of the main shopping areas of the city. Many also indulged in tasty French pastries!

The real work started on Tuesday, when the students attended their first day of classes in literature, conversation, grammar, culture, and phonetics. In the afternoon, we went to a sports center where the students played soccer, volleyball, tennis, and frisbee. On Wednesday, the students will be placed into their activity groups (either theater or choir) so that they can begin preparing for our “Fete des Familles”—the end of the summer talent show for the host families.

We have a lot planned for the summer and will be EXTREMELY busy! This Friday, there is a reception with the mayor of Brest to recognize the arrival of the 14^th Honors Program in Brest! Each year we go to the city hall for this reception where the families and students have the chance to mingle and be recognized by the city of Brest. Two students will also give a short speech to thank the city. (I'm not sure who they are yet, but I will let you know next week!)

And that is all in the first week! With a schedule like this, the seven weeks will fly by for both you and your children! As you can see, everything here is going smoothly, and we’ll have more updates for you next week. I hope that everyone is enjoying the summer in the US as well! If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me (Lizzie, the assistant) at ewhobrey@gmail.com.