Wednesday was our day in Lille. We left the school at 8:30 and got to Lille around 9:00am. We toured the old Lille for a little while so students could see the cobblestoned streets, and the market place, and then we went to the mall. Students had a couple of hours to shop in the big mall. It's always difficult to shop with someone else, especially in small groups, as you always have to compromise and wait, but everyone came back to our meeting point with a couple bags in hand, so I think the shopping was successful.. After the shopping spree we walked over to the bowling alley where we enjoyed a delicious lunch (not your typical bowling alley lunch at all!). Some had a huge pizza, others had salmon with pasta, some had salmon tartar, some had steak, others lasagna.....
After lunch the students enjoyed a bowling game together, then they walked over to the local art museum and toured the museum with our French chaperones as guides. Thursday was our day in Belgium. The morning was rainy and cold, but we made the best of it. We joked about how we could just pretend it was sunny and warm, especially on the boat tour on the canals, where we had our umbrellas dripping on us, and water around our feet. We warmed up in a café for lunch. Some went to an Italian café, while others went into a Belgian café. Everyone was impressed by the food they had, and had a chance to dry up a bit. Luckily, the rain subsided after lunch when we walked over to our next activity: the Segways. That was by far the most fun part of the day for the whole group. We had a fantastic guide who gave us a lot of really interesting facts, and of course we had a blast riding on the cobblestoned streets. After the Segways I handed every small group a map with our current location and our meeting point for the end of the day (which I had also shown everyone at the beginning of the day: the convent). I gave everyone 3 hours to shop and roam. I had time to explore as well, buy souvenirs, eat a waffle, take lots of pictures, and even sit down in a tea room and have a Belgian hot chocolate. Then I calmly walked over to the convent. To my surprise, only two students arrive at 5:45 (our meeting time). We waited 5mn, 10mn, 15mn, still no one. We finally called them on the phone, only to find out they were all together,......and lost. They had decided to use Google to get back to the convent instead of the map, and they had arrived at an English convent (not the original town convent). At that point, they were arguing about what to do, and they knew they were late, so they were getting worried. I guided them back over the phone, and we were able to get back to the bus, with about an hour delay. Everyone was stressed, but after about 15mn into the bus ride, all relaxed and were able to reflect on their experience. I will definitely be doing more activities about how to read maps when I prepare the group for next year.... Today, Friday, we went to the war bunker. It was a somber visit, with a lot of reflection about the importance of learning history, as sad as it may be, in order to not repeat our mistakes. After the bunker, we ate our pic nic lunch in a group room, and then headed to the nearest city's public park. We walked around the town's fortifications and enjoyed some local animal (sort of a petting zoo in the park). Everyone is home now, and packing, since we are going to Paris tomorrow!!! Enjoy the photos! |
We are in France! After a quick flight to Cincinnati, we took the long 8 hour flight to Paris. Our small group took up two rows of the plane, so we all sat close to each other. When we landed in Paris we had to wait a while to go through immigration but we did so easily and customs as well. We met Christophe and got on the bus for our three hour ride to Lille. Some kids had not slept at all yet and crashed on the bus, some resisted even more! We arrived at the school and ate lunch at the cafeteria. On the menu today: couscous with sausage and veggies, waffles or yogurt for dessert and a cold salad buffet. Students also got to try some “mirabelle”, a plum only grown in Eastern France. Students came to visit our table, some from last year’s group and some from this year’s. They sat with us and chatted. After lunch we patiently waited for students to end classes. Some got to go home at 2:30, some at 4:30. Let me just say, they were all exhausted. Ben is going to Belgium tomorrow, some will be going to basketball games, others spending an easy day in the countryside, etc.... I can’t wait to hear about their adventures!
saturday, March 17th, 2018
Today, since each student is with their host family, I thought I would share my own adventures of the day. I did hear that all kids slept a lot last night and some even slept through dinner! As for me, I was able to hold off till 9pm, and then I crashed and slept deeply until 3am. I was able to go back to sleep again until 7am when i was woken up by the neighbor’s rooster call. Nothing like the countryside to remind you of the way nature works. I was actually grateful that this rooster was a bit late for his call! I woke up to birds chirping and a nearby peacock’s call. In the house, In the house, the aroma of croissants baking in the oven made my stomach growl. We enjoyed some coffee, milk from the nearby farm, and croissants. It’s so good to be home! At 9am we left for the coast. It was foggy and windy, with a few flurries falling. We decided not to take the highway but instead we drove through the coutryside, passing fields with feasants, and deer roaming. When we got to the coast, we went to the nearby open air market. The first thing I bought was a huge scarf, because my face was half frozen from the cold coastal winds. We walked around the town and the beach area, and visited the town’s famous fish market : Perard. We were greeted by a family friend who was preparing oysters harvested from the nearby oyster farm that same morning. He gave us some fish soup for dinner. Then we we went to the local Nocibe store where my host’s sister works. She spent a great amount of time assisting my daughter in finding her perfume. In France most people have “a” perfume that they choose and use all the time. Other perfumes are for special occasion, but first you must find “your perfume”. Sophie spent a good half hour testing my daughter with a variety of scent to identify her preferences. After hearing a few “maybe” and “nope”, we found the winner! We then drove to a beautiful restaurant near the town remparts. Le Pot du Clappe is a quaint restaurant with rustic wood beams and fire places. They serve authentic cheese dishes with homemade bread. We really enjoyed our leek soup, as it helped us thaw a bit, followed by a cheese local specialty called “flamiche”. Since today is Saint Patrick’s day, a band rolled in a played bag pipes and trumpet! It was very cheerful and warm! Now we are home, enjoying the fire with a cup of tea. We fed the wild chickens out in the field behind the house, and now they are asleep up in the trees! Who knew French chickens slept in trees! Tomorrow, Sunday, my Belgian family has organized a dessert party in the afternoon! I cannot wait to sample every single amazing pastries I can find. (Pictures to follow). Sunday, March 18th
Happy Sunday! The weather improved a bit today and we got some sun AND some snow, but just enough to spot the grass with white. Many students were busy today and away from WiFi. I suspect they were out and about visiting places and trying new things. Tomorrow we are going to the coast! I will get to hear more about each student’s host families and activities they did over the weekend. Monday, March 19th
This morning I met all the kids at the school at 8am. They all looked happy from their weekend in their host families. Some went karting, some hiked and climbed coal hills, others went to local fairs and ate lots of yummy homemade food! We got on on the bus and headed to the coast, specifically to Boulogne. We visited the Nausicaa aquarium for a couple of hours. We then got back on the bus to a small mall so the kids could sit down somewhere warm to eat as the wind was pretty cold on the beach. We gave all about an hour to eat and look around the mall. We got back on the bus and headed to Wissan where the bus dropped us off New the beach. We walked all along the beach at high tide. It was a long strenuous walk but the kids all seemed to have fun picking up sea shells and climbing on the dunes. Then came time to take the way up the path that led to the cliff side. The kids trekked really well, even though it was all uphill with strong winds facing us. I can promise you everyone’s shoes were sandy and muddy and everyone was pretty tired once we got back on the bus at 4pm. When we got back to the school, each student went home with their host. I am sure they have all enjoyed a good dinner and will sleep well tonight! Here are a few pictures of our day: Short visit of the school this morning |