Author: sam_goeuriot

After a late night yesterday, today began with exhaustion blended together with excitement. I was just beginning to feel homesick, as I missed both my parents and life in North Carolina and really could use a refresher and reminder of home. Thus, I applied sunscreen and a copious amounts of bug spray and began to head to the golf course. The course was massive and it was in pristine condition. Their club house looked like a mini castle. The grass and sod were in excellent condition, well trimmed and very green. Breathing in the fresh air of a golf course removed all of the homesick feeling that I had and filled it with excitement and contentment. When beginning to play, I started out playing a bit poorly, I was using borrowed clubs and I had forgotten to bring my golf shoes. But, as we continued on and after getting used to different golf clubs, my game sharpened and I began to play well. There were many differences between the course and those I’ve played on in the United States. One initial difference I saw was that the course was much shorter in length than the courses in the United State. Also, the fairways are a bit narrower and the greens are a bit smaller. There also aren’t that many water or bunker hazards, which made playing a bit easier and less frustrating. What also confused me was the fact that there weren’t any starters or facilitators going around making sure that speed of play was kept. Usually in the US, there are 3-4 facilitators always at my golf course regulating pace of play. Yet, here in France, even without any starters the speed actually felt faster, and we finished the round much faster than I had thought. I’ve noticed a general trend just in France, in general, is that they just a higher degree of trust in citizens to not cause issues. All in all, it was really tiring, but I came out with brand new knowledge and an experience that was extremely refreshing and fun. When we came back home, we had a great family with, grilled duck, baked potatoes and a choice of multiple different flavored sorbet. It all tasted great. After that we drive to tours to walk and shop.

Today has been super fun! I got up at nine this  morning, so I was able to get some extra sleep to be well rested for the weekend. We ate out for lunch and it was amazing! We had authentic French crepes and they were delicious. I was surprised at how big the crepes are in France. They fill the whole plate as if they could be a whole meal on their own! Afterwards, my host family needed to go to a home improvement store to buy flowers for their garden. We went to Jardiland, which is like a combination of a garden supply store and a pet smart. It was different to see fish, hampsters, and chickens in adjacent aisles to pansies, roses, and strawberry bushes. Next we went to a lake where we ate a small picnic consisting of bananas, bread with chocolate chips, and French chocolate crackers. It was the perfect size snack to eat before walking a path around the lake. It was very warm outside and the path was long. The younger brother was complaining of the heat so we went to a local convienet store to buy ice cream. He immediately stopped complaining and was super excited about his Ben and Jerry’s cookie dough ice cream. It was cool to see the American ice cream brands that I know and love in France with labels in French! Although I’m having a ton of fun in France, I started feeling home sick today, so I called my parents before dinner. It was nice to be able to catch up and hear about life in the United States. It reminds me of how different the culture is in France and it’s a needed break from speaking French all day. I look forward to going to Paris in 2 days, but I’m sad to say goodbye to my host family. I’ll always cherish  the memories from these past two weeks in Tours. What a fun day!!

Today (Friday, June 8th) began with a late morning with no activities scheduled. After a long week of workshops, board games, Renaissance dancing, castles, movies, and more, most of us were glad to take the opportunity to sleep in. My day began at around 11:00, when I enjoyed a breakfast of bread and orange juice with my exchange partner (Etienne). After our 12:00 picnic was cancelled, we weren’t required to be anywhere until 1:45, so we ate lunch at home as well before taking the bus. When we arrived at the ropes course park at 1:45, we began by buckling in our harnesses with assistance from the staff. After everybody was properly fitted, we learned how to attach ourselves to the ropes equipment in a training zip line. We were all equipped with both a regular carabiner and a specialized one for zip lining. Any zip line in the facility could be accessed by clipping the ordinary one on top of the specialized one. After everybody had completed the training exercise and successfully attached and detached themselves, we were set free and were given information on what was and wasn’t available to us. Most of it was available immediately, but some courses (distinguished with a “black” or “violet” label) were only available later in the day after practice and experience. Each course took about 30-50 minutes. They all contained different obstacles and challenges that required balance, strength, dexterity, and determination to overcome. Personally, I had time to complete 3 courses before we had to leave. We took the bus home and now are resting before going to a party

The past two weeks have been very eventful and we have done a lot of activities. Every morning we got up early and went to bed very late so when we were told that we could sleep in late and didn’t have any morning activities we were very happy. I woke up around 11:30 so I missed breakfast but they were already cooking lunch. We had chicken and home fries and it was very good. We got ready for the ropes course and left.

 

The ropes course was very fun and I did three different courses! They had different colors based on their level and they were a variety of lengths. Then first course that Niki, Haley, and I completed took about 10-15 minutes and it was a beginners course so we could get ready for the harder ones. The second one probably took about an hour and it contained around 10-12 zip lines! It was the highest course and the longest. In the middle of the course was a very difficult mesh stair case but with team work and very good balance we did it! The last course was short and sweet and had a lot of little challenging elements.

 

After the rope course we went home and I went to the gym! The “gym” in France is very different than at home. It was very small and the equipment was outside but it felt good to workout! (Especially after all the bread we’ve been eating) My and Shiloh’s students are at a dance class and we are eating dinner and getting ready to go to a party tonight! We are eating at McDonalds and we believe it is so much better here. They have potato wedges and fries and the food is made with less grease. The down side is it’s expensive but they do that so people won’t eat too much of it. We love the culture and the experiences are enlightening!

We began the day with a later start at 9am at Saint Ursule. We split into rooms with our exchange students and began playing various card and board games. Our group played a game called le loup-garou (the werewolf). This game is very similar to the American game Mafia, except with a lot of extra roles. These roles made the game slightly confusing but gave us a lot of new vocabulary words! Then we continued the game day by playing headbands and Essquissé (pictionary telephone). After that we had a lunch, at school, of pasta and calamari with a Nutella donut. Since we had 2 entire hours for lunch, we were able to play basketball for a long time. We played with the french students and did games like girls vs. boys and French vs. Americans. We then departed on our scavenger hunt through out the city of tours. I was in a group of 6 (Elena, Irene, Jaida, Elizabeth, Mathilde and I). We further explored the city as we searched for historical monuments discovered through the hints we were given. We took pictures with all the stops of the scavenger hunt and even stopped to grab some water at a coffee shop on the way. We arrived back to the school and got back with plenty of time. We then relaxed at Saint Ursule and ate a small snack and a drink provided by some of the French students. Afterwards Mathilde (my exchange student) took Irene, Elena, and me to meet her father at a café and grab some coffees. Mathilde and I walked home and had a quiet and relaxed night in as we watched movies together and ate a casual dinner with her mother. June 7th was overall a great day in the exchange in Tours and we are excitedly looking forward to the ropes course tomorrow.

 

The day started out as all my mornings in the US do – with sleeping past my alarm. I was woken up 30  the alarm was set, and after a flurry of clothing, toiletries, and panicking about the time I was ready to go. I had but one problem – in my last to prepare, I had forgotten that the bus was not for another 20 minutes! Once the bus finally arrived I was on my way to school. Today was a day that I’ve been looking forward to all week: the day of board games. The morning was divided in kairali to learning different French board games, and playing them. As an avid fan of these games, I cannot wait for it to start. The first game I’ve played with Pictionary but because neither the Americans northern French students there knew the exact rules we mostly used the game to gain new vocabulary. I moved on to playing another game I had some experience with – coup. Before the morning was over, I had also tried my hand at wordly and charades. Most people took luck at the school, which prepared a meal of pasta (though I also snagged a bit of yogurt). While dining, my table struck up a lovely debate regarding the roles of protagonists and heroes in the  narrative story (I think I won). We had some free time before the afternoon activity began so I used the time to continue debating, chat with some of the exchange students, and spend a little bit of time reading. When the time came, the teachers gathered all the students around and explained how the scavenger hunt would work. All were excited by the promise of rewards. After an hour of walking, searching, and head-scratching, my team was finished and confident in our victory – only to return and find another team had been finished for 10 minutes. The rest of the teams slowly trickled back to the school, the results were tallied, and … my team had gotten a few wrong answers. We were a tad disappointed by our poor showing, but our spirits were quickly raised by the snacks the teachers set out. My partner and I had a while until our dinner reservations, so we headed over to a park with some friends and spent the afternoon playing even more board games. We headed over to a creperie  for dinner. A hearty meal ensued, and after we had finished eating we spent some time admiring the sunset and the swallows before returning home.

We started our day today by getting to sleep in little bit as we didn’t have to arrive at school until 10 am. When we got to St. Ursules, we were ushered into the sports classroom so we could be taught different dances from the French Renaissance time period. We started off by standing in two concentric circles, alternating boy, girl, boy, etc. Throughout the hour and a half lesson we learned a Renaissance dance and the way that they walked. We also learned that not much is known about the daily life of the french during that time period except for the dances. When we were finished with the dancing, we ate lunch either in the school cafeteria or off campus at one of the many restaurants in central Tours. We had plenty of time for lunch, so some people started a game of basketball with a few older french students while we waited for the next activity. When lunch was over we took a quick tour of the Tours Cathedral before heading to the Musée de Beaux Arts (Fine Arts Museum). While we were there we had an hour tour with a very lively tour guide. We analyzed many paintings and learned that there are generally 4 types of paintings: religious, portraits, landscape, and still life. When our tour was over we walked around the rest of the museum for a few minutes before leaving with our exchange student’s. After we left, a few people decided to stop at Starbucks for tea and coffee and then head to some of the shops in downtown Tours. We went to several shops and stopped at a briocherie next to the train station. After that we all headed back to our houses for dinner.

At school today, we learned about dancing from the Renaissance period. We do not know a lot about the customs and traditions from this period, or for that matter, even what they ate or drank because little of that was ever recorded. However, the one exception to that appears to be their dancing style. They have sheets of music with dance movements written along the side, dictating the way the piece should be performed. What is interesting here is how they have brought in movements from everyday activities. For example, they would clap similar to the way they washed their clothes by the river. It was fun to try out some of this. First, we danced in two circles – an inner and an outer one. The inner circle would do the same movement as the outer circle but in the opposite direction. The movements were basic shuffle steps but the contrast between the two circles made it more dynamic. Next, we did a bit of partner dancing. It was quite a challenge to be in-sync with one’s partner. And besides, we were all bumping into each other! The other highlight of our day was visiting the magnificent Tours Cathedral and the Musée des Beaux-Arts. The art exhibits spanned various time periods – the class really enjoyed the modern art. There was quite a wide spectrum of this, ranging from abstract paintings to even art made from neon lights!

School was followed by some shopping, during which I got to treat myself to a simple.. and simply delicious crêpe au sucre.. it was amazing! We topped off the evening with dinner at a friend’s house. And so winds down another day in lovely Tours.