Author: sam_goeuriot

We started out the day at Ste Ursule with three workshops: French symbols, texting abbreviations, and cursive writing.  In the French symbols workshop, we did a matching activity with various French symbols including La Marianne, the flag, and the rooster.  After matching, we did a fill in the blank about French history and symbolism.  Even though the Americans didn’t know much about France, we succeeded by using the hint sheet and our exchange students.  The second workshop was about French texting language – for example, “slt” means “salut”, “mdr” means “mort de rire”, and “t ou?” means “où es tu?”.  In some of the examples, the long strings of abbreviations were completely incomprehensible, but my exchange student assured me that they don’t usually use that many abbreviations.  In the last workshop, we learned how to write French cursive.  For the most part, it was similar to American cursive, with the exception of capital H, which had an extra flourish.  After the workshops, we watched the movie La Grande Vadrouille, about three English soldiers who land in Nazi -occupied Paris.  They end up meeting three Parisians and all try to escape together.  It was really funny, especially hearing the English accent in French – it’s how I must sound to all the French people here.  After that we ate lunch and took the bus to Laser Maxx. Laser tag was really fun, even though I was ranked last.  The objective was to hit people on the other team with our laser guns and try not to get killed – it was pretty simple, but there were a lot of obstacles and interesting turns in the arena.

After, we took the bus back to Tours, where Marie and I got Starbucks.  Then we went back to her house and read French comic books.  Overall, this day was fun and different from what we’ve been doing so far on the trip.

DAY 9

Evan Snively

Int. House. A nice kitchen, painted purple. A boy sits at the table placed in the center of the room. This is EVAN, an American in Tours, wearing a red shirt with a gold lightning bolt on it. He also spells his name Evqn, thanks to the French keyboard.

 

EVAN

Oh hi, didn’t see you there. Of course, I didn’t, I’m in France. It’s all good over here, I’m certainly enjoying it. Speaking of enjoyment, today was a ton(ne) of fun.

The scene shifts to the interior of a classroom at St. Ursule. Well-furnished with tables and chairs for every student.

The students enter and take their places. The shot changes to a medium one of a table featuring JOHN, QUENTIN, EVAN, and LUCAS.

JOHN

So.*

QUENTIN

Alors.

The activity begins. A simple memory game featuring things from French culture.

LUCAS

Nous avons fini!

EVAN

C’était très facile, je pense.

After that activity is finished, we jump to the quartet’s next lesson, French texting language.

JOHN

Slt vfq ajh

EVAN

Je v ecrire le blog post

QUENTIN

Dac

LUCAS

@+

JOHN

@+

QUENTIN

@+

EVAN

@+

The next lesson is one in cursive writing. (WRITER’S NOTE: It’s probably best if we don’t go into Evan’s attempt at cursive, skip)

The students watch a film next, La Grande Vadrouille

STUDENTS

[All Laugh]

After that it’s lunch time. The students sit and talk in the cantine. Then, they sprint to catch the bus. And after that, it’s laser time!

The students arrive at Laser Maxx, ready to go, then they wait for about half an hour. Then it’s laser time! But of course, after the mandatory safety video.

The shot cuts to some b-roll of students playing laser tag.

EVAN (Voice-over)

Fun was had, running (but not too fast) and jumping (but no actual jumping) about. And after that, well, it was time to go home. But first, wandering around a grocery store!

Some meandering occurs. Grocery store footage plays.

Back to Kitchen from the beginning.

EVAN

And so here I am!

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

“So,” I begin “Do you think this’ll get picked up for another season?”

I turn to Loren and wait for his response. He thinks for a moment.

“With writing like this? Probably not.”

“Oh, come on! It’s not too bad! I’m sure it’ll get renewed.”

“Eh, if they don’t do anything too drastic with it”

“Y’know, I heard they were going to add a teen pregnancy subplot.”

He stares at me. “I hope not.”

“You never know!”

“Except I do, mostly”

“Debatable”

John bursts in, “No debates, please. It’s time to stop.”

 

*Some dialogue (actually all) has been fabricated for the purpose of this story

Today we went to the Château de Chambord and the Biscuiterie Saint Michel. At the Château we walked around and did an interactive virtual tour through all the rooms. We could visualize how the rooms used to look as well as find “treasure coins” everywhere. We then sat at a nearby picnic area and ate our lunch. After eating we took the bus to the Biscuiterie and made flour out of wheat by pounding the grains as well as made butter just from shaking cream in small jars. We taste tested some of the cookies and looked around in the gift shop. After this, we headed back to the bus station in Tours and met up with our students. A big group of Americans and our exchange students walked over to a shopping center area, ate ice cream, and walked around to various shops. Overall it was a cool day and we went to multiple interesting locations! 

 

 

Today as a group we visited Castle Chambord. This was by far he biggest castle we visited exterior wise. Some parts were under construction, but the back facing the gardens was primed for picture taking. There were many interesting rooms and things inside the castle. For one it had the opposing spiral staircases, which were very fun to look across and see others. Besides the recreated parts of the castle, there were some interesting art pieces that decorated the 3rd floor. Going back to the recreated parts of the castle, the bedrooms and other rooms, as both castles before, were somewhat extravagant. The bedsheets were full of design and the rooms were spacious. The rooms for information probably has the second most interesting thing after the outside appearance of the house. Seeing all these nice objects and descriptions of them was good for information. Me and David missed the opportunity to make it to the gardens, but the view from the roof of the castle was a sight. David, Eric, and I also worked hard to try to complete the map by filling in as much blue as possible, but that didn’t work as some rooms are cut off. I think the castle was a very nice experience.

Today apart from the group, David, Eric, Clement, Etienne, Barnabé and I went shopping. We looked at clothes in the shopping center by the bus station. We looked at shoes, clothes, and a French brand that makes bags. Shopping in France is way more expensive. We then went to McDonalds. In the evening I went to a saxophone quintet rehearsal for Clement. It was enjoyable hearing some saxophone since I have been far removed from my own.

Today, we went to the Château de Chambord and to a cookie and cake factory. When we arrived at the castle after our 45 minute bus ride, we got “histopads” to lead us on our audio and visual tour. In each room, there were scannable coins that allowed us to see what the castle would have looked like in the 16th century. Inside the 16th century visuals were interactive objects containing collectible coins. Once you collected all eight coins, you could put in your email to receive a foldable castle. The histopads gave us more information about each room through the built in audio and allowed us to pinpoint our location in the castle. Once we finished the tour, we ate a picnic lunch outside of the castle. After our lunch, we drove to a cookie factory. Inside the factory, we watched a presentation about the history of the company including a video explaining how the cookies are made. At the end of the presentation, we made flour and butter ourselves. We made the flour by grinding down wheat grain and made the butter by shaking creme in baby food jars. Before leaving the factory, we bought lots of cookies and cakes for both our French and American families. Then, we took an hour long bus ride back to our exchange students. When we got back to Tours, Anna, our exchange students, and I went to a bakery. We took our cookies and almond croissants to a park. We hung out for a while where we observed ducks and water chickens next to a pond.

Today was a very exciting day, because we planned to go to the color run 5k event. We went around 1 to the run, and the race for us started at 2:30. We were all lined up and waited for our turn to go as they were going in waves.

When we started running, each color station would be at every kilometer. The first color we ran through was dark blue. There were people stationed at each area that grabbed a handful of powder and threw it in our faces and at our shirts. After blue, there was orange, yellow, green, teal, and finally red at the end.

After the run, which we walked- they held a festival with loud and energetic music. People held more bass of color and balloons. At every bass drop, people threw balloons and color up in the air. People who worked there came out with fire hydrants filled with color and sprayed the powder everywhere. Everyone jumped up and down and waved their arms in the air. It was very fun and everyone had a great time.

After the festival, we went to the nearby mall and ordered milkshakes and juices at a crêperie. It was very delicious and we had a great time talking and laughing together.


I was in Royan this weekend which is at the beach, but some of my friends enjoyed a color run, a day on a boat, or a day relaxing at home. Today was the first day I’ve gotten to skip waking up to a blaring alarm clock, that feeling of uninterrupted sleep set the mood for a great day. After waking up I was ambushed with grandparents, an uncle, and an aunt which was quite scary for my 9:00am brain who was not ready to handle that much french. To my surprise I was able to speak very well with them and my morning ended up consisting of comparisons and contrasts of the United States and France. My exchange family and I then went to a market full of fruits, vegetables, chocolatiers, piles of bread, fresh seafood, and so much more! I was given the privilege of choosing what we were going to have for lunch and I ended up choosing shrimp, a baguette, and a strawberry/raspberry tart. On our walk back to the beach house my exchange family pointed out to me the vast difference in architecture due to a wreckage of many buildings around 1930. The parents prepared lunch and taught me how to peel and eat shrimp which was something I had never done before. The late afternoon was designated to a 2 hour and 30 minute drive back to Tours which was well spent as I napped almost the whole way. This weekend gave me an experience and appreciation for France and french culture that I hadn’t had before. 

To celebrate my first weekend in Tours, I slept in. I was ecstatic to sleep more than 6 hours for the first time in 6 days. After enjoying the clear and relaxing morning air of France with my exchange student, we took a trip to a french supermarket. I found that it really is no different from our supermarkets at home. Like in America, there were a variety of foods neatly organized and shelved throughout the large store. I did notice there were larger sections for cheeses and wines, and as expected, there were many unfamiliar french brands and foods. After our trip to the grocery store, we headed back home to pick up my exchange student’s younger sister and then go for lunch. As we drove, my exchange student’s mother talked to me about music, and after I told her that I like rock music she showed me some European rockabilly bands that I had never heard of before (the Baseballs). We ate at a very fancy restaurant called L’Opidum. I worked very hard to read the french menu and greet and order in french, however the chef and servers also tried their best to speak English to me. My exchange family very kindly explained to me that I am supposed to use the plate to my left for my appetizer, and use my utensils in order from the outside to the inside. The chef was very excited to meet an American, and enjoyed practicing his English on me and talking about his son who also did many exchange programs. They served (what I believe was) an appetizer which was a very tiny hamburger. It was no longer than my thumb, and had all the needed elements: a tiny tomato, tiny pieces of lettuce and cheese, and a tiny slice of meat. I also had to order an appetizer, main course, and dessert all at once. For my personal appetizer I ordered Le Foie Gras, which came to be a slice of triangular (cheese like?) spread with caramelized onions and some slices of bread to spread them on. For the main course I had Le Boeuf Angus, which was steak with a side that was like mashed potatoes and some green sauce that was like mustard. And finally, for desert, I ordered Le Chocolat C____ (I can’t remember the name) which was a beautifully presented dish with some forms of chocolate foods with berry sauce (blackberry, blueberry or raspberry) and a bit of ice cream. For an after dessert dessert, the chef gave us some macaroons filled with coffee chocolate. It was my first time eating macaroons, and I found they were very sweet and delicious. The server was incredibly nice, and tried his best to describe the dishes in English for me. I must admit that I didn’t absorb all of what he said (the dishes were very extravagant and had many different elements that I did not even know in English). We then headed back home, and as my exchange student was not feeling very well we both decided to take a little nap before heading out to a party with her friends and their american exchange students (my friends). We arrived a little late, but I was happy to reunite with my English speaking classmates. We ate quite a lot of food and played a game of Mafia (the french version). We were a bit overwhelmed by the many unfamiliar roles involved in the French version of the game (werewolves instead of mafia, a little girl, a bartender, a crow, a bear, etc etc). For the rest of the night we relaxed, listening to music, playing the ukulele, and swimming. Despite being a far more relaxed day compared to the past 6 days, I enjoyed seeing some different sides of Tours and french culture.

This morning Agathe and I had a slow start because we were both very tired from the long week we had.  We got up and went to the market that we also saw on Wednesday.  It was interesting to also go on Saturday morning when everyone was doing their shopping. The market isn’t open on Sunday, so if you want to do any shopping over the weekend Saturday is the only day you can go.  Since this is the case it is very busy over the weekend. Agathe (my exchange student) and Baptiste (her little brother) after the market walked around so they could show me some places that they really like. This included place plume which is a very popular location with restaurants and some places to get dessert. We also walked around Baptiste school (ages 4-15 go there) and to Cecile’s school (Agathe’s little sister). We also went to this very large church in tours were Saint Martin is buried. The inside of the church is beautiful and they actually had a service going on so it was very interesting getting to hear some of the mass while we were in there.  I also got to go into a room dedicated to Saint Martin and see where he is buried.  After that we headed back to Agathe’s house and we played a game with Baptiste. Their family loves to play board and card games so we have basically played a different game every night. Today we played a card game I taught her when she was in the United States called kings on the corner. We played this for a while until it was almost lunch time. Baptiste and I went to the bakery down the street to get a baguette for lunch.  I’ve been to the bakery a few times while I was here to pick up a baguette for dinner but they wanted one for lunch today. Once we got home we had lunch. First we ate a salad that had lettuce, tuna, avocado, and tomatoes with a balsamic vinegar dressing.  We ate this with the baguette and then after we all finished the salad we had a cheese platter which we ate with the remaining baguette. Then finally we had apples and bananas for our dessert. After lunch I was very tired and went up and took a short nap. Once I woke up we went to the government building down the street. It is very beautiful and impressive. Agathe’s mom was invited to  go today for a party with artisans from around the world and then a dinner in the hotel de ville. However, she was just available to go for dinner so Agathe and I went for the party this afternoon. It was very interesting to see because there were artisans from all around the word and they all were wearing a traditional cap and gowns with pins from where they are from. The cap and gowns looked similar to our graduation outfit in the United States.  They also had some snacks there and drinks (most of the drinks were alcoholic but Agathe and I found some orange juice). We hung out there for a while and it was very fun to see the inside of the hotel de ville. It is super beautiful and they also had some memorials for the soldiers that died in the First and Second World War. They had all the names of soldiers from tour that died in battle. We hung out there for a while and then went home and hung out at her house where I played games with her sibling and her friend came over for a while. Then we went shopping until dinner time. The photos that I have included are one me with a macaroon I got at the market, one of the hotel de ville from the outside, one of the memorial for the soldiers, and one of the ceiling in the hotel de ville.

Today we started off the day by visiting a new chateau, which I found to be the highlight of the day. The chateau was Langeais, and it was build at the beginning of the French renaissance. The main feature of the chateau that makes it a large tourist attraction is its drawbridge, which we got to see operate, but I personally enjoyed exploring the interior of the chateau and the older medieval era keep behind it. Being situated on a hill over the Loire, the chateau has a great view of the river and town below it. Although that may make it seem like it was designed for some kind of strategic purpose, it was simply built to show pier, as suggested by the lack of decent fortifications.

The other thing that we did was visit a goat farm, where we learned about how to take care of goats and how goat cheese is made and what different types of it taste like. I personally found that I prefer the stronger cheeses, which was something completely new to me.