“Mesdames, what happens if there’s no school tomorrow?!” The students texted us last night in anticipation of the grand snowstorm we were to experience this morning. True, it snowed throughout much of the day... almost an inch accumulated on the grass here and there! Needless to say, we went to school. The only hindrance to our arrival were the innumerable trucks and caravans of the circus which was in town for the day, filling the parking lot across from the school. We even heard the lion roaring during the day!
Upon arrival at the Lycee Jeanne d’Arc, students gathered in a student common area until the first bells indicated that it was time for us to go to our first commitment: petit dejeuner with our French correspondants, provided by the Lycee. Our host teachers, Mme Julie Bridier and Mme Isabel _____, along with the Director, M. Gilles Traguet, welcomed us warmly to the school. Our students then received a tour of the school before heading off to classes with their hosts. They had the afternoon free to roam around Bayeux with some of the French students who did not have afternoon classes. As it was so very cold and breezy, some elected to go to go to a movie, while others braved the cold to explore the city.
Meanwhile, Mme Scott and Mme Hunt spent an enjoyable day reconnecting with old friends while watching our students make new friends. This exchange with Lycee Jeanne d’Arc represents such a special bond between our two schools. We spent an exhilarating hour feeling like celebrities as 20 eleven-year-olds pelted us with questions ranging from the menu at Thanksgiving to dress code to politics. Several pairs of eyes lit up upon hearing how much time our students get to devote to sports. We learned as a much from them as they did from us, and they were most reluctant to leave when the bell rang!
As I am still having technological difficulties with posting images, we are emailing them to Mme Van Way, who will post them as a follow up to this blog post.
Tune in tomorrow, when I hope to have more quotes from the students about their own experiences at school and with their families. (I take it as a good sign that they haven’t had time to email me their thoughts yet. They are too busy experiencing new things at the moment!)
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