Jarod Letendre

Jardad780

I am participating in a teacher exchange to Geneva.



Travel Blog Posts


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Jardad780
July 21st 2012

I will get to the title in a little while. However, if I had to compare this summer's holidays with last summer's holidays, it is clear that this summer, things went by without a hitch. For this we are thankful. The only down side of the trip to Italy was that France and Italy love to gouge your eyes out when you are driving on their highways. For example, the trip back today, from Lucca, Italy to Geneva cost us approximately 100 Euros. And this does not include gas money. On the way back, we did not go through the Mont Blanc tunnel. Just to go through the tunnel costs 35 Euros. I thought that I would outsmart the highway system. We took the A32 through Torino, Italy - only to discover that we had to ... read more



Photos Galore!

Published: July 7th 2012Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Geneva » La Plaine
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Jardad780
July 7th 2012

The title says it all. We have now returned from Euro Disney and we had to take tons of pictures. There were characters and parades and rides - so exciting for Myles and Isabelle. The four days that we were gone were over too quickly. For me, the highlight was going on the ride Space Mountain once again. I haven't been on that ride since I was around 12 years old. It was a good as I remembered it. The highlight for Isabelle was getting to see all of the characters. Avery's highlight was getting to see the parade on Main Street U.S.A. As for Myles, all I know is that he wasn't the biggest fan of the characters at the character meal. I asked if he wanted to get his picture with Donald Duck, but ... read more



Done Like Dinner!

Published: June 30th 2012Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Geneva » La Plaine
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Jardad780
June 30th 2012

Well my school year is officially done. Out of my nine years of teaching, this year has gone by the fastest. I cannot believe that it will be July tomorrow - Canada Day. I still clearly remember setting foot in our apartment for the first time. Now, only 25 more days to go and we will be leaving. I have to admit that the end of this school year is unlike any that I have experienced to date. I was not really involved in any planning/decisions for next year, which makes sense. It felt kind of like the song that says, "I'm here for a good time, not a long time." The last day of school felt definitely weird. I was as excited as the students for it to be summer holidays, but I was also ... read more



Heat Wave!

Published: June 17th 2012Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Geneva » La Plaine
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Jardad780
June 17th 2012

Wow, it has sure been hot over the past number of days. Avery has been loving it, but for me it has been too warm. The heat however has permitted us to do a number of fun activities. First of all, the grade 3 to 6 students from the school went to the river Laire Friday afternoon to do some frolicking around. The river was cold and nice and refreshing. I had a good time splashing all of the students that didn't want to get wet. It was a great way to spend a Friday afternoon in the hot, hot sun. I enjoyed the Laire so much that Avery, the kids and I went down to the river again Saturday. It was hotter Saturday as the temperature reached 33 degrees Celcius. We had lots of fun ... read more



Like a Whirlwind!

Published: June 4th 2012Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Geneva » La Plaine
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Jardad780
June 4th 2012

Well, I don't know where the last two weeks have gone. I can't believe that I am sitting at the computer, typing this blog and it is already June 4th. There is under a month to go in the school year and then it will be summer holidays. The days seem to be dropping like flies. I guess that time goes by more quickly when one stays busy. My parents returned from their Croatia tour May 17th and since then, it has been a whirlwind. Over the last weekend of May, we went with my parents to the town of Zermatt. This is where you need to go if you want to see the Matterhorn. The Matterhorn has partly made Switzerland famous and if you have ever eaten a Toblerone bar, then you have seen the ... read more



Finally - a BBQ!

Published: May 24th 2012Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Geneva » La Plaine
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Jardad780
May 24th 2012

It has been a week since my parents have been back from their trip to Croatia. They really enjoyed it. But, most importantly of all, the place that they were staying when they got back had a BBQ. That was a treat! We bought some ground beef and made up some hamburger patties with onions. They were so good that I had to eat 3 burgers. The last time that we had a BBQ was the end of July 2011. It is safe to say that we will be doing a lot of BBQs when we get back this summer. The thought of it just makes my mouth water. Also, what added to the charm of the BBQ was the place where my parents were staying. It was in a little village in France called "Les ... read more



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May 12th 2012

Well, time has continued to fly by. May is almost half over. The first weekend that my mom was here, we did a lot of driving. Saturday, May 5th, we drove to Lyon, France. We didn't spend a lot of time in Lyon, but we really liked what we saw. Plus, after lunch, it started raining cats and dogs, so it was good that we didn't spend too much time there. Myles was soaking wet as he had to go and stomp in every single puddle. Oh well, at least he had fun. In Lyon, we mostly did some walking around. We walked/hiked up to Notre Dame de Fourvière Church. This was a beautiful church with a wonderful view over the city of Lyon. The next day, we drove to Leysin. Our church was having a ... read more



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May 2nd 2012

Well, the title of my blog is certainly true. It has rained for the good part of April - whether that be the Netherlands, Germany or Switzerland. We have definitely been getting our fair share of rain. However, all of the flowers that are around are beautiful and they give off such a wonderful scent. The past week and a bit has been fairly busy around these parts. We have celebrated 2 birthdays, gone to a milk festival, did some hiking, did some shopping and went to the United Nations. We celebrated Myles birthday April 26. It was just the four us but we had a great time. Avery decorated the appartment with balloons and we had some presents and a cake. Myles had a great day and Isabelle was sure helpful with opening up the ... read more



The Chicken has Pocked!

Published: April 17th 2012Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Geneva » La Plaine
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Jardad780
April 17th 2012

I have to say that we had a great time on our holidays to visit the Blankenstyn's in the Netherlands and to visit Dorothee in Germany. The only downer of the trip happened shortly after we arrived to Legoland - just outside of Ulm, Germany. Avery went to change Myles and he had a scary-looking rash all over his bum. The situation got worse as the day progressed and he ended up scratching a fair bit Friday night. We drove home Saturday and decided that we needed to get Myles checked out. We went to the emergency children's part of the hospital in Geneva. It turns out that Myles has chicken pox. His diagnosis was not definitive at first. It took 3 different doctors coming into the room to tell us that he had chicken pox. ... read more



Vacation Time!

Published: April 2nd 2012Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Geneva » La Plaine
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Jardad780
April 2nd 2012

Well, vacation time is almost here. One more day of school and then we will be driving to Holland and then to Germany. I am looking forward to my time off. I can't believe that it is already April. Last week, I had my last hockey practice. I was a little sad because I love playing hockey, but it will be nice not to have to drive 30 minutes each way and it will be nice to get some more sleep. That hockey season went fast. Last week, we were getting ready for the "Troc de printemps." This is a glorified garage sale that was put on by the parents' association in the town of Bernex, just outside of Geneva. We put some of our items in the sale. We were just wanting to get rid ... read more






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