Orientation Week is crazy!

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Hey everyone,
Well I finally had enough time for an update in the midst of all this busyness. It's now Wednesday, the middle of our week of orientation here at IES Nantes. Okay, well I left off with our arrival to Vannes for the weekend. On Friday, our day started with breakfast and loading onto the bus to see a few sights. We first visited a chateau (castle) from the Middle Ages called Suscinio. It was amazing, and we had a great tour. I've been in other old castles before, but none of them hit me like this one did. It was unbelievable, standing in the banquet room of the castle, listening to the guide explain in French what the banquets for the Duke and his court used to be like. She explained how the room had been set up, who had sat where, what they would eat, and how they would eat it. She described the jesters and other entertainers they would have, and the certain dining customs. And I was IN THAT ROOM that they used to do all those things. Maybe you had to be there to understand what I was feeling, but it was surreal.
Next we took a "bateau" (boat) over to an island in the Gulf de Morbihan called Ile aux Moines. It's a hilly, fairly large island, with lots of small winding streets and lots of beautiful flowers. We were each given a sack lunch and a bike, and were given almost 4 hours of free time. Christine and I set out to find a picnic area, then biked our way to one of the points where we spent a long time searching for seashells and taking cute pictures of ourselves sitting on rocks. Next we navigated back to the shopping area and bought some tins of cookies for our host families, then sat by the beach as we ate some oranges from our lunch. We bought some ice cream as it was time to leave, and then returned by boat, then by bus back to our hotel. For dinner we had salmon, wine, bread, and creme brulee for dessert (one of my favorites!!!!!). Then Christine and I spent the evening in our room resting.
The next day, Saturday, we started off at another chateau, Plessis-Josso. This was more of a manor, and it's owned by an old couple who live there (they get payment from the government for upkeep if they keep it open for the public). The husband and wife each took a group through the building, which was built in three segments. The first part was built in the 1400s, the next in the 1500s, and the last in the 1600s. It was interesting to see the different styles. After the chateau we took another boat to another island, this time to a very small island called Gavrinis, on which there is an ancient tomb from the Megalithic period. It sort of looks like a big mound of earth, but on one side there's a cave opening, and a tunnel built into the center of the mound. Along the sides of the tunnel are large rocks with amazing engravings, and in the center is the tomb. We all climbed inside (a bit cramped. Brenna you would have passed out:-)) and our guide explained the history of it. I got goosebumps. Also during that visit, I met a great girl in our group named Jenna. She is really interested in history, which is great that she appreciated all the stuff we saw, and I've gotten to know her and another girl Alison fairly well already. After the island, we stopped at a cute old town (ahh I forget the name already! I'll look it up later) and bought some chocolate. Christine and I stopped in a shop, and the woman who owned the shop said something to me about a magazine and photos. I thought she asked if I was in the city to take pictures or something (I had my camera out), but I started to understand when she said the words "model" and "ravishing" in French. I think you know what she was getting at, and that definitely made me blush and say "merci" a bunch of times. She was cute. After the town, we went back to the hotel for dinner, this time it was cod and an apple tart for dessert. After dinner, Derek (a student from Hope), Jenna, Alison, and I went out for a walk. We saw the cathedral in Vannes, the old walls of the city, and the chateau with beautiful gardens. Then we headed back and went to bed.
Sunday, right after breakfast we walked over to a sort of academic building for a big test. This test determines what group we're in for grammar review this week, and also what french class we will be in for the semester. There were four parts: listen to a paragraph and write down word for word what you hear (dictee), grammar multiple choice (grammaire), listening to questions read aloud and choosing the best response (comprehension aurale), and reading a short essay and answering vocab and comprehension questions (lecture). I think I did fairly well on the dictee and grammaire, and so-so on the others. I guessed a lot. After that, we had lunch at the hotel, then left for a visit to another really old city. This one could have been Hogsmeade (Harry Potter fans). It had beautiful buildings and lots of flowers, and shops perfect for Christmas presents. After the city, we drove back to Nantes and our families picked us up.
I'm going to have to stop there, because I have another class to go to at the moment. Next chance I get I'll update on orientation week this week. I've posted pictures on facebook, for those of you who know how to check that. Also, if any of you have questions about life with a host family, let me know. It's hard to pick and choose what to write about, there's so much! How do they eat breakfast, what do they wear, anything, just ask! Until next time, hope all is well at home!

Love,
Caitlin

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Comments

[ashley]

christmas
ok so i have decided i am going to rig the christmas drawing i want you to get my name and get me something fabulous in france!!!!hehe love you babe!