Wrap-up Reflection

I truly cannot believe that it has been almost two months since I departed for the trip of a lifetime to France with the Abbey Road Summer Program.  I will never forget how I felt at the airport, waiting to have the best time of my life.  I was scared, nervous, excited, and ready to learn about and experience French living all at the same time.  Although it probably sounds extremely cliché, the month truly did go by in the blink of an eye, and I find myself wishing that I was back in France quite often.  Although I did miss my family and some of my accommodations in America, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience!

            The amazing trip could not have been made possible if it wasn’t for the fun, intelligent, and mature Abbey Road staff.  In France we had a great staff that definitely enhanced the trip.  They would accompany us on our day trips and activities, making sure that we were always safe and having a great time.  I found myself able to relate to the staff members and it definitely helped that almost all of them were native French speakers, since I was able to practice my conversational French with them.  

            My favorite parts of my trip to France were the daytrips and activities that we did on a weekly basis.  The staff had many daytrips to other cities in France planned, which gave us a chance to experience what different parts of the country had to offer.  I don’t think I can say that I didn’t like any of the daytrips, but if I had to choose a favorite, I would have to say that I really loved Nice.  We were able to visit Nice quite a few times over the month because of how close it is to St. Laurent-du-Var, and each time I found myself admiring a new piece of architecture or discovering different boutiques and cafés.  I was also really happy to visit Nice, yet stay in St. Laurent because I was able to experience both a large city in France and a smaller, quieter town.  I also really enjoyed the activities that we did.  They were fun, yet always incorporated some aspect of French or French culture.  My favorite activity was definitely the cooking class that we did.  I love to cook, and this was especially fun because we were able to practice our French in the kitchen.

            Although my language skills improved a lot by just living in France, I also learned a lot through the classes that we had each day.  I was placed in the most advanced French group, which I felt was perfect for me, but was also challenging enough that I was never bored.  I thought the experiential learning was both fun and helpful and I never felt as if I was in summer school.  I was also really glad that I took the conversation elective because it helped my conversational French a lot and was very interesting. 

            Of course, this program would not have been complete without the homestay experience.  Staying in a French home was something that I had always wanted to experience and it definitely lived up to my expectations.  My host family was helpful, welcoming, and so sweet! I loved conversing in French with them and comparing French and American culture.  They truly treated my roommate and I as if we were their own children and they could not have been more hospitable! I am so glad that I chose to do a homestay program because I was forced to speak French with them, which greatly improved my speaking and I got to experience French culture in its most raw form. 

            I cannot explain how glad I am that I embarked on this journey.  My experience was one that introduced me to friends I will never forget, improved my confidence, and most of all, brought my French skills to a whole new level.  I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to go on this trip and I want to thank Abbey Road for making it so unforgettable!

Last day!

Today, Sunday, July 29th is our last full day of our month-long stay in St. Laurent-du-Var.  I can hardly believe that my stay here has already come to an end and that I will not see every one of the Abbey Road students and teachers, as well as my loving homestay family each day.  I have learned and enjoyed so much during these four short weeks.  I've immersed myself in the French language and culture, while making lifelong friends and having an amazing time.  Although I am excited to see my family in the US, I know that each day I will miss my newfound friends, homestay family, amazing instructors, as well as the French food, lifestyle, and culture.  This trip has definitely deepened my love of everything French and has made me realize how much simpler the French lifestyle truly is.  Throughout this month, I have lived this simpler lifestyle while greatly improving my French.  I feel so much more prepared for my French class next year than I did four short weeks ago, which was my main goal.  While learning the French language and culture, I have also made friends who I truly believe will be friends for life and who I share special inside jokes and bonds with.  I don't think I'm going to be able to say goodbye tomorrow without shedding a few tears! Lastly, I want to thank my parents for giving me such an amazing opportunity, as well as the Abbey Road staff for making this trip more than I ever could have imagined! Here are a few random photos for your enjoyment!

Rachael and I in Monaco!

Beautiful beach in Nice!

My roommate Nicki and Delaney!

Group photo at the movies!

Le spectacle!

Tonight we had "le spectacle," which was basically a show that all of the St. Laurent-du-Var Abbey Road students put on for our homestay families.  It was compiled of many different acts, including dance numbers, singing performances, skits, and what I made, which was a video compiling videos and photos of our stay here in St. Laurent.  Tonight was so fun - we all enjoyed some wonderful food, company, and performances and if I do say so myself, I think that the video was a really nice way to end the night, despite the fact that it made everyone a bit sad to remember that we will only be together as a group for three more days! I truly cannot believe how quickly this month has flew by and I can't even begin to describe how sad I will be when it comes time to leave! Anyways, here's the link to the video : enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EDZU1EginI&feature=plcp

Trip to St. Tropez!

This weekend, we were given a three day weekend and headed to St. Tropez for the day on Monday instead of classes.  We met at the train station, where a bus picked us up for an hour drive to the cute town of St. Maxime, where we then took a boat ride filled with gorgeous sights to St. Tropez.  Upon arrival, we were greeted by the huge yachts, delicious smells from the restaurants, and gorgeous view of the French coastline. We were given around 3 hours of free time, and my friends and I's first stop was the famous macaron shop, L'adurée.  I fell in love with the macarons from L'adurée last spring when I traveled to Paris, and when I found out that a new store had opened up in St. Tropez, I was so excited! I only bought a few because they can get really pricey, but they were still absolutely gorgeous and delicious as I remember! For the rest of the free time I just walked around, exploring the city and shopping.  Unfortunately, most of the shops were really pricey, but it was still really fun to go in and look around.  I did get to buy a magazine of classic French recipes, though, which I'll use to make my family a French meal when I get home.  We then headed back to St. Maxime for some more free time before our dinner.  I again chose to get some shopping done.  I ended up buying a nice pair of earrings for my grandmother.  Although I didn't find anything for myself, my friend Laurie and I did stumble upon this cool little secondhand shop, where they had tons of designer clothes for a lot cheaper than their normal prices.  They had tons of clothes, handbags, shoes, and accessories, which we looked through quickly, but it seemed as if you would need an entire day just to sort through everything.  We headed back to meet up with the rest of the group before we headed to dinner at a restaurant called Le Wafou.  The fixed menu meal was steak filet, but since I don't eat red meat, I opted for a salad with chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and egg. It was delicious and it was really fun to enjoy a dinner with my friends at a nice restaurant! I'll definitely never forget our trip to St. Tropez and I hope to be able to return!

L'adurée!

Me in St. Tropez!

Gorgeous sunset on our way home!

Highlights of my trip so far!

Salut! Just for a quick recap, today we drove an hour to go to San Remo, Italy! It was super fun, although very relaxed, so I pretty much just hung on the beach and shopped around! Tomorrow we are headed to Antibes and Monday's trip is to St. Tropez, so I'm sure I'll be blogging about those trips sometime soon and therefore, I figured I'd give you a quick list of what some of my highlights of this trip have been so far!

1.  Walking to school every weekday morning: I know this sounds cheesy, but I have truly enjoyed walking to school every weekday morning with my roommate and the other students who live in our same apartment complex.  We have about a 15 minute walk to the school, and it's really nice to be able to get some exercise in the morning, as well as to catch up with my friends for a bit.  We take the same route each morning, and I'll never forget the first day when our host mom showed us the way and I felt completely lost! Now, I feel as if I've lived here my whole life and I think it'll be weird going back home and not taking the same route each morning!

2.  Conversation class: To tell you the truth, I wasn't so sure if I was going to like the Conversation elective that I signed up for at first.  Since the 3 other electives (sports, photography, and drawing) are a bit less centered around the French language, I felt as if I might get a bit bored with the combination of the morning class and the Conversation elective 3 times a week. Boy, was I wrong! I have really come to look forward to Conversation because our teacher, Syrine is super fun and we basically spend 3 hours having a conversation in French about cool topics like beauty, fashion, and cooking, just to name a few. On top of how fun it is, I also feel as if I learn so much in Conversation just by speaking!

3.  Excursions: Between Italy, Cannes, Villefrance, St. Paul de Vence, and so many other amazing places, all the excursions have been an absolute blast! Each place we have visited has had it's own European charm, adorable stores, and has been completely different from the last place.  I really enjoy these trips because we get to see different parts of Europe and France while doing fun activities! I have definitely looked forward to each day trip and I don't think I've been disappointed once yet!

That's it for now, although I'll probably add a few more over the next week! Bonne nuit!

Snorkeling in Villefranche!

After lunch on Thursday, we traveled by train to the little town of Villefranche, located right on the French Riviera. There, we separated into two groups to go snorkeling in the Mediterranean Sea! Considering I had only been snorkeling once before for about 10 minutes, I was pretty excited to do it again with some real instruction.  I was in the first group, so we got onto the boat and headed out into the deeper waters of the sea in order to see some cool sights.  After struggling into our awkward wetsuits, goggles, and flippers, we anchored the boat and jumped in.  At first, it was actually really uncomfortable because saltwater kept getting into my goggles, nose, and mouth, (NOT comfortable!) but after a little while I got the hang of it and was able to see how beautiful it was underwater. The water was so blue and clear and above water was an absolutely gorgeous view of the French landscape.  I still cannot believe that I actually got to snorkel while in France in the Mediterranean! I would definitely recommend experiencing it, even if it's just to say that you did it! Here's a picture from Villefranche:

Gorgeous, huh?

A look into the typical day!

Bonjour! I seriously cannot believe we are already halfway through the third week! I figured to give you a better look into the life here in St. Laurent, I would give a quick recap of a typical day.  Monday's class was really fun because we talked about pâtisseries and pastries!  We first read an excerpt that recalled a magnificent experience of savoring a Madeleine.  We talked (in French, of course) about why the author elaborated so much on such a small thing and what exactly he was trying to portray.  We also talked about how the 5 senses can trigger memories and what sights, smells, sounds, feelings, and tastes make us think of certain things.  It was really interesting, especially since it was entirely in French! We then split into pairs and headed to a gorgeous pâtisserie to try pastries that we had never eaten before.  My partner Lucie and I decided on a "Merveilleux," which consisted of meringue topped with chocolate creme, covered in chocolate shavings.  It was absolutely delicious! We then had to write about our own experience of trying this brand new pastry and describe it.  After our typical lunch, (our families usually pack sandwiches) we had electives, which meant conversation class for me.  I would definitely say that conversation is the elective that most resembles the morning class, because each day we have a different topic that we have a conversation in French about.  I definitely feel as if it really helps improve my French because I get a lot of chances to speak (there are only 7 kids in the class) and because the 3 hours of class are held entirely in French.  Monday's topic was fashion and clothing.  We learned some new vocab, described what each of us was wearing, and then read a cool article about the origin of women's hats.  We then had our usual two hours of free time, during which I went to the mall and the beach.  It was both fun and relaxing! We then headed back to our host family's house for dinner, which was melon, chicken, and pasta. Usually we talk with our family for a while, then relax in our room, but Monday was special because it was my friend Allie's last night with us, since she only stayed for 2 weeks.  We headed down to the St. Laurent port for some ice cream and had a great time taking pictures and remembering all the fun times we had over the past two weeks.  It was so hard to say goodbye at the end of the night, but I was so glad that we spent the night together! After a night of fun, we headed back home for a good night's rest.