Second Excursion

On Thursday, we left Brest at 8:30 for our second excursion. Our first stop was in the city of Dinan.



One of the main attractions of Dinan was it's bell tower that can be seen from almost any point in the city. We used the bell tower as our meeting point.

Students were split up into groups for the excursion. Some of them decided to climb up it to see the beautiful view of the city that the tower had to offer us.


We were also deafened by the ringing of the bell:



As you can see it then photo below, the facades of the buildings in Dinan are rather interesting.

After our visit to Dinan we went to Saint Malo, a walled-city in Brittany. Host families prepared lunches for the students. Students had so much food packed in their lunches that most of them didn't finish them and had something left over for later.





After lunch, students broke once again into groups and visited St. Malo and/or the beach:



Following St. Malo, we visited the infamous Mont St. Michel:

Here are two group photos of the students at Mont St Michel:

Finally, the tired crew that we were, left for the chateau at Lyon sur Mer.

At dinner, we celebrated Anju's 17th birthday. Once again, joyeux anniversaire Anju!

We desperately wanted to go to the beach after dinner but unfortunately, as they say in French, il pleuvait des cordes (it was raining rope). So, we stayed in the chateau. Some of us played guitar and sang lovely French songs while others did Tae Boe'd it.


The next day, we went and visited the Memorial in Caen, the larget World War two museum in the world.


We also visited Omaha Beach. The students showed a lot of respect for Omaha Beach.

We made it into 2 different newspapers!

On Monday, we invited the press about our reception at Brest city hall. One of the newspapers sent me the article by e-mail. Here it is (click the image to see it bigger):

Here a quick and don't forget awful translation of the article for you (I left the order of the sentences as they were in French so you can see how difficult the language can be):

Yesterday, 34 American students from the University of Indiana in Bloomington, aged from 17 to 18 years old, arrived in Brest.
Housed by French host families for six weeks, they will complete an intensive French language program in conversation, literature, grammar, and even in phonetics. The classes will be carried out by their four "guides", French professors, at the Maison pour tous de L'Harteloire.
The main rule, not a word of English.

Well... the journalist almost got it all right.

Here is the other article that from the other newspaper:

Here is a quick and of course always awful translation of the article:

It's the 16th consecutive year that a group of students from the University of Bloomington (Indiana) is staying in the ?Cité du Ponant?. During six weeks, thirty four students, accompanied by four professors, combine French classes (three hours a day at the MJC/MPT de l'Harteloire) with cultural tourism. The students are housed with French host families and the professors at the FJT de l'Aile on Michelet street.
During the reception at city hall, Christiane Migot, advisor to the Mayor, welcomed the group of students and host families. The director of the program, Marie-Line Brunet, professor of French in Bloomington, responded to her speech by wishing that this exchange will continue for a long time "because we're comfortable in Brest and that we are well welcomed." "When the students will return home, she continued, they'll be ambassadors of Brittany and make their friends want to come and see it for themselves."

Once again, sorry for the bad translations.

Reception by the city of Brest

Today our group was invited to a reception by the Mayor of Brest so that they may officially welcome the program into their city.



We were welcomed by an adviser to the mayor. Here is a few of our students listening to her speech:


From our program, our director Marie-Line along with two students (Anasuya and Dylan) gave very well written speeches. The adviser was impressed by their level of French! As one of their teachers, I was touched by her comment. I could not even imagine how proud their friends and family must be!


Following the speeches, gifts were exchanged on behalf of the city of Brest and Indiana University. In addition, we were treated to snacks and drinks while making conversation with host families and students. More photos can be found on the picture website that I made.

Our First Excursion!

After a nice week of classes, we got to go on our first excursion in Bretagne (the French version of Brittany). We left Brest at 8h30 in the morning and we went south to the medieval village called Locronan. We first visited St. Ronan church.



Here is a photo of all of the "stagiaires (aka your friend or family member)" on the steps of the church:



After the church, we went to a boulangerie. There, students had the chance to try a typical specialty of the region, kouign amann. It is a Breton cake that is very tasty but also very buttery. Many students bought some fort their host families. Unfortunately, the cake won't last long enough for friends and family in Indiana, sorry! You'll have to come and try it for yourself.



Following the boulangerie, students had an hour to go explore the village. Kelly had them do a scavenger hunt where they took photos of typical items and symbols in Bretagne.

After Locronan, we went to the Pointe du Raz and picnicked. The view was incredible!


Finally, the group went to Quimper, the capital of the Finistère department. It is a city rich in Celtic heritage and Breton culture. The main attraction was the gothic Cathedral de Saint-Corentin.


We returned to Brest at around 6:30.

For more photos, please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/bmurray34

Joyeux Anniversaire Rachel :)

Après-midi à la plage!

Bonjour tout le monde!

Yesterday was our first day of classes! Students had classes in French grammar, literature, culture, and conversation. We had fun teaching our respective classes because they are eager to learn. After classes, students divided up into either a choir group or a theater group. There will be several songs sung and 3 different plays/skits put on for the host families.

It is amazing to see the progress that they have already made. I can't wait to hear them at the end of the program!



Today we had a nice afternoon at the beach to unwind and to play a few sports. Some students played volleyball and ultimate frisbee (way to win my team, 5 to 4!) while others went clam digging and built castles in the sand.

You can see a few photos on my Picasa page: http://picasaweb.google.com/bmurray34/

Joyeux Anniversaire Eileen!

We wish Eileen a Happy 18th birthday!

Photos through Picasa

Hello everyone,

I have been taking some photos and I wanted to share them with you. I will update it when I get more photos.

Here is the link to my page:

http://picasaweb.google.com/bmurray34



Passez une bonne journée!

Brian

Safe Arrival

Hello parents and friends of the IU Honors Program participants in Brest!

We have all safely arrived in Brest today after a long flight and bus ride. Every student found their host family without any difficulty. Everything went well! As soon as we landed in France, the students have been speaking French; we are very proud of them (it's hard when you're tired)!

As I write this message, they are currently experiencing their first hours with their host families and they might be finishing their first real French dinner with a real French family. We very much enjoyed watching the students meet their host families for the first time. I assume that a lot of them will go to bed early tonight because they had a very long and tiring trip. They will sleep like babies tonight!

I hope that my message reassures everyone. Have a wonderful evening and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us!

Brian