Benjamin Haynes: France

New Frontiers


PARIS (Orientation)
 
Landing at the Charles De Gaulle airport at about 11:00 am Parisian time, I was tired. My entire group was overcome with excitement and nervousness as we took a bus into the city. After dropping our bags off at our hotel, we walked to the Centre Pompidou, the modern art museum in Paris famous for its innovative architectural design.

 There, my two group leaders assigned us our first scavenger hunt in which we split into 3 groups and had to search for certain things in the museum, ask at least five locals what their favorite restaurant nearby is, and buy a couple stamps and a phone card in a Tabac. It was clear from the start that this program really forced you to dive in headfirst. That night, we had an awesome meal at Chez Nenesse where I had steak tartar, rare beef that is truly delicious.

The next day, we slept in till 11 and then headed to the Louvre. At the Louvre, our group leaders let us explore by ourselves and after about two hours we met back up with them. Next, we grabbed a picnic lunch at Paul (a really good French bakery chain) and sat down in the Tuileries in front of the Louvre. Andrew and Luisia, our two group leaders, gave us 30 minutes to create a group constitution, containing everything from how we should treat each other to what we should do if we get lost. After that, Luisa and Andrew gave us another scavenger hunt. They gave us 5 hours and told us to meet them at "Kilomettre Zero" at 8pm; if we had scored 100 points then they would take us out dancing that night. Energized and excited, we set off down the Champs Elysees for our first task. Below the Arc de Triomphe, we had to play a game and get a French person to play it with us. We traversed across the entire city, talking to nuns, visiting the oldest bridge in Paris, and getting ice cream on the Ile St. Louis. Completing on time and with enough points, Andrew and Luisa rewarded us with an incredible dinner and dancing on the Seine River. We ate at the Comptoir de Gastronomie where I had my first foie gras and escargots. This restaurant is the place where I would be working for my internship 2 weeks later.
 

My first foie gras

BLOIS (Homestay)

For two weeks, I had the incredible opportunity to live with a French family, the Dourdans, and experience their culture. I had two host brothers, Basile (12) and Antoine (17), and one host sister, Juliette (15).

My host family

Antoine was very nice to me and made a big effort to make me feel at home. The Dourdans lived in a very small town called Vineuil which was a 10 minute car ride from Blois, a decent sized city know for its big chateau and its proximity to the Loire River. On the second day of the homestay we met up with our group to visit the chateau and explore Blois. A couple days later, my entire group took a 2 day kayaking trip down the Loire. We got rained on a little bit, but overall the trip was awesome. Highlights of the homestay included going to a natural swimming pool with my host brother and his friends, going bowling and then seeing a French movie, and getting to see two really cool French chateaus (Chenonceau and Chambord). Each night, I got to sit down and have an authentic French meal with my family. By the end of the two weeks, I really felt at home and I was very sad to leave my family and head back to Paris.

My group with all of our hos brothers and sisters

PARIS (Internship)

Coming back to Paris, I was very excited to begin exploring the city more. We spent 10 days doing activities that very few kids my age are able to do. Most importantly, I worked in a French restaurant for three full days. It was truly exhilarating waking up in the morning on my own time and walking to my job while getting breakfast from a bakery on the way. My co-workers were extremely kind to me and helped me figure out everything from how to work the espresso machine to how to cut French bread correctly. By the third day I was practically a French waiter. The next couple days I got to work in a French soup kitchen with the rest of my group members. I served hot coffee and tea to hundreds of homeless Parisians. Finally, the last couple days in Paris we worked with a bunch of kids from the Goutte D'Or, a daycare and school for underprivileged inner city kids. We took them to the beach a couple hours away, played sports with them at a local gym, and kept them company at their daycare. It was a very fulfilling experience to give back to the community by helping these kids and working in the daycare. Throughout our time in Paris, my friends and I fell in love with a gelato place called Gelato d'Alberto.

Our favorite gelato place

We went there at least three times a week. My favorite flavors were definitely citron (lemon) and fraise (raspberry). Our final day in Paris, John, the head of EIL, sent us on a very difficult scavenger hunt that he always sends the New Frontiers trip on. We got to see really cool parts of Paris that I never knew about. For example, we visited Les Deux Magots, the famous restaurant where authors like Hemingway, F.Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein frequently ate.

Les Deux Magots

CORSICA

The final week of my incredible trip, my group and I traveled to the Mediterranean island Corsica, which is south of France. Although it is technically a French island, the Corsicans don't really like the French. They have wanted their independence for hundreds of years and they truly pride themselves on the preservation of their fascinating culture and cities. We stayed in Corte for two days, which is a mountainous city in the middle of the island. The second day in Corte we took a long hike through the mountains to see two different glacial lakes. It was by far the coldest water I have ever been in. Next, we traveled south to Bonifacio, a port city on the southern coast. We got to go two different beaches in Bonifacio that both blew me away.

The beaches at Corsica

Eating the local seafood and getting to meet Queen Latifah (she was on vacation!) were two highlights of my time in Corsica. Overall, the island was very beautiful and reminded me of the Caribbean. At the same time, however, Corsica has its own distinct language (called Corsican) and culture that makes it very unique. It really was an amazing way to end such a great trip. 

My amazing group

 My trip was without doubt a once in a lifetime experience. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the Wilson family for their generosity. My French skills were sharpened, I learned a ton about the culture of France, and I made some very good friends along the way. Thank you for giving me such an amazing opportunity. This blog cannot express in pictures or words how great of an experience I had. Also, thank you to Mr. Gaither, Dr. Gaffney, and Madame O’Connell for helping make my trip possible. Without your help, it would not have been possible.