The Trip
South France
La Sauque
Our stay in south France started in the school of La Sauque in a town called La Brede about 30 minutes from Bordeaux. With the new location came new people to meet. My host, Alexander, was the first of many people I met on this trip. The first day I was flooded with information. I was learning new names, learning different words I had never heard before, and, most importantly doing all of that while speaking French. The school year was ending for the students at La Sauque so the atmosphere at the school was very lax. There were also a number of activities that took place during our stay at the school. First of all, there were two plays that took place. One being a classic French tale and was performed in old French and the other being an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet by the English class. Also they had two different "Olympiades" which were the equivalent to field day. The events were very different than the events at MBA. In the place of football they have soccer. Most people at La Sauque had never even played football before. After all of these activities we ended our experience at La Sauque and went to stay with our host families for about 2 weeks. The experience at La Sauque is one that had a great impact on me and one I soon will not forget.
Field Trips
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| The 4 MBA boys at the Dune de Pylat |
While at La Sauque, the group that consisted of MBA, St Cecilia and our hosts took trips to different parts of south France. The first trip took us to two different places near the school. The first stop we took was to the Dune du Pylat, the largest sand dune in Europe. It took us about 15 minutes to climb up the dune and the climb was definitely worth it. The second stop we took was to a beach town called Arcachon. We toured the historic town and then got a chance to take a quick trip to the beach. A couple days later, we took a trip to the Chateau de Roquetaillade. The chateau was a massive stone castle that was built on the top of a hill looking over the french countryside. Lastly, we took a trip to downtown Bordeaux. We toured and learned about the history and then we explored the Rue de St. Catherine which has many things to do like go to the main plaza or shop.
Downtown Bordeaux
Host families
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| A panorama of the beach in Biarritz, the hometown of Pierre Amourous |
Over the course of 3 weeks in south France I stayed with two families. Firstly, I stayed with my host Alexander and his family assigned to me for most of the time in a town called Ambès. The small, peaceful town was about 45 minutes away from Bordeaux with a lot of countryside between the two. I feel like I was a perfect pairing with my host because we both had similar interests. I even jokingly called him the only French person who could play football because he loved everything to do with football from watching highlights to playing Madden 17. With my host family I went on day trips to different parts of France. One day My host family took a trip to the aquarium in La Rochelle then we went swimming at the beach in Royan. I also went with my host and a couple friends back to Arcachon for more time on the beach. For 1 weekend, the 4 boys on exchange stayed with the family of Pierre Amourous, the student who came to MBA for a semester last year, in his hometown of Biarritz. While we were in Biarritz, we all did things that none of us had done before. We surfed, ate foods that we had not eaten before, and played a game called petanque. Pierre acted as our surfing coach for the day and we all had fun trying to stay on the board and consistently wiping out.
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| The Centre Pompidu |
Paris
The Museums
One of the most prominent features of the Paris trip was our frequency of visiting museums. We visited the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, the Picasso Museum, and we visited the modern art museum twice. My favorite museum was probably the Musée d'Orsay because it had the art from all points in history like the Louvre, but the Louvre was so massive and had so much art that it almost hurt. The most interesting building by far was the modern art museum in the Centre Pompidu. The modern architecture was like none I had seen before, and the picture to the right does not capture its true, massive size.
The Monuments/ Historical Sights
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| Panorama of the palace at Versailles |
The historical sights in Paris were magnificent in the sense that there were so many of them and yet each one seemed to outdo the last. The historical sights that we saw were the Arc de Triomphe, La Madeleine, The Chateau at Versailles, The Catacombs under Paris, and last but not least, the Eiffel Tower. The Arc de Triomphe was a great sight to see, and it was even more fun to be on top of it. There was a catholic mass that we attended in La Madeleine with songs from their massive organ that shook the room. The Chateau at Versailles was a sight to behold in its sheer size and also it looked almost heavenly with its gold inlay that seemed to be everywhere. The Catacombs were as creepy as they were cool with bones covering almost every inch of the walls from floor to ceiling. Lastly, the Eiffel tower looked like a sparkling rocket when it lit up at the sunset.
The Food
In Paris, as one would imagine, there were definitely a lot of choices for food. From Breton crêpes to Thai food, Paris had it all. The shops on the side of the street were also quite interesting. There were little street bakeries selling croissants that would put any American croissant to shame. The most different item of food that I ate while I was in Paris was the escargot. The way they were prepared the snails were such that they were still slimy and had a "snail like" texture, but they tasted delicious.
Thanks
I would like to give sincere thanks to the Wilson family for helping make this trip possible. This whole experience has really broadened my horizons and I will never look at the world the same way again. This trip definitely makes me want to go back to France and see all of the things I might have missed.
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