La Pluie, Le Vent, Le Soleil et le Sacré-- Bayeux, La Pointe du Hoc, Le Mont Saint Michel, Le Menhir de Dol-de-Bretagne et Cancale

 

(Warren) Today we visited Bayeux Cathedral. I was honestly astounded by the magical and beautiful glass planes and stone carvings. I was shocked to the point where I had to sit down for minutes in order to get back on my feet. We explored the buildings, and the stone statues and paintings made it as if I were there. I felt like I could feel the history of the place. Afterwards, we visited the island Mount Saint. Michel. We discovered the Island on our own, and we had some food. We then visited the abbey where the sacred stone where Saint. Michel defeated the devil. As a Christian with some of my Christian friends including Nic, Nathan, and Liam, we really appreciated the history.

Today was a great day, as we were able to explore the Bayeux Cathedral. We woke up and had a quick breakfast, then made our way to the Cathedral. Walking around the marvelous building, we were taken aback by the utter beauty of the architecture. Inside was no different, the various sculptures, colorful mosaics, the catacombs, and the impressive high arching ceilings took our breaths away. Today was truly an amazing day, and we are sad to be departing the wonderful city of Bayeux.(Nicolas) 

Melody: I am currently sopping wet as I sit here writing my blog post. After eating dinner at the hotel room, Natalie, Mimi, and I went to wander around in Cancale, but when Natalie convinced me to go to the dock, it started pouring rain. I can’t really feel my legs, but we went to Mont Saint-Michel today, and that was really cool. It is incredible to see something that was built such a long time ago, and it is eye-opening to hear about the history behind the architecture.  Yesterday night, we had dinner with Charles Shay, and I don’t think that I have met someone with a more interesting life. He has done so much with his life and he has saved so many other lives.

 

After the long bus ride, we finally arrived at the cliffs of Omaha beach, with the hundreds of divots caused by bombs, and the various bunkers. It was surreal to be back at one humanity’s most important battles in history. My friends and I found it hard to fathom what it must’ve felt like to have been a soldier on either side. After this, we came across the marvelous Mount Saint Michel, with its narrow medieval streets, and the wonderful abbey of St. Michael, where we witnessed the incredible gothic architecture and the stone where St. Michael defeated the devil. All in all it was a great day.(Nicolas)

Natalie: After a large dinner filled with dishes of fish and my poor ring that fell in my soup, I lumbered to the hotel room in Cancale to rest. Then, Melody, Mimi, and I walked around the city only to be poured on the by rain. However, we laughed the whole way back with our frozen limbs. Looking back, my favorite moment from today was when we visited the wall with German bunkers. It was incredible to imagine how US soldiers climbed and sacrificed their lives in order to stop German artillery in the war. Although it was a bit sad, the scenery was beautiful and breathtaking. I am looking forward to reuniting with my correspondent in Paris!

Yesterday we met Mr. Charles Shay in Normandy. He is 98 years old but still allowed us to converse (barvarder) with him about his time in the military and experiences in his life. Today we arrived in Brittany but spent most of our time in the bus. Although the ride was long, it was fun and memorable because of the stops along the way. The stops included A big rock, bathroom and most importantly Mont San Michel. Mont San Michel was a breathtaking and fun experience where we explored a castle-like landscape accompanied by lots of food stands/venders. After our adventures we arrived in Brittany, where we ate a delicious dinner and explored the area. (Liam)

The Menhir (Celtic ruin) in Dol-de-Bretagne & our dinner spot

Once upon a time a group of seventeen teenagers boarded an Air Tahiti flight to France and visited the most amazing rock we had all ever seen. There was lush green grass for miles surrounding us and no civilization in sight, making the experience even more amazing. The Celtic rock was about as tall as three average sized people stacked on top of each other and the width of about one hippo that had eaten a big lunch. Some may say that it looked like a random Celtic rock in the middle of nowhere, but for me, an American student who had been in a hot bus for the past couple of days, it was the best thing I had ever seen. Just by looking at it you could tell it was valued by its community, with smaller rocks forming a cozy bed around the base of the Celtic menhir, probably placed by its loved ones, making it seem as though the Celtic rock was truly loved by all, Honestly at first we all hated on the Celtic rock because of the nature of our visit, I had just been awakened and was not in the best of moods to see an ugly Celtic rock, but after a couple days and much reflecting I have realized that we need you appreciate the little things. (Catherine)

Appreciating our Franco-American Connections: Pas-de-Calais to Bayeux

Today began with tears as we left our host families from Saint Martin and ended with powerful stories from Mr. Charles Shay, a 98-year-old Native American (from the Penobscot tribe in Maine) WWII veteran currently in Normandy. We saw the 1000-year Bayeux Tapestry, the Artificial Port at Arromanches-les-Bains, the Batteries Allemandes at Longues-sur-Mer, the American Cemetery and the Charles Shay Monument at Omaha Beach. 

J’ai aimé rester avec la famille dans le Nord. J’ai essayé les nouriturres different et j’ai vu les villes Marquise et Calais. Je suis reconnaissante de parler Français avec les etudiants et la famille. -Ani

Reflections on the Rassias Method of Teaching (Mimi)

Eye to eye, I fell like I am transmitting the lesson into another’s mind. The Rassias method of teaching allows for students to fell connection to their teachers through a series of interaction actions. As a teacher, you must leave behind subconsciousness to fully participate. For this reason, the Rassias method makes teachers devotes themselves to their students. As I was running around the classroom, sauntering to each of the students, I felt a great amount of pride when the students go the sentence correct and when they worked hard after getting the sentence wrong. The attention between students and teacher and teacher and students promotes a supportive learning environment. The Rassias method allows students to make mistakes without consequences and with the support of their peers and teachers. I believe using this method is important because it compass a culture that laughs at and avoids making mistakes. Although teaching the Rassias method can be exhausting, I greatly benefited from this learning experience, particularly I learned the importance of creating personal connections with our students when you are within the teacher role. I hope to take these lessons that I learned from teaching with the Rassias method to my 

daily practices with others. 

(Warren) Today was a very tough day because the bus ride was very very long. We stopped by the Bayeux tapestry and saw a very interesting way of preserving stories. We learned about the battle of Hastings and how William became the ruler of England. We then visited the cemetery where tens of thousands of American, Canadian, and English soldiers lay. We learned about the history and met Charles Shay. It was a honor to meet him and converse with him. He shared his stories, and we listened intently. We enjoyed amazing food paired with the deep stories, which struck deep in my heart. 

The Artificial Port built by Winston Churchill--Caissons behind

On the German pill boxes

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The American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer

At the Charles Shay Indian Memorial

Ani: Today was an amazing learning experience for me. We got to visit multiple sites in Normandy related to the D-Day battle. We visited the beach where there were leftover ports from which the American soldiers would fire. We also visited some German bunkers that actually never got to be used because they were built too far from the ocean. We got the opportunity to go inside these bunkers and explore the different compartments and the cannon. For me, seeing these fascinating sites in person made the war feel more real, and I really enjoy visual learning too. I was also very grateful to have dinner with the legendary Charles Shay, who told us about his experiences as a medic during the war. Hearing his first person perspective was really mind-blowing for me. Overall, I was very interested and excited to explore Normandy.

Reflections on meeting Charles Shay (Mimi)

I had the honor of meeting Mr. Charles Shay during our day in Normandie. Mr. Shay at down with the students to recount his past as well as answer our questions. For a man of 98 years, Mr. Shay has a strong presence and answers questions with thoughtfulness. I was struck by his humor and pride for his division, the 1st Infantry Division. Mr. Shay detailed his time working as a medic in the war, as a computer specialist for the United Nations, and as a limousine driver. He even recalled the time he drove Steven Spielberg in Austria. Mr. Shay’s stories conveyed resiliency and a love for who he is, particularly a strong desire to be authentic to his identity as indigenous American. After talking to Mr. Shay, I was reaffirmed the importance of looking beyond .the main narrative of any event to listen to the stories of others. 

Yesterday we met Mr. Charles Shay in Normandy. He is 98 years old but still allowed us to converse (barvarder) with him about his time in the military and experiences in his life. Today we arrived in Brittany but spent most of our time in the bus. Although the ride was long, it was fun and memorable because of the stops along the way. The stops included A big rock, bathroom and most importantly Mont San Michel. Mont San Michel was a breathtaking and fun experience where we explored a castle-like landscape accompanied by lots of food stands/venders. After our adventures we arrived in Brittany, where we ate a delicious  dinner and explored the area.

(Natalie) I was pleasantly surprised while talking to Charles Shay because not only was he amazingly attentive to our conversations, but I found extreme interest in his life stories. We talked about his time at the UN and what it was like living in various countries. I relished the time we had to interact with  Mr. Shay and am so grateful for the opportunity.                                                                                                                

One thing that resonated with me was the visits to the D-Day beaches in Normandy. I really enjoyed learning more about World War 2 and getting to see with my own eyes the impact the war has left on our Earth. I also really enjoyed getting to talk to Charles Shay, a veteran from the D-Day battles. Hearing the first point of view from someone really gives me a better idea of what terrible things the soldiers and medics had to live through. - Ani

Omaha Beach

 In Bruges!!

Today, we went to Bruges, Belgium! We entered the bus around 9 am this morning and off we went. The drive from Pas-de-Calais was about an hour and a half, but it felt like 30 minutes because of the beautiful scenery and amazing conversations. When we arrived at Bruges we first went on a canal tour where we learned about the history of the town (which includes an old fish market) and we got to see a bunch of beautiful buildings while riding on the calm water. After the boat, I went to go buy some fries, and, let me tell you, they were delicious, perfectly crunchy and golden-brown. After the fries, we went and bought chocolates at Neuhaus chocolatery. This chocolate was the perfect dessert after the salty fries. After chocolate we went for a small walk, and we ended up at a waffle house. The warm waffle was a perfect antidote to the cold, rainy, and windy outdoors. After the waffle, we just enjoyed the city by continuing our walk and taking photos of everything we could see. Overall, the day was incredible as it included both amazing food and an amazing city. (Maja)

              Our Saint Martin hosts and the nice bus driver Mark with us in the Grande Place.

Visiting Bruges, Belgium today was such an amazing experience! It felt really special to get on a bus and an hour and a half later end up in a different country with an entirely different culture, new specialties and unique features. One of the most notable being the canals running through the entire city, which we toured right at the beginning of our visit. After that, we broke off independently and toured around the city for a few hours. Me and my group went to the Belfry, a medieval clock tower, and after visited different shops while walking around the town, where we bought Belgian hot chocolate and waffles which were both amazing. We had a great time walking around taking in the medieval aspects of the town and all the wonderful smells of chocolate and waffles that filled every street! It was such a great last day with our correspondents from St. Martin! (Coco)

I had some much fun in Bruges today! Initially, I was a little worried about the cold and the rain… BUT that worry quickly disappeared after we began to explore the city since it was just so much fun! When we crossed the border between France and Belgium, it was interesting to watch how the building styles changed so fast. I absolutely loved walking around the city with my baguette sandwich in hand and sunglasses on. Felt fab. I got full of sweets with an amazing hot chocolate (11/10) and a Belgium waffle (with caramel on top) and a chocolate sample. It was also funny how there were a lot of tourists in Bruges, especially after being in rural France for the past few days. Daffodils were still very popular from Northern France to Northern Belgium… must be a weather thing! Food =  perfection. Views = perfection. Exploration =  perfection. Smells = perfection (90% of the time). Def would return. Loved the use of flowers around the town! (Alexis)

Melody: Today, we all (including the French correspondents) traveled to Brugge, Belgium. It was a really interesting experience, going somewhere where I had minimal ability to communicate to going somewhere else where I had absolutely no ability to communicate. Nonetheless, I had a really fun time bonding with my correspondent and getting to know other correspondents. We visited a plethora of chocolate shops (the hot cocoa was incredible), an ornament shop, and a Belgium Zara. This morning, I had very minimal knowledge about Brugge (only that I could exchange my USD for euros there), but now I know that Brugge is truly somewhere where so many different people converge (and I still don’t have euros). After today’s adventures, I will be so sad to leave these correspondants, but I am extra excited to meet new people in the coming week.

 

Warren: Today was really fun. We got to hang out with our French Students and at the same time explore the city of Brugge. The city is full of history and interesting culture. We explored the churches, stores, and rivers that holds hundreds of years of history. We had a lot of laughs, and we created some great memories. The food that we had was exquisite; we had the chance to sit down and talk with our students.

Today we left Marquise with our correspondents to spend the day in Bruges, Belgium. It was exhilarating to travel outside the smaller village with Camille, my correspondent, but I was exhausted by the end of it. In Bruges, I was overwhelmed by all the languages interacting in the same place, but I found the multiculturalism fascinating. We visited bakeries, candy shops, chocolatiers, antique stores, and florists during our time there. The city was, of course, flooded with tourists, but I liked the change of pace for a day after being in a quieter town, though I found myself missing the quieter neighborhood at some points. Everything felt more peaceful with the dreary weather.

 

Liam: Today we went to Brugge and it was really fun! I was surprised at the amount of freedom that we were given, it was really interesting seeing Belgium and how different it is when compared to Calais and the States. For example the sheer amount of churches and boulangeries. We (my group + our correspondents) ate lots of food including burgers, waffles,  crepes, fries, and pizza. In the end I am really sad to leave Calais but excited to continue my journey in Paris.

Nathan: I finally got some dollars turned into euros, so I could buy souvenirs from Belgium. I had a great time today walking around and exploring the city of Bruges. I enjoyed the boat ride we went on. I saw a lot of attractions that Bruges has, and we learned about the history of the city. I found it very interesting when I was exploring a lot of stores such as a chocolate one we went to. The restaurant that I went to was very nice, and I am excited to explore more in Paris.