Équipe Brest 2018: Midpoint

We are at the halfway point of the stage, (pronounce the A like “ah”) as it is called here in France.

This is an interesting time every year.

This being a polite society, we ask the students how they are every morning. What we often hear is “fatigué” (tired). And that is rightfully so. These kids are working so hard. Their brains are working in a foreign language 24/7. (Many of them now report dreaming in French.) They are walking often 3-5 miles per day. Their courses aren’t intense, but they are in a different language. In the afternoon, they are dancing or singing or working on theatre pieces or doing improv, in French.

Then they go home. Often there are activities, because the French families want to share authentic experiences with them. Then there is dinner, which is a ritual in France. It takes a while, and there is a lot of discussion around the dinner table.

The sun doesn’t set here until 10:30pm and it isn’t full dark until after 11. So going to sleep can be hard.

And these kids eat! Portions at lunch are quite large, and they usually eat most of it. Then they have to have a kebob or a pastry or a cookie or SOMETHING in the afternoon. French families at this point express astonishment at the amount of food the American kids eat. We try to explain that they are feeding a machine that is working overtime. Students report eating more than ever, but losing weight.

(The food here is good for you. There are fewer fatty foods. Families rarely eat fast food. There is no high fructose corn syrup in foods. Snacking is not a thing here. And families eat together, slowly.)

So, yes they are physically tired, but mentally tired as well.

That’s why we try to make this an easier week. There is no excursion this week. And sports this week was “beach volleyball,” which turned into an afternoon at the beach, as we imagined.

The students needed a break, and we figured that an afternoon relaxing on the beach would be just the thing. And it proved so.

Some kids joined a group of French kids playing beach volleyball. Eventually, it became France vs. the US. The US won. Luckily, the French had to leave before they could challenge the US to a soccer match.

Then there was the full-on sand burial of Srija, and the half-hearted sand burial of Abi F. There were trips for ice cream. There was much standing about in the water. Grace and Grace as well as Luc dove into the chilly water and swam around a bit. In the end, it was a good day for all.

Wednesday, we skipped classes and visited a program for animal rescue. We divided into groups and visited a veterinarian’s office. We got to see all of the inner workings of the office. They work with an animal rescue group which is housed right next door.

We received a tour of the tiny operation that was the animal rescue center. This center handled cats exclusively. The have another branch that deals with dogs. The coordinator of the program explained the incredibly numerous steps undertaken to return cats to their owners or to get them adopted. They even have a socialization program for feral cats to get them ready to deal with people. It was fascinating.

We then went to what was basically the health department to discover how the city deals with stray animals. The gentleman who spoke with us was a high official, but took his time explaining their system. Their approach is very different than what we find in Indiana. Euthanasia is a last resort, not the end of a two week grace period.

Unfortunately, the experience was not particularly photogenic. I’ve included a few photos. But it is hard to make students listening visually interesting.

I have spent quite a bit of my free time creating photographic portraits of students who wish to use them for “senior” portraits. I do not limit this opportunity to only students who are to be seniors. If a student wants portraits in Brest, I happily create them. And sometimes, we have fun adventures, as this is something rare in France.

(If you would like your stagiaire to have portraits done, just have him or her let me know. Our time is getting limited, and the weather won’t be great next week, but we’ll try. Parents anticipating portraits already created, I will provide an online link next post. Of course, there is no charge for this opportunity. One of their teachers in France is a former professional photographer. It just seems right.)