ELISA in France 2010

Our Travels

2010-07-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

Pau

2010-06-24T23:33:00.000-07:00

Bonjour!
Yesterday we went to Pau with a teacher from the school that has been teaching us theater and French. We visited an art museum where there was a wide range of art on display, from traditional to abstract contemporary. Then we walked around and saw a strike because the government wants to enforce a later retirment age and the people are not happy with it! Then we went and had a long lunch at a fabulous café where our teacher knew the owner so we had a reserved table and got to talk to the owner, it was very cool! Then we walked along the small, back alley roads to the castle of Pau which was extaordinary! It was a wonderful, relaxing day, as we got a taste of the local buz. Au revior! Caroline Depew

St. Jean-de-Luz/ Bayonne

2010-06-24T23:18:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday we went to St. Jean-de-Luz and Bayonne for a day of sun and a picnic on the edge of Europe. We left as soon as school stared and drove for about an hour and a half to St. Jean-de-Luz. We imeadiately headed for the beach. The ocean was freezing but it was refreshing in the hot sun. After two weeks of rain and grey the sun and heat was welcome by all. For lunch we climbed a hill, and at the top we found a big flat rock to sit on. From our picnic spot we could see the coast of Spain and the mountians. After lunch we went back to the beach for a bit of swimming. Then we set off to Bayonne.
In Bayonne we walked around the town and saw a beautiful cathedral. The town was full of amazing old houses and there were streets that looked straight off of a post card. When we went to have dinner none of the restaurants were open, so we went to a pub in Pau for dinner.
-Rachel & Maria

Ce Weekend!

2010-06-21T05:33:00.000-07:00

Ce weekend, je suis allée à Lourdes avec la mère de ma correspondante. Nous avons vu le Château de Lourdes et l’Église. L’église est très belle, il y a une couronne d’or. Aussi, il y a des mosaïques qui décrivent la vie de Christ. Dans cette église, l’eau guéri les malades parce que c’est l’église ou Marie est apparue à Bernadette. Dans le château il y a des salles du 12eme siècle. Quant vous êtes dans le haut du château vous voyez tout Lourdes. Quand je suis retournée chez ma correspondante, nous sommes allés chez ses grands parents pour dîner. Nous avons mangé du pain au jambon et aux pruneaux.

This weekend I went to Lourdes with my host mom. We saw a church and a castle. The church was very pretty and there was water with healing powers. In the castle there were rooms from the twelfth century. At the top of the castle you could see all of Lourdes and the mountains. When we returned to my correspondent’s house we went to her grand parent’s house for dinner. For dinner we had bread with ham and prunes in it.

This Weekend

2010-06-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

Bonjour
Ce weekend moi et tous les élèves américains avons fait du shopping à Pau samedi. Je pense que Les filles achètent tous les vêtements. Nous avons fait du bowling aussi c’était très amusant. J’ai acheté un polo pour mon père français pour la fête de père. Dimanche, je suis allé à Lourdes. C’était une ville avec une grande église et un très vieux château. L’église est très grande et très belle. J’ai joué aux échecs avec mon père et frère français et j’ai gagné.

This weekend myself and the rest of the Americans went shopping in Pau on Saturday. I think that the girls bought all the clothing there. We went bowling which was very funny. I bought a polo for my French father for Father’s day. Sunday I went to Lourdes. Which is a town with a cathedral and an old castle. The cathedral was very large and very beautiful. I also played chess with my host father and host brother, and I won both games.

Zach

Pau and Pyrenes

2010-06-21T05:20:00.001-07:00

Ce weekend, nous avons vu beaucoup de places. Samedi, nous sommes allés à Pau et nous avons fait des courses et joué au bowling. Dimanche, je suis allée dans les Pyrénées. Il faisait très beau. J’ai vu les marmottes, les vaches, les chevaux, et les moutons. Je suis aussi allée dans un petit magasin de fromage. J’ai goûté tous les fromages et ils étaient délicieux. Apres nous sommes retournés à la maison et nous avons mangé un délicieux repas avec toute la famille.

This weekend we went to many places. We all went shopping and bowling at Pau on Saturday and on Sunday I went hiking on the Pyrenes and it very beautiful. After, I went to a family friend who owns a little cheese shop where he grows cheese and we tried a lot of cheeses and they were very good. After that we wend to feed their horses and then went home and had a very good meal with the cheese we bought.

Maria

Mon week-end aux Pyrénées!

2010-06-21T05:20:00.000-07:00

Ce week-end, nous (moi et ma famille) sommes allés aux Pyrénées. Les Pyrénées sont incroyables. Nous avons marché sur des sentiers de montagnes. Tout était si vert et si super beau. Il fait très froid dans les montagnes. Nous avons visité l’Espagne, aussi. Nous avons vu une grande vallée, avec beaucoup de moutons et de vaches. Bien sûr, j'ai pris beaucoup de photos.

This week-end, my family and I went to the Pyrenees mountains, they were beautiful. Obviously, for this post Dr. B wanted us to write a bit in French, so feel free to throw that into a translator, or you could try to translate it yourself! Anyway, I hope all is well, and the family party was fun yesterday.

Je t'embrasse,
Alex

Mon weekend à Pau

2010-06-21T05:06:00.000-07:00

Ce weekend, tous les américains et les correspondants ont visité Pau pour faire du shoping et aller au bowling. Aussi, la mère de mon correspondant a fêté son anniversaire Samedi donc nous avons fait un grand diner. Dimanche, c’était la fête des pères, et donc nous avons encore fait un grand déjeuner.

This morning I woke up and saw the mountains for the second time since we have arrived because, the weather had been so cloudy and rainy! This weekend was full of celebration at my host family's house; on Saturday it was my host mother's birthday and on Sunday was father's day! We said goodbye to Ms. Mitchell on Friday as Dr. Borrmann joined us at school today. This week is full of adventure and hopefully sun! Au revoir! Caroline Depew

Elisa Update

2010-06-17T23:36:00.000-07:00

Salut
Well since last posting not much has happened. My host family and I watched France lose to Mexico last night and was interesting to hear that even my host family think the French team is bad. I went to bed rather early because i knew i needed rest for the biking trip that was planned for this morning. Unfortunately, the trip was cancelled due to bad weather. We have an abundance of rain and cold during our trip, it is like we never left ohio. Personally, the weather does not bother me to much, but the girls are not enjoying it thats for sure, and neither is my host family. This weekend all of us americans are going to Pau with our host siblings, for more shopping ugh, and some lazer tag which should be fun. Today in the afternoon we have a cooking class which should be both entertaining and fun. Hope everyone is doing well.

-Zach

Salut

2010-06-17T23:33:00.000-07:00

Hello,
France is still great, minus the whole terrible weather thing. It has been raining for the past five days, but it's still beautiful here. We were suppossed to go mountain bike riding later today, but due to this unusual seasonal weather it was cancelled. I was actually pretty excited to go mountain bike riding, so I'm pretty bummed.

All that aside though, this weekend we are going to Spain! My host mom already told me the weather would be gorgeous there, so I am very excited, hopefully we won't bring the bad weather with us. I'll make sure to take lots and lots of pictures this weekend!

Love,
Alex

Biarritz

2010-06-17T04:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to Biarritz and it poured! We arrived and went to see the ocean. It was beautiful! After we went to see the aquarium and saw sting rays and a baby seal. Then we wanted to see a chocolate museam but it was sadly closed. After we went to a really good pizza place. It was a really fun day over all.

Biarritz

2010-06-17T00:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we went to Biarritz. We went to the aquarium and saw some very cute seals. We walked along the beach but did not go in because it was too cold and windy but the view was still very beautiful. Also, we went to a pizzaria with Basque food. It was very tasty and we each had a whole pizza to eat! At home I ate a salad with tomates, onions, cucmbers, and oilive oil and it was very good too
Maria

à Biarritz

2010-06-17T00:49:00.000-07:00

2010-06-17T00:47:00.000-07:00

Bonjour!
Yesterday we travelled to Biarritz where it rained all day long! We had to change the day at the beach to a day visiting the museums and walking along the beach. We visited an aquariam where we saw very cute fish and seals and almost visited a chocolate factory but it was closed! Then we went to a very good pizzaria and had a yummy lunch!
This weekend is my host mother's birthday so my family is going to have a very big dinner and possibly go see a flaminco dancing recital, which would be very cool! Also, I think I am going to hike the mountains close to my house; if it is nice out! Au revoir! Caroline Depew

Pictures from market day

2010-06-15T04:34:00.000-07:00

Market Day

2010-06-15T04:12:00.000-07:00

Bonjour
So far today has been a great day. We spent all morning in Nay. Our history teacher gave us a tour of the town including a church which was built in the 1200's. Tuesday is the marlet day here in Nay which was very fun. There were mant interesting things for sale and lots of fresh amazing foods. Several of us including myself ate from an Indian food stall. We bought a fresh baguette and ate our lunch in the park next to the river. There was a very cool bookstore in town that reminded me of The Learned Owl. I did not buy too much today, but the girls bought what seems like the whole market. We finished to day with some ice cream and walked back to school. Tomorrow we are going to Biarritz, a town on the sea. I am looking forward to it and hopefully the weather is nice enough to go swimming. Well that's it for now. Hope everyone is well.

Au revoir
Zach

France! France! France!

2010-06-15T04:07:00.001-07:00

Bonjour!
Today was market day in Nay, so basically the entire city was converted into one giant open air market. Naturally, instead of going to classes this morning we went to the market! It was great, we were able to explore the city of Nay, and munch on fresh delicious produce at the same time. The colors and the people were fantastic, so of course I spent most of the time taking pictures. I spent majority of my film on the old men of Nay, because their faces are incredibly expressive, and they always seem to be carrying a baguette! I also bought many gifts for you guys in the market, so get excited. Maria and I also found this fantistic little gelato shop, and we had the best orange and grapefruit gelato.

Living with the Vogels is also great. They feed me non-stop, and I am constantly trying new delicious cheeses. It does not make any sense though, they are always eating and then sitting down and watching tv, and yet they are all so thin! I don't understand it at all! Rachel and I decided that it must be something in their water.

Je t'embrasse,
Alex

Nay

2010-06-15T04:07:00.000-07:00

We wlaked all around Nay today. There was a very beautiful church with many pantings and statues.There was also the market outside where I bought fruits and yogurt. The fruits are very very good and fresh! There was also basically everything that you would need at the market likefruits, vegetables, meat, bagettes (and almost everyone you say was carrying a bagette), sweets, clothes, bags, jewelery, etc. It was really nice! I really enjoyed it because it was very fun to walk around and look at all of the stuff and but things too. I also ate some very good gelato. It was so very good! We bought food from the market and ate it by the river at the park and we shared a bagatte too. Today was really nice and I hope that the wheather stay nice for tomorow at the beach!

Our Morning In Nay

2010-06-15T04:06:00.000-07:00

Today we spent half the day in Nay. Tusdays in Nay is market day, and also Maria's birthday. There were venders who sold everything from clothes, to fresh fruit, to buttons, and meat. We walked around the town for a bit and Alex, Caroline, and I all bought fountian pens. For lunch we bought fresh fruit from the open air market. Some of us also bought Indian food, but Maria and I bought yogurt which was not very thick so we drank it. We also bought a baguette to pass around. After Maria and Alex had gelato, and Zach and I had ice cream. The ice cream was really cool because the server placed a tube into a machine and pulled the lever and ice cream came out. Our day in Nay was really fun, and hopefully the nice weather is here for good!

2010-06-15T04:04:00.000-07:00

Bonjour!
Today the weather has finally started to clear up, this morning it was very cold but as the day has continued, the sun came out and started to get very nice out; hopefully the good weather will stay for our adventure at the beach in Biarritz tomorrow! Today was the town of Nay's market day and we got a chance to eat lunch from the market, it was very good! Then we walked along the river downtown and walked through the park and then headed back to school. This afternoon we are going to attend classes and work on memorizing lines for a play we are going to perform to the younger kids at the school. Au revoir! Caroline Depew

2010-06-14T02:51:00.001-07:00

This weekend I watched many movies in French and it was very interesting how different it was although it was the same movie. I watched Harry Potter the 1ST and 2nd and Arthur. I also watched some cartoons in French and it is getting much easier to understand. I also watched the soccer cup with my family for the French game and the USA game. I had my first crepe and it was very good! I had 3. One with nutella, one with honey, and one with rasberry jelly. My family taught me that there are different types of crepes, some that you eat with sugary food and some that you eat with saty food. I also went to a pool building. It was very cool! there was many different jaccuzis and saunas and there and was a pool that had music playing under the water. Also they served the best tea there! I had many cups of tea. This weekend was very good!

Maria

How I Spent This Weekend

2010-06-14T02:51:00.000-07:00

The first weekend flew by really fast! On Saturday I went to my host cousin's house to celebrate her 18th birthday. We arrived at one and had appitizers which consisted of ham and cantalope in a tooth pick and muscles. After appitizers my host cousin opened presents then we sat down for a 5 hour meal. We ate fois grois and a fish cake, veal, potatoes, and a strawberry shortcake. It was a great celebration and a great experience.

On Sunday I went to Lourdes to go to the thermals. The thermals were a cross between a water park and a spa. There were spouts which poured water and massaged your shoulders. There was also saunas and on the roof you could walk across glass and look down into the pools.

It was a great weekend and I got to do things I never immagined!

2010-06-14T02:50:00.000-07:00

Salut!
We are all having a great time here in Nay. Over the weekend I visited the nearby town of Pau. My host family and I went out to eat with a group of their friends. The restaraunt was unusual in that it was solely based around potato! We also went bowling. I feel like my french is improving, I am working hard at correcting my french when i use Franglish! My family and I visited a local park with a very large lake, to walk my families labrador. It was a clear day and you could see all of the mountains. All of the girls and I will be going to the beach on wednesday, and i am looking forward to it. Hope everyone is doing well.

Sincerly,
Zach

Alex!

2010-06-14T02:49:00.000-07:00

Bonjour!
This weekend, we went shopping in Pau. The city is very pretty. It is up on a big hill, with a big square in the center with steps and a huge fountain. The shopping is fantastic! Lucile and I literally spent 5 hours shopping. We also went to Lourdes this weekend, and of course it was gorgeous. The drive from Nay to Lourdes was so pretty, the road takes you straight through the mountains. And of course, we also spent alot of time watching soccer.
Lots of love,
Alex

2010-06-14T02:47:00.000-07:00

Salut!
This past weekend, my life revolved around horses. Sara, my host sister, was in a horse competition on Saturday and got second place! It was so much fun to see her in her element. On Sunday, Sara and I went to one of her friends houses, Maria's second host families house, we played Wii and again, rode horses. It was so much fun to see how much they loved the Wii, they all were crazy about it! At Sara's friends house, we made hamburgers and French fries, very American! It was a great weekend filled with horses! I also got to meet my whole host family because the older kids came home for the weekend. Today it is very rainy and a little chilly, hope all is well in Ohio! Au revoir! Caroline Depew

2010-06-11T04:27:00.000-07:00

First day

2010-06-11T04:23:00.000-07:00

BONJOUR!
We have finally figured out how to use the blog and we are able to write to you! Today is Friday the 11th and we are about to visit the Beret Museum in downtown Nay. The plane and train rides were very long but we all made it here no problem. Yesterday, our first day at school, we had a tour of the school from an old priest, went horseback riding, and went to a theater class. The school and landscape is beautiful! Everything is very different from Hudson, its awesome to look out the window and see mountains. Also, I eat breakfast in the morning outside looking out on the mountains, very beautiful! School is very diffferent from WRA as well, they go horseback riding as a class! We will report back on Monday after our weekend travels! Au revoir! Caroline Depew

Alex!!!

2010-06-11T04:22:00.001-07:00

Salut!
We finally figured out hoz to post on the blog! France is lovely. The city of Nay is almost completely surrounded by mountains, and they are gorgeous! We walked up a hill near school yesterday, and it honestly felt like we were in a scene from The Sound of Music! Caroline and I were singing. Yesterday, we also rode horses, that was wierd. It is now very clear to me that professional horseback riding is definitely not in my future. Hopefully I will be able to post pictures of my family and my house tomorrow.
Talk to you later!
Alex

2010-06-11T04:22:00.000-07:00

We have been having trouble getting on to the blog site but i think that we finally got it. The first day i saw 2 movies in French: Australia and Ice Age. My family is very nice and they are all open to helping me learn French and they are also interested in learning English too, even the my little sister who is 8. We went horse backriding and we brushed the horses too. Many students from the school horseback ride and and very good at it too. After school I watched my sister's dancbreaking class. The teacher was really amazing and it was fun to watch all them break dance. There is always bagettes at every meal and a lot of cheeses too. Although at first it was hard to understand everthing, it is getting much better and everyone is helping me. It has been very fun so far and am enjoying it very much!

The First Few Days

2010-06-11T04:19:00.000-07:00

It was pouring when we first arrived and met our host families. On the first day, instead of sleeping late i followed my host sister around for half the day. I only went half a day since Wednesdays French students attend school for half the day and then they return home. After we retourned we went to my host sister's grandparents' house to see week old kittens.

Yesterday was our first actual day of school. We received a tour of the school and went horseback riding and had drama class. Drama class was fun and it tested our french skills because we were with premier students. When I returned home my host sister and I went on a bike ride. When We returned we made an omlette for dinner.

Today we had French class for two hours. We played a few games where we described people and another where we came up with words begining in a certian letter. Later we are going to a museum!
Au revoir!

St.Joseph

2010-06-11T04:12:00.000-07:00

They're on their way!

2010-06-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

The 2010 ELISA in France program is officially under way. The students, accompanied by Ms. Mitchell left Cleveland Airport at 4:00 pm today.
Last we heard they had boarded their flight to Paris in Philadelphia and right now they are over the Atlantic. After taking the TGV from Paris through Bordeaux, they will meet their families in Nay late Tuesday evening. BON VOYAGE!!