Fête des familles

This week was a very busy week. We finished our last classes on Wednesday, the students to a test to see how much they improved on Thursday, and they rehearsed and performed in the Fête des familles on Friday. Thanks to a French host father, some of us even got the chance to go to the army base and ride in a tank:


We spent each each afternoon rehearsing for the Fête des familles. Below is a photo of some of the students rehearsing for their sketch about French stereotypes.

On Friday, we took a break from rehearsal and took a tour of the school and its amazingly beautiful chapel. Below is a photo of all of the students in front of the school:
During the visit of the chapel, we had the students sing a song for us, you can see that video on my picasa site http://picasaweb.google.com/brimurray

Most importantly, last night was the first IU Honors Program Fête des familles in Saumur. This is an evening where the students thank their host families for everything that they have done for them through short plays and song.

In the beginning of the program, we told students that we wanted them to write their own skits about a common them to be chosen by the students. It was not surprising that the students chose to write about experiences similar to the ones that they had. Each sketch had at least one American character and took place in France. The students wrote about stereotypes, the arrival in to their host family's home, the classroom, and the festival of music. Each sketch had at least one song.


You can see all of my photos and video on the picasa site. Sorry for the image quality, my camera doesn't work very well in low light situations:

Last but not least, this Thursday was Sarah L.'s birthday. She surprised her fellow students with some cookies. Joyeux anniversaire Sarah!

Early tomorrow morning the students are going to say goodbye to their host families and Saumur because we are leaving for Paris. I would like to thank the host families for everything that they have done for their stagiaires and hope that their first experience with the program will be unforgettable.