Salut friends and parents! Here at The Mije (our residence in Paris), everything is buzzing with excitement because the students have finally arrived!!! Yesterday morning, our entire team traveled to the airport to pick up 24 eager-hungry-happy-sleepy students. We all piled on to a coach bus and headed into Paris and arrived at our residence an hour later. We had delicious sandwiches, fruit, and WATER waiting for everyone (water will be the key for the next two weeks – staying hydrated is going to be essential with some hundred-degree days coming our way). Below is a picture of our equipe (team) gobbling down some baguette sandwiches and asking lots of questions (What are we going to do? Where are we going to go? Do you speak French? Will you teach us French? When will we have some crepes? — we did our best to answer…between bites).

After lunch we rounded up the crew and went to a beautiful park in the Marais (our neighborhood) called Jardin des Rosiers-Joseph-Migneret. We played some ice breaker games and attempted to learn names (31 people is a LOT of names!). We also settled down into smaller groups of four and went over rules, safety and navigation, health, cultural sensitivity, community life, and daily logistics. After the “boring” (BUT IMPORTANT, RIGHT GUYS?) stuff, we had something a little crazy up our sleeves. A scavenger hunt around the Marais!

We split the students up and gave them a list of clues that would enable them to travel around the quartier and help them get to know their surroundings. On the list, questions like:

– Find Gabe (one of our leaders) at the Archives Nationales to acquire your first mission (he sent them to an ATM – very useful!)

– Photograph Betsy (another leader) at the Carousel at St. Paul (our metro stop!)

– Find as many Pharmacies, ATMs, Laundromats, and Boulangeries on your journey (a point for each one you find!)

– Ask a french person (in french) what is your favorite cheese?

These were only some of our many tasks and our students had an awesome time on their hunts. Some were successful, some were…not so successful. C’est dommage!

After the scavenger hunt we returned home for a simple and restful dinner in our beautiful courtyard. A little taste of home (and Italy) – PIZZA! It was delicious. An evening stroll around the Seine and then some gelato, and then it was off to bed for some much needed rest.

This morning we gathered for breakfast in our courtyard, had a quick morning meeting, and then went off for the first day of classes!

 

This afternoon and evening we have some amazing activities planned. Students are able to choose which adventure they’d like to go on – never an easy decision because they’re all pretty awesome. A visit to the Picasso museum, dinner in the latin quarter, yoga & frisbee in the park, crepes & views of the city in Montmartre – these are only some of the choices the kiddos had for this afternoon/evening. We’re all pretty psyched – students and leaders alike!

All in all, it has been an incredible 24 hours. We leaders are already so enamored with our group. The students are excited, sweet, and so eager to take on Paris. The next two weeks are going to fly by! Stick around the blog to catch what’s next.

Your dutiful blogger,

Haley J