SBHS Perigeaux Exchange

Feb 23

At 11 am we boarded the school bus and began our long journey to France. We hugged our family and friends good-bye, dreading the six hour flight ahead of us. We took the bus to Trudeau Airport in Montreal, where we played UNO and read magazines for hours before boarding our flight. We talked about how excited we were to finally see Paris, what we wanted to see the most, what foods we wanted to try. Our flight was long, but most of us were fortunate enough to sleep through the whole thing! Others watched movies, played games, and listened to French music on the plane. We arrived in Paris early in the morning, tired, but incredibly excited to begin our whirlwind tour of the most beautiful city on earth.

Jen Goldberg

Friday, February 24th

Today was our first day in Paris. We got started right away with a bus tour of the city. After the tour we went to the hotel to get settled in before we left for lunch in groups. We also had some free time for shopping. After this we went to Notre Dame to see the structure on the outside and the inside. After Notre Dame we went to another church called Sainte Chapelle. Here the walls on the top floor were mainly stained glass windows. After seeing these two churches we went to dinner at a resturant called le Coq Agile where some of us tried escargots and rabbit. To finish off a long day, and for some of us a forty hour streak without sleep, we went on a boat ride to see Paris at night. We saw the Eiffel Tower lit up, which even in the rain was amazing.

February 25

Today we visited le Musée d’Orsay where a tour guide told us about realism, impressionism and post-impressionism. We say paintings by Couture, Van Gogh, Monet and Toulouse-Lautrec as well as many other artists. We then went to visit the Eiffel Tower where we took the elevator to the highest floor to see the magnificent view of Paris. That night, after eating dinner at Les Trois Bourriques (the three donkeys), we stopped by the Louvre to see the Pyramide at night. It was beautiful. We also walked around a courtyard that was surrounded by the illuminated facades of the Louvre and saw the Champs-Elysees perspective from l’Arc du Carrousel. This concluded out second day in Paris.

February 26

Today was our last full day in Paris. In the morning we took a tour of the Louvre and some of its most important pieces of art such as La Joconde (the Mona Lisa) by Leonaro da Vinci. The Louvre has so many pieces of art it would take 15 years to get through it if a person looked at each piece for 10 seconds! The Louvre isn’tjust paintings and sculptures though. There is also a section with rooms decorated in a certain style such as during the reign of Napoleon. After visiting the Louvre, we went to the Champs-Elysees. First we took pictures of l’Arc de Triomphe, then we walked around a bit and did some shopping, but everyone was so cold and tired , we decided to rest at the hotel before going out to dinner at the Bistro de Montmartre. After dinner, we took the funiculaire up to Sacré-Coeur, a basilica perched on the Montmartre whose architecture was inspired by the cathedral in Périgueux. After that, we rode the Métro back to the hotel for our last night in Paris.

Le 27 février

Today was our final day in Paris and our first day in Périgueux; a transition day. We spent out last few hours exploring the Latin Quarter. We visited the Luxembourg Gardens, and we shopped for final souvenirs from Paris. We left the hotel around 12:30 and headed to Montparnasse, one of Paris’ six rail stations. There, we ate lunch and found our train. Our well-practiced luggage lifting skills were put to good use as we all clamoured aboard the TGV-le Train Grande Vitesse-the very fast train. We chatted, slept, and yes, even did some homework as the TGV sped through the countryside. In Bordeaux, our luggage-lifting skills were again put to work as we switched to a not-so-fast train. Everyone grew more nervous as we approached Périgueux. Would their families like us? Would we be able to understand? The tension was broken as a crowd of French students sporting their TIE t-shirts greeted us with kisses on our cheeks. Within minutes, we found ourselves in cars heading all over Périgueux and beyond for our first night back with our exchange students.

le 28

Today was our first full day in Périgueux. We began the day by meeting in Room 8, our home base for the next two weeks. We reviewed the schedule of upcoming events and activities. We then took a tour of the Lycée Laure Gatet, led by senior students in the class “terminale.” At 10 o’clock, the French and American students met up to attend classes together until noon. I accompanied my student to geology. At 12 o’clock we went to the canteen for a special American meal of hamburgers, French fries and ice cream.
After lunch, everyone gathered in the courtyard to watch a small costume parade given by the students to celebrate Mardi Gras. After the parade, the American students divided up into five teams to “Rallye” Périgueux in a big scavenger hunt. Each team had a different route that allowed them to tour around downtown Périgueux. At 4 o’clock, the entire group met again in Salle 8 before going our separate ways for the evening.

March 1, 2006

Today we went to Le village martyr d’Oradour-sur-Glane. The massacre which took place here occurred on June 10, 1944, when a group of Nazis was ordered to kill all the villagers in response to strong Resistance activity nearby. The outcome was horrible; 642 people died, the oldest was 91, the youngest had only seen 8 days. Going through the memorial was an incredible experience. Seeing all of the pictures of young children screaming in terror broke our hearts. There was a home movie that someone had made not long before the massacre that showed the citizens living their lives; swimming, dancing, and having picnics out in the fields. The next film we saw showed the destruction that followed the massacre; crumbled buildings and a community gone. Quotes and posters shared opinions of those taken to concentration camps and events that were occurring all over Europe at the time. The most powerful thing of all however, was actually going out to the old town that’s now a monument. We walked on the railroad tracks that had brought in the train from Limoges (a town nearby) five times a day. We saw old bakeries, barbershops, and homes. Seeing the rusty sewing machines and cars, the baker’s oven truly brought out the life that used to occupy the town. We went to the church where over 240 women and over 200 children were gassed, shot and burned to death. The cemetery was also an eye-opener because it showed how many people really died that day. The details are horrifying, but through today’s experience we learned a lot, and one special quote came up several times; “those who do not know about the past are condemned to repeat it”.

le 2 mars

Today, we woke up, and to our surprise it had snowed a little overnight. At 8 o’clock, we departed the school for a museum about prehistory in les Ezyies. In the museum we took a tour around many ancient bones and learned about the habits of ancient peoples and the evolution of man. After the museum, we drove to a site where we were able to practice some cave paintings of our own with natural pigments on a fibreglass cave. We also saw an ancient carving of a salmon in a rock dwelling (which we learned is different from a cave). After our painting workshop, we walked to a nearby restaurant for lunch. The lunch turned out to be a huge feast consisting of five courses and a lot of French bread. The meal began with soup, followed by toast with paté, then the main course of an omelette for the vegetarians and pork for everyone else with green beans, French fries and cooked chestnuts. After the main course, we were fed Brie and finally a cake with walnuts and apples. After lunch, we visited Lascaux II, a replica of the Lascaux cave. The paintings were extremely impressive despite the fact that they were not the originals. Everyone enjoyed the day of prehistory!

March 3

Today we attended some classes and visited the Musee du Trompe-l'oeil. I began the day by going to my student's gym class. It was similar to gym in the United States, however here it is required for every grade all year. My student left at 8:45 to take a practice exam for the BAC in June. The BAC is like our SAT but much more complicated and difficult. It is taken very seriously. At 9:30 we (Americans) left for the museum. We passed some ancient ruins from when the Romans occupied Périgueux. When we arrived at the museum, it was very small and privately owned. The museum was all trompe-l'oeil which literally means trick of the eye; paintings that look extremely realistic by using shadow and light, along with perspective. It was very cool. There was what looked like a mozaic on the floor, but when you actually touched it, it was flat- a painting. After the museum we returned to the school. We worked on our presentations and attended classes for the rest of the day.

March 4

Today was the first day of the family weekend. Some people headed for the region’s big city, Bordeaux, with their families for a weekend of shopping or to the sea shore. Others of us stayed here in Périgueux and wandered through the Saturday open air markets in little squares scattered throughout the town, went shopping in boutiques along tiny winding streets or went to the movies to see the American film “Dick and Jane” in French. All in all, it was a fun day of spending time with our French families.

Sunday, March 5

Students remained with their French families. Many students went to Bordeaux, a city west of Périgueux, and spent the weekend
there shopping and seeing the sights. Others remained in Périgueux. Surprisingly, it didn`t rain; it was sunny but chilly as the sun went
down. Those who stayed in Périgueux went to the market that takes place on the weekend and on Wednesdays on the square in front of the cathedral. It consists of stalls placed outside with vendors selling local food products such as paté, meats, dried fruits, vegetables, and jams. Other students followed their hosts to their sports activities such as gymnastics. Students at the Lycée are required to do a sport, and most of the French students participating in the exchange do gymnastics. Overall, the family weekend was a nice way to take a break from sightseeing and to soak in the true French experience.

March 6th

Today was our discovery of the Valley of the Dordogne. We started with a visit to Beynac Castle, an ancient castle dating from around 1100, which belonged to the French. Here we toured just the exterior. We then ate a picnic lunch and proceeded to the next castle, Castelnaud, which had originally belonged to the English. We discovered the inside of the castle and then put our French skills to the test as we were given a guided tour of the exterior of the castle in French. We finished the day with a visit to the city of Sarlat.

le 8 mars

Today (with our French correspondants), we departed from the school at about 9 o’clock for a 40 minute bus ride to the Chateau de Monbazillac not far from the town of Bergerac. At the chateau, we took a self-guided tour about the rooms and chambers, which displayed many significant artifacts pertaining to that specific chamber or part of the castle. Since the land that makes up Monbazillac is the land used to make a very famous wine, many tools for making wine, and wine racks with authentic bottles, could be found in the lower areas of the castle. Following the tour, we stopped at a wine store to learn the specific process and details of making the Monbazillac wine. We walked around the store for a while, seeking any non-alcoholic gifts that we would be able to bring home to our families.
Today, since it was raining cats and dogs (again!), we were permitted to eat our lunch on the bus on the way to Bergerac. In Bergerac, we started as a group to walk the streets and get a general bearing of where things were and where we needed to meet back up. After choosing a meeting place and time, we were allowed to go off and walk around as we wished. Many groups went shopping, while many others site-saw along the river or in the streets of the town (churches, museums, etc.). At about 3 o'clock, we made our way back to the bus, and returned to the school at about 4:15. Until tomorrow...








Feb 23 At 11 am we boarded the school bus and began our long journey to France. We hugged our family and friends good-bye, dreading the six hour flight ahead of us. We took the bus to Trudeau Airport in Montreal, where we played UNO and read magazines for hours before boarding our flight. We talked about how excited we were to finally see Paris, what we wanted to see the most, what foods we wanted to try. Our flight was long, but most of us were fortunate enough to sleep through the whole thing! Others watched movies, played games, and listened to French music on the plane. We arrived in Paris early in the morning, tired, but incredibly excited to begin our whirlwind tour of the most beautiful city on earth. Jen Goldberg Friday, February 24th Today was our first day in Paris. We got started right away with a bus tour of the city. After the tour we went to the hotel to get settled in before we left for lunch in groups. We also had some free time for shopping. After this we went to Notre Dame to see the structure on the outside and the inside. After Notre Dame we went to another church called Sainte Chapelle. Here the walls on the top floor were mainly stained glass windows. After seeing these two churches we went to dinner at a resturant called le Coq Agile where some of us tried escargots and rabbit. To finish off a long day, and for some of us a forty hour streak without sleep, we went on a boat ride to see Paris at night. We saw the Eiffel Tower lit up, which even in the rain was amazing. February 25 Today we visited le Musée d’Orsay where a tour guide told us about realism, impressionism and post-impressionism. We say paintings by Couture, Van Gogh, Monet and Toulouse-Lautrec as well as many other artists. We then went to visit the Eiffel Tower where we took the elevator to the highest floor to see the magnificent view of Paris. That night, after eating dinner at Les Trois Bourriques (the three donkeys), we stopped by the Louvre to see the Pyramide at night. It was beautiful. We also walked around a courtyard that was surrounded by the illuminated facades of the Louvre and saw the Champs-Elysees perspective from l’Arc du Carrousel. This concluded out second day in Paris. Deni Goodrich-Schlenker February 26 Today was our last full day in Paris. In the morning we took a tour of the Louvre and some of its most important pieces of art such as La Joconde (the Mona Lisa) by Leonaro da Vinci. The Louvre has so many pieces of art it would take 15 years to get through it if a person looked at each piece for 10 seconds! The Louvre isn’tjust paintings and sculptures though. There is also a section with rooms decorated in a certain style such as during the reign of Napoleon. After visiting the Louvre, we went to the Champs-Elysees. First we took pictures of l’Arc de Triomphe, then we walked around a bit and did some shopping, but everyone was so cold and tired , we decided to rest at the hotel before going out to dinner at the Bistro de Montmartre. After dinner, we took the funiculaire up to Sacré-Coeur, a basilica perched on the Montmartre whose architecture was inspired by the cathedral in Périgueux. After that, we rode the Métro back to the hotel for our last night in Paris. Tess Townsend Le 27 février Today was our final day in Paris and our first day in Périgueux; a transition day. We spent out last few hours exploring the Latin Quarter. We visited the Luxembourg Gardens, and we shopped for final souvenirs from Paris. We left the hotel around 12:30 and headed to Montparnasse, one of Paris’ six rail stations. There, we ate lunch and found our train. Our well-practiced luggage lifting skills were put to good use as we all clamoured aboard the TGV-le Train Grande Vitesse-the very fast train. We chatted, slept, and yes, even did some homework as the TGV sped through the countryside. In Bordeaux, our luggage-lifting skills were again put to work as we switched to a not-so-fast train. Everyone grew more nervous as we approached Périgueux. Would their families like us? Would we be able to understand? The tension was broken as a crowd of French students sporting their TIE t-shirts greeted us with kisses on our cheeks. Within minutes, we found ourselves in cars heading all over Périgueux and beyond for our first night back with our exchange students. Laura Budd le 28 Today was our first full day in Périgueux. We began the day by meeting in Room 8, our home base for the next two weeks. We reviewed the schedule of upcoming events and activities. We then took a tour of the Lycée Laure Gatet, led by senior students in the class “terminale.” At 10 o’clock, the French and American students met up to attend classes together until noon. I accompanied my student to geology. At 12 o’clock we went to the canteen for a special American meal of hamburgers, French fries and ice cream. After lunch, everyone gathered in the courtyard to watch a small costume parade given by the students to celebrate Mardi Gras. After the parade, the American students divided up into five teams to “Rallye” Périgueux in a big scavenger hunt. Each team had a different route that allowed them to tour around downtown Périgueux. At 4 o’clock, the entire group met again in Salle 8 before going our separate ways for the evening. Katie McCreary March 1, 2006 Today we went to Le village martyr d’Oradour-sur-Glane. The massacre which took place here occurred on June 10, 1944, when a group of Nazis was ordered to kill all the villagers in response to strong Resistance activity nearby. The outcome was horrible; 642 people died, the oldest was 91, the youngest had only seen 8 days. Going through the memorial was an incredible experience. Seeing all of the pictures of young children screaming in terror broke our hearts. There was a home movie that someone had made not long before the massacre that showed the citizens living their lives; swimming, dancing, and having picnics out in the fields. The next film we saw showed the destruction that followed the massacre; crumbled buildings and a community gone. Quotes and posters shared opinions of those taken to concentration camps and events that were occurring all over Europe at the time. The most powerful thing of all however, was actually going out to the old town that’s now a monument. We walked on the railroad tracks that had brought in the train from Limoges (a town nearby) five times a day. We saw old bakeries, barbershops, and homes. Seeing the rusty sewing machines and cars, the baker’s oven truly brought out the life that used to occupy the town. We went to the church where over 240 women and over 200 children were gassed, shot and burned to death. The cemetery was also an eye-opener because it showed how many people really died that day. The details are horrifying, but through today’s experience we learned a lot, and one special quote came up several times; “those who do not know about the past are condemned to repeat it”. Brittany Hall-Potvin le 2 mars Today, we woke up, and to our surprise it had snowed a little overnight. At 8 o’clock, we departed the school for a museum about prehistory in les Ezyies. In the museum we took a tour around many ancient bones and learned about the habits of ancient peoples and the evolution of man. After the museum, we drove to a site where we were able to practice some cave paintings of our own with natural pigments on a fibreglass cave. We also saw an ancient carving of a salmon in a rock dwelling (which we learned is different from a cave). After our painting workshop, we walked to a nearby restaurant for lunch. The lunch turned out to be a huge feast consisting of five courses and a lot of French bread. The meal began with soup, followed by toast with paté, then the main course of an omelette for the vegetarians and pork for everyone else with green beans, French fries and cooked chestnuts. After the main course, we were fed Brie and finally a cake with walnuts and apples. After lunch, we visited Lascaux II, a replica of the Lascaux cave. The paintings were extremely impressive despite the fact that they were not the originals. Everyone enjoyed the day of prehistory! Jessica Hammond March 3 Today we attended some classes and visited the Musee du Trompe-l'oeil. I began the day by going to my student's gym class. It was similar to gym in the United States, however here it is required for every grade all year. My student left at 8:45 to take a practice exam for the BAC in June. The BAC is like our SAT but much more complicated and difficult. It is taken very seriously. At 9:30 we (Americans) left for the museum. We passed some ancient ruins from when the Romans occupied Périgueux. When we arrived at the museum, it was very small and privately owned. The museum was all trompe-l'oeil which literally means trick of the eye; paintings that look extremely realistic by using shadow and light, along with perspective. It was very cool. There was what looked like a mozaic on the floor, but when you actually touched it, it was flat- a painting. After the museum we returned to the school. We worked on our presentations and attended classes for the rest of the day. Kelley Jenkins March 4 Today was the first day of the family weekend. Some people headed for the region’s big city, Bordeaux, with their families for a weekend of shopping or to the sea shore. Others of us stayed here in Périgueux and wandered through the Saturday open air markets in little squares scattered throughout the town, went shopping in boutiques along tiny winding streets or went to the movies to see the American film “Dick and Jane” in French. All in all, it was a fun day of spending time with our French families. Allissia Gilmartin Sunday, March 5 Students remained with their French families. Many students went to Bordeaux, a city west of Périgueux, and spent the weekend there shopping and seeing the sights. Others remained in Périgueux. Surprisingly, it didn`t rain; it was sunny but chilly as the sun went down. Those who stayed in Périgueux went to the market that takes place on the weekend and on Wednesdays on the square in front of the cathedral. It consists of stalls placed outside with vendors selling local food products such as paté, meats, dried fruits, vegetables, and jams. Other students followed their hosts to their sports activities such as gymnastics. Students at the Lycée are required to do a sport, and most of the French students participating in the exchange do gymnastics. Overall, the family weekend was a nice way to take a break from sightseeing and to soak in the true French experience. Alyssa Crews March 6th Today was our discovery of the Valley of the Dordogne. We started with a visit to Beynac Castle, an ancient castle dating from around 1100, which belonged to the French. Here we toured just the exterior. We then ate a picnic lunch and proceeded to the next castle, Castelnaud, which had originally belonged to the English. We discovered the inside of the castle and then put our French skills to the test as we were given a guided tour of the exterior of the castle in French. We finished the day with a visit to the city of Sarlat. Brooke Sharpe le 8 mars Today (with our French correspondants), we departed from the school at about 9 o’clock for a 40 minute bus ride to the Chateau de Monbazillac not far from the town of Bergerac. At the chateau, we took a self-guided tour about the rooms and chambers, which displayed many significant artifacts pertaining to that specific chamber or part of the castle. Since the land that makes up Monbazillac is the land used to make a very famous wine, many tools for making wine, and wine racks with authentic bottles, could be found in the lower areas of the castle. Following the tour, we stopped at a wine store to learn the specific process and details of making the Monbazillac wine. We walked around the store for a while, seeking any non-alcoholic gifts that we would be able to bring home to our families. Today, since it was raining cats and dogs (again!), we were permitted to eat our lunch on the bus on the way to Bergerac. In Bergerac, we started as a group to walk the streets and get a general bearing of where things were and where we needed to meet back up. After choosing a meeting place and time, we were allowed to go off and walk around as we wished. Many groups went shopping, while many others site-saw along the river or in the streets of the town (churches, museums, etc.). At about 3 o'clock, we made our way back to the bus, and returned to the school at about 4:15. Until tomorrow... Taylor Wilkens
Bonjour from Périgueux! Below are some links you may want to surf to get a better understanding of where we’ve been since our arrival. Enjoy! http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home_flash.jsp?bmLocale=en http://www.paris.org/Monuments/ http://www.baudelet.net/frpa.htm http://www.best-of-perigord.tm.fr/basics/anglais/anglais.html http://www.neuvicenperigord.com/e-cartes/guide-perigord-px.html SBHS TIE homepage Return to SBHS homepage Last edited March 2, 2006

SBHS - Périgueux Exchange - 2006