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Y9 French Exchange
Joan of Arc was burned at the stake here, Monet painted its cathedral dozens of times and it was the home to literary greats Corneille, Flaubert and Maupassant. Rouen – the destination for twenty-two pupils and their three French teachers as part of the new Year 9 French exchange with the Collège-Lycée Jean-Baptiste de la Salle.
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The main opportunity for us was to make active use of the French we have been learning over the last few years in real situations. Such an exchange offers us the chance to hear and speak French more naturally, and the progress can be staggering. Mealtimes and evenings are a great chance to try out a few new phrases and to develop confidence with the local argot. We travelled by Eurostar to Paris from where we caught a connection to Rouen. Upon arrival we paired up with our partners and plunged straight into la vie française.
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Our first morning saw an early start as lessons began at 8:00am. No uniform for anyone here! We were taught in French about the history of the school and the town before being given a lesson in pétanque or boules by the school’s specialist teacher! In the days that followed we visited much of Rouen, seeing the sights, buying pastries and trying out typical French café drinks (as ordered by many collégiens and lycéens) such as un Monaco, un Diablo-grenadine and un Indien.
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Given the academic focus of the visit, we were equipped with phrasebooks and diaries, and we were involved in a wide range of linguistic activities on a daily basis. On one particularly memorable morning we visited le Musée des Beaux Arts for a guided tour on Impressionism in French. We had to listen really carefully to the art historian who led us around the works of Monet and we learned much about this artistic movement, including how to “read” some of these paintings.
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A highlight of the visit was baking bread at one of Rouen’s oldest boulangeries. We were shown how to mix ingredients, knead the dough and roll out a baguette. The baker allowed us to make a baguette each and he picked out the most authentic ones that he said he could actually sell!
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On our final day we all went out for a brasserie lunch. The most daring ordered their steaks à point and we tucked into some excellent cuisine traditionnelle. We also had some excellent (rich and creamy!) food with our host families, and we thank them for the warm reception they gave us. SJB
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