Field Trips

It's been a very full week for me. We have a small group of five students from Singapore here for two weeks and they have requested special field trips every afternoon.  My co-worker and I are taking turns going with them on their trips, depending on the activity and their needs. Earlier this week, I got to go with them to see the ruins of an old castle, and then to an Abbey that has been converted into a luxury hotel. Both were beautiful in very different ways.

The Château de la Madeleine

 

 

 

 

The school hires both a chauffer and a guide for these trips, so my only responsibility is to take pictures to capture the outing to post on the school's Facebook page.  The first outing was rather challenging for me personally..... The driver and the guide both only speak French, and the group from Singapore; although they do speak English, they are here as part of their French studies in school, so they are only speaking French. I knew that it would be difficult to learn a new language, but I didn't realize how isolating it would be at times. To not be able to communicate thoughts or feelings is bad enough (but expected), but to even be able to engage in very simple small talk is very frustrating! Everyone was very kind, but I felt a bit like an imposter. However, despite the communication challenges, I was able to capture some of the beauty in the surroundings.

The Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay

 

 

It was really hard to pick just a few pictures for this post so, if you want, you can check out my Facebook page for a full album of each of these places.