Sandy Spring Friends School France 2024

March 11, 2024

We got to Dulles at 4 pm on Sunday and people got gifts for their host families and got dinner. Then we boarded our flight and tried to sleep or watch movies for 7 hours. Eventually we landed in Heathrow Airport in London and did various activities from shopping to eating for 7 hours. Some people got British cuisines like British breakfast and others went to the lounge. After that we got on our next flight to Marseille and had a 2 hour flight to eventually land in Marseille. We travelled to our hotel, had dinner in the center of Aix-en-Provence and had an early night.

By Evan and Ella

March 12, 2024

Bonjour! Today was a great first day in southern France! We started the day with a breakfast in our hotel lobby, and between scrambled eggs, sausage, crêpes, and croissants, we were spoiled! As a group, we then went into a conversation about some ground rules for the trip, doing some ice breakers along the way. We outlined some community norms so we can maximize our fun on this trip! After that, we went for a walk into downtown Aix-en-Provence so that we could complete a group scavenger hunt. In groups of five, we learned about everything from signage to local produce, tasting veggies from markets and practicing our French at cafés! We went out to lunch at a Tunisian restaurant, which was super yummy. Then we went on a tour through Aix-en-Provence to learn more about Paul Cezanne, a famous impressionist painter from Aix. After that, we had some some free time, which we used to check out some more local shops, enjoy some gelato, and spend some time just enjoying what a great day we were having. We ended the day with some great Lebanese food for dinner, and are looking forward to more fun days under the sunny sky of southern France. Au revoir!

By Sam and Ethan

March 13, 2024

Salut! Today we had to wake up bright and early, eating breakfast at the hotel before leaving on the bus for a day of fun! We embarked on our journey through the countryside of southern France, seeing many scenic pastures and hills. To pass the time of the 2 hour bus ride, we played many cards and word games, our favorites being contact and hearts. We then stopped at a museum to learn about the history of aqueducts before eating a brief lunch and hiking to see the massive aqueduct and river. A select few chose to jump into the frigid waters, before quickly hopping out and drying off.

Our second part of the journey started after getting back on the bus, for another 3 hours of games and sleep. Once we got to our destination we met up with our host families who are going to be hosting us at their homes Friday for a traditional french meal cooked by them. We shared a potluck style meal and chatted for an hour before driving to our hotel for the night. We are looking forward to the days to come, bonsoir!

By Caleb and Tim

March 14, 2024

Salut!

After a delicious breakfast of Cafe au lait and chocolatine we began our trek to Château Comtal in Carcassonne. We arrived at the castle early in the morning, admiring the vast walls and grand scale of the historical city. Although there is no confirmed history of the name we spoke to the meaning of Carcassonne, attributed to the stuffed pig carcass thrown off the wall to intimidate enemies and a queen, Carca, ringing her bell. Later we roamed the halls of the interior castle, gathering a deeper understanding of ancient French architecture dating back to year 121 BC. After appreciating the history we grabbed a quick jambon avec fromage for lunch and played a large game of man hunt around the perimeter of the castle.

For community service today, we went to the country side of Carcassonne in a town named Pouzols. Meeting a farmer named Bernard, he explained not only the importance and significance of the path, he also gave us words of wisdom to take to our own community. We not only cleared dead branches and some of the land, we dug 6 big holes that we will be planting trees in tomorrow. Looking forward to tomorrow.

By Franne and Taddy

March 15, 2024

We started the day off early continuing our service in Carcassonne with Bernard Cauquil, a restoration organizer for the Chemin de Saint Jacques. The work included planting rose bushes, and continued to clear the brambles. After which, we began to reconstruct a stone wall. For lunch, we shopped in the new part of Carcassonne and picnicked by the Canal du Midi.

Our entire evening was taken up by our Home Stay program, an opportunity to spend time with families in the Carcassonne community. Activities ranged from games, to shopping, to karaoke, but regardless we all had fun. And of course, we were all stuffed full of food. We learned the importance of wordless communication, and did a multitude of things to overcome the language barriers. This evening was the highlight of the trip for many of us, and we are very grateful to Global Works and our Home Stay families for this opportunity to cross cultural boundaries and establish new relationships.

By Kairava & Taye

March 16, 2024
We woke up from our Carcasonne hotel around 8:15. Soon after we gathered our belongings and got on the bus to go help Bernard. We spent the ride playing card games and talking amongst each other. This was our third and final day with Bernard, a community activist who works to restore nature. Today’s task was removing weeds from an old bridge. We kept working at the bushes since they were still not entirely cut, though we had already got most of it. After finishing our work and before saying goodbye to Bernard he took us on a tour of the village as we took in the beautiful scenery we were about to leave behind. After saying bye to Bernard we got on the bus again for an hour and a half. We arrived in Toulouse at 3:30 and took a walking tour, went window shopping and found different artifacts from markets to bring back to family members. We took pictures by the water, watching the bicycles go by and walking into the boulangeries smelling the fresh smell of newly made pastries. Soon after regathering we went to dinner at Le Bol Bu and our friends, Kairava and Tate, got up and sang a duet of a John Lennon songs with the guitarist there. After having dinner we ended up leaving the restaurant at 11:00 and coming back to the hotel taking in our final day and reflecting on everything we saw throughout our whole trip.
By Layla & Lucien