Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Paris: Day 3 and a fond farewell

Hello again!

Here is our final blog of the Stage Indiana 2012, in which we explore our last day in Paris and our final day in France.

Let's take a look!

Day 3

Waking up bright and early, we jumped on the metro and headed to our first stop of the day: The Louvre. Here, the stagiaires had the opportunity to see MANY works of art, including several ancient statues, paintings, the Mona Lisa, etc.

The Winged Victory
Even the Pyramid itself is a work of art

After their exploration of the Louvre, the stagiaires had several hours of free-time, during which they were able to (in groups!) explore and see the sights of their choosing.

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Later that day, we met up once more and headed to see our final sights in Paris.

We started with Sacré Cœur, a lovely basilica on the top of Montmartre:



We then headed to the Moulin Rouge to take a look at the famous windmill, ...


... and got to see the café where Amélie works in the successful French film Le fableux destin d'Amélie Poulin, Café des 2 Moulins.


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After taking in the sights a little more, we headed to a restaurant, where we ate our final dinner together. Here are some pictures of the stagiaires at the resto enjoying their meal:










What we didn't mention to them, however, was the fact that this restaurant also had karaoke. Needless to say, they were stoked: 




  

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After heading back to the hostel to finish weighing bags, etc., we had a little social hour in the hallway with the drinks we had left over from our fête des familles:


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Then, after a couple hours (or minutes) of sleep, it was time to pack up the bus and head to the airport after saying a few goodbyes to Anne-Therese, Chloe, and Olivia, who stayed behind with their families.

Goodbye Chloe, Olivia, and Anne-Therese!
Ready to head to the airport

After we made it to the airport and through a farewell from Aaron, check-in, baggage check, and security, we made it to our flight and landed in Chicago, where more goodbyes were exchanged as the stagiaires either met their families or boarded the plane for Indianapolis.

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Well, I believe this concludes the blog for IUHPFL Saint-Brieuc 2012.

I would just like to give a thanks to Stephanie, our director, who made it possible for me to come this summer, and our fantastic team of instructors, with whom I was overjoyed to work.

I would also like to thank, of course, our amazing group of stagiaires: You have all truly made my first year with the program unforgettable, and I cannot thank you enough for your effort, dedication, motivation, and overall great attitude toward both the program and life in general. I cannot believe how much growth I have seen over the past six weeks, not only linguistically, but also personally. I have no doubt that you will all continue to do great things, and I look forward to keeping in touch with all of you and meeting up for a reunion in the near future!

Once again, thank you all and best of luck!

Jamie


2 comments:

  1. I agree with Jamie, our group of stagiaires this year was awesome!

    - Ryan

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  2. Awesome final post, Jamie! I loved having you as part of the St. B. team. You guys are a great team of profs, and your students, well, were awesome. Successful Stage, congratulations to all!

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