Castle, eagles and monkeys in one day...

I am again working with an older computer, so I am not able to post pictures - Today we had three very different outings. After a 2 hour bus ride on twisty roads, we reached an old castle - XIIth century, but renovated in the XVth, so not that old after all! We had a picnic, and went to ruins where an "aiglerie" was located. Eagles, hawks and vultures are raised and learn tricks. The scenery fits quite well. We drove a few more miles and went to "La montagne des singes", a monkey resort. Very cute. Lots of pictures to come.
Most students were organizing outings for tomorrow, our last day in Sarralbe. We will leave this part of France on Sunday and head for the Loire Valley.

European Parliament + Strasbourg....

On Tuesday, we visited the European Parliament. A very educational visit where students learned, among other things, that one needs to be fluent in at least 4 foreign languages to work here. Currently 28 languages are spoken in this institution.

We then went to visit the Cathedral of Stasbourg and students explored the narrow streets of the city. We (50 + students and 6 teachers) managed to find a place to eat the famous local dish "flamms" - a pizza-like dish made of cream, bacon, onion and cheese.

La réception à Sarralbe.....

In spite of what Jinhyun says, the singing sounded great. It was nice to see how everyone did its best to be together. As you can see in the diaporama, parents had made cookies, pies and cakes to welcome our students. The principal had a little speech ready and parents were impatient to host their correspondants and feed them local food. Many complimented our students' French.

Frankfurt....

Frankfurt flight was tiring but eventless. We made the connection to the bus fine. We had to wait a tiring hour and a half, as you can see in the picture, for the bus that took a bus us to Strasbourg, where a second bus was waiting for us. We took that bus straight to Sarralbe to the school where our correspondants were waiting for us with a wonderful reception. The kids tried to sing, however the American students were so tired half of it sounded like mumbles and grumbles. It was a rough day for many, but lets hope it pays off! Posted by Jinhyun

Sarralbe, enfin....

Hello parents and friends - We made it safely to Sarralbe where the correspondants and families had a nice reception for us. They welcomed us with cakes, tartes, drinks (no champagne), songs, waving flags, in short the works. All the students left with their family at around 3 pm. Parents commented on how good their French was.
The trip went very smoothly, plane, bus, and bus. Kids behaved super well. In Frankfurt, they used their ATM cards to get Euros, all who tried were successful.
I am currently working with a very old computer without USB plug, so I won't be able to post some pictures, but will try later.
Au revoir!