Four Students Head To France To Study French
Four young students sponsored by l’Alliance Française des Bermudes left the island on Saturday [June 28] to study French for three weeks in Cannes, on the French Riviera. They were all very excited about the trip and anxious to meet their host families.
Sarah Czarnecki from Saltus Grammar School, Sabriyya Harvey from Warwick Academy, Hanna Bushara from Somersfield, and Jahmai Small from Cedarbridge:
At the international language school Centre International d’Antibes, the students are assessed on the first day and grouped in different classes so they have the opportunity to learn at their own level. They take formal language classes three hours each day but learning takes place throughout the day.
The French hosts families take in two or three students, normally from different countries, and friendship rapidly develop with French being the “common language”. Bermudian students enjoy the warm hospitality of the French families, sharing evening meals and excursions during the week-end, and after Cannes, the trip concludes with a four day fun-packed adventure in the French capital. “
“Three years ago we decided that a France experience would not be complete without a few days in Paris”, says Alexandra Amat, the coordinator for the program. “The students will travel by train from Cannes to Paris, and we will all stay together in an apartment in the heart of the city”.
With so much to enjoy, the students can expect a lot of walking and touring, lots of picture taken and lots of eating. This year, the students are in for a real treat: History and Art will be honoured with the Château de Versailles, the Louvre, the Musée d’ Orsay and the Cluny Museum. They will play real tourists hoping on and off the red bus to experience the Champs Elysées’ atmosphere, Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, and then head slightly off the beaten track to the l’Institut du Monde Arabe, the Chocolate Factory and la Rue Mouffetard.
“We were lucky to see the arrival of the Tour de France for the past two years and especially last year which was their 100th Anniversary. They wowed us with a laser show on the Arc de Triomphe! We are one week too early this year but will make up with a pique-nique in Le Parc de Buttes Chaumont at sun down. Bistros and Cafe will be our cantina and boulangeries our breakfast haven,” added Amat.
The Paris trip gives our students the opportunity to hone their language skills “outside the classroom”, thanks to volunteer committee members willing to escort the student group every year.
The Christian Humann Foundation has been funding the education program of l’Alliance Française des Bermudes since its inception in 2000. The newly elected president of l’Alliance, Audrey Smatt, urges “les anciens étudiants” to join the French community for the Bastille Day Celebrations on Saturday, July 12.
“We have reached out to our students from years past who are back in Bermuda this summer. We would love to meet them again, and to found out what influence this trip may have had on their studies and career path” says Smatt.
This year’s Bermuda Bastille day celebrations will be in the form ofa garden party which will transport you to France and its July 14th traditions, with long banquet tables set à la Française in the beautiful gardens of historic Waterville. “
“With Chef Derek Meyers from IRG, we have chosen a very traditional menu, with steak and merguez, and bien sûr, a cheese course and crêpes for dessert” says Smatt.
The new president is originally from the pacific Island of La Réunion, and met her Bermudian husband while working in London.
“Since moving here, I discovered that Bermudians have such a love of French culture, French food and French wine. We expect many supporters at the Robin Hood this week watching the French football team!” she says.
L’Alliance’s members are not only French and Francophones from Africa, Europe, Canada and all around the world, but include many Francophiles who join in for evenings of pétanque , wine tasting, and French cinéma. L’Alliance welcomes all, French, Francophones and Francophiles, to join the Bastille Day celebrations on July 12. Tickets for the event are sold at BDATix.
L’Alliance Française des Bermudes is a Bermuda registered charity, whose aim is to promote the French language and culture in Bermuda. Visit www.alliancefrancaise.bm for membership and more information.
I loved the program that they went on in France. Good luck and have lots of fun.