Today’s post, written by Clay Benjack ’18, recounts Tuesday, March 7, 2017:

After a relatively short bus ride, we arrived at Les Sables d’Asnelles, a small, quaint bakery in a town of Normandy. Once there, we learned the history of the town’s delicacy: les sables. These are cookies covered with butter and sugar. We were able to get a behind-the-scenes look at how they are made through the chef at the bakery. He also allowed us to cut our own sables, which we then proceeded to heat and eat. After eating these delicious cookies and thanking the chef, we hopped back on the bus and rode to La Ferme de Billy, a family cider business.

     Here we learned all about the process of how to make apple cider as well as juice. We toured the orchard as well as an ancient, yet beautiful chapel right in the middle of the property. After this, we got to taste two different types of delicious apple juice and decadent caramel. When this was over, we jumped back on the bus and drove to Paris where we met up with our exchange students at St. Do. After catching up, they took us back to their houses for a relaxing start of the Paris portion of our trip.

Today’s post, written by CJ Ball ’18, to recount Monday, March 6, 2017:

Today was our second in France, and our first real day spending the whole 24 hours in the country. To start off our day, we had to eat breakfast from our hotel at 7:15 in the morning, which is way too early, especially for a spring break day. The morning was worth it, though! Our first visit was to Caen-Normandie Memorial, an exceptional museum about World War II, particularly about D-Day. The museum had plenty of exhibits, following chronological order, spanning from Hitler’s rise to power, all the way to the Cold War. After touring the museum, we saw a short film about D-Day, showing how the Allied Powers liberated France from Nazi control.

Pointe du Hoc

Omaha Beach

After the visit to the museum, we took a ride over to two of the actual war sites from D-Day: Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beach. At Pointe du Hoc, the terrain of the earth is filled with craters, with leftover remnants of German bunkers. One really cool part was a giant crater, where a bunker blew up, sending a huge piece of stone (the size of three couches) flying 30 yards away. After visiting the sites, our group visited the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, which pays respect to the American troops who gave their lives during the war. The piece of land is actually American soil, as the French gifted it to the U.S., to show gratitude and respect towards the efforts in D-Day and the rest of World War II. The cemetery concluded our trip for the day, as we picked up some snacks on the way home and wrapped up the day back at our hotel.

Pointe du Hoc

Today’s post, written by Carissa Ferguson ’18, to recount the group’s first day in France,                        Sunday, March 5, 2017:

After 11-12 hours of extensive travel and lack of sleep, we finally reached the region of Normandy in northern France. Once there we stopped by Le Mont Saint Michel, one of France’s most recognizable landmarks to date due to its breathtaking Roman and Gothic architecture. To say it was a little windy would be an understatement. I honestly thought I was going to blow away. But despite that, I think we really enjoyed our visit. 

However, the best part of the day was when we stopped by this small sandwich shop to order lunch. It was my first time I’ve eaten in France and the food is just as good as they say, especially the bread. I’m excited to get the chance to come across more authentic French food, and to experience more of France overall.

On Saturday, March 4, 2017, 14 Upper School French language students and 2 faculty leaders headed to Paris for the next two weeks! Follow along on their adventure…

The French Exchange student group met on Wednesday, February 22, to prepare for their upcoming time abroad. They worked together to craft a “Group Contract” of collective goals for their two weeks abroad and also developed “Daily Leadership Roles” in order to really own and guide their experience. Only a few days left until departure to Paris!

Here are some photos from the recent French Exchange with Saint Dominique!

Mary Alice Russell was able to ask her exchange student, Andrea Godfrin, about her experience at NA. Here is her response:

“Last year, in October 2015, I participated in the exchange program with USA and France. It was a beautiful experience, one of the best in my life. I met new and wonderful people, a new way-of-life, and I learned a lot of things! My exchange student Mary Alice and her family were so nice to me and this summer I went back to their house. I really recommend for you to do this exchange if you like traveling (especially seeing Paris) and meeting new people. Thank you to the Norfolk Academy professors, students, and the Russell family. I hope to see a lot of Americans during the next exchange in March 2017!”

Thank you Mary Alice and Andrea for supplying your experiences for the French Exchange Blog!

Here are some photos from Halle Stoney’s Summer Exchange Trip!

Farewell Clémence and thank you for visiting Norfolk Academy!

Here are some photos from her stay!

Clémence Gavat is visiting Norfolk Academy for a couple weeks from France!

Clémence has been very generous and has helped both French 1 classes with their pronunciation of the French language.

Merci Clémence, and we hope you continue to enjoy your time in the United States.