Thursday, we held
our class as usual. The weather was rainy, and it was a very
good day for the students to read Chapter 3 of the text and
to work on their travel journals.
On
Friday, with good weather returning, we held our morning classes
as usual; we had the visit of a French poodle who followed some
of the students to class. A phone call to the owner reassured
her that her pooch was safe and would be returning home at lunchtime.
The students have noted with some amusement that French dogs
are very obedient, provided you speak to them in French!
We had the first
of our conversation sessions, in which half of the group meets
with French host mother Marie-Caroline Boubée while the
other half works on the culture text with Prof. Jeantet. We
will be holding this type of extra study session twice a week
til the end of the Program in late June. Mrs. Boubée,
who is a journalist, has also taught at the University of Grenoble;
her conversation sessions were a very popular feature of the
Program two years ago, and we are very fortunate to have Mrs.
Boubée to work with us again this year.
Friday
afternoon, we saw that our group's arrival in the area was mentionned
inthe paper, Le Dauphiné Libéré,
the regional newspaper of Southeastern France. Students clustered
around our one copy of the article and noted with satisfaction
that the reporter had just about all of the facts down correctly.
(Click on the photo to see the article)...
Saturday
morning, the students hopped the bus to get to the nearby city
of Annecy. After a thirty-five minute ride along the western
bank of Lake Annecy, the bus reached the Hôtel de Ville
stop, where we were to start our visit.
We met our guide for
the day, Catherine Hermann, who is a doctoral student in Medieval
History at the University of Chambéry. She led the group
into the Vieille Ville (Old City) as she explained the layout
and history of the city. We started near the Palais de l'Isle,
the old court and prison building, a squat medieval fortress
built on an island in the narrow river Thiou which runs through
the city. The prison was used as recently as the Second World
War, when the Germans imprisoned and "questioned"
Resistance fighters in the building, which is now a museum.
From the Palais de l'Isle, we walked
down the Rue Ste Claire, the main artery of the old city. About
halfway down the street, we climbed the steep incline to the
castle, an imposing fortress from which the view of the city
is most impressive, especially on as clear a day as we had.
View of Annecy from
the castle
The castle houses some traditional
folk art and some contemporary art which left
the students as perplexed as underwhelmed. Nearly everyone in
Annecy complains bitterly about
the fact that the museum hoards and hides an outstanding collection
of traditional arts and crafts,
but displays almost exclusively second or third-rate contemporary
creations. On the other hand,
the building itself is beautifully restored, and we enjoyed
sitting next to the windows nestled in the thick stone walls
and imagining life in the castle in its heyday.
Back
down in the Old City, we walked along the pedestrian streets
and saw daily life in a small French city. Annecy is criss-crossed
by rivers and canals, and is called "The Venice of Savoy".
This is a bit of a stretch, as there are no gondoliers and there
are plenty of streets filled with automobiles. But all could
agree that this very scenic city must be a nice place to live.
Saturday
evening, we attended the AFA (Association Faverges-Akron) dinner
in the city's Salle Polyvalente (Events Hall). People started
arriving around 8pm. Some 150 people attended the event, which
is a dinner-dance and fund-raiser for AFA activities. As always,
the dinner was splendidly catered by AFA President Yvette Millot,
who runs the organisation with seemingly boundless energy and
enthusiasm. The images below show just a few of the hors-d'oeuvres
treats prepared by Yvette.
There was a surprise at the dinner,
as 1997 Faverges Program participant John Mietus showed up with
his French host family. John,
a former Akron City Policeman, completed his UA degree last
year, and now works as a civilian engineer for the Navy. His
stated ambition, four years ago, had been someday to return
to France to work; he is currently working with an electronics
firm in southern France for a three-month period, and uses his
French language skills every day. John can be seen in the photo
above, at left, with his French host "dad", Franck
Staubli, with whom he has corresponded regularly for the past
four years.
The photo at left above shows people
dancing, the photo at right a couple
of French friends of AFA smiling for the camera. A raffle was
held late in the evening, with numerous prizes contributed by
local businesses being awarded to the attendees. A couple of
the women students won haircuts and facials offered by a local
beautician, and Tony Rett won the grand prize, a 12-person porcelain
tea set which may or may not fit in his suitcase at the end
of the Program!
Beautiful weather is predicted for
the next few days. Some students are goinmg to Albertville on
Sunday morning to attend Protestant services; others will be
walking around the countryside, preparing for hikes into the
mountains later in the Program, once the snow cover melts away.
Below, a view of Mt Sambuy, which is just outside of Faverges.
Next report, probably
next Wednesday evening
Questions? Comments?
Please write by clicking the @ link below
You
are visitor No.
(more or less) to one of our
"Trip" pages in quite a while. Thanks for stopping
by!
On
Friday, with good weather returning, we held our morning classes
as usual; we had the visit of a French poodle who followed some
of the students to class. A phone call to the owner reassured
her that her pooch was safe and would be returning home at lunchtime.
The students have noted with some amusement that French dogs
are very obedient, provided you speak to them in French!
Saturday
morning, the students hopped the bus to get to the nearby city
of Annecy. After a thirty-five minute ride along the western
bank of Lake Annecy, the bus reached the Hôtel de Ville
stop, where we were to start our visit.
left
the students as perplexed as underwhelmed. Nearly everyone in
Annecy complains bitterly about
the fact that the museum hoards and hides an outstanding collection
of traditional arts and crafts,
but displays almost exclusively second or third-rate contemporary
creations. On the other hand,
the building itself is beautifully restored, and we enjoyed
sitting next to the windows nestled in the thick stone walls
and imagining life in the castle in its heyday. 
Back
down in the Old City, we walked along the pedestrian streets
and saw daily life in a small French city. Annecy is criss-crossed
by rivers and canals, and is called "The Venice of Savoy".
This is a bit of a stretch, as there are no gondoliers and there
are plenty of streets filled with automobiles. But all could
agree that this very scenic city must be a nice place to live.
Saturday
evening, we attended the AFA (Association Faverges-Akron) dinner
in the city's Salle Polyvalente (Events Hall). People started
arriving around 8pm. Some 150 people attended the event, which
is a dinner-dance and fund-raiser for AFA activities. As always,
the dinner was splendidly catered by AFA President Yvette Millot,
who runs the organisation with seemingly boundless energy and
enthusiasm. The images below show just a few of the hors-d'oeuvres
treats prepared by Yvette.
John,
a former Akron City Policeman, completed his UA degree last
year, and now works as a civilian engineer for the Navy. His
stated ambition, four years ago, had been someday to return
to France to work; he is currently working with an electronics
firm in southern France for a three-month period, and uses his
French language skills every day. John can be seen in the photo
above, at left, with his French host "dad", Franck
Staubli, with whom he has corresponded regularly for the past
four years. 
couple
of French friends of AFA smiling for the camera. A raffle was
held late in the evening, with numerous prizes contributed by
local businesses being awarded to the attendees. A couple of
the women students won haircuts and facials offered by a local
beautician, and Tony Rett won the grand prize, a 12-person porcelain
tea set which may or may not fit in his suitcase at the end
of the Program!
