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Wednesday,
June 6, 2001
On Sunday, the students,
now well accustomed to navigating around Paris on their own, went
to various museums and  palaces
such as the Louvre, the Orsay, and Versailles. Emil, after a morning
visit to the Louvre, met at lunchtime with Dr. Nena Roy (photo
at left) and her husband in a pizzeria on the Place d'Italie.
The weather on Sunday was sunny and cool, and everyone had an
excellent time.
Monday morning, the
group left the hotel at 8:30am to get to the Gare de Lyon train
station for the ride back to the Alps. Since it was Pentecost
Monday (a national holiday in France), the streets were empty
and the métro was equally devoid of passengers.
The ride on the TGV
train was uneventful, and most of the students slept through most
of the ride. Once in Annecy, they caught a bus back to Faverges,
arriving in their homes away from home by mid-afternoon.
 
Tuesday, classes resumed.
But the weather was so nice that in the afternoon several of the
students decided to try hang-gliding (with an experienced pilot).
We drove up to the Col de la Forclaz mountain pass where we were
met by Noël Veyrat, a reputed hang-glider pilot who has been
flying professionally since 1974.
One by one in turn, Glenn, Kendra,
Tony and Emil made the big bounding leap off the ramp toward the
lake some 2,000 feet below. All had good flights, and most were
eager to repeat the experience should the opportunity arise. The
pictures below show Glenn giving the "thumbs up" sign
before his flight, and Tony practicing the take-off run with the
pilot.
 
The images below show Kendra (below
left) and Emil (below right) in flight.
 
While most of the students were quiet
as they ran off the ramp, Tony was vocally demonstrative, clearly
surprised by the intensity of the experience.
The image below is a small animation
showing Emil's flight. In order for this series of images to be
transmitted over the internet, the images have been reduced and
compressed. But the time sequence is close to accurate.
Hang-gliding is not a university-sponsored
activity, but students since the inception of the Program in 1987
have enjoyed the opportunity to try this exciting ride in the
Alps.
Wednesday, classes as usual. At lunchtime,
we all went to Yvette Millot's house for a gourmet lunch. The
photos below shows Yvette preparing quenelles de brochet à
la bisque de homard, and the students enthusiastically dispatching
the meal.
 
Thursday, depending on the weather,
we will go either to Chamonix or Geneva on a day trip. Friday,
classes. Saturday, the AFA day trip to Lyon.
The students now have only two weeks
left in the Program. The six-week stint, which had appeared so
long when the Program began four weeks ago, now seems to be drawing
to a close all too quickly!
Next
report to be posted Sunday, June 10, 2001
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