Wednesday, May 23 2007

Lots of activities this week. Classes every day so far, of course, and activities galore. This first photo shows pastry-sampling during a break between classes on Tuesday. The weather has warmed up considerably, and sunshine has replaced the rain of the first week.

Tuesday afternoon, we decided to take advantage of the excellent flying conditions to set up a non-university-sponsored activity which has proven to be very popular over the years: hang-gliding from the Col de la Forclaz. Our students fly with the most experienced team around and invariably have a great time. This shot shows Rachel enjoying her flight as the pilot balances a camera on the end of a pole.

The most exciting part of the flight is generally the takeoff, which involves running off a ramp into the void. The distance to the bottom is about 2000 feet vertically which, when explained as "about two World Trade Center towers tall" becomes frighteningly clear to the students. Talk about an adrenaline rush ! After a practice run, the students are ready to run with their pilot down the ramp into a memorable adventure. In this shot we see Ramona and her pilot leaping off the ramp.

A couple of minutes later, Ramona is all smiles as she hangs on to her pilot's straps (for stability) and flies high over Lake Annecy. She appears to be overcoming a lifelong struggle with motion sickness, and it is likely that this experience helped ! We will be posting short videos of the takeoff runs this weekend when we have access to an ADSL line...

Here we see Carolyn losing her footing as the wing starts to catch the headwind. Flying conditions were ideal as a stiff wind blew in exactly the right direction, and thermals provided ample lift for long flights all afternoon long.

This shot shows Matthew high above the landscape. The wheels on the trapeze allow the wing to land very much like an airplane; neither the pilot nor passenger have to worry about landing on their feet as they roll to a stop hanging horizontally just above the grass.

Here we see Karen running unhesitantly as her pilot Gauthier starts the takeoff run. Gauthier spends half the year in New Zealand, half the year in the Alps, living in perpetual summer !

Lauren flew on a parasail instead of a hang glider. Her pilot Armand is a highly respected pilot whose expertise almost guarantees a smooth landing.

Jeff was the final flyer of the day. We see him here posing proudly in front of the delta wing shortly after landing on the grass strip at the southern tip of Lake Annecy. The site from which we flew is one of the premier sites in Europe for hang-gliding and parasailing. The license plates of the other flyers's cars that day showed that they had come from Germany, England, Hungary and Holland for the opportunity to fly here. To see short videos of the students' takeoff runs, go to DailyMotion and do a search for "favak"

Quite a few of the students have bicycles for transportation; many have reported that they have lost (excess) weight and sleep extremely well. It's only been a week and a half since they arrived, but they are all finding it easier to communicate and, in class, have actually been asking their teachers for grammar to use !

This photo, taken Wednesday morning, shows one group of students with Marie-Caroline Boubée, who teaches conversation classes. We split the students into two groups so that they have more opportunity to express themselves in these very small classes.

Today, Yvette Millot revived the old tradition of Wednesday pasta lunch at her house. The weather was in the upper 70s, and we were able to enjoy a nice, fresh salad and spaghetti bolognese in her garden. While some may worry about the amount of wine that Yvette is carrying, I must point out that of the three bottles, only two were opened, and that we were, after all, eighteen people sharing two bottles of wine and many bottles of mineral water ! This group of students has been exemplary for its sobriety.

A photo taken at the start of lunch shows Ramona and Coda. Coda later went into Annecy with her host mom, and many of the other students went to the beach at Doussard to try to catch some rays.

Even though the meal consisted of a pasta main dish, people ate a lot of bread. The students love the real French baguettes, and have learned that Faverges prides itself for its excellent bakeries and discriminating bread-eaters ! Then again, the cheese course, consisting of the local Reblochon cheese, requires some really good bread. Several students report the Reblochon is their abolutely favorite cheese ever.

On Thursday, we will be going as a group to Annecy to visit the castle museums and old town. Friday morning, classes will be held normally. On Friday afternoon , seven of the students will observe classes in the elementary school (and the other seven will do so on Monday). Late Friday afternoon, a City Hall reception will be held in our honor. It'll give us an opportunity to dress up a bit, in practice for the AFA party that is being held on Saturday evening. Students will have an entirely free Sunday, and classes will resume on Monday.

Next report, probably Sunday evening.