We decided it was time to give our French skills a serious boost. So, we enrolled the whole family in two weeks of french studies at the "Centre International D'Antibes, that also offers courses for "juniors" through the month of October. With the standard course package, we would be studying French for three hours each morning.
 |
| Centre International D'Antibes: "Le château" campus |
As you can see from the photo of our first morning on campus below, the whole family was pumped to be there.
 |
| First day looks of enthusiasm |
We had been told that Lily would be in a class with other pre-teens, however, it didn't take Lily long to assess that there were no other pré-ados in the crowd.
Understandably, this made her nervous.
In addition, we knew that we were all facing a written and oral test in order to assess our abilities in French and to place us in the appropriate classes. Barry found the ten page written exam the adults were given a tad excessive, and checked out on page six figuring this had to be enough data for them. Besides, they had just brought out a snack of croissants and pain au chocolat.
I, on the other hand, was determined to finish all ten pages of the written test, even though we were coming up close to the two hour mark. However, the director collected my paper mid-sentence while telling me in French that, for certain, all things have an end. I didn't protest. I was happy to join Barry at the croissant table before there was an end to them.
We later found out that the girls' written and oral assessments were, thankfully, much shorter. After finishing, they had walked back down to the old town with all the new young arrivals and one of the activity directors from the school. Of course, the girls already knew this part of the city very well. When given some free time after a brief tour, Grace went back to the apartment to pick up some spending money while Lily led a group of 14 and 15 year old Swiss students over to the Place de la République to show them where best to buy some supplies they wanted. Lily seemed to have really enjoyed helping these older students.
Our class placements were posted the next morning. Our biggest concern had been where Lily would be placed as the only tween among the bunch, but it seems to have worked out and we are so relieved! Although initially she felt a bit out of place being in a class with 4 teenage girls speaking a lot of Swiss German, she has found them to be very kind and is keeping up with them in the French department. Lily loves the lunch food served at the school cafeteria and appears to have become a favourite of the chef. She has chosen to eat every lunch at a table with her classmates and not her Mom and Dad, and we couldn't be more pleased about that!
Grace was placed in a class with 8 adults and 2 more of the Swiss teenagers . She has really enjoyed getting to know the other girls and has already had a walk around town and a beach date with them. Her teacher has been just excellent and has had some fun conversations with her due to her great speaking skills. Besides the interaction with other teenagers, Grace has been excited about the grammar and writing skills that the class has been working on, making it feel like it has been money well spent.
 |
| Grace and a classmate working on homework together on the school cafeteria patio. |
 |
| View looking out from the school's terrace. |
 |
| Barry is pretty pleased he earned a spot in the top levelled class. |
Originally we thought that we would splurge for two weeks now and then a few more in the spring when the junior programs start up again, but already we are talking about adding on a third week in October. This time we'll let the girls have a say in the decision.
For Grace? it depends on whether or not more young people will be arriving, so that she has at least a few teenage peers with whom to study.
Lily? She may give week number three a thumbs up if the lunches continue to impress.
 |
| Walking home Friday after a successful week of French language study. |
No comments:
Post a Comment