Getting known in La Rochelle

A huge day in many ways. Kate got up at 5.30 am to be on time for school and our ‘official’ day didn’t end until nearly 8 pm! Packed full of new and fun experiences, most of the kids were buzzing for most of the day.

It began with a ‘reception’ at the Collège Jean Guiton, the school with whom we are mostly hosted. This school of 11 to 15 year olds is rugby mad and selects students on the basis of their involvement in the sport. It’s the first time they have hosted a group from New Zealand, or just about anywhere, and we were certainly made a fuss of. After being formally met by a  line-up of the Principal, Deputy Principal, English teacher and PE teacher (both involved in our week’s programme), we were welcomed with a breakfast (the second for most) with all the host students, and plied with croissants, pains au chocolat, fruit, juice and hot chocolates.

Then it was straight into classes for the younger ones who experienced a variety of subjects, while the older ones headed off by bus to the Lycée St Exupéry where they were impressed by the student common room complete with billiard table and a café, and later exuberant about what they had managed, or not, to understand in classes of Spanish, French literature and Maths.

Another bus trip back to the Collège and it was time for lunch in the school canteen, an immense room where the kids eat a three-course meal of, for example, salad, chicken and veges with a pottle of yogurt and fruit for dessert. We teachers ate in the staff ‘eating-room’, where we were given a carafe of red wine to demolish with our lunch. At least we weren’t expected to teach afterwards!

The afternoon’s cultural and sporting exchange started at the gymnasium where our students did themselves proud with their performance of the waiata and haka. All the senior management and a local journalist (we made it into the local paper the very next day) were there to watch and when the boys went into the crouch position the atmosphere was electric. Led by Hama, they then tried teaching it to the others, and the smiles on the faces of the French boys said it all.

Next was a session of rock-climbing on the very extensive climbing walls of the gym, followed by a rugby match and a game of tek (French baseball) out on the playing field. Given that the rugby was refereed by Sean’s 14 year old host brother who seemed to really enjoy using the whistle, it was obvious that the emphasis was on fun and in the spirit of friendship.

After another impromptu haka on the field when a boy who had missed out at the gym nearly went into apoplexy when he discovered what was going on, it was now 4.30 pm (when Collège finishes), but our day was not yet over.

We all headed into town for a 'glace' from an amazing range of delicious flavours, followed by an Open Day tour of the local theatre (all in French), interspersed with clips from a play, all performed by students from local schools where specialisation in theatre is an option during their last year. Other than that it was about ghosts, life, death and, of course, politics, it remained a bit of a mystery to most, but the building was very impressive with its two theatres and vast amount of equipment. To have this facility in a town the size of La Rochelle (about 100,000), shows the regard in which theatre is held here.