Friday April 9th

It's about noon (France time, which is six hours ahead of EDT) and as I am writing this minute, we are stuck in traffic jams on the outskirts of Paris. The only vehicles moving at any great rate of speed are the motorcycles, who weave in and out of lanes at will. Hey, I think I just discovered a great concept for a new video game. But alas, there probably is already one.

However, back up. We left Potsdam High School yesterday at 2:00 in the afternoon. There are forty one students (twenty one from Potsdam HS and twenty from Canton HS) and five adults in the group. It took awhile to get everybody through both the Canadian Border Custom

s and then Montreal airport security. The plane took off at 9:15 PM. Dinner was served (a real one, not crackers and peanuts) and if you pulled an all nighter, you got to see two movies; Blindside and Up in the Air. I managed to catch parts of both, with uncomfortable naps in between. Factor in the time change, and we landed at 4:15 AM EDT, or 10:15 AM France time to beautiful sunny skies and warm temperatures.

After corralling the luggage pieces and the students, we still had a two hour drive to Nogent, a village about the same size as Potsdam. Here we met the host families. After all the hugs, kisses, and proper instructions, everyone scattered to their respective destinations.

I am staying with Jean Chauvin, who is the equivalent of a social studies and geography teacher in the US. Jean is one of the organizers and leaders of the Exchange from the French side.

His companion, Catherine Bonthoux, also teaches at the same High School. They live in a beautiful 200 year old stone house overlooking farmland and countryside. Jean has about a ten minute drive to work at Nogent HS each day. After a "typical" French lunch of several salads, several meats (all pork) and several cheeses and fruits, strong French coffee was served in the back yard. I could really get used to this lifestyle. :-)

After lunch we took a short walk down the road and visited the farmer who's land surrounds Jean and Catherine's home. This small farm raises beef cattle, crops, and chickens. It was one of the most immaculately kept farms I have ever visited. Like many small farms everywhere, the wife has an outside job in town. The other thing that caught my eye is the fact that the house is stone and it is attached to the barns. Some of the buildings were built in the 1700's.

All and all, this was an exceptional first day in France. There is no let up in the schedule for the next two weeks, so stay tuned and I'll update when I can.

Until later........