Château de Josselin

Today students went to class for an hour.  A few lucky students didn't have class this morning.  French high school schedules are a bit more like college schedules where students have different courses on different days and they start and end at different times.  Students typically start at 8:00 and may go as late as 6:00.  However they typically have a lunch break of 1 hour and 45 minutes.  Haven students are still quite surprised by the difference in teaching styles in France and the US.  On the whole, the French style is more lecture driven with less interaction between the teachers and students. They have also remarked on the differences of certain subjects like science and math that are taught differently.

After an hour of class, we took a coach to see the Château de Josselin about one hour away.  We drove through some lovely countryside scenery before arriving in the charming village of Josselin.  We got a tour of the Château.  The tour guide led us through the privately owned 1000 year old castle.  She gave an interesting history of the castle owners through the centuries and significant moments in the history of Brittany and France.

After the chateau, students met up with their correspondants for lunch.  On today's menu: omelets and fries.  For some students, they are finished for the day while others still have more class.  A few students said their correspondants had oral exams in English this afternoon that the Americans helped them with last night.

Overall, we've been lucky with the weather.  Everyone tells us that we brought the beautiful weather with us since it was rather cold before we got here.  Hopefully the sunny weather holds out.

This weekend, students have free time with family and friends.  I asked for some photos of their activities so I will post them if I get them.  Otherwise, the posts will resume Monday when we go to the restaurant school.