On y va! : Getting to Toulouse and getting oriented!

PL Becca here, back at it for the second summer! Getting to Toulouse from Milwaukee with a group of 7 students was a blast (kids make travel fun!) and we fortunately all made it through security and customs sans problème! Meeting up with students in Philadelphia, I found Elias, Lavinia, Eri, Foressia, Neenah, Angelica, and Lindsey eagerly awaiting to take off for the first leg of the trip (to Madrid!). In the airport, we got to know each other a bit via mini-interviews where I asked the Toulousers to reveal their favorite flavors of ice cream, what they were most looking forward to in Toulouse, their defining characteristics, and their French experience. A few interesting ones that I have to share for the blog... Eli is most looking forward to getting lost while exploring, Foressia is most looking forward to the food (especially the baguettes and crepes!), and Lindsey is excited to experience a new culture. Favorite flavors of ice cream, you ask? Cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, chocolate, and surprisingly, vanilla. Foressia's beautiful bright red hair was her defining characteristic, Neenah showed off her hyperactive gum muscles when she smiled wide, and Angelia will literally eat anything covered in chocolate. Alright, now that we're all acquainted, time for travel! After a grueling six and a half hour flight, we were there! Well, not quite...we were in Madrid, with another three hours before our next flight. Whew! 

As we traveled through customs, Toulousers were surprised at how abrupt security was. Glancing quickly at passports and our blue CIEE shirts, we must of looked trustworthy and excited to explore, because we all advanced through customs in a breeze. But, alas, we had to go through security a second time in Madrid. Naturally, we all got out our water bottles that we had bought at the previous airport and started chugging. Hilariously, there was a security guard who was watching us, a puzzled expression on his face. After we either threw them away or finished the last drops, he smiled, letting us know that water was okay to bring through security...! Ooh la la how we laughed at this interaction with our Spaniard friend!

Well, as could be determined from the fact that the blog is written lightly and with humor, we all made it safe to Toulouse after our water bottle fiasco and met up with our host families. Toulousers were definitely tired (some of them didn't listen to PL Becca and sleep on the plane...!) when they met their families, but they were nonetheless ready to get started experiencing that French life! We bid them au revoir at the airport, eager to see them and hear about their first night in Toulouse the next day. 

At orientation, I bet you can imagine the kinds of stuff that we went over- the benefits of the program, what behavioral expectations were, and cultural differences. Toulousers had lots of questions and were intrigued by the resident director, Isabelle, and Mathilde, the program coordinator. No question was too much for the Toulouse staff, though. Everything was answered fully and students left orientation feeling like they could do anything in Toulouse that they set their minds to (within the program rules, of course!). 

One of the more entertaining parts of the day was when Isabelle and Mathilde asked Toulousers to find important locations around the Institut Catholique, the school where they would be studying for the next four weeks. Toulousers had to go find three other locations in addition to coming back to the Institut Catholique after: the CIEE Study Center, Carmes, and Esquirol. Carmes and Esquirol are important because they are the two closest metro stops to the study center and school. Program leaders equipped them with maps (no smart phones allowed!) and set them loose in the city. Just like we knew that they would, all three groups found all three places.

 Overall, we're off to a great start! Stay tuned for more!