Arrivés ! The first weekend

Bonjour tout le monde,

Here's an update on what we've been up to:

Thursday and Friday:
Traveling abroad always brings adventures, and with folks arriving from all over, the students' first test of the immersion experience involved navigating hotels and airports, cabs and directions, purchasing calling cards and drinks, asking for directions and help with lost luggage, and getting to know their new friends through chatting, ice breakers, and games. Once at Laval, we got settled in our dorms, offered all students a calling card to call home, and set out for our first dinner in the campus student-run pub.

Saturday:
More settling in and getting acquainted with each other, the campus, and the city. After informal interviews to help establish the groups for class and then orientation and lunch, we ventured into the Old City for a guided tour of the 400 years of Québec's history at the Musée de la Civilisation, free time to explore the Lower Old City and taste the local fare, and a nighttime sound-and-image projected spectacle by respected artist and director Robert Lepage on the port...until the rain arrived and it was back chez nous.

Sunday:
With the weatherman threatening rain and the kids tired for travel and walking, we opted to keep our trip to Levis for another day. Some students took advantage of this to sleep in (faire la grasse matinée), other brave souls tried yoga in French, and everyone took a walking tour of key campus stops (post office, library, internet area, cafés, gym, shopping center, supermarket, bank...). After some free time with important tasks like window shopping, napping, chatting, and jogging on the agenda, it was pizza and residence night with mocktails, music, games.

A la prochaine !