Last Day of Lycee (School) !!!
Walker completed his 9th grade school year on Friday and what an adventure it has been!!! Attending the French school has been a phenomenal education in more ways than one.
He has had a full French immersion experience (no english here!) , he has had 2 weeks of teacher strikes this spring which means school is closed with no make up for lost time option! He has had one week of student strikes (on behalf of the teachers who were on strike!). Student strikers barricaded the school for one week so students could not enter even though the teachers were inside looking out! Fifteen thousand student strikers protested in Grenoble, got into tear gas fights with the Gendarmarie (police), and it was all in true French fashion!!! Walker opted to be "American" and sleep late and enjoy being out of school. Now where other than France could one get such an education?
Between the often sporadic time spent in the Lycee, his online academic courses, and of course our travels, his 9th grade education can all be summed up very simply ... PRICELESS!!!
And then there are Walker's FRIENDS!!! He has made so many and he is very sad about leaving them, but he knows he will be back. The eight exchange students from various spots on the globe, with have become very close buddies, and I think those relationships will continue right along. The French school, rugby team, and skiing friends will probably be life long, just as Dick's friendships have been since he was an exchange student here whoa many years ago.
Walker and Stephanie from Canada
Chefs Alex (California) and Walker
Then of course there have been the "minor happenings" in our year with Walker. The comedy is never ending, and of course we've gained a gray hair or two along the way. If it wasn't crazy enough to bring our dog from the US, Walker rescued a cat who had lived stuck in a tree for a week. After 3 weeks of living happily on terra firma, the cat went back up in the tree only to spend 5 more days looking down on we idiots trying to get it down. A friend's 24-foot ladder came to the rescue. Since then, Meowsers has seemed to settle right down on ground level and in our lives! Both Zydeco (the dog) and Dick seem to be a bit snarly about the whole thing. After all it is an addition to our zoo!!
He has had a full French immersion experience (no english here!) , he has had 2 weeks of teacher strikes this spring which means school is closed with no make up for lost time option! He has had one week of student strikes (on behalf of the teachers who were on strike!). Student strikers barricaded the school for one week so students could not enter even though the teachers were inside looking out! Fifteen thousand student strikers protested in Grenoble, got into tear gas fights with the Gendarmarie (police), and it was all in true French fashion!!! Walker opted to be "American" and sleep late and enjoy being out of school. Now where other than France could one get such an education?
Between the often sporadic time spent in the Lycee, his online academic courses, and of course our travels, his 9th grade education can all be summed up very simply ... PRICELESS!!!
And then there are Walker's FRIENDS!!! He has made so many and he is very sad about leaving them, but he knows he will be back. The eight exchange students from various spots on the globe, with have become very close buddies, and I think those relationships will continue right along. The French school, rugby team, and skiing friends will probably be life long, just as Dick's friendships have been since he was an exchange student here whoa many years ago.
Walker and Stephanie from Canada
Chefs Alex (California) and Walker
Then of course there have been the "minor happenings" in our year with Walker. The comedy is never ending, and of course we've gained a gray hair or two along the way. If it wasn't crazy enough to bring our dog from the US, Walker rescued a cat who had lived stuck in a tree for a week. After 3 weeks of living happily on terra firma, the cat went back up in the tree only to spend 5 more days looking down on we idiots trying to get it down. A friend's 24-foot ladder came to the rescue. Since then, Meowsers has seemed to settle right down on ground level and in our lives! Both Zydeco (the dog) and Dick seem to be a bit snarly about the whole thing. After all it is an addition to our zoo!!
Then, as with EVERY 15 year old, there is a need to practice driving. There are 2 challenges to this. One is being in France a teen does not drive until age 18 (I think that is a GOOD thing!) and the other is NO car has an automatic transmission. So, we've had to focus on steering, clutch, accelerator and brakes all within our short and straight drive way! Occasionally we've jerked and lurched across an empty parking lot. The day our 50 friends were coming for the Fete La Barbeque, Walker decided to "help us" by moving the car in the driveway. The assignment was simple and STRAIGHT FORWARD (er, backwards).
So there went the lavender and rose bushes, but miraculously not the house. The clutch and accelerator worked fine ... the brakes and steering ??? ... not so much!!!
Now school is out, our year is quickly drawing to a close, and I am sure we will wedge in some more adventures before we board the plane. So stay tuned to more reports on our straight forward French living!!!
Now school is out, our year is quickly drawing to a close, and I am sure we will wedge in some more adventures before we board the plane. So stay tuned to more reports on our straight forward French living!!!
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