I Really Don't Want to Leave!

I never like saying goodbye. This time it is going to be especially hard. When the Frenchies left Nichols on Febuary 22, we were all sad but we knew that we would see them in a few short weeks. This time we will be leaving for good, no one knows for sure when they are coming back.

I honestly loved every sinlge moment during this exchange. I got the chnce to get to know my Nichols friends better and see them in a whole new encironment. I had an experiance of a lifetime. I met so many wonderful people I am going to be extremly sad to leave behind. I am going to miss my French parents and their deliciously cooked meals. If i had to list all the things I would miss, it would take until dawn. Earlier today some of my French friends and I found ourselve brainstorming ways to keep me in Le Havre. We came up with getting an illness and loosing my passport. Both plan had flaws. =/

I just hope I will return to this wonderful country in the near future!

Rick Bryan in Le Havre

On Friday, Rick Bryan, our headmaster, arrived in Le Havre. Although this was not his first trip to France, it was his first visit to Institution St. Joseph! Over the last 27 years Nichol School has had 25 groups exchange with students of St. Joseph.



In the five days Mr. Bryan was with us, he toured Le Havre, got a French cell phone (the SIM card for his US phone had not been activated), was the guest of honor at a special reception at St. Jo, went to the local tabac to buy a newspaper, watched St. Joseph in action on a Saturday morning, ate a wonderful salad at Restaurant Poi in the Andre Malraux museum with his fantastic and gracious colleagues, visited Honfleur with a teacher from St. Jo, had dinner with his peer, Mr. Bernard Demeillers and his wife, went to Etretat on Saturday and had a fantastic meal--seafood--you should have seen the platter...he'll have the picture in his office I hope. Sunday evening, we were invited to dinner at Mr. Demeillers home where Madame Demeillers prepared a fantastic coq au vin, with a creamy sauce filled with Morell mushrooms. Rick had the pleasure of meeting the teachers who had accompanied the Italian students from a school outside of Florence. The roomed was filled with Italian, French and English, and I personally enjoyed hearing and watching us communicate to make ourselves understood.



On Monday, Rick joined us for the D-Day Beaches. Rick has family connections to the history here, and it was wonderful to visit the museum at Arromanches to get a sense of the engineering feats which led to the success of the "debarquement" and the eventual liberation of France.











On Tuesday, Rick also braved the visit of Le Havre's port by boat. We all got a bird's eye view of one of the major industries here in Le Havre. Le Havre is the #2 port in Europe for containers. It is #5 in the world. Lots of goods come through Le Havre, and I learned from some of our students that two of the French fathers in their host families were involved in managing some aspect of this industry in Le Havre.

At the end of the boat trip, we said farewell to Rick who went off the catch the train to Paris from which he would continue to Spain where he was planning to meet up with our exchange in Asturias.

I think we all enjoyed having Mr. Bryan with us. He asked tons of questions, and learned a lot from the students about their stay here. And yes Rick, your stock is way up for this French teacher because you totally immersed yourself in the exchange experience and awakened your dormand skills in French. You showed the benefits of just a few days in country and your willingness to experience a new culture close up.

Your presence in Le Havre was history in the making, and I look forward to hearing more about the visionary ideas you shared with Monsieur Demeillers.