SMUS FRANCE/ITALY RUGBY TOUR 2024
3/22/2024 0 Comments Team May Blog PostOur days billeting in Toulouse and St Marcellin were filled with excitement and challenges. Each member of Team May in Toulouse was paired with other members of the Rugby team and then sent off to stay in the various houses we were assigned to. Starting with Katie’s experience, she said that the family she stayed in Toulouse with was very kind, however challenging because they spoke no English but luckily she had a French speaker, Ruki, staying with her. Aidan said he had a great time staying with his billet and didnt have too many challenges with French because his billet was actually an English speaker. The food was also great, and other than the dog that pooped on the floor, it was a great stay! Tristan says the billets were really amazing in Toulouse and taking him to their club rugby to play touch was amazing. The challenging part was also playing touch rugby because they were really good. His highlight was when he stepped, his very own teammate, Danny Pelyhe. (He fell down.) Zaki says the highlight of his stay in Toulouse was eating Raclette (melted cheese with meat on potatoes.) His billets were extremely kind, they spoke fluent English so he didn't even need his French skills. Chioma says that her billet in Toulouse created the most welcoming environment so that there was never an awkward second. Her host parents spoke fluent English and would encourage their daughters to do the same at the dinner table. They would ask questions and take her and her teammate on a hike. Her billet family hopes to visit Canada one day, and Chioma offered to host them! St. Marcellin was completely different from Toulouse. The welcome we received was HYPE!!!! Our billets lined outside the buses with signs, French flags, boisterous music, and tons of ENERGY. Will says that St Marcellin was really fun because his billet was super kind. He played rugby 2022 with them, and they were super helpful making his (very injured and very purple) toe better. Will's toe... Lilly says that it was cool to play and be hosted by another junior girl on their team. It was challenging to communicate with her French speaking parents and her highlight was socializing and making friends with all her billet’s French friends at the post match function. Henry says he stayed in the boarding houses he was introduced to the fellow boarding students and he also ate at the school with the students. It was very similar to SMUS boarding, and it was a joy to experience what other boarding houses were like. Sierra says that being placed into a billeting home without another smus student was challenging but it soon became her highlight because she got to know the family very well. She enjoyed trying the exciting cultural food and the beautiful French countryside. Kai says that her billets had a lovely home and were very welcoming. They were open to trying to speak English and they encouraged her and her roommate (Sofia) to speak French as well. After the billet family discovered that the smus girls won, they became very frustrated that their team lost. Overall, the experience in St. Marcellin was wonderful. Katie says that her billets in Saint Marcellin were absolutely amazing. She mentioned that even though the visit was short she left feeling like the girls were her good friends. She was in a house with Ruki, Sasha, and Chioma as well, and they spent time learning popular French songs, playing games, and even having a flour fight. On the last night Katie, Sasha, Ruki, Sierra, and their billets all joined up with a few of their billet’s friends to set off fireworks on the field, which was tons of fun! Although goodbye was hard, Katie mentioned that she knew these girls made Saint Marcellin one of the highlights of her entire trip. After our stay in Saint-Marcellin, our final full day in France was spent in Lyon, where we had the opportunity to walk through the lovely streets. Sierra and some of her friends took advantage of the opportunity to go shopping, and made a quick stop at a cafe to try the famous “crookie”. Rounding out her day, Sierra had an excellent lunch at a local Italian restaurant. Kai and Lily also enjoyed exploring the beautiful streets of Lyon. They ate a delicious meal that included Caesar salad and avocado toast and a refreshing orange slushy. They also enjoyed spending their time shopping. Finally, Aidan and Zaki had quite the adventure visiting “La Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière”, which is a basilica that sits atop the highest hill in Lyon. After seeing the Basilica from afar, they made it their mission to go visit it, and made the trek up the hill. After a lot of stairs, and a member of team Daum (Finley) leading them astray on multiple occasions, they made it to the top, where they saw the beautiful architecture of the Basilica. The view from the hill was unmatched, and Zaki and Aidan can safely say they had an amazing time. After that, Zaki went to the Theatre of Fourvière, an Ancient Roman amphitheater. While on the way, he stopped at a museum about the artifacts found at the amphitheater. During the museum visit, Zaki saw lots of cool ancient artifacts such as mosaics, sculptures and columns. There was even a whole section made out of lego, depicting how the structures looked during ancient times. The amphitheater was extremely beautiful and the view of the city from the stands of the theater was extravagant. La Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière View of Lyon Roman Amphitheater of Lugdunum All in all, the team had an amazing time in France, and their billets only made the trip experience better. Written by: Chioma, Will, Aidan, Katie, Tristan, Sierra, Lily, Henry, Kai, Zaki
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