Toulouse Students Beat the Heat with Cultural Excursions

What a beginning to the week it's been! Welcoming the largest HSSA class in CIEE Toulouse history has been a very worthwhile challenge as we've already seen students interacting with their communities, host families, and classmates. Unfortunately, the group as apparently brought with them an intense heat wave that has sent temperatures soaring into the high 30s (Celsius) in the afternoon and even touching 40 (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday. Thanks to our ever-vigilant and quick-thinking staff, we were able to put together a host of heat-friendly afternoon activities to accompany their morning French classes. Let's take a peek at what the group has been up to!

Muséum de Toulouse (Toulouse Natural History Museum)

At the Muséum de Toulouse, students saw exhibits on the formation of different minerals, how tectnonic plates affect our landscape, and the development of life from its inception. The museum featured an impressive collection of animal figures which highlighted similarities that unite animals in the same family and small differences that set them apart. This wasn't just an opportunity for students to learn about biology, however, as the museum's informational placards provided great vocabulary including, everyone's favorite, animal names! Many students also took the opportunity to complete their first "Oz le français" which asks students to interact with members of the community. They were able to share ideas of what interested them in the exhibits and get some recommendations about what to do around Toulouse. 

La Piscine Alfred Nakache (Alfred Nakache Pool)

Those who were attentive and determined enough to access the sign-up sheet early were able to snag a spot to go to the Alfred Nakache Pool, the largest pool in all of Europe. Pool policies on group size limits and chaperoning rules prevented us from taking a very large group here, but we still wanted to give some students the opportunity to experience how Toulouse spends their leisure time. Wednesday afternoons are generally reserved for extra-curricular activities or leisure time in French schools, so this group got the opportunity to interact with lots of French youth as they tried to beat the heat together. 

Quai des Savoirs (Social Sciences Museum)

When you serendipitously run into a pop-up publicity tent handing out free samples of beignets, how could you not stop? This group continued from this unplanned pit stop to the Quai des Savoirs which advertises itself as a "center for the dissemination and sharing of scientific, technical, and industrial culture" and which now houses a variety of interesting exhibits. The main focus of this visit was the exhibit of the "Esprit Critique" which sheds light on the flood of information that inundates us in the modern age and shows us some techniques to bring some healthy skepticism to our news feed. The critical spirit is something that is shared and valued far and wide by the French people and this exhibit gave students a chance to not only learn about how they can combat misinformation in their news feeds, but also get a glimpse into how the French people think about and frame this worldwide problem.

It's been a packed week of getting to know new classmates, a new family, and a brand new country, but the fun is only just beginning. This weekend, half of the group will go to Carcassonne to explore the Gallo-Roman history and ruins and the other half will go to Domaine de Thoré for a nature-filled weekend in the French countryside. Don't worry if both of those options sound amazing, both groups switch in a couple weeks so that everyone will get to do both excursions! We can't wait to see how the group settles into their new homes and how much they improve their French over the next few weeks. A bientôt! (See you soon!)