Friday, February 29, 2008
Your EF Tours Chaperone's sign up for intense EF training!
While you guys are laying by the pool, visiting the grand canyon, holding down your sofa's and spending time in a vegetative state, Ms. Satterwhite and Ms. Savage (Ms. Flynn, still trying to decide which way to go...she'll be a little busy getting married this summer.) will be pining away at our jobs. EF Tours makes sure that all first time EF tour participants have well trained EF Tour leaders (that's us) and all but insist that we participate in this intensive training. So, sadly, we will be trained for one week in the summer in an EF tours orientation. This orientation will show us how the trip we take to Paris works from every aspect such as transportation, lodging, guided tours, etc. We'll be thinking of you as we stroll along with our Cannoli in one hand and Gelato in the other because our orientation tour is in ROME!!!! Bellisimo! This seemed perfect to us because while you are still preparing for this trip, we are already thinking to 2011 when we will take another group of students to Italy (Rome, Florence and Venice) Which ones of you Lucky Ducks will go twice with us to Europe while in HS?
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Hot off the Press! Marion Cotillard, French actress, wins first Oscar...
We will eventually post a list of "MUST SEE, MUST READ, MUST HEAR" movies, books and music for all of the aspiring Francophiles out there. But this just in, Marion Cotillard, only minutes ago, walked away with her first Oscar win for her portrayal of France's "Little Sparrow" Edith Piaf, in the movie La Vie En Rose. Edith Piaf is Paris' version of our American songstress Billy Holiday and is known all over Paris as a historical music Icon. This movie title is taken from her most notable song. In addition to depicting the life of Edith Piaf and her powerful music, the movie is obviously set in Paris and shows the city in both beauty and despair, as well as daily Parisian life. I highly recommend renting this noteworthy piece of cinematic genius and perhaps picking up the soundtrack. You will be well on your way to checking off the boxes of the "MUST SEE, MUST HEAR."
For a little snippet of the movie click here http://www.edithpiafmovie.com/
NOTE: This movie is rated PG-13. It does not have overt sexual content but does have language and content that may not be suitable for less mature viewers.
Interesting Factoid: Marion Cotillard is actually quite breathtaking in real life. She is tall and a characteristically dark featured, beautiful pale skin, French woman. In contrast, Edith Piaf was awkward at best and not so attractive as she had an under bite, receding hairline and shaved eyebrows. Marion Cotillard trained herself to have this same under bite, shaved her own eyebrows and in complete dedication to her role, shaved her own own hairline above the forehead, moving it back about an inch in complete dedication to transforming herself into the great Edith Piaf.
For a little snippet of the movie click here http://www.edithpiafmovie.com/
NOTE: This movie is rated PG-13. It does not have overt sexual content but does have language and content that may not be suitable for less mature viewers.
Interesting Factoid: Marion Cotillard is actually quite breathtaking in real life. She is tall and a characteristically dark featured, beautiful pale skin, French woman. In contrast, Edith Piaf was awkward at best and not so attractive as she had an under bite, receding hairline and shaved eyebrows. Marion Cotillard trained herself to have this same under bite, shaved her own eyebrows and in complete dedication to her role, shaved her own own hairline above the forehead, moving it back about an inch in complete dedication to transforming herself into the great Edith Piaf.
Palais Garnier- Phantom Of The Opera
Hello Everyone! Bonjour!
I am a huge Phantom of the Opera fan, and I thought that the Palais Garnier Opera House might be an interesting place to visit on one of our free days.
Its is about 4 euros to tour it freely between performances.
Some creepy history... In 1896, one of the counter-weights for the chandelier fell, killing one. This, as well as the underground lake and other elements of the Opera House, inspired Gaston Leroux to write his classic Gothic novel, The Phantom of the Opera.
Exciting stuff as well as this lovely ceiling painted by Marc Chagall.
Au Revior!
It's a MUST!!!
All you Paris travelers need to pick up or check out (library book) a Paris travel guide and start learning a little about where we are going, what we are seeing, the food we'll eat, the history of the city, etc. There are all sorts of fascinating facts about any city but Paris is a historically significant city that is also alive and well with modern goings on. The best way to get a quick view of the city and to get your excitement factor way up is to grab one of these books. There are many different varieties to pick up at the store. Frommers is probably the safest bet, followed by Rick Steve's travel guides. I personally love the Eyewitness brand travel guides. The Eyewitness guides come in a more comprehensive book like Frommers and Steve's but they also have a "top ten" guide to all the major cities in the world. These are great for quick reference and for carrying about while there visiting. If budget is of no concern I would consider this trio to be all that you'll need to be well informed:
Rick Steve's or Frommers big guide
Plus...an Eyewitness "Top Ten Paris" guide
Plus... a pocket reference of common french terms for anyone that is not in the French class. YOU WILL NEED TO KNOW SOME French. If nothing else, you need to know some key phrases to ask questions "where is the bathroom?" exchange expected pleasantries "Hello/goodbye Ma'am!, please and thank you." And some simple statements "check please!"
Ms. Flynn will be posting a quick reference of easy terms later though..so you may just want to wait for her informal French lesson on the blog.
And remember, don't forget places like "half price books" if you want to own your own copy and using the library isn't going to work for you.
Bon Jour!
Rick Steve's or Frommers big guide
Plus...an Eyewitness "Top Ten Paris" guide
Plus... a pocket reference of common french terms for anyone that is not in the French class. YOU WILL NEED TO KNOW SOME French. If nothing else, you need to know some key phrases to ask questions "where is the bathroom?" exchange expected pleasantries "Hello/goodbye Ma'am!, please and thank you." And some simple statements "check please!"
Ms. Flynn will be posting a quick reference of easy terms later though..so you may just want to wait for her informal French lesson on the blog.
And remember, don't forget places like "half price books" if you want to own your own copy and using the library isn't going to work for you.
Bon Jour!
Thanks for making our parent meeting a huge success!
Thank you to everyone who attended our parent meeting on 3-21-08. If you missed the meeting, we did a complete overview of the itinerary, addressed some general travel related questions, chaperon introductions and expectations, tour pricing, hotel class information, contact information for EF tours, as well as how to contact and communicate with the three official chaperons. (see side bar to this page for chaperon information) At present time, we are contacting those students family's who have enrolled and any parents that attended the meeting and left contact information. If you wish to be added to the list of contacts, please contact a chaperons with your name, student name and affiliation (Art or French class/club), whether your student is already enrolled, your best contact phone number and a reliable email address.
There were a couple of big ticket questions that have been answered by EF and as tour leader that I want to share here.
Parents wanted to know if the French class and Art club/class would be traveling in tandem. EF tells me that they cannot guarantee that we will all travel on the same flight (depends on how many seats are available on the flights) but that once we get there, we will indeed be in the same hotel and traveling about Paris together. Yeah!
And don't worry parents, EF will be certain that if our group is divided in flight, that there will be at least one chaperon assigned to the flight. But remember, at this time we actually have more adults traveling than students (double Yeah!) and therefore we will have plenty of official and unofficial chaperone's on hand even if divided in flight.
To clarify...if you have a son on the tour ...EF tour policy is such that any room with less than four students could be paired with a group of male students from another school. After thinking about this for about a minute, we feel that it would be better for our fellas to NOT have to share a room with other students from other schools. Therefore, we will ask first for donations to cover any incidental costs for the under booked room or apply fundraising money first to that fee before we begin disbursing it amongst the group. At present time, we only have one male student enrolled but expect two more to enroll. We have lots of female students on the trip but if we end up with an odd number, we will apply the same mindset to their rooming as well and keep them in rooms with only students from MHS.
Au Revior, Ms. Savage
There were a couple of big ticket questions that have been answered by EF and as tour leader that I want to share here.
Parents wanted to know if the French class and Art club/class would be traveling in tandem. EF tells me that they cannot guarantee that we will all travel on the same flight (depends on how many seats are available on the flights) but that once we get there, we will indeed be in the same hotel and traveling about Paris together. Yeah!
And don't worry parents, EF will be certain that if our group is divided in flight, that there will be at least one chaperon assigned to the flight. But remember, at this time we actually have more adults traveling than students (double Yeah!) and therefore we will have plenty of official and unofficial chaperone's on hand even if divided in flight.
To clarify...if you have a son on the tour ...EF tour policy is such that any room with less than four students could be paired with a group of male students from another school. After thinking about this for about a minute, we feel that it would be better for our fellas to NOT have to share a room with other students from other schools. Therefore, we will ask first for donations to cover any incidental costs for the under booked room or apply fundraising money first to that fee before we begin disbursing it amongst the group. At present time, we only have one male student enrolled but expect two more to enroll. We have lots of female students on the trip but if we end up with an odd number, we will apply the same mindset to their rooming as well and keep them in rooms with only students from MHS.
Au Revior, Ms. Savage
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