On est arrivé : Toulouse!

Session 2 CIEE Toulousers left for France on Saturday and arrived in Toulouse on Sunday.  All 46 made it safe and sound to Toulouse in time for orientation on Monday.  The trip was quite an adventure for some, especially Saul who flew on his own and took a 17 hour bus ride from Paris!! (He'll hopefully take the train back... ;) )  Other Toulousers took indepedent trips, some flew from Boston with Stanzi, and 27 flew together from Newark airport with Deborah and Cynthia.  At Newark Airport everyone got to meet in person for the first time!  Max organized everyone into a group photo to remember the occassion, Rocio and Liz found each other and enjoyed a delicious meal, while Andrew, Ella, Lily, and a sleepy Helena hung out at the Subway food court waiting for the international flight to Lisbon.  Lots of these future best friends had been chatting through SnapChat, and were excited to meet each other in person for the first time!  When we finally got onto the flight to Lisbon we discovered that there were a lot of empty seats.  Victoria had a row to herself and others changed seats to stretch out and relax.  Tamia learned on the flight that Europeans worry about if you eat on the flight, but that you don't have to listen to random guys that tell you you'll be nautious if you don't eat.  (Don't worry, she enjoyed a nice McDonald's meal in Lisbon.) . When we finally landed in Lisbon the reality started to hit.  In just a few hours we'd be in France, meeting host families, and leaving each other for almost a full day!  What would they talk about?  What would their host families be like in person?  What would the other student they were staying with be like?  So many worries and questions were bubbling up in their minds.  We landed in Toulouse in the morning and it was time to grab the bags, exit the doors, and finally see the families and CIEE staff that they would be with for the next 4 weeks.  Julie met everyone outside the doors and gave them their folders, while Mathilde waited with the host families.  As they walked with their bags they realized they were meeting their new families and would soon be in their new homes starting to adjust to this new life!  Lawrence looked concerned and everyone was a bit nervous, but as the families approached their students, tensions broke and smiles started to spread.  They went home with their new French families and got to enjoy their first meal in France, started to explore their new home, and finally were able to relax after a very long trip.  The 4 weeks of Language and Culture has begun for Session 2 and this group of kind, welcoming, and open-minded students will learn and experience so much thanks to their generous host families and excellent on-site staff.