Our final day in Picardie

Too quickly our time here has come to a close. Our final day has been as full of memorable experiences as every other day here, but there was an appropriate air of sadness. Indeed, we began our day with a trip to the Somme American Cemetery in Bony.

We were able to visit the grounds; first with a French guide and then later on our own. It was a very moving experience to walk among the graves of the soldiers. We identified all nine graves and took pictures of them for our Oklahoma Soldier's Project (soon to be posted here). We also visit the ecumenical chapel at the cemetery and found the name of one Oklahoma soldier on the Wall of the Missing, which we also photgraphed. Before leaving, we said a prayer together and had a moment of silence for the soldiers.

Then, we went on a driving tour of the battlefields, cemeteries (German, South African, Canadian, British, Australian, and New Zealander), and monuments of the region. We stopped for a picnic lunch near a German cemetery and then had a quick cup of coffee at a special cafe called "Cafe Tommy". This cafe is special because it honors soldiers of the British Commonwealth who fought in World War I. We met several British soldiers in their 70's who were carousing there and the girls had a great time hearing their stories. None of them fought in France, but they were salty characters who had many great stories to tell.

We proceeded on our way then to the Historial de Peronne, a museum dedicated to the comparative history of World War I through the eyes of the French, the Germans, and the British. We saw many interesting and moving artifacts there. The girls got to learn a lesson with a British guide that helped to target their appreciation of World War I.

Once we returned to Montdidier and everyoine had a chance to dress up, we met back at the high school for a pot luck "Farewell" dance. The girls did some line dancing (very popular here in France) and then we watched a slideshow of pictures from our stay here. There was lots of laughter and tears as well. We are sad to leave this community of friends and we look forward to receiving the French in our own community in the Fall.

The entire day on Thursday was spent in Amiens. The French partners and our girls, along with Madama and two teachers began with a boat tour of Les hortillonnages in Amiens. These are waterways created by the Romans on what was originally marshland. In fact, it is now an area of small islands of land surrounded by shallow waterways that you can tour in shallow boats. We divided into three boats and we saw some beautiful natural scenery.

After the boat tour, the students had some free time for shopping in Amiens. We ate a picnic lunch at a gazebo in a park and then we met at the cathedral of Amiens. It is a very impressive gothic structure that experienced some damage in the two World Wars, but it has been well restored. We also got to see the relic that some believe is the head of John the Baptist! There are 7 churches that claim to have the relic of his head and they can't all be right, but it was an interesting thing to see.

We ended our day with a tour of Jules Verne's house (he was from Amiens).

Wednesday in Amiens

On Wednesday, we all started the day at the lycee. Madame sat in on a technology training for teachers and got some GREAT ideas that she plans to use with students in the future. Jessie got to sit in on a Calculus class and the teacher tells Madame that Jessie was a bit of a star --- he was quite impressed with her skills in both Calculus and French. We look forward to the commentaries of the girls to find out how they spent their morning. (Rumor has it they got to learn some Spanish...)

After a picnic lunch in front of the school, we headed to the Archives of the Picardie Region for an afternoon of historical research. The Archives are located in a former nunnery and we had a French researcher to guide us through our exploration of first-hand source materials. The French students were with us, so the all the students broke into three groups to study three different themes: The destruction of the war and reconstruction, the daily life of a solodier at the front, and the obligation to remember. Students got to look at photographs from WWI, letters from first-hand witnesses, the census of 1910 & 1900, the newspaper published for French soldiers at the front, postcards from the period, etc. Once the groups had fully explored their topic, they shared what they had learned as a group. It was very informative and we all walked away with a better idea of the experience of WWI in the Picardie region.


Afterwards, we went on a brief walking tour of Amiens and we got to sit in a French cafe, have some refreshments, and feel kind of "French".

On the way home, with Madame Coadou driving a 9 person bus and Madame Robillard driving Ms. Coadou's car, the latter automobile got a flat tire and a very nice Frenchman fixed it so we could continue on our way back to Montdidier. Upon our return, everyone went back to their respective families and homes.

Tuesday in Cantigny

Tuesday, classes were back in session. Madame participated with 4 of the American girls in an English class (Jessie was in Math) and all of us participated in a History class. In the History class, we studied a propaganda poster from WWI and we analyzed the poster in French with our French counterparts.

After class, it was time for lunch and we enjoyed a typical "picard" meal prepared by the high school's very talented chef. We ate a 'ficelle picarde' which is a crepe filled with cheese, ham, onions, and mushrooms and baked in the oven with more cheese on top. We also had duck with vegetables, cheeses from the region, and a very delicious dessert of berry and apricot 'bavarois' pastry. It was all very delicious and quite filling!

After lunch, our group of Americans traveled with two of the French teachers to the nearby village of Cantigny. Our French partners had to stay in class, of course. Cantigny was the site of the first American battle of WWI and the combined American/French forces were victorious against the Germans, but at a very high cost for the village, which was completely destroyed.

We stopped at a rodside monument with an eagle on top that was erected by the US government. All the names of the Americans who died in the battle were listed there and each girl found the name of her adopted soldier on the monument. Since some poppies were growing nearby, we picked them and laid them at the base of the monument in remembrance.

We visited the barn of the current mayor of Cantigny where we we saw a German cannon and and French cannon. He told us that he regularly comes across shells from the battle and we saw exploded and unexploded French and German shells.

We also visited the American monument in Cantigny where they had a memorial ceremony just before we came to France on May 28th.

If it's Monday, we're tourists!

Today is Pentecost Monday --- a school holiday in France --- so, all the Americans and their partners met up with Madame Robillard, Madame Coadou (the history teacher who is Madame Robillard's direct partner on the Oklahoma Soldiers' project) and Madame Hamard (one of the English teachers at Lycee Jean Racine). We went on a road trip! Our first stop, after the public restrooms, was St. Valery-sur-Somme where we walked along the Baie de la Somme and ate a picnic on the boardwalk. Madame's legs were really sore from all the recent walking, so she waited by the sea while the students and teachers walked up to the old city and visited what is essentially a medieval town. (We look forward to reading the girls' descriptions of this experience here at this blog.)

Then, we left St. Valery-sur-Somme and on our way out of town we came across an amazingly beautiful field of poppies, so we stopped for a photo shoot --- the pictures should fit well with our project since poppies are associated with remembering those killed in World War I. We drove a bit to get to the coast and we visited the beaches at Cayeux.

The beaches are made of smooth stones rather than sand. Several of us gathered stones to keep as a souvenir. Madame's most morable souvenir has to be the sunburn she got! All the girls except Jessie decided to dip their feet in the English Channel (freezing!).


After the beach, we drove for about half an hour to the castle at Rambure. This is a beautiful castle that began in the Middle Ages during the 100 Years' War and was added to and improved successively over the years. We got to have a guided tour and we took many wonderful pictures. We also went on a tour of the grounds and found an American Sequoyah there! The girls were impressed with the "moat" and drawbridge and perhaps we all felt as though we had traveled through time a bit.

It took another hour to get back to Montdidier from the castle and each girl went home with her host family.

Sunday in the Country

After a good night's sleep, Madame was able to join Jeanne and the librarian from our sister school at mass. It was a very nice Pentecost Sunday. We also saw Melissa and her host brother at mass. During the service, the priest invited all those who were just confirmed and those who were confirmed last year to come forward for the intecessory prayer. When he learned that Jeanne would be confirmed in 2 weeks, he invited her as well and then he invited Madame forwward as well as a "visiting American". After mass, Madame got caught up on the activities the girls have been doing and she stressed that the girls need oto post messages to the blog!

The librarian and her husband joined Madame and the teacher hosting Madame (Laure-Helene) for a garden lunch of mango chicken and rice with French cheese and fresh strawberries. Miam! Later, Madame went with Laure-Helene and her husband to visit the town of Compiegne where there was a wine and cheese festival. Then, they went to a small village festival outside Compiegne where there was some really wonderful theatre. Laure Helene and her husband have invited two English teachers to dinner and Madame is ready now to enjoy their company and eat some French barbecue! (Hoping as well that the girls will document their experiences of the last two days here at our blog.

Busy Day

We started the day with a semi-official reception at Lycee Jean Racine (sorry, no accents available on my mini computer!) --- hot chocolate, orange juice, and pain au chocolat. The students got to know each other and all the girls reported that they were comfortable with their host families. The school's assistant director then took us (les Amercains) on a tour of the building inside and out, then the girls got to sit in on a class for an hour. Then we all met up in the school's media center where the girls had to work with their French partners to complete a questionnaire about a panel-exhibit on the First World War (in French, of course). Then, we all went our separate ways. Some girls got to go bowling, but now we would like each of the girls to post a message about what they did on Saturday afternoon.

Madame ate lunch in Amiens with her host, the Latin teacher Laure-Helene and the English teacher Maud. We ate at a beautiful restaurant called "Le Vert Galant" that serves regional specialties. Madame ate la ficelle picarde, la salade des rieux, and (of course!) la creme brulee. Then we went on a walking tour of Amiens: Les hortillonnages, the cathedral, the rues pietonnes, a great bookstore, and the train station. Once we got back to Montdidier, we ate a simple dinner on the back porch with some of Madame's favorite cheeses.