Wednesday, May 14 2003   On Sunday morning we met for a stroll around the sleepy town of Faverges; we walked through the medieval streets, admiring 500-year-old doorways and buildings dating back as far as the 13th Century. We hiked up a steep incline up to the castle, walked around the courtyard, and then ambled down some very uneven cobblestone steps back into town. We located the building where we will meet on Monday for classes, in a modern bujilding lent to us by the municipality.
	We stopped in a little café for a cup of espresso coffee and sat back to enjoy the sunshine and mild temperatures. By noon, we returned to the market square where the host families came to fetch the students to bring them home for lunch. On the market square we found Bethany, who had shown up a half hour late and thus missed the walking tour. We had waited the usual "quart d'heure savoyard" (extra fifteen minutes) before setting out, but time waits for no one, and Bethany will see the rest of the town on another day.
	That same afternoon, Colette had the opportunity to taste her host mom's "lapin chasseur" (rabbit cacciatore); despite her early misgivings and hesitation at eating this unfamiliar type of critter, Colette downed a glass of white wine and tried the dish, finding much to her surprise that rabbit tastes just fine, rather like chicken, though its bone structure certainly would prevent anyone from mistaking this tasty dish for any kind of poultry.
	The next morning, classes started in earnest. We met for 90 minutes of the French Civ class, and after a few minutes' pause the students met their conversation teacher, Mme Marie-Caroline Boubée, a journalist and sometime college teacher who has worked with several of our student groups in the past. The students observed that the topics addressed by the conversation class would undoubtedly prove invaluable, since if after several years of college French they were able to discuss the philosophical premises of a text or analyse the deep structure of a poem, they were quite unable to explain how to perform simple everyday tasks; the course will address that specific skill , as the students will learn to explain mundane tasks, give directions, and sollicit information in colloquial French. The vocabulary lists are long and detailed, but the students clearly are highly motivated to expand their vocabulary as quickly as possible. On Tuesday, we had our morning classes as usual, as will be the case most weekdays over the next six weeks. After lunch, we went over to the neighboring village of Viuz, home of the local archeological museum. Our guide, Patrick Rendu, explained in clear French the history of human habitation in the area, from Neolithic to Chalcolithic and finally Iron Age times; the wealth of artifacts, Stone Age axes to Bronze Age jewelry and Gallo-Roman tools and pottery, is quite impressive: the dedication of the local volunteers who found these objects and built the museum is clear evidence of the pride that the local people have in their history.
	We were joined by some notables for a visit of the crypt under the church's altar, and saw the remains of the foundations of several buildings that were built successively on the site starting in Roman times. After the other visitors had left, we crawled on hands and knees through narrow passageways into a zone reserved for a privileged few. The photo at right shows three of our students modeling human legbones under the floor of the church in what they dubbed the 'Pebbles and Bam-Bam hairdo' . . . . Colette claims to be mildly claustrophobic, though one would never have suspected it, seeing her crawl through the tunnels, filming and photographing everything along the way. Wednesday morning, we met an hour earlier than usual so that we would have time to visit the weekly open-air market. In the photo at left, Julie is seen choosing underwear for Luke's girlfriend back in the States. We all walked around the entire length of the market square, admiring the beautiful produce, stopping on occasion to sample donkey salami and the local air-dried ham, a flavorful Savoy version of the prosciutto that is made also across the Alps in northern Italy, which is just a few dozen miles away across the mountains.
	The vendor seen at right is the one who gave us sausage and ham; all of the products in her stall are locally produced, and we'll be sure to try other tasty treats next week when we come through the market again. After the market, we went to the bank and post office before going to our classroom for the rest of the morning.
	We all had lunch at Yvette's, which will be a regular Wednesday noontime activity. Yvette, who is an excellent cook, had prepared quenelles de volaille in Sauce Nantua. You can surely find the recipe on the internet if you do a Google search; the students all clearly liked this treat, and we all are curious to see how Yvette will surpass herself next week! After lunch, six of the students went up the Crêt de Chambellon hill which overlooks Faverges. High as it is, the hill is dwarfed by the surrounding peaks, as the students will soon realize. The weather was crisp and clear, ideal weather for a hike and for viewing the mountains.  View of Faverges from the Crêt de Chambellon
	As Ken, Luke, Julie, Rachelle, Joe and Dustin climbed up and down the mountain, Colette and Bethany went into the Médiathèque to use the internet connection. The internet staffer, Nurten Oskan, allows the members of our group to use the Médiathèque's ADSL connection and computer so that they may send and receive e-mails. The pained look on Bethany's face comes from her frustration with the French keyboard which she will undoubtedly learn to master after a few more uses.
	On Thursday and Friday, we will have classes in the morning ; Thursday afternoon, the group will be received at Town Hall. Saturday, we are to spend the whole day in the nearby city of Annecy... plenty to do, plenty to keep us busy these days despite the cold snap which has descended on the area since yesterday. Next report, Saturday or Sunday. BTW Bethany's missing luggage was delivered to her house on Sunday.   Questions? Comments? Please write by clicking the @ link below
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