Day 4 - Romans

Hi everyone,

Had a very early start, we had to be ready and at the host school for 7.15am in time for breakfast. It was so hard getting up and Mrs Emmerson had to call our name a few times! It was so cold this morning so we all had to wrap up warm.
At the school we had a very traditional french breakfast of croissants, french toast and orange juice. Miss Fountain needed a few strong coffees to get alive and kicking this morning.

After breakfast we were made to stand in the large playground and were warmly welcomed with waving flags and the french children performed some traditional dances and songs for us. Next we looked around the school grounds and went into the classes. They were VERY different to ours. French children start school at 8am and finish at 5pm (4.30 for the younger children). They get a Wednesday off. The school was huge and children aged 3-16 attended. We spent most of our time in the primary part of the school. Some of the differences we spotted were that there was no children's work on the walls and hardly any bright and colourful displays like at BB. The children all had a certain seat in the classroom and worked at tables all of the time - even the nursery and reception children. When we went into the classrooms all of the children stood up to greet us - we felt very important! The children tried hard to speak to us in English and we practised our French. We saw lots of flags and information linked to the Comenius Project around the school.

The highlight of our day was lunchtime. Unlike the UK, children do not get to choose what they would like for lunch. On the menu today was rabbit leg...needless to say we didn't eat much (luckly we found a delicious pattiserie later). Mrs Emmerson and Miss Sinnott tried hard to eat the rabbit leg but Miss Fountain filled up on cheeses and salad instead.

After lunch we headed for a tour of the city where we are staying, Romans. We visited some churches and shops as well as some other landmarks of the city. Our guide bought us a delicacy to try, this was a sweet bread that French people eat at breakfast time, it tasted a little like hot cross buns.

Tomorrow we are off to Avignon for the day. We hope you are all keeping well.

The BB gang.