Back to our Roots France

Sunday – the departure By car, a travel from Portalegre to Lisbon takes around 2 hours and a half. So we had to wake up early. Really really early. While we were waiting for the plane, we took photos, phone called our friends to say good bye and did some shopping.

That was an Air France plane and the stewardesses didn’t speak Portuguese. So we started feeling at that moment that we were backito our roots. There was a Portuguese couple sitting behind us so we talked to them all the journey. Paris seen from above is huge. Unfortunately, we couldn’t visit it on that day because the train was at 3 p. m. Mrs. Garcia bought our bus tickets and we went to Montparnasse Station. There we met again our Italian colleagues and met the Turkish girls.

In the TGV, we were separated from each other so I and the other Portuguese girls went from coach to coach searching for them. Two ladies asked us where we were from and what we were doing in France. They seemed interested. In mid-journey, when we were better knowing the Turkish girls, a not very nice British lady corrected our English. We thanked her. When we arrived at Saint Malo station, everyone was nervous and excited. I and Renata already knew our hosts but the others didn’t. So that was very interesting. I hugged everyone that I met on their trip to Portugal.

Saint Malo Station

My host family

Monday We spent all day in the Collège playing games and doing other activities. I made a lot of friends. Even today I talk to them. In the afternoon, we went to the Party Room and every nationality sang and danced for the audition. We sang the Portuguese version of If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands. They liked it so much that even said: Encore! Encore!

The Following Days On Tuesday, we visited Dinan and Saint Malo. Saint Malo is such a beautiful town. Really really beautiful. With a lot of stone buildings and big beaches. There I bought a peace of chocolate but the shopper didn’t speak English so it was a little difficult.

On Wednesday we visited Mont Saint Michel. It looks like Cinderella’s Castle. I ate waffles at dinner. Delicious! We had dinner at Collège on Thursday. It was very funny because everyone wanted to sit near everyone and there weren’t enough tables. Then we went to the leafy courtyard to have fun. On Saturday, we visited a small castle with a huge garden.

Differences between Portugal and France There are a lot of differences between those countries. 1.People are more calm and well-mannered in France. 2.They wake up earlier and work a lot by day. 3.They have eighteen free TV channels while we just have four. 4.Some families haven’t TV sets because they don’t want to. 5.French people eat lots of chocolate. Ahahahah!

Saturday – Au revoir, tout le mounde We caught the TGV at 6 a. m. to Paris. It was very sad because nobody wanted to leave the families. Really really sad. Mrs. Garcia told me that the TGV was not so fast as she thought. But when the train was driving really fast, she fell asleep.

After we said good-bye to our Italian, Spanish and Turkish colleagues at Montparnasse, we caught the underground train to the Eiffel Tower. Some of my friends didn’t like it, but I loved!

The point is that it was an amazing experience. Not for the beautiful views and places but because I had contact with other cultures. And this is very enriching.