The French diary

Our friends live in Valence in Drome

Their school In their school, classes usually start at 8:00 am, sometimes at 9:00am or 10:00am ( see our time table below). Their school building is 104 years old ( it is still well preserved and beautiful for its old age!). There are about 1000 students including all high- school and middle- school students. They have a new cafeteria which is nice...Like every school in France, the year is divided into 3 trimesters and they receive 3 report cards (one for each trimester) every year. There are 13 teachers for their class: they learn French, Latin, History, Mathematics, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Physics and Chemistry, Science, Technology, Fine arts, Music and Sports. Their school has a lot of clubs (sports, newspaper... ) and after- school activities… There is a homeroom teacher in charge of each class. There are also a school counsellor and a few education assistants.

Their timetable MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday 8 – 9 amMathematicsFrenchEuropean classFrench/ P.E 9 – 10 amMathematicsEnglish/ Italian EnglishFrench/ P.E 10 – 11 amHistoryVisual artsP.EFrenchGerman/ Italian 11 – 12 amLatinMusicP.EItalian/ Spanish English 12 – 13 pm 13 – 14 pmLatinScience 14 – 15 pmGerman/ Spanish FrenchScienceHistory 15 – 16 pmMathematicsHistoryGerman/ English Mathematics 16 – 17 pmTechnologyEuropean classLatinPhysics chemistry 17 – 17,30 pmTechnologyPhysics chemistry

- Léa Bourdillat: cats and dogs - Léa Chellé: tigers - Léa Garayt: MY dog - Léon: sharks because they are living beings! - Lettice: horses - Manon: cats and horses - Nicolas: cats and dogs because they keep you good company - Raphaël: dolphins - Simon Bernard: frogs - Simon Perton: cats because they look so pretty - Vincent: MY dog - Vitha: spiders because they are scary! - Antoine: dolphins and sharks because they are useful - Camille: leopards and tigers - Miss Michel: elephants because they are wise and old and kind - Célia: horses - Elodie: cats and horses - Eloïse: tigers - Hayette: cats - Irina: no favourite animal - Isadora: pandas - Jeanne: cats - Julien: dogs - Ken: toucans because they look beautiful - Lamia: horse, dogs, cats, tigers and animals of the savannah (and many other animals) Lamia loves animals because they you company, they don’t ask questions, they are kind, nice, sweet, smart, life is easy with them! - Laura: dolphins and dogs - Favourite pets in their class

A school day Isadora’s typical Tuesday At 6.15 am, I get up with my alarm clock, it's very difficult. At 7.30 am, I go to school by bus or on foot. At 8.00 am sharp, classes start and I keep on working and working and studying all morning! At 12.00pm, I go back home for lunch; I sometimes eat with my mother, and sometimes alone. At 2:00 pm, school starts again. At 5:00pm, school is out. At 6:30pm, I go to my dance class. At 7:00pm, I do my homework and I learn my lessons attentively. At 8:30pm, I have dinner with my mother. From 9:30pm on, I spend the evening playing on my computer, playing video games, reading, watching TV, dancing... At around 10:30pm, it’s time to go to bed! Sweet dreams, and see you tomorrow!

A weekend day Lea’s typical Saturday At 8.00 am, I get up with no alarm clock - very cool! At 9.00 am, I, my brother and my sister tidy our bedrooms. At 11.00am, I start preparing lunch. At 12.00pm, it’s lunch time for the whole family! At 1.30pm, I go rollerblading with my best friends. At 4:00pm we have a snack. At 8:00pm, we usually have 3 or 4 guests over for dinner.At 11:00 pm, we get ready to go out to the Blue Note dance club until 6:30am the next morning! Now it’s time for bed! End of story ! Good night

Welcome to Valence and surroundings In Valence, you can visit museums and a beautiful cathedral; not far away, you can go and visit Romans with the most renowned shoe museum in the world ! This 30,000 inhabitant town is very famous for its shoemaking and is the capital of shoes in France. In the Drôme, there are also lots of castles to visit: the castle of Grignan or the castle of Crussol (see below). If you go to the Ardèche you can of course go hiking, canoeing, swimming and camping in the amazing «Gorges de l'Ardeche» (see photo!) and enjoy its river and many great beaches which attract lots of visitors all year round. Both in the Drome and in the Ardeche, you can go hiking everywhere and enjoy wonderful views and landscapes. The most famous mountains of the Rhône-Alpes region are the Vercors massif near the Alps where you can go downhill and crosscountry skiing. In their region, you can also visit famous caves (Choranche, l'Aven d'Orgnac, Thaïs) and also the very nice zoo in Peaugres featuring all kinds of animals. There is even the crocodiles farm near Valence! About 30 kms south of Valence you can go to Montelimar, the French capital of nougats (a candy specialty with honey, almonds and egg whites). Welcome to the Drome! It is a gorgeous place to discover!

Homes in Valence In Valence, there are lots of houses and buildings and also some projects.There aren't a lot of large houses in the city center. Houses are very confortable and modern. The people enjoy the basic washing and heating systems. Let us show you around! At Antoine's, you will find a huge garden and a great house including 8 rooms:a living room, a kitchen, 3 bedrooms (his bedroom, his brother's bedroom and his parents’ bedroom),a study, 2 bathrooms and the toilets. The kitchen is not very large but there are all the necessary kitchen appliances (fridge, dishwasher, etc...) Raphael's house is 150 square meters, its façade is painted beige and there is a big garden too. There are 9 rooms : a kitchen,a living room, 4 bedrooms, a study, 2 bathrooms and 2 toilets. The kitchen is also very modern in the winter they enjoy the floor heating system! Most houses are two-storied.. At home, they have fun watching their movies and games on their favourite LCD TV screen! Home sweet home! This is a new building: This is a farm outside the city center: There aren't many rundown houses but there are lots of residential areas with yellow houses like this one

Marriage traditions in Valence One fine day, Frenchman Mr. Vinot proposes to Miss Aumage. They have now to fix a date (in general it is one Saturday), then go to City Hall for the public announcement. After that, Miss soon-to-be Vinot sends out wedding invitations to friends and relatives –everyone the couple wants to have fun with on their wedding day. The wedding ceremony takes place at Church for Catholics, and it is led by a priest. For weddings among citizens of North African origin, ceremonies take place in a rented room. The bride is accompanied by her father. Together they join the groom and the priest reads out a text which is the same for all weddings. At the end he says:” I pronounce you now husband and wife”. Finally, the bride and the groom exchange wedding rings and kiss.

Sport activities in Valence Go kayaking on the 110 km long Drome river! Ice Hockey Have fun rock climbing! Go downhill skiing! Try iceskating! Enjoy mountain biking and hiking in the Vercors mountains!

The Drome specialities The Pogne is a typical sweet bread you eat for dessert or as a snack The Ravioles are pasta filled with spinach, cheese, herbs and spices... The Lunettes are jam-filled cookies. Sweet Chestnut puree you can use for baking or taste by the spoonful! The Valrhona Chocolate is a best chocolate in our region and one of the finest quality chocolates in France!

Materials by :French students FIN This presentation is made by Michal Čech and Pavel Kočíř