France!

Today, we took an excursion to Chamonix, France. Chamonix is a little resort town near the foot of Mont Blanc, which is the highest mountain peak in Europe. The mountains were beautiful, although Mont Blanc itself was covered in snow and not always easy to see.

Once arriving in Chamonix, we took the train up to Mer de Glace. It was about a 20 minute train ride up the mountain and there were nice views of the mountains from there.

We did a short walk through of a crystal gallery, where they displayed various crystals formed in caves in the area. This was an amethyst:

From there, we hiked down the mountain to approach the famous glacier. It was a long trek down, and at the end, included over 400 steps to see the glacial cave.

Once we got down to the caves, we walked inside the glacier. The glacier is constantly receding and gravity is pushing the glacier down the hill at 1cm every hour, or 90m per year. Every morning, workers recarve the cave to compensate for this movement to ensure it is safe to go inside. It was very interesting walking into the ice cave.

After the caves, we walked the 400+ steps back up to a cable car, which took us back to where we started, and then we trained it back to Chamonix. Here, Tim & I are squashed into the cable car with Nathalie & Chantal!

Once we got back to Chamonix, students had a couple hours to explore Chamonix. Students enjoyed some French crepes and shopping before we headed back home.

Because of the Swiss national day tomorrow, students had today off, so they get a nice long weekend. They'll have some "time off" to rest and explore in Leysin over the next two days. Many of the students seemed a little extra tired today, so the rest will do them good. The weather has also been a bit cooler in Leysin lately (i.e. it was only +9C when we woke up for breakfast this morning), so that's actually been a refreshing change from the heat. In spite of the exhaustion some students are feeling, the consensus has been that all are sad to realize that this is their final week in Switzerland. 

Tim & Elviene

Japanese in Switzerland

We are definitely in a mix of language and culture here in Switzerland, learning Japanese in an English speaking school located in French Switzerland!

Contrary to how it may seem, the students are actually learning stuff in classes and doing a fair bit of homework during their time here. I bet some of you would be amazed at how often the students are mentioning all the homework they are working on, even on the weekends!

I snuck into Japanese class one day and caught snippets of some of the students showing off their Japanese, although don't ask me to interpret. Have a look/listen!

This Friday, we are all headed to Chamomix, France, which is the site of Mont Blanc - the highest mountain peak in Europe. (Again, a slight change from the schedule I emailed out before we left.) 

Tim & Elviene

MMC photos # 2

Please enjoy the photos from our trips to Aosta and the canyoning excursion in Les Marécottes.

Canyoning

Students getting organized with all of the equipment. Wet suits are a challenge!

   It was Tokio's birthday treat to go canyoning!

See the jumps and slides!

Happy faces of success!

Aosta Italy

Today, we spent the day in Aosta Italy! All of the Gr 11, 12, and exchange students went there, while the Gr 10s spent the day in Zermatt. It was a long three hour drive there but the scenery was more beautiful than anticipated. We took the scenic route there over the St. Bernard Pass, where we stopped for a bit to take some photos and explore. Gorgeous!

We arrived in Aosta and explored the Roman ruins there. We read somewhere that Aosta is the most Roman city outside of Rome. It did include an arch, a Roman theatre, and a basilica. 

Prices in Italy are substantially cheaper than Switzerland, so many students used it as an opportunity to shop or enjoy some cheap food. Here, some students are eating the bag lunch provided by the school (usually consisting of a ham sandwich, a baked pastry, an apple, a chocolate bar, a granola bar, and a bottle of water). However, some students preferred to eat some pizza, which were as cheap as 2 Euros for a full pizza! 

The bus was pretty quiet on the way home. The Japanese students seem to have an incredibly easy time sleeping on the bus, but it seems like many of our students joined the trend on the way home as well.

Tomorrow, 10 of our students are going canyoning at Salanfe with the MMC supervisors, who will try to get some pics up on the blog for you. I've delegated some of this week's blogging to some SRSS students, so you'll get some of their perspective on the blog this week as well!

Our time in Switzerland has now reached the halfway point. Only two more weeks to go. 

Tim & Elviene

Boarding School Tour

I thought I would give you a short photo tour of the school to give you a glimpse of where students spend their time when they're not in classes.

The school is split into four buildings, all connected by both indoor hallways and outdoor walkways. From left to right, the first building is the girls dorm. The second building is the main building where the cafeteria, offices, health centre, and classrooms are. The third building is the mens residence. The fourth building is the assembly hall & more classrooms. 

Here's the first building and then the other three buildings next to them. Just in front of these buildings is a basketball court the Japanese students use every chance they get!

Each dorm has a recreation room that is co-ed, where students hang out. Here are photos of both rec rooms:

The dorm rooms are quite nice with views overlooking the Alps. The beds are like bunk beds with an office desk below and a bed on top. 

Each dorm has a dorm head who look after the students in the evenings. Chantal received a sweet little note from the dorm mother one day.

Here's some photos of the main building, including cafeteria (which has an outdoor patio), the reception area, and the health centre:

The staff has been so amazingly friendly and welcoming. They do their utmost to ensure everyone is taken care of and enjoying themselves. 

Tomorrow, the group is getting an extra early start as we are heading to Aosta Italy for 7am (note: there have been some changes in scheduling since the calendar I sent out via email a while back). It'll be a long 3 hour bus ride each way, but it will also be a great opportunity for the students to visit another country!

Until next time,

Tim & Elviene