Skye and Sandra’s Blog
Day 1
Skye:
This week I was in Uzès, France on an Erasmus exchange. On the first day we landed early in the morning in Marseille. For some of our group, it was their first time on a plane which was exciting and the views as we landed were incredible. As soon as we landed it was a 2-hour drive to Uzès. We stopped to see Pont du Gard, it’s a big historic bridge built in roman times. There was also a park with amazing scenery. We stopped for food in the park café – we tried galettes, a sort of savoury pancake. Before we got back on the bus to drive to our hotel. I got to share a room with my friend Layla. Our room was on the bottom floor – we had a huge shower and a nice bathroom. The shower was always cold but at least the beds were comfortable. Our first evening there we spent free time in the town and returned to the hotel for dinner.
Day 2:
Sandra:
On day 2, I woke up at 6am. When I woke up, I got ready and met with my friends for breakfast. Breakfast was really good; there was also a coffee and hot chocolate machine which was handy. After everyone was ready, we left for the school at 8.15. My group went on a scavenger hunt around Uzès. We were given maps and a page with clues, and we had to take photos of the things we were looking for. My friends and myself went around to finish the scavenger hunt, and it was really fun and enjoyable. I found so many cool things I wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
After we were done, we still had about an hour and a half to walk around so we sat down for a bit and did some shopping. We went to a bakery and got macarons and an éclair which was SUPER good. After lunch at the school canteen, we went to Nîmes. We went to the amphitheatre which was super cool. It was the second biggest one the romans made which was crazy. After we were done, we went to the park (Jardins de la Fontaine) and had an hour there to relax before heading back to the school for dinner and on to the hotel for a quick shower and bed.
Day 3:
Skye
We got up early eating breakfast and going to school. In school we were in the activities part of the school where we learned about sculpture, stone, iron and woodwork. It was very interesting – I really enjoyed these classes as we don’t have these subjects in our school in Ireland. After we had lunch in the school before being picked u to go see theses cool caves called Grotte de la Salamandre. The light show at the end was so cool and beautiful.
Sandra
At the cave I went into the souvenir shop which had so much cool stuff so I picked up some presents for my family. The guide led us into the cave which was quite cold and bigger than I expected. There were two chambers, the first one was small and the second one was big but even the small one was huge. The guide told us about the formation of the cave and how it was discovered which was really interesting and I really enjoyed it.
We then headed back to the park in Uzès for a pizza picnic. When we arrived a few girls and a teacher went to collect the pizza while we waited in the park. When the pizza arrived me and my friends ate some then had some fun in the playground that was in the park. It was super fun and the pizzas were delicious.
Day 4:
Sandra
Another early start! I got 2 crepes and a croissant for breakfast and after we were done we went out to the school. Today my group was doing regular school. We did art first and there we did a flipbook style drawing where an item has to morph from something to something else, then we went to English where we learnt about inequality between white and black people and lastly we went to chemistry/physics class where we saw the students do physics questions.
Skye
During our first class we had a drill called a terrorist drill which was scary. We locked the door and pushed a desk up against it before closing windows and curtains and knocking off the lights, hiding under tables as the principal went around the school banging on doors screaming pretending to be the attacker.
After we had lunch at the school we got a bus to the Palais des Papes aka the Pope’s Palace in Avignon. We looked around at the at the 2000-year-old palace and at pictures of how it used to look before getting free time to go shopping.
Sandra
We had some time, so me and my friends went around Uzès and bought some stuff at a manga store. My favourite shop was the sweet shops; I got soft serve pistachio ice-cream which was so yummy.
Day 5:
Skye
We got up at 5am to pack and get ready to check out. We had to drive 3 hours to the airport but stopped along the way to see the beautiful walled city of Carcassonne. At the airport it wasn’t long until we were at our gate as we flew through security. I slept for most of the plane ride. When I got home, I had a long nap and a spice bag before I went to see my auntie. I enjoyed my trip and was grateful for the opportunity I was given.
Sandra
We had time to spare before our flight home, so we stopped at this medieval citadel and there were many shops inside the walls. They were very cool, and the ancient streets looked so pretty. I bought some bracelets and sweets and admired the view for a bit. It was a lovely way to spend the morning before flying home.
I really enjoyed Erasmus and would definitely do it again. There were so many cultural differences but overall, they added to the experience. France was a great place and i hope to come back some day.