please forgive the poor blogging the past 10 days...i did not have access to a computer for a while there, and of course there is the busy schedule.

since my last blog we have done many things. on our way from avranches to rouen we stopped at all the d-day beaches and the american cemetary and we were quite taken by the stories of the war, and the history that is still evident along the coast. it was a foggy day, so we didn't have the greatest views of the ocean, but there was still plenty to see. the memorial museum in caen was also very impressive, as there is a good program that connects the first and the second world war in a historical timeline. all over normandy there is evidence of the war. at the cathedral in liseux today, there were paintings with bullet holes. the cathedral was the only structure in liseux that was not destroyed.

we also went to our first fromagerie yesterday and got a lesson in norman cheese making, and tomorrow we go to taste the calvados, the local specialty that is like a whisky but made with apples.

rouen is a very impressive city with 100 churches, and the most famous cathedral of which the tribune towers in chicago is modeled after--the cathedral of rouen and the 'butter tower'. we went for a drive after a rotary meeting to a point up on the hill and could see the whole city light up at night, with the seine glowing; it was beautiful. monet has painted the scene, though we haven't seen monet's house and garden yet.

today is the second and final day of the french elections for national assembly and our host families were glued to the television watching the results. quite an interesting time to be here, during the elections!

in avranche we were all very impressed with the mont st. michel and the scriptorium museum. the amount of work that went into translating, writing and binding all the books, and the amount of history that was maintained because of it was almost overwhelming. and of course it is amazing to think that there are times, with the tide, when mont. st. michel is surrounded by the ocean. we were there during low tide and could see a group of people that were walking from avranche to the mt. saint michel, something that can only be done in a specific time period with a low tide!

we've been enjoying ourselves quite a bit, laughing every day, and enjoying the great lengths the french rotarians are going to extend us warm welcomes and good times. the president of the liseux rotary club even transformed his garage into an outdoor 'tent' so that our bbq could continue despite the rain! we've been eating wonderful meals, drinking great wine and poire (a local specialty), and having good conversations (yes, in french!) with everyone we've met. we have one week left, and i will do my best to add pictures and to update on the final leg of our tour! bon nuit! monica

Jane isn't in a lot of the pictures, because all of the pictures are taken by her! Here are a few, one of the city, and one of a container ship.

Here is the scene of the BBQ in the country. Margot and Nick are pictured here with Bernard, the judge who hosted their vocational day in Le Havre. Behind them are the French and American flags.

Ah, the view at Etratat. Nick, Jane and I went on a drive here, with Dominique and Carolee Ferme, after a wonderful barbeque in the country.

Here we are doing a service project with the Le Havre clubs, selling vests for vehicle emergencies, where the money raised will go to polio plus.

Here is the view of the newly constructed Bridge of Normandy from the boat.

Today was our first day with our 2nd host families. Everyone has been so welcoming it has been wonderful. We got a tour of the port, and went up into the cranes where the move the containers, and once the pictures are on the computer I will upload because it was incredible. Yesterday we had an architectural tour of the city of Le Havre, where we learned about the reconstruction of the city after the bombing, during WWII.

And here we are on the boat, while we were waiting in the locke to pass into the River Seine.

This is the village of Honfleur, where we went on Monday afternoon after our boat tour of the River Seine.

Note: All photos posted have been taken by Jane, our leader and photographer.

And here's Nick working hard at the warehouse where they store coffee. Le Havre is an important port for the coffee trade. My (Monica) first host "father," Patrick, works here and gave us the tour of the facility. We also tasted 6 different types of coffee.

Here we are at the airport in Paris with the district 1640 inbound coordinator, district 1640 governor, and Sue Smallwood, our governor!

The team hit the ground running.....just four days ago.

When we arrived in Paris we quickly headed to Le Havre for a wonderful luncheon the clubs in the city organized for the two Governors - Sue Smallwood and Pierre Espinasse. At that time we also met our host families. We are each in separate homes during this stage of the exchange and have experienced the best of French hospitality thus far!

On Monday, we visited the "Cafe Verte" and learned about importing and exporting coffee in France. Cafe Verte is the only remaining coffee importer in France. In the afternoon we went to Honfluer and were treated to a boat ride to see "Le Pont Normandie" and a quick walk around the town. Even in the rain, it was obvious the town is quite charming. In the evening, Dominique Ferme, the leader of the team from Normandy, hosted the entire team and our host families for a lovely evening.

On Tuesday, the group visited the Chamber of Commerce in Le Havre. The building in which it resides is quite impressive and unlike the Chambers of Commerce in the US, all local companies pay taxes that go directly to the operation of the Chamber. In the afternoon, we visited the Port of Le Havre. It is an expansive and sophisticated operation to say the least. And to finish our day's program, we had the happy surprise of seeing President Sarkosy make his first public address since being elected! Apparently, the mayor in Le Havre and the new President are good friends and Le Havre has the good fortune of hosting events like this.

Today, each team member had a professional day. I have not seen the others, but Nick and I spent the day observing the courts in Le Havre. The differences between the French and American justice systems are big and small. It was a wonderful chance to have such a close view!

We apologize for the delay in posting our updates. We are thankful so many of you are interested in tracking our progress. We will do our best to post information to this page every couple days. The days are long and often our minds are ezspecially exhausted at the end of the day from speaking in French, but when we return to Chicago nearly fluent with many new friends we know it will all be worth it!

Submitted by: Margot Vetter, Team Member

The first few days.....

bonjour bonjour bonjour!!!!! c'est monica. we have been very busy so far, but having great fun and many incredible opportunities. our first day we had lunch in normandy with the rc club, le havre de estuaire, and the gse coordinator, the district governory of 1645, and of course our governor, sue smallwood. after that we went with our first host families to relax and recover from jet lag. we've had a tour of the port of le havre, the largest container port in france, we met with folks from the chamber of commerce, and we toured a company that deals in coffee trade ( and tasted 5 different types of coffee with a spoon and slurping.....jane took pictures!!!!!). we went on a boat ride on the river seine and went under (and before drove over) the new bridge of normandy, then walked around the small and colorful village of herfluer (pictures to come). we have eaten many long, nice meals, including at le chez de dominique, the team leader of the inbound team that stayed in chicago. and last but especially not least, we got to see the first speaking engagement of the new president--nicholas sarkozy. when the crowd chanted "nicholas" our nick was very happy :) what an amazing opportunity!!!!! today was our first professional day, and i will have the others report on their experiences. as i said, pictures and more comments to come, from myself and the rest of the team. a bientot!

Two Weeks!

We're leaving in two weeks! We've now all had a chance to meet Dominique, Frederic, David, Anthony and Florence, our new friends from Normandy. They are just finishing up week two of their exchange to Chicago. During their first week, we all went to Rotary International for a tour, and had a chance to meet the current RI President, Bill Boyd. Afterwards, we enjoyed a few drinks and lots of laughs!

As for the next two weeks of preparation? Parlez-vous Francais? Crunch time in our language skill development!

A Bientot!

Meet the Team

Chicago, IL
District 6450

Jane McDonald, Team Leader (far left)

Kate Bucheit, Team Member
Nicholas Kantas, Team Member (middle)
Margot Vetter, Team Member
Monica Edwards, Team Member (far right)

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Rotary district 6450 is sponsoring our trip to Normandy, France (rotary district 1640) this summer from May 26-June 24.