Tuesday - June 23, 2009

Today was pretty uneventful as far as sightseeing as we had a full day of lectures and class work with Professor Oliver Kovarski; today’s topic was e-commerce.

The Normandie Business School hosted a farewell dinner for us at Les Regates’, which is the oldest yacht club in Europe. It was a wonderful dinner of haddock with vegetables and a yummy raspberry dessert, very similar to what we know as “cobbler” in the south. The sunset was so beautiful and our view amazing from the restaurant.

After traveling with the same group of people for more than two weeks, we’ve made new friends and are learning much about other cultures (I am pictured here with my new buddy, Keri). At dinner I sat beside Christian, one of the students from Honduras. He shared some insight on the Honduras culture and opportunities for those who know English as a second language, as it is not common to have that learning opportunity there. In a country full of poverty, education is premium, and he is so grateful to be on this trip which is fulfilling a requirement for his undergraduate business degree….. talk about putting things into perspective.

This experience is so rich with multi culture exposure. At any given time, you can hear three languages going on simultaneously – English, French, and Spanish. As you can imagine, it can get a little hectic at times.

We leave for Paris tomorrow morning, stopping in route at the Palace at Versailles, which was the home of the French king for 100 years. We will visit the Chateau (main palace), which contains the Chapel, Opera House, the King and Queen’s State Apartments, French History Galleries, and more. I need to pack and get to bed! Goodbye Le Havre!