Emmett ’27 puts his Latin to good use and enjoys discovering French culture and food with his host family.
Today we visited the museum in Arles, where we saw a fascinating collection of Roman artifacts. One of the highlights was a large trade boat that had once traveled along the Rhône River. The museum also displayed stone coffins, jewelry, tools, and a variety of everyday household items. During our visit, we participated in a treasure hunt and had to uncover a mystery word. As it turned out, the answer was in Latin, so my year of studying Latin finally proved useful! It was impressive to see how much Roman history has been preserved in Arles and to learn about the important role the city played during the Roman Empire.
Before heading to the museum, we enjoyed lunch at a restaurant in town, where I had fish and chips. Afterward, we treated ourselves to ice cream and spent some time wandering through the streets and squares of Arles. The afternoon was quite warm, so we often found ourselves searching for patches of shade as we explored.
My host family continues to be wonderful. In the evening, we ate dinner together, watched a television show, and went for a walk around the neighborhood. I think I’m beginning to understand French humor and jokes a little better, although it can still be challenging to catch everything right away. At one point, I tried teaching them a few English tongue twisters. Unfortunately, that experiment was not very successful, but it gave us all a good laugh. More importantly, spending time together has been a great way to practice my listening and speaking skills, and I can already feel myself becoming more comfortable and fluent in French.
The weather here has been quite warm, around 85°F, but thankfully their house has air conditioning, which makes it much more comfortable indoors. Tomorrow we’re planning to visit the market to buy cheeses for lunch, and afterward I’ll be helping my host family prepare dinner. I’m looking forward to another day of discovering French culture—and enjoying some excellent food.
