Dear Readers,
Our students have already been in Toulouse for three months, and for most of them they have just a few weeks left in the Pink City. That’s why it is precisely the moment to take advantage of and enjoy everything Toulouse has to offer! You’ll see that that is exactly what our students did this past month!
We left the city of Toulouse to visit the Marché au Gras de Péchabou, a village 14 km southeast of the Greater Toulouse Area in Lauragais. The marché au gras is an annual market that specializes in duck and other types of poultry, but we can also find other products that are typical of the region and season. In addition to food, we can discover local artisans and their work. The students participated in the market by sharing American delicacies of the season like Apple Pie, smores, brownies and Pumpkin Pie that they made themselves. They ran the stand well, talking with the other market-goers and selling their desserts. They were such good salesmen and women that they were able to go out that night with their earnings!
Les étudiants de Dickinson et leur stand au Marché au gras de Péchabou.
Since this year commemorates the centenary of the First World War, the Dickinson team incorporated Histoire du soldat, a play presented at Odyssud, in our cultural outings. Before the show, we visited the Toile du Front exposition, which is based on the conception and production of Marc Ménager’s short film Fire Waltz, an animated film where musical creativity affronts the First World War.
We cannot talk about November without mentioning Thanksgiving. A very dear holiday to Americans, we celebrated together at a neighborhood restaurant that prepared a French menu for us inspired by typical Thanksgiving ingredients.
Our Thanksgiving à la française included a savory pumpkin crumble, tarragon Cornish hen, and for dessert a honey sesame pear tart.
Repas de Thanksgiving
Two students participated in the “Thanksgiving Cook-off” organized by the United States Consulate and the Atelier des chefs in Toulouse. Read what Shelby and Jessica have to say:
Shelby : It really was like the show « Chopped » where the participants receive mysterious boxes filled with ingredients. We were in three groups of three, and we had an hour and a half to prepare a Thanksgiving meal. I had a nice time with my team. We cooked a sweet corn purée, cranberry sauce, grilled potatoes and sweet potatoes, and nuggests with polenta, walnuts and hazelnuts.
Jessica : My team made chicken nuggets with cornflakes and spices, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoe purée and cranberry sauce. Afterwards, the judges tasted everybody’s plate, my team won!
Lastly, this past weekend the students completed their integration into the Pink City by tackling a very important element of the culture of Toulouse – rugby! Stade Toulousain played against Grenoble in the rain, supported by relentless fans, two of whom were so enthusiastic that they tried to particpate in the game by running onto the field naked. Unfortunately, the fans’ cheers were not enough and luck was not on our side. In the last minute Grenoble took the victory with three points.
Stade Toulousain vs Grenoble
Needless to say, this was a very busy month for Dickinson in France! I’ll let you continue reading to find out what students have to say about the month of November!
Enjoy,
Julia