Not too long from now we will have cooler temperatures and lots of sunny days ahead. I for one am very happy about this. I was just reminiscing on the events we held last summer about this time. With this heat, we may not have even needed the pan for cooking the omelette! Oo la la!

This newsletter will focus on the activities, trips and events that have taken place recently in our organization.   It has been wonderful to see many of our members! It has also been great to meet the new members who have decided to join us! I hope all of you will continue your support of Fredericksburg's oldest Sister City. The world is an exciting place and the opportunity to learn about another culture, and perhaps a new language, is great for all of us.

You are always welcome to send any ideas you might have for events that you feel may benefit the organization. Remember, we still have a pretty big "pan" we can use!

Have fun the rest of the summer and stay cool!

Cathy Herndon

On June 4, Steve and Joan Beauch, Cathy Herndon, Wilbur Brown, Bob and Barbara, Antozzi, Bill and Susan Beck, Mandy Carr, Judy and Dick Hansen, Lori and Roy Kissinger, and Craig Vasey, along with Garret Garner, Nancy Lightner, and Henry Fulgrum orchestrated one of the best outdoor pancake breakfasts we have ever had! 

As part of our pancake breakfast membership drive, we gained 15 new members and families. It was wonderful to see other members come out and enjoy the perfect day at Hurkamp Park!

The student exchange trip to Fréjus

Patsy Prud'homme worked with chaperones Abigail Haymes and Brian Ours on the bi-annual student trip to Frejus. On July 11, 20 students, 2 chaperones and 5 adults ventured to Frejus for a fantastic 2 weeks of learning about our Sister City. Abi Haymes writes: 

"This year's Sister City Exchange Program trip to Frejus was a smashing success. Our wonderful group of 19 teenagers and 7 adults traveled to Frejus on July 11, spent 9 days with their host families, and then headed to Paris for three days before coming back to Fredericksburg. Trip highlights included a day trip to St. Tropez, a visit to the Gorges du Verdon (the "Grand Canyon of France"), a tour of the Fragonard perfume factory, and snorkeling in the Mediterranean. As always, the kind people of Frejus welcomed us with open arms and made sure that everyone had a fantastic time. Everyone laughed together at the Soiree d'Adieu when the French and American teenagers performed Mamma Mia karaoke- in French! In Paris we got to see all the major sites and enjoyed visiting Versailles as well. All in all we couldn't have asked for a better experience and are very thankful to both Sister City Associations for supporting such a meaningful exchange program."

Next summer French students and adults will come to Fredericksburg! If you are interested in hosting students or adults, please contact Patsy Prud'homme at patsy@jaysix.net.

From our intern in Fréjus 

Megan Barron, a recent graduate of University of Virginia majoring in French had a wonderful opportunity to be an intern in Frejus this summer. Maryse Rigoulot, a Frejus resident, contacted Megan about her accomodations with the following message:

"You will stay at the Danesi's from June 1 until Monday 13. From Monday 13 in the evening until Sunday 19, you will be hosted by Mrs Vanbelle, who is the manager of " L'Ivre de mer" and with whom you will work from 14 to 17 June. She is most happy to have you during this week, both at work and at home. She has an 18-year old daughter. When I told her that Mrs Landi had health problems, she immediately offered to host you while having you work with her. Then, from 19 to 29 June, you will stay with Mrs Carla Toselli. Carla is the 1st Vice President of the Jumelage ( I am the second) and she hosted several times. She lives downtown."  

Megan had a wonderful time and returned to Fredericksburg with the following description of her experiences:

"While waiting at B44, my departure gate in Dulles airport, I frantically looked up last minute translations in an online French-English dictionary. I had never been to France, or even to Europe, and was nervous about my level of French fluency.  Would everyone know English? How well could they speak it? I boarded the plane for my month-long visit to Fréjus, unsure of what to expect. It took less than an hour with my first host-family to realize I had nothing to be worried about.  My host-Mom was incredibly friendly, and her daughters, who were close to my own age, made me feel right at home.  My schedule was at first overwhelming:  I would stay with three families over the course of June, and work four short internships.  I had mentioned that I would soon be starting my PhD at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, so my internships and even my leisure activities were planned around my love for marine science. At my first internship, or stage, I sampled and measured the water quality at Les Etangs de Villepey, a conservation site near the ocean. At L'Office de Tourisme and then L'ivre de Mer (a summer library on the beach) I was able to practice my French speaking and comprehension. For my final stage, I worked at a dive shop in Port Fréjus. My first time ever scuba diving was in the Mediterranean! During the weekends, with the help of my new families and friends, Iexplored the cathedral, amphitheater, and aqueducts in the historic center of Fréjus, learned the difference between a crêpe sucré and a crêpe salé in St. Raphael, and drove along the Croisette in Cannes.  I celebrated the national music festival, went to a dance spectacle, tasted fois gras and wine, and even learned the French lyrics to some of the popular songs on the radio. I rode a boat to L'île de Porquerolles, an island surrounded by bright blue water, and on my last day, visited Monaco.  I saw the Palais only days before the royal wedding, and even spent a few hours at the world famous Museum of Oceanography: La Musée Océanographique!  I left Fréjus with a much improved French, over 1078 photos, amazing memories, and most importantly, wonderful new friends."

The Nice raffle

We thank Lori and Roy Kissinger completing our fund raiser "Raffle trip to Nice for 2" with the grand drawing held at Old Mill Park at our annual Bastille Day Picnic.

According to Lori, "this was a SUCCESSFUL FUND RAISER!  The raffle for a trip to Nice, France, which was kicked off on Mardi Gras, came to a successful conclusion with the drawing held on July 14 at the Bastille Day Picnic.  The winning ticket, drawn from the 340 sold, belonged to Harrison Okin, a UMW graduate and resident of Fredericksburg, now living in Newport News.  He and his wife are very excited about winning and are planning to take the trip to Nice."

Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this fund raiser a success by selling tickets, especially Lydie and Tom Mann of Billingsley Press for donating the tickets and flyers.

And.......Bastille Day! 

Thank you Judy Hansen for organizing our Bastille Day Picnic! Despite the generally hot summer, July 14 was actually a very pleasant day. Many members, and a few new members and guests, joined us at Old Mill Park (thank you Bob Antozzi!) for a wonderful variety of homemade foods and deserts. Judy led a Bastille Day trivia game and participants racked their brains trying to win French posters donated by Cathy Herndon. Margaret Rose helped set up and brought the scrap books from last year's 30th anniversary that she had created. We all enjoyed remembering the great time we had with our French visitors.