Chess, whales and Thoreau , From Talloires to Boston, for a memorable month

Editor’s note Dan Rottenberg: With funding from the MacJannet Foun­dation, each year Les Amis du Prieuré de Talloires provides scholarships to students living around Lake Annecy to spend four weeks attending the English summer program at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. One of the four students chosen last summer, Leo Dancette, who is 19, lives in Annemasse, near Geneva, and attends a highly selective post-baccalaure­ate course at Lycée Berthollet in Annecy. His written account follows.

Dancette in New York Harbor: Discovering America ‘from the inside.’

LEO DANCETTE
I was over the moon when I heard I was going to Boston after being awarded this scholarship. It was even better than what I expected. Everything they tell you about travelling to learn a new language and a new culture is true, but what is even better is the friends you make when you actually go there.

My first day at Tufts University was the FIFA World Cup final, and it was a great event for everyone. We watched it in the lounge; it was fun to watch this global event with all those people from all around the world.

We attended school every morning from 9 a.m. to noon. We had two different courses. The first one was history-based and we debated about society issues; the second one aimed at making us discover America “from the inside,” with more mundane topics such as football and baseball games, the Boston Marathon or even lobsters! We also discussed politics and learned about the views of both the Democratic and Republican parties on varied issues ranging from abor­tion, gay rights, war or the death penalty to economics. It was very interesting to be able to discuss those issues in English, and with so many people from different backgrounds. I have learned a lot about U.S. culture, but also about Japan, China and the Dominican Republic.

Every Wednesday we were able to join a tour called “Discover America.” On the first Wednesday we went on the Boston Freedom Trail. I remember that one very well, because it was basically the first time I saw Boston’s historic center. The Old North Church was beautiful, and I will not forget it.

I also visited Har­vard. What I preferred was playing chess with the specialists on Harvard Square: I spent two entire afternoons playing with them, and I learned a lot about their lives. Most of them were poor or even homeless, and they played to earn a few bucks (they would charge you two dollars only if you lost the game). They said chess was a mind frame that kept them alive. I will never forget them.

My favorite day was the day I saw the whales. A whale watch had been organized so that we could go on a boat and see whales off the coast of Boston. It had been my dream since I was a kid, and I was lucky, because we saw many of them at sunset. It was beautiful.

I enjoyed Walden Pond very much– the last “Discover America” tour and also my favorite – because I am a literary-minded person. We read excerpts from Walden by Thoreau in class and discussed transcendentalism, which I think is an enriching topic. To see the actual place where the book was written was very impressive. It is fortunate that up to now the place has been preserved and kept clean. One could feel the spirit of the place.

The day I left was sad because I had to say goodbye to my friends, with whom I shared this experience and played chess, music, soccer or squash. I am still in touch with them, and we’re planning to meet up again— possibly next sum­mer, which would give me another chance to improve my English, and also my terrible soccer!

The four Les Amis students who attended Tufts last summer were reunited in December with MacJannet Foundation overseers Elisabeth Rindborg (who helps the students prepare for Tufts) and Jean-Michel Fouquet, president of Les Amis du Prieuré. From left are Pierre Grognet, Leo Dancette, Elisabeth Rindborg, Clémentine Odion, Jean-Marie Fouquet and Alan Saillet.