Integration Weekend wrap up

We got back from La Rochelle last Monday, La Rochelle was the not so secret destination for our integration weekend.  Not so secret because I guess someone had leaked the name of the city a few days before but we all were not sure if it was true or not.  So when we eventually found out where we were headed the surprise factor was gone.  Anyway we had to depart Cergy at the butt crack of dawn on Saturday (try 5:20am!).  Of course there was a little drama, one student managed to get lost and another missed the train...but it all worked out in the end and they made it to La Rochelle eventually.  La Rochelle is a beautiful port city in the south-west region of France, and it was the perfect destination for this weekend.  We caught the train to La Rochelle and then had to get on a chartered bus to Vende where we stayed for the weekend.  Prior to the weekend, we had been given a list of requirements to bring with us which included things like sleeping bags, torchlight, speedos for men (YEAH, that was quite clear too...no shorts/trunks!), and also alcoholic beverages from our country.   Just so you know how much business these people meant, immediately we boarded the train bottles of vodka, rum etc. started opening all over the train car.  I thought I had been de-sensitized earlier to the level of alcohol consumption when on our first orientation day they actually served wine with lunch...but that was obviously nothing!  When I say it was a drinking fest on that train ride, I definitely mean it. It was just complete madness during the entire ride.  A few ppl had walked around in the beginning making sure that every single person had a shot of one drink or the other.  We arrived our destination before noon and a lot of people were definitely shit-faced by then.  

The kicker though, is when we arrived the 'camp-ground' we would actually be staying in for the weekend. It was an old farm that was restored to a kind of vacation site with individual family units - what they called bungalows...however, you guys in the states would understand them better as trailers.  Yeah men, I came to France and got my first trailer park experience :).  But what was even more interesting was that for us each of the 'bungalows' were co-ed. In my bungalow, there were three of each sex, and two bedrooms, so me and one girl slept in one room with a double bed, the third girl had to sleep in the other bedroom with one guy but thankfully it had two single beds and the last two boys slept in the livingroom. I think one bungalow even had only one girl in it. I'm just like whoa!  You give us lots of alcohol, you take us to a lovely destination, and you mix up the genders in a small space...there will really be lots of integrating going on!  

So Day 1 - we visited a local market in Vende immediately upon arrival, then went to settle into our homes for a little while, had lunch and then set out again to visit a vineyard. We had to listen to the whole winery presentation (blah) after which they served us their wines -  white, red, rose and we also had some excellent brioche (yeah!).  At this point I started to feel really bad, I had a headache, felt really woozy and felt a slight nausea.  We headed back to our campground  and played some more team games...team work is definitely a big thing here at IMHI.   One of the games we played involved each team trying to form the longest line with articles of items off our bodies and being as creative as possible.   In the first round we pretty much used clothes, shoes, etc. and then we laid down on the floor to use ourselves to elongate the lines as much as possible.  We thought this was as radical as you can get, but tell me why in the second round, they all started stripping to their underwear.  Like the guys were down to their briefs (u know boxers are really an american thing) lol!  Even this one older lady had stripped down to her panties.  It was hilarious!  And here I will mention again the notion of France being REALLY liberal...no qualms whatsoever in taking off clothes at the drop off a hat.  Later, when we remarked to the lady, who must be in her 30s or 40s (she's french btw), about how brave she was to take off her clothes in public like that, she simply just dismissed it saying "whats the big deal? it's just underwear, just like it could have been my swimsuit". Its totally not the same thing for me but I guess different strokes for different folks right?

Anyway, fun and games continued on but by dinner time I was feeling absolutely horrible. I couldn't eat or stand being close to food, I went back to my room and got sick for the first time in like forever.  Sorry to be giving you gory details but, you have to take the good with the bad please.  Anyway, I decided to rest for a while and I felt better especially after throwing up...so in true Dami fashion, what do I do?  I decide to head back out to join the party.  It was great, they had a dj booth set up in the multi-purpose hall where we had dinner so it was our own little club right there. After shaking my tail-feather for a little while and getting a healthy dose of alcohol in my system, I decide to head back to rest up for the rest of the weekend.  Most of my classmates shared the same consensus especially considering the fact that they had started the madness pretty early in the day, so it was an early night for most of us.  

Day 2 - I wake up to news that one of my 'bungalow' mates had gotten sick in the toilet in our bungalow...thankfully someone else discovered it so I didn't have to deal with anymore vomit.  I was feeling much better that day so it started out great.  The activities that morning were either soccer or aquagym, and I wasn't interested in either. So I just laid down on the sidelines of the soccer field where a group of us were watching the players and knocked out on the grass.  Sun burning on my face, dewy grass underneath...it was glorious...

*pardon-moi, mais the rest of the weekend and more on what's happened so far this week will be continued in next posts, its past 3:30am now and my bed has my name all over it right now*