Our first week of our French exchange was so much fun! From Monday to Friday, Mikhaila, Zoe, Juline, Clelia, and I were in a rowing and sailing summer camp in Annecy Lake, right up the street from Jacques and Virginie’s house. In the morning we learned how to row, and in the afternoon we sailed catamarans. It was a great way to practice our French and learn new skills.
Rowing
This was Mikhaila and my first time rowing and we really enjoyed it. We got the chance to try out single, two person, and four person rowboats. My favorite was the single rowboat because I could go really fast or at my own pace.
I have seen rowing in the Summer Olympics and the athletes make it look easy. It is hard, but so much fun, especially when you go very fast!
Sailing
In the afternoon we got to sail catamarans. Mikhaila, Clelia and I were on the bigger catamarans called “Dragoons”. Juline and Zoe were on the smaller ones called “Teddys”.
There was plenty of wind every day and sometimes if we caught the wind perfectly, our boat would practically fly!
One day, the weather was particularly nice and hot. Mikhaila was sitting right on the edge of the boat steering. I just had to. I pushed Mikhaila into the water. It was so funny! After that, she kept trying to push me in, but I was too quick for her and made it to safety in time… Unfortunately, when I tried to escape her, I fell off of the boat.
On the last day of camp the Dragoons, Teddys, Picos, Optimals, and paddle boards all had a big race. All of the Dragoons were on a team, all of the Teddys were on a team, all of the Picos were on a team etc. There was one buoy for each kind of boat to go around and then head to the finish line. For us to win, all of the Dragoons had to pass the finish line before the other teams did, and luckily that’s what happened.
The other awesome part was that we were out on the water all day looking at the beautiful mountains!
This camp was a lot of fun and it was nice to be on the water all day. Last year Mikhaila and I went to a summer sailing camp and the catamaran was very similar to the other boats we sailed before.
It was a great opportunity to work on our old skills, learn some new tips and also practice our French. It was so much fun and a great way to start off our time in France!
If you ever go Annecy, France I would definitely recommend going out on the lake in a rowboat or on a catamaran. If you are with another person, the best time to push them into the water is when they are steering!
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