Équipe Saumur 2023: Week 3, post 2

Our weeks here in Saumur seem to always start out calm. Then as the week goes on, we do more and more.

As I noted in the previous blog, we had a community service event on Wednesday. Thursday was rather calm. On Friday, I was able acquire some basketballs, soccer balls, a volleyball, a couple of frisbees and even an American football as well as ping-pong paddles and balls. (There are some permanent, outdoor ping-pong tables on campus.)

I even bought a pétanque kit for four teams of two. Dorothy’s family supplied two other kits. So, Friday, we had sports.

Interestingly, the most popular sport was volleyball – without a net, and with the feet being legal. I think they made that up. The second most popular sport was frisbee. And I played pétanque with just two other students and Monsieur Isaiah. (I won, BTW.)

But we had sports that didn’t involve hiking.

Friday late-afternoon, we walked (because we missed the bus) to Laser-tag. (In French, it’s something crazy like Laizar-war.) Except for the long walk, everyone seemed to really enjoy the activity. Isaiah promised to crush all of the students. He didn’t quite pull that off. Me, I only participated in one session. I did not finish last. I was 16/18.

Apparently, cowering in a corner does not score you very many points.

This weekend, there was a huge antique bicycle exposition and rally based in Saumur, called Vélo Vintage. Everyone was encouraged to dress in 1920s attire and ride routes of 35-125 kilometers on bicycles of that era. Very cool.

None of us rode any of the courses, although it would be fun to do. They aren’t really races. People just ride from place to place, stopping to snack or have some refreshment at various scenic places along the way. Some of our students dressed the part.

Of course, Saumur is a small city. If there is a big festival, one is sure to see people one knows. I bumped into several students.

On Sunday, we were treated to a demonstration of a game unique to the Anjou region, called “boules de fort.” It’s kind of hard to explain the photos and videos below will explain better.

It’s a sort of a ball tossing game. However, ball isn’t quite the correct term, nor is tossing. It’s played on a wooden court that is sort of curved on either side. The “balls” are actually disks that are weighted more on one side than the other. You have to roll the disk very gently, but not too gently. There is a target ball at the other end. The disk rolls in sort of a parabola. The idea is to get as close to the target ball as possible, having your disk come to rest at just the right spot.

This is a game of patience. It takes 45 seconds or more for the disk to roll to a stop. A match of two players playing two players, each rolling three disks can take up to three hours. I don’t think this is a made-for-TV sport.

The students seemed to find it interesting, but I don’t see any of them joining a club any time before retirement.

We then had a picnic with the host families. Lots of the students and families came dressed for Vélo Vintage. They were in the spirit of the weekend.

To describe a French picnic as such is to do it a disservice. This is not a blanket on the ground with sandwiches and potato chips.

They bring tables, tablecloths, real plates with real silverware and glasses. Everyone brings way more food than they can eat, and everyone is happy to share. There’s lots of laughter, game playing, and of course, eating lots! And it lasts a long time. We were in the park for some four hours.

It is really nothing like anything I have experienced at home. I’m full just thinking about it.

This week brings us our last community service, a visit to a retirement home and a two-day excursion to Normandie.