Sophie lives in Paris and is a Doctoral candidate in History at Versailles University. She lived in the US for two years and spent a year as an exchange student at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. She was a TA for French for another year at Clark University. 
Jessica McCormack is a social, fun-loving and Francophone-adoring "animatrice." Since her return from teaching English in a French High School in Bretagne, Jessica is a resident of Brooklyn, NY where she teaches French at a Montessori School, volunteers with refugees at the International Rescue Committee, and enjoys the abundant multicultural and artistic aspects of NYC 
A native of Lawrence, Kansas, Dennis holds a Bachelors from the Boston Conservatory and a Diplome d Etudes Musicales from three years of saxophone study at Boulogne Conservatory in Paris France. Welcome Global Works travelers, parents and friends. We are excited to share with you trip updates from around the world. As our main office receives updates from the trips we will update the page as we receive news from the field.
Update # 1:
Bonjour – Our summer in France has started!
After a long plane-bus journey, we finally made it to our gite in the small Alpine village of Mizoen late in the night. What a surprise when we woke up this morning: the mountains surrounding us are incredibly beautiful. The sun is shining, we are well rested, we got an appetite back and the food is delicious… We did a couple of group bounding games this morning, most of them in French! We went rafting in the afternoon. What an adventure: the Alps rivers are no joke… We had a blast. We even saw a waterfall and went swimming with the current. Our rafting guides were a lot of fun. On the way back we saw the most suprising thing: a herd of sheeps were blocking the road. It was an amazing experience. We went to the supermarket on the way back to the gite and we liked that too. We enjoyed some free time in the village, then diner and a game night pertaining to our group contract. Now it is time to go to bed, for tommorrow our big 2 days hike begins…
We all getting along very well and are excited to speak French with our leaders Jessica, Sophie and Dennis, with our host at the Gite and everyone we meet!
We will write again soon, Global Works France 4-week participants
Update #2:
DAY 1
Our first morning in Mizoen, Alpes, we woke up to the breathtaking view of the various mountains surrounding our hostel. The owners of the hostel, Pascal and Anne, welcomed us to the Alpes with a classic breakfast of juice and bread with butter and Jam – Bon appetite! After breakfast, we spent the morning reviewing basic French terms and getting to know one another by playing games, speaking only French! One of the games involved directing one blindfolded person around obstacles using French directions: à gauche, à droite! In the afternoon we went rafting! Along the way we made a brief stop at a gorgeous waterfall spraying ice cold mist Although the water were somehow rough and freezing, we all survived with one of the most exciting experience so far! We then returned to the beautiful town of Mizoen with time to explore the town and enjoy the French culture.
DAY 2
Early in the morning, we met our three hiking guides at the hostel and from there we began a long hike up the mountain. We stopped in a beautiful meadow filled with purple, yellow and orange wildflowers for lunch. The views of the snow capped mountains were gorgeous. Meije, the highest one of them, is a popular destination for adventurous hikers and skiers. As we reached the plateau Emparis at the top of the mountain, many of us struggled along in the heat, admiring the courage and physical strength of the French bikers who passed us by. Finally, we arrived at our destination on the plateau, a hiker shelter Clos des Mouterres, all sweaty and tired, yet so proud of ourselves for reaching the top. The air was refreshing and the owners of the shelter “très sympa”! We especially enjoyed playing with Paloma, the adorable three years old daughter. After a delicious dinner, we all slept very soundly!
DAY 3
We woke up early to enjoy a breakfast of fresh bread and home made jam with big bowls of hot chocolate. We climbed a little further up the mountain to a beautiful glacial lake. About half of us took a swim in the cool, clean water. We began the descent down the mountain after lunch at the lake. We stopped in Besse, a cute small town on our way down to enjoy some “glace” (ice cream) at a café and rest. Then it did not take much longer to reach our hostel at Mizoen. We were all exhausted but so happy that we had climbed all the way up and down the mountain!
DAY 4
The next morning we woke up from a well deserved sleep at our gîte. After another yummy breakfast, we got on our bus and headed to Les Deux Alpes, a popular skiing resort. We did a scavenger hunt around the town. On groups of four, we were going around town looking for various items such as a telephone booth, stamps, crepes and summer skiers! The winning group got ice cream from a chocolaterie. Afterward we went swimming in an outdoor pool. Fun! We then went on to a gondola “funicular” which took us down to the valley to the beautiful village of Venosc with many exquisite boutiques. We spent the evening relaxing and having a 4th of July Dance Party in the biggest room of the gîte with our ipod music and sweets. Before bedtime, we got ready for our next destination: the region Provence!
More photos coming soon!
Photo Update:
Update #3:
DAY 5: Travel Day
DAY 6: Tuesday, July 6
Today, the group split in two for our first full day in Provence and our first service project. After breakfast, one half of the group went on a hike through the beautiful countryside while the other group began restoration work on a local road, and the groups switched after a delicious lunch consisting of ratatouille and tapenade. The hike, led by knowledgeable François-Guillaume, showed the group the local lavender fields and taught about the rare, valuable truffles (mushrooms, not the chocolate treat!). On the trails flooded with colorful butterflies, pretty flowers, and the pleasant scent of lavender, the group encountered une borie, a small hut intricately built by piling small rocks in a cylindrical fashion, topped by a conic pile of rocks equipped with a chimney hole at the top. The group rested briefly under a shady cherry tree and snacked on the tasty cherries, and also stopped at the apex of the hike to enjoy the scenic views that Provence has to offer. The service project consisted of building a wall with les pierres, or rocks, in an effort to prevent the erosion of one of the paved streets. Under the expertise of Jean-Claude, the group laid a strong foundation for Thursday’s continuation of the wall and future Global Works groups. After a dinner of tomato and salmon salads, the group went to a local restaurant to watch the World Cup match between Uruguay and the Netherlands. Before returning to the gîte for bed, everyone went for a walk to watch a game of boule (or pétanque), a French mix between bocce ball and curling.
DAY 7: Wednesday, July 7
Today we visited the historical city of Aix-en-Provence. With two hours of free time, people shopped in the cute stores and boutiques which had great sales, and we were given a great opportunity to explore the streets of Aix en Provence. There was a market we could visit to purchase delicious fruits, such as nectarines and peaches, and vegetables, like heirloom tomatoes. Afterwards, our group took an interesting walking tour of the city. Our tour guide taught us about the works of a renowned artist, Paul Cezanne whose studio we got to see. The olive trees and the lazy cats on the roofs made it a magical scene. Back in St Christol, we bonded by watching the World Cup semi-final between Spain and Germany, playing a game of soccer, or learning to play boules with French kids camping near St Christol. We look forward to keeping in touch with our new French friends through facebook.
DAY 8: Thursday, July 8
For our last day in St. Christol, we split up into our two groups: one did the hike and the other continued building the dry stone wall. The other group hiked to a beautiful lavender farm where you can purchase lavender produce freshly. By the afternoon, the dry stone wall was done! At night we did role playing games preparing us for the home stays. Then, to get some practice, we met up with our French friends to have a dance party with them! Then back to the gîte for a good night’s sleep to be ready for meeting our French families in Carcassonne the next day!
Photo Update:
Update # 4:
DAY 9 – Friday, July 9 – TRAVEL DAY
During our bus drive from St Christol to Carcassonne, we stopped at Pont du Gard, a beautiful aqueduct dating back from the Romans, UNESCO world heritage. We were so excited to meet with our homestay families once in Carcassonne. A new adventure starts!
DAY 10 – Saturday, July 10 – Homestay day!
DAY 11 – Sunday, July 11 – Homestay day
The leaders visited each one of us in our homestay homes! Everyone is enjoying time getting to know their homestay families.
DAY 12 – Monday, July 12
After a delicious breakfast with our host families, the group met up in front of the lycée (high school) and drove in mini vans to an old village named Lastours. The archeologists Fred and Romain told us about the medieval past of Lastours and the uses of artefacts that had been discovered on the site. We hiked up to the four castles ruins for a fascinating tour. We ate our lunch amid the din of cicadas above us in the trees. Everyone was excited to begin our next service project! The archaeologists showed us how to use trowels and brushes to uncover pieces of pottery and little fragments of bone that had been lost beneath the earth. Many of us found pieces of 12th century pottery and glass, or animal bones, and we had a great time laughing. We drove back to the lycée where our host families came to pick us up. Our dinners tasted amazingly good as per usual and were made even better by the great company that our host families provided. After diner and shower at home, we all met up again in the Medieval city of Carcassonne, elegantly dressed. We had tickets to a dance performance by the Pietragalla Company. It took place in an enormous outdoor theatre from the 14th century. Amazing! The ballet was based on Marco Polo’s life as an explorer. The dancers were wonderful as they leapt and twirled around the stage, the accompanying music and costumes keeping us entranced. When it ended we clapped for all fifteen of the curtain calls. Everyone returned home for a well deserved sleep with magical pics in their head…
DAY 12 – Tuesday - July 13
Today, our host parents dropped us off at a high school near us, and we traveled in vans to a beautiful Catholic Abbey of the Cisterciens. The history and beauty made it so worth the trip! The tour ended in a gorgeous rose garden. After, we traveled to a nearby beach where we spent the rest is the day basking in the sun and swimming in the gorgeous Mediterranean water. The beach was not that crowded and we enjoyed great ice cream! The day was a great mix of history and relaxation.
Update # 5:
Thursday July 15:
After the long night of Bastille day, we went to the same archéologique site to continue our excavation from Monday. Many of us found bones from ancient boar including a huge jaw bone. The heat was excruciating, but we worked with great desire and pleasure to discover ancient history! After the excavation, we were invited to a party by the association of archeologists and the local town government as a thank you for our help. We ended the day with some free time and ice cream.
Thursday July 16:
We spent the day at a day camp with six and seven year old French children. We were able to do many activities that were a lot of fun: bike riding, baking cookies, and painting murals of our French and American hometowns. We even created a homemade pinyata- turtle that the kids enjoyed smashing to bits in order to get their hands on the goodies inside. The activities allowed us to interact with the French children in small groups. We formed relationships with friendly and affectionate children who loved conversing with us and holding our hands! We had a picnic lunch together and after all enjoyed a game of freeze tag (loup glacé). It was fun! Later we did relay races with the kids and got into a massive water fight, so refreshing in the heat. We managed to get all of the kids and leaders wet! The day was memorable because of the French friends we made and the moments shared.
Photo Update:
Photo Update:
