Penobscot School offers 2-week trip to Guadeloupe

Penobscot School, the non-profit, foreign-language school based in Rockland, has designed a Caribbean experience for the kind of traveler who wants to be deeply immersed in the foreign language and culture.

The school is offering an inexpensive, two-week stay on the French West Indies island of Guadeloupe in January that provides not only “total immersion” in the French language, but a unique baptism in local culture through daily lunches with Guadeloupian guests, visits to local farms and businesses, and — most important — an experience living with a local family.

“Besides the four hours of classes totally in French each morning, the home stay is really the core of the program,” says Julia Schulz, Penobscot School president.

The Intensive French Program in Guadeloupe is only accepting 10 students. Minimum age is 18. The school has rented a villa in Basse-Terre, the capital, for Jan. 9-23. The prerequisite is an ability to hold a basic conversation in French. Cost is $1,250 for tuition, books, lodging, meals and excursions. Plane fare must be provided by the participant.

The teachers in Guadeloupe have been selected for their ability to share the culture of the island as well as their proficiency in teaching French. Among them are writers, a philosopher, a dictionary author, businesspeople, and a scientist. During the classes, the history, music, literature, art and other aspects of Guadeloupe’s French and Creole culture will be discussed, as well as its geology, flora and fauna.

At noon, teachers and students together will prepare meals featuring the local specialties: fresh fish and tropical fruits and vegetables. In the afternoons, organized activities will include trips to the tropical rain forest; a tour of the island’s active volcano, La Soufriere, led by a local geophysicist; or snorkeling at the Jacques Cousteau underwater preserve. These trips are optional, so students can make other plans.

For more information, contact Julia Schulz, Penobscot School, 28 Gay St., Rockland 04841, telephone 594-1084, Fax 594-1067.