26 May 2026 - Blog de DJ Desantos

With my alarm ringing in my ears and the sunshine already beating down on my face, I woke up and got out of bed at 6:00 in the morning despite my reluctance to do so. Afterwards, I prepared for a long and tiring day. Even though May 22nd was our last day of school at BCHigh, today, May 26th, 2026, marked our first day of “school” at Lycée Saint-Marc. So, after having fixed my backpack, my host student and I headed out the door and started walking to the métro station. Thankfully, it hadn’t become too hot yet, so the walk was not as horrible, yet it still took some time until we eventually arrived at the Sans Souci subway station. After having stood in the métro for a while, we eventually arrived at Bellecour station, the closest one to the Lycée.

My host student and I ran into another pair of exchange students, so the four of us walked to school together. Upon arrival, a staff member at the Lycée asked the two host students to fill out a form for the two of us who were not students at the school. Afterwards, we waited in a small room with one table for all of the other pairs of exchange students to arrive and fill out their forms as well. One thing the majority of us noticed as other students walked by was the lack of a strict dress code along with backpacks that were allowed to be carried from class to class, two things that were very different at BCHigh. We then entered an empty room all together, setting up chairs for us to sit down on. Once everyone was seated, the official day at school had begun, and we were welcomed in by multiple staff. We were also given this packet that contained information about the sites that we will visit throughout our two weeks, along with some information about the Lycée. 

Eventually, we headed out to tour the school. After passing through the main entrance, we walked through two doorways to enter the chapel of the school, which all of us BCHigh students noticed was much, much bigger than the chapel was at BCHigh.

We took multiple photos before continuing on through the school. We ended up outside in this outdoor space multiple times while touring through the Lycée, and we felt as if, no matter which hallways and areas we walked through, we always ended up back there. Despite being smaller than BCHigh, Lycée Saint-Marc somehow felt more like a labyrinth with how we toured it. 

After a long time (and a long bathroom break), we all started heading together as BCHigh for the first time since we were in the airport towards our first destination, Le Musée Des Confluences, a national history museum situated where the river Rhône and the river Saône meet.

It took two humid train rides before we eventually stopped at 9:45 at the strange-shaped building that was the museum. Once inside, a tour guide took us around, showing us the different exhibits and their contents while explaining things to us in Franglais, or a mix of French and English. Unfortunately, we only had the time to walk through two exhibits out of the four permanent exhibits, Origines (Origins), and Espèces (Species), not before learning more about the animals that live and lived on our planet along with our ancestors.

Then at 11:30, we left the museum to head back to Lycée Saint-Marc for lunch. This is when the 90 degree heat really started to hit. As soon as we exited the door of the museum, we were all blasted with the warm and humid air from the heat wave coming over Lyon. Nevertheless, we endured it as we returned to the Lycée pour le déjeuner. Upon returning, we joined the queue for the meal, which were gnocchis (small, pasta-like dumplings) with roast beef, along with some bread, some fruits, and a cup of yogurt.

After having grabbed our food, we entered the cafeteria, which we immediately noticed was much smaller than that of BCHigh. We took a seat anyway and enjoyed our food, talking about our weekend anecdotes and our struggles and successes with speaking French. At 13:00, or 1:00PM, we headed back to the main lobby to regroup before heading to our next destination, Groupama Stadium, the private football (or soccer here in America) stadium for l’équipe Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon’s football club. By this point, it had already become scorching hot outside, and everyone could feel the sun beating down on them as we walked through the city to the métro station. From there, we transferred to another métro, before transferring to another one, until we eventually arrived at the grand stadium at 14:00.

After arrival, we met with our guide, Thibault, who jumped right into the tour, taking us to the lobby, and then eventually outside to the seats. We first stopped by the president’s area, where we all sat down around and took a photo, before admiring the size of the field and chanting as if we were supporters of the team.

Next, we headed down to the press room, where there were multiple rows for journalists and interviewers who wanted to interview the players post-game. 

After doing a mock interview and taking a plethora of photos, we headed to the home locker rooms and got to sit down and take pictures. Finally, to end the tour, we got in line to head out to the pitch. Because I had been wearing a France football shirt and another student had been wearing a Barcelona football shirt, Thibault split us into two different “teams”. Once we were all lined up, music began to play, and the lights began to change colours, and Thibault played the sounds of a crowd waiting for the two teams to enter. After getting hyped up, we ran onto the pitch. We took some photos and videos, and we eventually left, not before stopping by the gift shop and interactive museum.

We started heading back to Lycée Saint-Marc at about 16:00, and this was when the temperature was at its highest, so much so that we could feel it even in the métro. Unfortunately, I had been so tired from the fact that I went to bed past midnight the previous night, and with a combination of the walking and the sun beating down on me through the glass, my eyes grew heavy and I fell asleep for a majority of the métro ride home. 

Eventually, I was awoken by my friends once we had arrived at Bellecour station again, and I forced myself to wake up as we walked back towards the school. After a relatively short walk, we finally returned to the Lycée, and my host student came and picked me up. We walked back to the métro station to get back to his house which was exactly in the direction that I had just come from, which absolutely fried me, but nevertheless, I managed. 

After a brief train ride where I did NOT fall asleep, we arrived back at Sans Souris station, and made the final trek to his house. However, before arriving, we stopped at Carrefour City, basically the 7/11 of France, and I bought a bottle of jus de pomme (apple juice) for the road, and a KitKat bar for the following day in case I get hungry (a situation that happened today).

Finally, we returned to his house, and before dinner, I had some chocolate pastries, which were really tasty. Then, for dinner, we had some really delicious chicken and rice (a dish they made for me to remind me of the States). 

Overall, I really enjoyed our first day at Lycée Saint-Marc and our first day of excursions as a group. I found everything incredibly intriguing, and I started feeling like I was truly passing by as a French speaker. So, even though our time as students may have come to a close in Boston, our time as students in Lyon has only just begun.