LIVE LIKE A LOCAL: LANGUAGE IMMERSION SOJOURN

(7 DAYS)

*Reserve half-a-year in advance.

 **PRICE before November 1, 2021: $1995

ENJOY THE LUXURY OF WALLET-FREE TRAVEL: Read more about the all-inclusive price.

**Traveling alone: add $855 for a private room (rates are based on double room occupancy: most rooms have one double bed).

(Minimum Age: 21 )

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL ITINERARY 

This is your sojourn if you want to perfect your French while experiencing the typical French lifestyle, learning the local culture and history and having time to explore at your own pace.  Whether your French is at a low intermediate level or already advanced, you will have fun improving your language skills and cultural knowledge.  Each day your language-study theme is centered around an excursion to a special local spot including a castle, vineyard and outdoor market. Morning language and culture classes cover vocabulary and grammar that you will use on the excursion.

A beautiful Mediterranean fishing village at the foot of the Pyrenees, in a region rich in history and culture, Collioure is a fascinating and fun place to learn French. You'll stay in a cottage home like a local with your fellow sojourners and teaching guides so you can practice French while enjoying family-style meals and relaxing between activities. Your cottage is centrally located so you'll be able to easily explore the village on foot or stroll along the beach during your free time.

You'll arrange your own transportation to Collioure. If you are arriving by train,  a Sojourner Tours representative will meet you at the station to help you transport your baggage to your temporary home. 

You'll have plenty of time to get into the local rhythm of life, strolling the cobble stoned streets, sitting at a cafe, shopping in boutiques, hiking, taking in a show or concert. 

SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDED IN THE PRICE:

• A TOTAL of 27.5 hours of language & culture instruction taught by Sojourner Tours owners Lisa and Francis who are both French professors at Southwestern University near Austin Texas. (DAILY CLASS BREAKDOWN: 2 hours a day of language instruction in French at the intermediate or advanced level; an optional 45 minute culture lecture in French; an optional 45-minute culture lecture in English; and, a 2-hour excursion designed to practice what you learned in class each day.)

• Accommodation in a local cottage hosted by your guides.

• All of the meals: including homemade food eaten family-style at your "homestay" cottage, and three restaurant meals including one in a Michelin Star establishment. (You may opt to skip a meal at the cottage if you want to go out on your own.)

• An orientation.

• A tour of the city. Your guides will point out favorite cafes, bars & restaurants as well as the cinema, theater, art museum, popular parks, and more.

• Guided hiking, wine tasting, guided visit to castle & fort, boating

YOUR BASE

Your base town will be Collioure (pop. <3,000), a quaint harbor-village nestled between the vineyard covered mountains and the sea on the craggy shores of the Vermillion coast --home to the renowned author of Master and Commander, Patrick O'Brian, for 50 years. The colors and charm of this area inspired some of the most famous European painters of the 1900s. Collioure's winding roads leading through pastel colored buildings, its red rooftops contrasting against the green mountains, and its stately church and castle juxtaposed against the blue sea inspired Matisse and Derain to found a new art movement that emphasized the use of strong colors: Fauvism. 

You may also want to discover the beautiful region surrounding the city by extending your stay to include the Best-Kept Secrets of the French-Spanish Borderland Sojourn at the beginning or end of your language immersion sojourn, which would enable you to daytrip around the area to enjoy the beautiful natural settings which inspired some of the greatest painters of the 20th century: Matisse, Dali, Picasso. You'd spend the week exploring the villages, wine tasting,  dining in gastronomic restaurants and visiting exceptional historic sites. 

YOUR TEACHER-HOST-GUIDES

You will be staying with Lisa Gustavson (the owner, founder and CEO of Sojourner Tours who is also a part-time professor of French at Southwestern University). Lisa teaches Intermediate Grammar and Culture classes on art, food & wine in English.

& 

Francis Mathieu (co-owner of Sojourner Tours and tenured professor of French at Southwestern University). Francis teaches Advanced Grammar and discussion classes as well as Culture Classes on the History & Geography of the region in French. 

HOMESTAY-InSPIRED: LANGUAGE IMMERSION Program

SUNDAY:

Arrive in Collioure, a colorful port town

In the early 20th century,  Matisse became the leading modern artist when he set about capturing the brightly colored fishermen's boats and houses in Collioure.

MONDAY:

DISCOVERING COLLIOURE

TUESDAY:

WINE TASTING & COASTAL WALK

WEDNESDAY:

MARKET DAY & LOCAL FOODS

THURSDAY:

LOCAL HISTORY & TOUR OF THE CASTLE & FORT

FRIDAY:

BOATING, THE LOCAL FISHING INDUSTRY & BOUTIQUES

SATURDAY:

DETAILS:

Breakfast at the cottage.

10:00-11:00 Oral Exam, Program Evaluation

11:30-12:00 Certificate Presentation & Reception.

Departure.