It is a cold, overcast Saturday in the Blackwater River Valley, and the forecast for this afternoon's football game is for rain mixed with snow. Fall athletics end today; most teams actually finished Wednesday. So the past couple of days have featured fun, pick-up soccer and field hockey contests. Here's Athletic Director Toby Gibbons advancing the ball with unique style:

These dark November days make receipt of this Proctor-in-France photo particularly difficult:

One of our teachers in Aix-en-Provence, Liz Clerc contributes the following end-of-term reflection:

This was an interesting term for everyone due to the world events that began on September 11th. The students were nervous, but happy to be here in France. At the same time, they have never felt so American, and were proud to show this. Our travels were varied as well, and our mid-term trip was a highlight. We began in Paris, and then drove to Normandy to learn more about the d-day invasions. From there we headed to the Loire valley and toured some Chateaux - Chenonceaux was quite amazing. Down through the Massif Central, with some cheese tasting on the way, and we were back in Aix for a few more weeks.

Meanwhile, from Segovia Derek Mansell sends the following group photo:

And these comments:

The term began for this group on Sept 11th, and though their experience had the obvious added poignancy of being away from home, campus and country during two months in which the nation was transformed by those events, it has been a surprisingly normal fall term. The unusually fine fall weather (more like summer for much of the term) allowed us to swim on both of our long trips-- first on the south coast at Tarifa (between Gibraltar and Trafalgar!), and then just last week along the Mediterranean coast in Barcelona and Cadaqués. The "lema" (motto) of this group has been (appropriately) "¡No pasa naaaada!" The group, despite many fine qualities, has two weaknesses: (1) They are the messiest group ever (¡Son unos guarros!). MacLean and Mat can fill an empty, immaculately cleaned classroom in 30 seconds just by opening their backpacks and stretching out their legs, and the other five are only a little better. (2) They shun the gym and other physical exercise religiously (ignoring Karine's example), unless threatened with the direst of consequences (too harsh to elaborate on here). On Hallowe'en a reporter from the Segovia's Canal 4 (TV station) showed up with a cameraman to interview the students about Hallowe'en and how the events of Sepember 11 might effect the holiday in the U.S., and everyone acquitted themselves very well under pressure. Only Jenny and Dave made the final edit, but at least a few thousand more Segovians now know that, tucked away on Calle Escuderos, lurks "Proctor en Segovia."