During our first week, we took a kayak trip down the Loire River. Before we met the guides we did a language lesson about the vocab we’d need to understand the guide’s directions, talk about what we had done, and any other useful vocab we’d need during our excursion. Learning the words for paddle, life jacket, kayak, to float, to swim, to sink, to paddle, current, left, right, etc may not seem so important when you’re sitting in a classroom in school, but it’s very important when one of the guides asks you to grab a paddle, buckle your lifejacket, and paddle on the left side of the boat!