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A week in Lyon

Every day is different. Every day is French.

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This is a sample week — the actual schedule adapts to the track you choose. Activities, outings, and rhythm shift depending on whether you're on Taste, Move, or Think. The structure stays. The content changes.

Monday

Day one. The immersion starts now.

7:30Breakfast — the first ruleImmersion›
First coffee together. I explain the one rule: only French, from this moment on. Not tomorrow. Now.
8:30Phone setup & apartment tourSetup›
Phone switched to French. Every label in the apartment pointed out — the fridge, the whiteboard, the TV. The environment is the method.
9:15First phonetics sessionPhonetics›
I say it, you say it. Again and again. The nasal vowels, the French R — by week two, the mouth starts to remember.
10:30Walk through the neighbourhoodListening›
Not a solo challenge yet. We walk together, I name everything. Listening only today — by week three, you will be the guide.
12:30First cooking sessionVocabulary›
Simple recipe today — the kitchen vocabulary starts here: mélanger, verser, goûter. Observation and participation, no pressure.
14:30RestRest›
The first morning is deliberately full. The rest is intentional — the brain needs to process before it can retain.
16:00First journal entryWriting›
15 minutes. Anything, in French, however broken. By week four, reading this entry will feel like reading a different person.
17:00Gym or Rhône runPhysical›
First physical session — side by side, everything in French. The point is to make movement and language feel natural together from day one.
19:00DinnerListening›
Tonight I cook. No performance required. Just presence.
21:00Netflix & ListenRhythm›
Something gentle — a cartoon, a comedy, with French subtitles. No notes, no missions. Tonight the goal is to hear the rhythm.

Tuesday

The city as classroom.

7:30Breakfast & phrase of the dayExpressions›
Se jeter à l'eau — to take the plunge. Use it once before the end of the day. This daily expression ritual starts today and never stops.
8:30Journal & first correctionWriting›
We read yesterday's entry together. I mark patterns, not individual errors. Most students are surprised by how much is already there.
9:15Grammar — one rule onlyGrammar›
Never taught as grammar — from your own writing, we explore one concept in 20 minutes. By month two you start correcting yourself before I do.
10:30Market walk — observation missionListening›
We go together. Today you listen and watch — you must remember three things you heard. Next week you go with a shopping list.
12:00Bouchon lunchCulture›
First bouchon. I order for both today, narrating every exchange. By week two, you order for us.
14:30First vocabulary sessionVocabulary›
Words captured from yesterday's conversations — the first 10. A small list that grows every single day.
19:30First debate — light versionSpeaking›
"What is one thing you love about France so far?" Simple, open, no pressure — tonight is just about speaking without stopping.

Wednesday

Rhythm and repetition.

7:30Breakfast, journal, phoneticsRoutine›
The same sounds as Monday. Same drill. Repetition across multiple days is the point.
10:00Cooking class — quenelles de brochetCulture›
A proper Lyonnais dish that takes the whole morning. You lead, I assist.
13:00Lunch — what you just madeExpression›
You eat what you cooked. You critique it in French — trop salé? Pas assez cuit? Making and evaluating is a complete language exercise.
14:30Independent study & French seriesListening›
First solo afternoon. Flashcard review, then one episode of Dix Pour Cent alone, no pausing. The discomfort is intentional.
17:00The Traboules — hidden LyonCulture›
Through the passageways of the Croix-Rousse. By the end of the stay you'll know this city better than most people who live here.
19:30Dinner with a French friendSocial›
A friend briefed to speak slowly and address you directly. The first dinner with a stranger is always the hardest — and always a turning point.

Thursday

Production day.

8:30Breakfast, journal & correctionWriting›
The morning ritual holds every day without exception. It is the spine of the program — by week three the entries are longer, by month two the errors are different ones.
9:15Role playSpeaking›
Today: a doctor's appointment. I am the doctor. No preparation — you navigate in real time. The scenarios get harder each week.
10:30Cinema — French filmListening›
An actual cinema, actual French people, nobody pausing. After: we debrief the movie around a coffee in French.
14:00Vocabulary reviewMemory›
This week's words, reviewed. By month three the bank has hundreds of words you actually used in real situations.
17:00Bike ride through LyonPhysical›
Along the Rhône, toward Fourvière. You name the city as you move — by week three you will know how to navigate it.
21:00Reading nightReading›
We both read in French — different levels. Then we tell each other what we read. I listen without correcting mid-sentence.

Friday

Assessment and reward.

8:30End-of-week journal reviewWriting›
Friday's correction covers the whole week — looking for patterns, not individual errors. That's the difference between correcting and teaching.
9:15Weekly progress dashboardTracking›
Words learned, hardest words, recurring patterns. From week two onwards you play back the voice note from day one.
10:30Real-world exam — the bakery missionAutonomy›
A specific bakery. Two items. One question. Alone. Week one is forgiving — it gets harder every week.
12:30Lunch — you chooseReal-world›
You pick, navigate, order. I am a French friend joining — not a teacher supervising. By month two you do this without thinking.
17:00Gym sessionPhysical›
Third physical session of the week. By week two you have your spots, your route, your rhythm.
19:30The exchange dinnerConnection›
I cook something personal and tell its story. After dinner: "Now teach me something from your life." The reciprocity deepens every week.
21:30French televisionListening›
Week one: Le Meilleur Pâtissier. Week six: Quotidien. Month three: the news. The progression is the entire point.
22:15KaraokePhonetics›
French songs, phone as mic, lyrics on screen. Phonetics through music, rhythm through repetition, inhibition through laughter.

Saturday

The excursion.

8:30Departure — French radio in the carListening›
We discuss what we hear, what we see. The car is one of the best places for unguarded conversation.
10:00A vineyard, a city, a museumVisit›
New vocabulary in context. There are so many nice things to discover less than 2 hours away from Lyon.
12:30Lunch at a village restaurantAutonomy›
You order for the table. Sun on the terrace. This is the moment the programme stops feeling like a programme.
15:00Walk through the vines or a mountain pathPhysical›
Slow, talking, no agenda. The best conversations of the stay happen on walks like this — relaxed body, open mind.
18:00Drive home — debriefReflection›
Best moment. New words. What to remember. Tomorrow's flashcards include words from the day.
20:30Easy dinner at homeRest›
Simple food. Quiet conversation. The week has been full. Tonight is for the easy rhythm of two people beginning to know each other.

Sunday

Rest, reflection, the exchange.

9:00Late breakfast ☕Rest›
No phrase of the day. No journal. No drill. Coffee, bread, something good. Sunday French — slower, warmer, no agenda.
10:30Marché Saint-AntoineLyon life›
Along the Saône. Week one: I buy, you watch. Week two: you help. Week three: you lead.
12:30Long improvised lunchConnection›
No recipe — cooked together from what you bought. The most natural French of the week.
15:00Completely freeRest›
Whatever you want. Get your afternoon off. Chill Sunday to reflect.
18:00Weekly reflection — one page in FrenchWriting›
Not a journal — a reflection: what did you learn in language, about France, about yourself. Week one is always the most honest.
20:00Quiet dinner — week aheadPlanning›
A planning conversation disguised as dinner — the best kind.

Curious about who you'd share the week with?

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