Dave took this photo of Isabel with Lucille, member of the French junior team who has been super helpful, taking charge of Izzy for a couple weeks in August and helping her settle in in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Also shown are Lucille's parents, who drove Isabel to and from the French Championships and hosted her at their house in the French countryside. I believe Lucille's father is mayor of their town.
Isabel will be training with the Pole Francais through December. The coach is Simon Leroy. They have training every day - strength, agility, speed, strategy, and technical orienteering. They have been open and welcoming toward Isabel. Izzy is also studying French as a foreign language at the University there, with 17 hours a week of classroom instruction. The program is designed to prepare students to go on and study at the University to get a degree, but is open to others.
I'm proud of Isabel for having the courage to take on this adventure!