Claire in Nantes: Orientation in Vannes, check?

I just got back from a 4 day orientation in Vannes which is a little bit further north than Nantes and is very much in Bretagne (complete with street signs in both French and Breton). I originally thought I met all the other students the afternoon I arrived since there were about 20 of us on the train. I was very wrong. There are 70 people that are participating in IES Nantes, some for the semester and some for the full year. There are quite a few from Northwestern, Gettysburg College, and Whitman but the rest are from big states schools (save one other girl from Grinnell). It was an interesting combination of trying to speak French and trying to get to know one another. At this point none of us can speak French well enough to actually convey any of our personality or humor so many people got frustrated and switched back to English. I felt pretty stuck in the middle and frustrated because I want to speak French but I also didn't want to seem like I was trying to be superior or anything. Life is so difficult as a almost-adult. ;-)