Bonjour tout le monde!

My journey to France as a volunteer

My name is Fleur. I am 21 years old and I just arrived at La Giraudière from the Netherlands two days ago. I was supposed to arrive here on Monday, but my train was delayed. So I spent the night at a Hotel in Angouleme. Actually, I had a great time. Angoulême is a beautiful town, about an hour from Brossac. 

Tuesday morning, Paul picked me up at the station in Chalais and brought me to La Giraudière. He introduced me to the interns, Sarah, Yasimin, Ranson and they showed me what they have been working on. 

Organising a braderie in France

For the last few months, the interns and volunteers at La Giraudière have been busy organising a braderie, both online and in person. A braderie is a common phenomenon in France where people sell vintage items and antiques on the streets in market stalls. La Giraudiére hosted a live braderie from the fourteenth to the sixteenth of July. Beside this, the interns created a commercial website for the braderie so people can keep buying our items online. Check it out at https://brossacbraderie.com/. 

We sold a lot of different items such as beautiful vintage posters, whole sets of English China, children’s books and small pieces of furniture. During the braderie, I helped the interns wherever I could. We set up a bar so people could buy coffee and refreshments. The braderie provided me with a great opportunity to practise my French and meet the local population! It was a great beginning of my time in France at La Giraudière.