La Giraudière Volunteers Visit the West Coast of France

After two weeks as a volunteer at La Giraudière, I realized that I had not heard an American accent since my arrival. (That’s not completely true, a volunteer from Austria speaks with a lovely American accent that

she claims she picked up when she lived in Kansas for a year as a child; it has a pleasant Teutonic lilt to it so it doesn’t quite count.) Of course, I didn’t come to France to meet other Americans but still, I’ve never traveled far or near without running into some of my compatriots.  So where were they?  It’s really no great mystery.  Americans tend to visit the capital cities of Europe:London, Paris, Rome and then home.  It’s understandable but by bypassing the West of France, they are denying themselves an incredible travel experience.

On our last weekend as volunteers at La Giraudière, program director Paul lead us on a daylong excursion to the beautiful western coast of France.  The first stop along the way was the bustling town of Pons.  It’s windy, picturesque streets feature a market on Saturdays. On this particular sunny weekend, it was hosting the “La Grande Fete de la St.- Jacques.  An annual affair, the shopkeepers dress as medieval merchants while solders in mail, maidens in headdress and mythological creatures roam the

streets.  As you shop for local soaps and cheeses, you are treated to the sounds of authentic medieval music played by roaming musicians.  Children in period dress, dance to the music as they dodge the shoppers who fill the streets. Falconry and archery demonstrations on the grand lawn in front of the castle fills out the bill.  It was a wonderful stop fro coffee, croissants and ice cream but soon we were off to the seaside village of Talmon sur Gironde.

As you drive into Talmon you are greeted by a sign proclaiming, “Talmon, le plus beau village en France.”  By the time you leave you will be in complete agreement.  You first must leave your car in the car park as autos are not allowed in the village.  The landscape is dominated by the fortress-like church of Sainte- Radegone that guards the harbor on the Estuary of the Gironde.   Beautiful in its simplicity, the church proudly looks upon the sea on one side and the small village on the other.

The tiny, neatly landscaped streets of the village wander through residences and shops alike.  Tidily maintained gardens amidst sun bleached white walls add the color to this most charming of villages.  The town dates back to the 1200s and the carousel on the outskirts of the village adds to the other era feel of the place.

Although, Talmon lies at the mouth of the Gironde estuary, it’s the call of the sea, further up the coast that draws us to Saint-Palais sur Mer.  It is this resort city, unlike any of the other places visited on this trip to France that makes me realize how much Americans are missing by skipping this area.  Graceful palm trees and sturdy stone mansions line its quay along the sea.  Balmy sea breezes waft through the air as beach goers and senior citizens alike,

stroll along to capture the golden rays pouring down from the blue skies.  Large sailboats on their way out to the ocean can be seen in the distance as children of all ages frolic in the refreshing waters of The Atlantic. It only takes us seconds before we peel down to our bathing suits and we are diving in the surf. The pleasant temperatures of the water are a wonderful surprise, especially for anyone who has spent summer holidays on the  chilly shores of The North Atlantic in America.  I am reminded of Nice without the crowds and with better beaches.  No rocky bottoms here but rather the type of sand that invites you to curl your toes into as you prepare to take your first dive into the water.  An English band with a vocalist reminiscent of Adele rehearses along the

promenade for their evening concert.  We knew we wouldn’t be able to stay long enough to hear their complete sets but it was easy to imagine the whole seafront lit up while merry vacationers danced the night away to their pop sounds.  A delicious lunch of crepes, omelets and strawberry water readied us for our car ride home.  Although we were a bit tired and all had a touch of the sun, the drive home was only 90 minutes long, reminding us just how close we were to this most beautiful of regions.

La Giraudiere sits among the peaceful sunflower and farm fields of The Charente region but it is only a short drive to the gorgeous western coast of France. I didn’t sign up for this but what a marvelous surprise to find such a beautiful piece of the world in my own backyard.

 

 

Post Written by Terrence Cremin USA while on his working holiday volunteering in France 

 

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Balade à la rencontre des peintres

La Giraudiere, with the help of it’s volunteers, will be one of the places preparing for the “Balade à la rencontre des peintres” ,an art exhibition, to be held on the 16th August 2014. Other places taking part in the expo will be La  Maire de Brossac,  salles des fetes de Brossac, Salle Bel Horizon and the Galerie Marmajoux.

Exhibitions will be open from 10.00 to 12.00 and again in the afternoon from 14.00 to 18.30. There will be 14 exhibitors and over 200 paintings.

You can see more information at our Facebook page where there are links to the Charente Libre post about this event.

Working Day at La Giraudière  – Part Two

 

Last week I wrote a post about a typical workday at La Giraudiere.  As I become a more seasoned

observer and participant here, I’ve come to realize there is no such thing as a typical workday.  Last week, I watched Marlene and Colin happily working in the garden.  The weeds and neglect had required some tender loving care which they were happy to provide. But with the garden taking on a new life, they have moved onto other ventures.  Colin has joined Matthew and  Paul in the main house to try his hand at plastering.  Matthew, under Paul’s guidance has becoming quite proficient and may be find himself soon in the capacity as a supervisor. Meanwhile, Marlene has taken over the kitchen for preparing lunchtime fare.  Everyone takes a turn at preparing a meal at La Giraudiere but sometimes lunch can be a catch as catch can affair.  Under the watchful eye of Marlene, however, lunch is often as nutritious and delicious as the evening meal.  Not one to forget her past loves, Marlene can still be found in the garden on most afternoons but she has stepped up her game a bit, pruning roses and clearing ivy.

Last week Sal  restored the aging picnic tables back to their youthful luster with fresh coats of paint.  He enjoyed the task so much that he took his expertise to the front gates. Looking a bit like Tom Sawyer but refusing to give up the brush, Sal claimed he had been able to listen to all of Beethoven’s nine symphonies as he brought back the youthful vigor of the picket fences. A music student from Queens University of Belfast, he may never find a paintbrush in his hand again or possibly he may take a fancy to  listening to all of Mozart’s concertos and find painting to be the perfect excuse.

Leon and Bridget arrived last week just as the work week began.  Besides a couple of suitcases, they also arrived with a massive case of jet lag, as they had traveled directly from Melbourne, Australia.  Just the assorted odd job here and there was suitable for their somewhat fragile conditions.  A good long weekend restored them to the vitality so associated with the folks from The Land Down Under.  This week they could be found on ladders plastering and smoothing out the seams of the drywall. It’s a skill that will follow them home and come in handy whenever they buy their first home.

Jacques, back in the office, however can ill afford to take time off to pursue other pursuits.  The daily operations of La Giraudiere require that someone be on top of the daily correspondence, bills and phone calls.  However, don’t let the French first name fool you.  Jacques will be an Englishman Abroad next year as

he takes a year to study in Bordeaux.  Several times a week he takes a little time off for an advanced French lesson. Although the rest of La Giraudiere volunteers get weekly French instruction, he is literally in a class of his own.  His volunteer work at La Giraudiere coupled with his French lessons are leaving him with a confidence that he will manage quite well in his year abroad.

Finally, your blogger, although keeping the same task, gets to live vicariously through all the activity that makes La Giraudiere thrive.   Taking pictures and interviewing the other volunteers gives me a great appreciation of all the contributions the volunteers make at La Giraudiere.

 

 

 

Posted by Travel writer Terrence Cremin while on  working holiday at La Giraudière

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La Leçon Francaise

La Giraudière volunteers come to Southwest France for many different reasons.  However, most visitors will mention that at least one of their purposes is to learn more about the French language.  Few would foolishly expect to become fluent in their three week stay, but even in such a short visit,  the most basic beginner will pick up a wealth of knowledge about the language.  Whether, it is improving your ear for the sound of French or adding vocabulary to what you already know, the weekly French lessons at La Giraudiere are a boon to the volunteers.

Precisely at ten o’clock Madame Lynn arrives from the village of Brossac.  A cheerful woman, her perfect French belies the fact that she is really from London. She greets everyone with  Bonjours and Comme ca vas and then proceeds to converse with everyone as if they are native speakers.  Surprisingly, much of what she is saying is understandable by the volunteers.  Of course, many words are lost but the gist of her dialogue breaks through the curtain of language barriers. Guessing that perhaps one or two people may be totally lost, she kindly peppers her conversation with English words to facilitate some basic understanding.

Madame asks us to join her in the living room where we gather around her as she invites us to sit down,  Assisez -vous, sil vous plait.  The hand motion towards the chair is a marvelous visual cue to her request.  She jumps right into the lesson by passing out a rather sophisticated quiz about French history – all written in French, of course. This appears a bit daunting at first, as it tests not only our knowledge of the French language but of French history as well.  its a coin toss as to which one we are most deficient in. The first question is a total washout  Ou se trouve St. Malo?  Many of us have the background to understand the question, Where do you find St. Malo.  But no one knows its in Brittany or en Bretagne.  However, the speed at which we decipher the question puts us at ease for the rest of the quiz.  The next question proves we are more experienced with France than we realize.  We are asked what is produced in Bordeaux.  The word produit is an easy translation and as we have had many encounters with the pride of Bordeaux, we know the answer is vin. Real life experience is invaluable.  By the last question we don’t really care which Louis built Versailles.  We are just proud of the fact that we understood the question.

Next Madame takes us on an imaginary shopping trip to the village.  She spreads word cards across the table with a few picture cards and asks us to categorize them. Some of the words are instantly recognizable – chemise is in the same group as jeans, patisserie with pain (we have already learned those words well on outings into the village;  But cuir gives us pause and quincaillerie doesn’t look like anything recognizable. Amazingly the word cuir comes in handy the next day at the market when one of our group wants to buy a leather belt, une ceinture cuir. A quincaillerie is a hardware store.  That can come in handy if you need to buy a drill (une perceuse.)

By the end of the lesson, everyone remarks how comfortable they have felt withe their exposure to the French language under the friendly guidance of Madame Lynn.  No one expects to be holding lengthy conversations with the villagers at the next petanque game, but perhaps ordering a vin rouge or a biere peche wont be such a frightening task.  Most amazing of all is that everyone is looking forward to next weeks lesson.  Cest Marveilleuse, Madame!

 La Leçon Française at La Giraudière

 

Post Written by Terrence Cremin USA while on his working holiday volunteering in France 

 

 For information on volunteering in France  or A working holiday in France

 

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