Volunteering In France | Interning in France

Friday 27th

Today was another work day as we had our French lesson yesterday afternoon instead of today. Everyone was sleepy from the rain and grey sky settling into our bones, and poor Courtney has a cold (but was still painting, little soldier!).

Paul, of course, was smiling and bouncy as usual. Tonight was the first round of Karaoke at Etang Vallier and we spent the afternoon limbering up our vocal chords in preparation. We headed out to the lake after dinner ready to dance and sing, but fear and nerves struck us as Holly (a professional singer and one of the bartenders) was singing her heart out to the cheers of all of the patrons. How on earth could we get up and sing after her?!? It took a few drops of Liquid courage, but then Paul and his hareem of backing singettes got up to show us how it’s done. ‘The Letter’ by the Boxtops was crooned out with such finesse that virtually everybody got up to sing. Good ‘ole Paul! After a few more good songs were sung the DJ started playing current dance tunes and all the ‘Paulettes’ in the house were boogying and laughing lots. It was a much needed way to shake the grey dreary weather out of our bones and a wonderful way to start the weekend.

Thursday 26th

After waving goodbye to Susan, we said Hello to the new arrivals, Sandra and Robert, from California, USA. After lunch we had a 2hr French lesson from Alison, an Expat, who is substituting for Lyn, another Expat who usually teaches the lessons. We went through a lot of vocabulary and split up into groups according to our differing levels of French. Alison told us to try one of the best restaurants around in Bardenac, Poirier Gaston, which serves continuous courses of delicious food and wine for only 12.5 euros (20 euros on Sunday). Many of the working men in the area go there daily for lunch, as it is such a good deal, and it is so popular that one must make a reservation. I look forward to going there as a group.

After a hard day blogging and emailing while the others painted, built bonfires and mothered us, Paul, Dan and I disappeared off to Chalais to pick up the other car from the garage where it was being made slightly more legal for the road. I was very excited as I got to drive, something I had been wanting to do since I got here. Don’t worry, I only forgot to drive on the right side once 😉 We sneaked in a cake for Dan from the patisserie and then I went off to get more stuff for the evening meal while Dan and Paul went to have coffee and more cakes (chubs)!! Paul let Dan do the ordering but, after 5mins of puzzled looks form the owner of the café, Paul had to help out and explain the difference between a long and short coffee. I’m still confused as to the difference, but it was a good try on Dan’s part.

After a sumptuous Thai meal cooked by Alice 😉 we drove off to Quai Sud in pouring rain and had deserts and beers. I have a feeling that I’m going to be smuggling a few pounds of lard back into England!! At least Easy Jet can’t charge me for it, though!

Wednesday 25th

Today was finally a bit warmer during the day, but it was raining again. After an extremely cold night (absent Sydney’s blankey) it was nice to have a bit of warmth, even if it was accompanied with moisture.

After breakfast we all got straight to work. Dan helped Paul with some car repairs as there were some slow punctures in the tires to sort out. Then it was on to wiring and fitting a false wall in the Old House. Courtney, as usual, was off covered in paint and Cullen continued doing Mum’s duties. We had many re-done leftovers as we still have LOTS of party food to get through. Brianna helped out with the Mum duties for her first day and I was busy answering mail.

Susan’s last meal was Hobo Dinner’s made by Courtney. It is typically a camping dish of mince, onions and potatoes wrapped in foil and cooked to perfection directly in a fire. However, Courtney altered it so that it all went in the foil raw and came out of the oven delicious and ready to disappear into our stomachs! A yummy recipe to remember for camping in the summer. We raised our wine, toasted Susan and wished her well on her Paris adventure and safe travels back to the States.

Tuesday 24^th

We finally got into work today with Day One of the working week for the volunteers.  We all scattered in different directions to do our allotted jobs:I got down to emails and the blog; Susan wrote an article on the excursion that the others took to see the replica ship, L’hermione; Dan made and installed a handrail for Gite 4 and learned some carpentry skills; Courtney, our trusty painter, was hard at work, as usual, painting in Gite 4; and Cullen was being Mum by cooking and cleaning for us all. Paul’s day was spent building walls in the old house (and organising and overseeing the whole process, of course). Every now and then we tried to communicate in French to keep the rust off our brains, but we always ended up reverting back to Franglais.

Our next volunteer arrived just in time for lunch. Brianna is from California, USA and will be doing general bits and bobs during her three weeks here. She has just recently finished a semester of study in Florence, Italy and is eager to practice her “Franglaitalian” with us all.

After dinner the entire group went for a lovely walk with Sydney, our new best friend, down to the lake restaurant, Quai Sud, to have a desert. Much to our disappointment, we found it was closed, but we quickly diverted to the Village and found ourselves in ‘St Bernard’. They were very quiet indeed and glad of our company. Most of us got strawberries and cream and Sydney, the dog, got lots of cuddles and biscuits from Magaleine, the wonderful young woman who works there. Magaleine helped us to practice our French with her and each other, as she does every time we see her. It was a lovely evening full of exercise and followed by a nice walk home in the quiet evening darkness.

Monday 23rd

Today we had more rain, and it was Market Day! After breakfast we all left for the Chalais market. We were dropped off about 10am and offered a lift at 1pm. I am sure that we looked forlorn and we were worried that, because it was raining so much, we’d struggle to find something to do. But there were a lot of things to see and, unfortunately, lots to buy! Of course we started off with a coffee stop at a local café where we wanted to dry out and warm up. It was good opportunity to try out our ordering in French and we learned something too, as a black coffee comes in two forms: un alonger, which is a black coffee with hot water to make it long, and a café noir, which is a black coffee which comes out long straight from the machine so its stronger. We struggled with our orders in French and, after listening to us for a moment, the waitress couldn’t take it anymore and spoke in perfect English. Oh la. C’est la vie.

After warming up we hit the stalls of the market. Phone cards were sorted out, many hats were tried on and purses bought. And after herbs, artichokes and cheese were bought it was time for another drink in Le Perroquet Vert, which means Green Parrot in French. Le Perroquet Vert is a wonderful space run by ExPats where you can buy drinks, snacks, French and English books, Art, and second hand clothes. This space is relaxed and creative and shows that not everything has to be new to be appreciated. After lunch, (omelettes) at the next door restaurant, La Bonne Humeur, we were met by Paul and driven home to dry out and get warm again.

We spent the evening watching Star Wars III in Gites 1 as a group with popcorn and blankets. I had taken a blanket from the garage and snuggled up with it during the film and again during the chilly night, only to be told the next day that it belonged to Sydney, the dog!! Oops!! Maybe I was warmer that night because of all the extra dog fur.