La Giraudiere is operating the program in 2009 and you can find further info at the website La Giraudiere WORK PROGRAM The location or address for La Giraudiere is Brossac postal code 16480 in the department of The Charente in south west France [View Full Entry]

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Here is a video of the work abroad program at La Giraudiere. [View Full Entry]

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A New Visitor at La Giraudiere I was walking on the lane back to La Giraudiere after a walk with Sidney. It was a Monday and a French bank holiday, so the community was quite. A tall, thin man with gray hair and a gray beard was walking toward us. When I reached him, he looked to be in his early 60s and his tanned skin gave away the time he must have spent in the sun. He asked if I was part of the group at La Giraudiere and I said yes. We introduced ourselves - he was Patrick and [View Full Entry]

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Shopping: Brossac Village, Chalais and Barbezieux Brossac village is about a mile from La Giraudiere and offered basic amenities including two boulangeries and a butcher. There are two restaurants, Mamie Bulles and Saint Bernard that served traditional French cuisine and had bars. A third restaurant, Quaid Sud, is just outside of the village across from Brossac Lake. It is a Cuban-themed setting with a bar that served cucarachas, a flaming alcoholic drink. There was a small outdoor market on Saturday mornings with local products and fish brought in from the seacoast. Brossac also had [View Full Entry]

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Friday Night Football Dinner The first weekend was the end-of-the-season football tournament and celebration. Paul was part of the football club and our group was helping with preparation and clean up for the events. There was a kick-off dinner on Friday evening after the football game and the tournament and celebratory dinner and dance filled the next three days and nights. Friday’s dinner at Mamie Bulles, a short walk from the pitch, began around 10pm, and we filled a long table set for 50 to 60 people. With 25 or so people on each side of the table, we were stacked [View Full Entry]

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Arrival It was Monday, the 5th of May in late afternoon. I arrived in Angouleme, France, at the train station after traveling for 12 plus hours from Colorado. I had gone to France to take part in a work abroad program for three and a half weeks, and the program coordinator was supposed to pick me up. I was a little skeptical about if anyone would be meeting me because the program sounded great, and the old adage, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is kept running through my mind. The work program was in Charente on [View Full Entry]

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