Plus Belle La Vie

Jan and I endured the approximately 10 hour plane ride to Paris France including stopover in Toronto and one last bite at Tim Hortons ...from there, our European adventure would begin! It was the return to the homeland for Jan, and the second glimpse at a European lifestyle for myself. Highlights from the plane included some cultural highlights from the personal entertainment system such as "The Class" which is a French movie that takes place in Paris in a school in the banlieues, definitely one of my new fav teacher movies...also, a Quebecoise artiste named Coeur de Pirate...kinda Feisty but with a French flare.

Our weekend in Paris was short but sweet. We did the usual sight-seeing thing taking in the Catacombs (Ive now seen those underground tombs three times, I could practically guide the tour), the Eiffel tower (accompanied with bottle of wine and baguette of course), the Louvre (not the inside, just a three hour nap on the outside grounds as I slept off my jet-leg and the side effects of my allergy pills), Sacre Coeur, Champs Elysees and the Arch ...stopping in many stores along the way, I think Jan was thrilled over this part...and of course some cute little restaurants, parks and bars along the way (which were the highlights for me). Our hotel was not quite oh la la and the staff were not so pleasant but the location in Montmartre was worth the hostel-equivalent price.

Our goodbye at the train station was one from a cliche movie...however, to add to the plot, I met Jan's parents for the first time right before. We had lunch together in the Montparnesse area where I ordered our meals in French, translated to English for Jan, then he translated that into German for his parents...ordering our omlettes took around 10 minutes but in the end we ate! I must admit there was quite a lengthy silence when Jan went to the bathroom leaving myself and his mama and papa to exchange stories... no one spoke. I don't think I'll ever forget the relief that came over me when he returned. All in all, they are lovely people and I was very enthusiastic to be in their company. Jan later told me they approved of me...even though they couldn't understand me most of the time. Maybe its for the best that way. Jan and I said a brief farewell as I mounted the train heading to La Rochelle...and although I almost had tears running down my cheek, I saved them knowing that I would see him in a mere 1 month and the second goodbye would be a lot harder...I'll save for that one.

I forgot how much I love train rides! I slept most of the way but with a small amount of anxiety as I would soon be meeting my adopted family and searching for French vocabulary on a regular basis. I was thinking this trip would be like my immersion program in Jonquiere Quebec minus the dorm and the hundreds of anglophones.

My family was wonderful which was what my sister had assured me as she stayed with the same family last year and I felt right at home shortly after my arrival. I had my own room with desk and wifi acccess, as well as my own bathroom to use while I was there. The students in my program were all very nice. There were a wide range of personalities and interests in our group of 19 and the fact that the professor was replacing the usual Dr. Dube stirred up a bit of curiousity as she knew only as much about the region as we did. I found my own routine quite quickley (which I have now discovered is a great comfort of mine when living in the new)...I would go running every morning in the park or beside the ocean with Colette and we would try to catch our breathe while reciting French to each other one gasping word at a time. This my friends was a skill...especially at 7:30 am. I would then have class from 9:45-11:45. I know two measly hours of class sounds like nothing, but the readings and workload added up. After class, we would eat lunch in the school cantine where the menu was listed outside the door but the actual food would seldom resemble what the menu described. I kind of liked the surprise factor of it though! Our afternoons would be spent doing excursions (a more grown-up term for field trips), or we would have them free to wander around the beautiful city or go to the beach or in my case, write the 10 page dissertation for the course in order to have more free time at the end of the month...which totally worked by the way! The evenings were mainly devoted to the family as you would spent a good three hours every night eating dinner...which consisted of about four courses, minimum. My favorites were Croques Monsieurs (pretty much like a French grilled-cheese, but better!), Fromage Blanche (which was a dessert), and a small glass of Pineau that would cleanse the palette before starting the meal. Pineau is a liquor commonly found in the Poitou-Charentes region and since leaving La Rochelle, I haven't been able to find it anywhere. Zut alors! Another routine that I grew fond of was watching a French soap-opera similar to Coronation Street called Plus Belle La Vie...where you could miss a whole month and still know what's going on when you tune in again. This was great in my case as I had never seen it before.

Some other activities that floated my boat were the markets of the Palais (they reminded me of the bazaars in Thailand), the Fish Festival which was on June 12th I think (I ate the most delicious Moules (muscles)), a trip to my French moms school where I tried to communicate with the six-year-old French kids, and the many family dinners including special guests like the mother and brother of my French mom, and their daughters and son, and other family friends who were all so welcoming. I also saw the nearby towns of Rochefort and Bruages. Another highlight was our trip to l'ile de Re which is an island off the coast where marine salts are mined and bike-riding is encouraged. Imagine 19 Canadians on polka-dotted bikes singing Disney songs and cycling with little to no class... that was us alright. Needless to say, everyone slept like a baby that night.

The nightlife in La Rochelle was surprisingly exsistant. Thursday nights were student nights and Fridays were also quite popular. Our most memorable nights spots included the Bergamot, Piano Bar (which was an Australian pub), and the bar beside the Piano Bar...whose name escapes me at the moment. Good times were had by all but I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

The second last week of my stay in La Rochelle was very interesting...We received another student in our house as her original adopted parents were taking their holidays. All went well at first, but the next weekend this particular student decided to have a break-down over a small detail (she didn't know what time dinner was) and ended the night by swearing in English at my lovely family and threatening them with exaggerated movements and words...she then told all the other students in the program that my parents freaked out at her for no reason which was so not true. I could go on about this number for ages but she is no where near important enough to take up space in my adventure...let's just end in saying she ended up living with the teacher for the last week of the program because none of the other families wanted to take her in. That week was not my favorite, but I was extremely happy when the calm was restored again after she left.

I would definitely say that my time in La Rochelle was an amazing experience! Things that would have made it better may include a little more organization and structure on the professors front (she was new though, so this could change for the next years), and a group that is a little older or at least more serious in wanting to talk French. I think I learnt some French, but not half as much as I intended on learning as I wasn't fully immersed the whole time (many students choose to speak English a lot of the time). Nonetheless, I met some amazing people (especially my French family who I will definitely visit again) and gained some French experiences that are unforgettable!

Next stop, Paris for another weekend and the reunion with mon coeur (Jannie), Dave and Becky (Wales), Jessika (Edmonton), and Lucas and Tim (Germany). The goodbye to my French family was almost as sad as the goodbye to my family in Edmonton. I held back the tears once again and watched my French dad wave goodbye on the platform as my train chugged away. On a brighter note, I would be seeing Jan in three hours...and sure enough, there he was on the receiving platform in Paris with a single rose in his hand... now thats love.

We had an amazing weekend catching up with the names mentioned above! Our hotel was a lot nicer this time around (although the locks on the doors were a bit tricky hey Dave?!) and we had some lovely weather to boot! One of my personal highlights was the French kareoke bar we stumbled upon...where I didn't get the chance to sing but we played an arousing game of headbands and mourned the death of Michael Jackson. We also saw an Asian man throwing up outside the Moulin Rouge...a spectacular sight of projectile vomit and then showing his friends his masterpiece by pointing at it and notioning them to come look. Good times!!! Can't wait to see you again T Rex and Becky... Jessika, I'll see u in E-town and as for the Germans, I'm sure we'll cross paths again sometime soon.

Next stop, Valbert Germany... stay tuned friends! And thanks again for the pictures everyone!!!!

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