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Published: August 17th 2008
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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 he was returning for dinner.
Back at La Giraudiere, I learned that this was the Patrick that would be teaching us how to restore antique French furniture, Paul had wrote about this in an email. Patrick was an antiques dealer in his former life in England.
I sat by Patrick at dinner and we spent the evening discussing politics, the UK and the States, and our global world. With the setting sun, the room grew darker and I sensed the group quiet too, but I was still immersed in conversation with Patrick. I lowered my voice little
by little because I was concerned what the others would think if they heard me discussing politics again. In my previous attempts for conversation like this, I had not found others interested. They had expressed that the world’s affairs were discouraging, and I could not disagree with that. After all, we came to France for a change of pace.
Ritual at Night Sidney was Paul’s six-year-old black Labrador. Mannered and obedient, he was usually at Paul’s side. I would take Sidney for walks at night, and in a short time, he associated walking and me. When he wanted to go for a walk, he would look at me in a way that seemed to ask, “when are we leaving?” If I turned him down, he would drop his head and walk away.
Being an introverted person, it was a relief to know that at the end of the day I could leave for a while because “the dog wanted to go for a walk.” I cherished the time, and I never wanted the walks to end because it also meant I was one day closer to leaving.
Your Host, Paul Paul seemed to enjoy the company of others. Neighbors would stop by to chat and people from Brossac village would come out to La Giraudiere, sometimes bring their children, and occasionally join in the work. At the Football tournament celebration, Paul seemed to know many people and what was happening in their lives. It was clear his interest in the community was sincere and that he valued helping and being involved.
Paul did not talk much about himself, but rather talked about La Giraudiere. Twice he told me that Paul and La Giraudiere are the same. This had already been my observation soon after arriving at La Giraudiere. In one way or another, he worked on La Giraudiere most hours of the day, and his commitment to fulfill his vision was evident. Paul shared his ideas for La Giraudiere with the group and friends to receive feedback, he asked others for their suggestions, and worked on several aspects of La Giraudiere at any given time. His focus was contagious and led to others’ earnest desire to support the project.
I learned about Paul through his interactions with others more than anything he said about himself. In my time at the work program, I watched him deal with work not being done as he requested, interpersonal conflicts, competing needs of people working for him, and knowingly being deceived. I never saw Paul get angry or say harsh words about others or any situation. He listened when you spoke, tried to help as he could, and always had a smile.
Being in the 11th year at La Giraudiere, one can only assume that it has been a challenge to continue the work. On two different occasions I asked Paul what he wanted for La Giraudiere. His reply was he wanted for La Giraudiere to be finished and full of holidaymakers. I probed for more detail, but he repeated the statement. It was also challenging to have a conversation of length with him that was not interrupted by other workers, employees, friends stopping by, or the phone, all taking him in different directions.
I asked Paul why he was doing the work abroad program and he explained that he wanted to share La Giraudiere with others, plus he couldn’t do all the work himself. He was financing the project as he went and worked on La Giraudiere while also operating is own construction business. I admire Paul for the vision his has and his commitment to bring it to fruition, instead of letting days go by in a comfortable routine as many do.
Your Place in France One Sunday, Ann, Dave, Paul and I were visiting a castle in Pons. An American man in his late 60s approached us and wanted to pet Sidney. I asked how his trip was going and he let out a long sigh. He explained how he had been to Europe 25 times and listed all that was planned for this trip that his “wife wanted to do”. His lack of enthusiasm was evident. In a playful way, we mocked the man and his ho-hum attitude, and his wife that we never saw get out of the car. I asked Paul why he didn’t invite the man to La Giraudiere. He thought for a moment and then said, “Yah, then he could be part of something instead of just spending time going to stuff.”
This is the opportunity at La Giraudiere - to learn about a community, experience the countryside, form friendships in France and, of course, apply your skills to a project that will be there for a lifetime. Paul offers La Giraudiere to be “your place in France,” and it is where you can get in touch with basic living, community, and the joys and art of pleasure.
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