After studying French for a couple of months during the summer of 2010 in San Sebastian (Spain) I decided it was time to cross the border and practice my new language skills. Given that I had just graduated and did not have a great budget to spend, I thought it would be a good idea to look for a working-holiday project not to far away from home.
Just by typing “working-holiday-France” in Google I came across La Giraudiere's (LG) website – a small, welcoming and affordable program just three hours away by train from my home. Although I applied rather late in the summer, I was very lucky and got a spot for the last month of the program, from mid-September to mid-October. The truth is that I did not know anything about Charente, the French lifestyle and what I should expect about my ti
me in LG – I just
hopped in the train in Hendaye with a suitcase full of summer clothes, an open mind and not a whole lot of prospects other than learning French.
Traveling from Spain to Brossac by train is easy and inexpensive. First, you have to go either to Irun with the RENFE trains on the Spanish side of the border (www.renfe.com) or,to Hendaye on the French side with the TOPO trains (www.euskotren.es) - tickets from San Sebastian for both train companies are about 1,50 euros. From there, you can take the comfortable TGV to Bordeaux for approximately 20 euros (www.tgv-europe.es). At Bordeaux, you will have to take the regional train to Chalais on the “
Angoulême – Bordeaux” line. Be careful not to mistake Chalais' station with St.Aigulin-La-Roche-Chalais station!
Unfortunately, when I got to the small, empty and closed station of Chalais, I realized that I had lost my cell-phone somewhere on the way from Bordeaux, including LG's address and Paul's (the program coordinator) phone number. At first, nobody was to be seen around the station and I started to panic, wondering how would I get home or to the closest hotel if no one picked me up. However, as I tried to ask a local French boy where LG was, Paul appeared in his car and welcomed me with a big warm smile – as soon as I saw him, I knew everything was going to be just fine.
Although during my stay at LG new participants came and left rather often, the team was always fun and welcoming, allowing me to meet some of the most interesting people ever. The first week, work-wise, I was in charge of reorganizing all the pictures left by past participants, writing some short articles about local attractions and updating LG's page on Facebook. Eventhough it was late September, the weather was fantastic and I enjoyed many evenings swimming in the nearest lake, taking walks and cycling around Brossac. For the second week, I asked Paul to assign me work outdoors, so that I could get to enjoy some more sunlight before returning to the rainy Basque Country. Hence, I did some landscaping in the rear park, preparing bonfires to be light later in the month. Before I realized, my third and last week arrived and it was time to finish up the started projects before my departure, encouraging me to write up this short narrative and its version in Spanish. The following picture was taken during a road trip we did along the French coast one weekend.
Although currently I do not know how the rest of 2010 and 2011 will develop, I am certain that I will try to come back next year as soon as I can. LG has not only given me the quiet, relaxing time and space that I needed, but has also allowed me to rediscover new aspects of myself and what I enjoy doing the most: traveling, writing, learning, meeting new people and exploring new cultures.
Advice for future Spanish participants: First, I would suggest that you do not wait until the last minute to ask for your E111, given that it can take a minimum of five days for it to be mailed to your permanent residence. Moreover, I would also recommend traveling with the TGV instead of searching for flights, unless you live in Andalusia, given that it is cheaper and more convenient – they will mail your train tickets to you in Spain at no cost within a week. Furthermore, LG is a great place to practice not only French, but English, given that during my stay most of the participants come from the UK and the USA – get ready for a whole multilingual experience! And keep up my work of trying to teach these English speakers how to roll their “r”s!
M. Judit Soria
Working holiday blog in Spanish
WORKING HOLIDAY IN FRANCE
me in LG – I just
hopped in the train in Hendaye with a suitcase full of summer clothes, an open mind and not a whole lot of prospects other than learning French.
Traveling from Spain to Brossac by train is easy and inexpensive. First, you have to go either to Irun with the RENFE trains on the Spanish side of the border (www.renfe.com) or,to Hendaye on the French side with the TOPO trains (www.euskotren.es) - tickets from San Sebastian for both train companies are about 1,50 euros. From there, you can take the comfortable TGV to Bordeaux for approximately 20 euros (www.tgv-europe.es). At Bordeaux, you will have to take the regional train to Chalais on the “Angoulême – Bordeaux” line. Be careful not to mistake Chalais' station with St.Aigulin-La-Roche-Chalais station!
Unfortunately, when I got to the small, empty and closed station of Chalais, I realized that I had lost my cell-phone somewhere on the way from Bordeaux, including LG's address and Paul's (the program coordinator) phone number. At first, nobody was to be seen around the station and I started to panic, wondering how would I get home or to the closest hotel if no one picked me up. However, as I tried to ask a local French boy where LG was, Paul appeared in his car and welcomed me with a big warm smile – as soon as I saw him, I knew everything was going to be just fine.
Although during my stay at LG new participants came and left rather often, the team was always fun and welcoming, allowing me to meet some of the most interesting people ever. The first week, work-wise, I was in charge of reorganizing all the pictures left by past participants, writing some short articles about local attractions and updating LG's page on Facebook. Eventhough it was late September, the weather was fantastic and I enjoyed many evenings swimming in the nearest lake, taking walks and cycling around Brossac. For the second week, I asked Paul to assign me work outdoors, so that I could get to enjoy some more sunlight before returning to the rainy Basque Country. Hence, I did some landscaping in the rear park, preparing bonfires to be light later in the month. Before I realized, my third and last week arrived and it was time to finish up the started projects before my departure, encouraging me to write up this short narrative and its version in Spanish. The following picture was taken during a road trip we did along the French coast one weekend.
Although currently I do not know how the rest of 2010 and 2011 will develop, I am certain that I will try to come back next year as soon as I can. LG has not only given me the quiet, relaxing time and space that I needed, but has also allowed me to rediscover new aspects of myself and what I enjoy doing the most: traveling, writing, learning, meeting new people and exploring new cultures.
Advice for future Spanish participants: First, I would suggest that you do not wait until the last minute to ask for your E111, given that it can take a minimum of five days for it to be mailed to your permanent residence. Moreover, I would also recommend traveling with the TGV instead of searching for flights, unless you live in Andalusia, given that it is cheaper and more convenient – they will mail your train tickets to you in Spain at no cost within a week. Furthermore, LG is a great place to practice not only French, but English, given that during my stay most of the participants come from the UK and the USA – get ready for a whole multilingual experience! And keep up my work of trying to teach these English speakers how to roll their “r”s!
M. Judit Soria
Working holiday blog in Spanish
WORKING HOLIDAY IN FRANCE
No comments:
Post a Comment