My French Adventures: Only three weeks left...

Where has the time gone? Of course we have been at school everyday and then spent time in the afternoons or evenings doing homework. But we have also managed to do a fair bit of traveling and exploring on foot or by train or bus. It would seem that we have settled very comfortably into the French way of life too - daily shopping, fresh baguettes, open markets, laundry drying on racks, wine with meals and sitting on benches watching the world go by. This afternoon, Keith and I walked down to the sea, plunked ourselves on a bench and spent the better part of an hour just enjoying the sun and blue water and anything else that came into our view. On the way home, we walked though some gardens that still had lush green grass and blooming flowers and it is Nov.20!

Our route took us past our neighbourhood boucherie which had a line-up and next door, was the fromagerie. We stopped to buy some Roquefort and the proprietors were so friendly. One gent had a very fetching hat and I told him so in French "J'aime bien ton chapeau Monsieur". He thanked me and agreed to have his picture taken. At this same fromagerie, they were having a wine tasting of the new 2014 Beaujolais. According to the owners, Beaujolais cannot be sold until the third Thursday of November. I tried the red and Keith had the rosé. Neither had a nose because the wine is so very young. Much to our surprise, Brian came to dinner with a bottle of the red Beaujolais in hand. He had gone out for the afternoon with his classmates and stopped at the same fromagerie for a tasting on his way home. He enjoyed it so much that he purchased a bottle which we enjoyed at dinner.

Occasionally Keith will bring home some wonderful treat from a nearby pâtisserie for dessert. Here are the delicious tarts we shared this evening: une tarte à la framboise (raspberry) ...

.... and une tarte aux fraises (strawberry)

Yesterday we spent part of the afternoon in Villefranche-sur-mer. This time we took the bus and the views of the coastline and the sea were spectacular. Our mission was to visit L'Institut Français, a prestigious language school in this beautiful village. It is housed in a luxurious villa set on the hillside overlooking the Mediterranean. The tour was impressive. We spoke to the director (in French of course) and he took us on a tour of the classrooms, the gardens (they grow produce that is used by the chef), the language lab and the dining room. It is an immersion course for 81/2 hours a day integrating a variety of linguistic activities from audio-visual class work to meals with the profs. Only French can be spoken and fines are levied to students who break this rule. From what we have read, their teaching methods have been successful in assisting people to acquire fluency more quickly. Needless to say, the emphasis is on oral and aural language using "good" French as the director told us. Nearby housing is available and two meals a day are prepared by a French chef. Brian and I are considering spending a month at the Institute sometime next year, but we need some time to reflect. After our visit, we walked back to the centre-ville and enjoyed an afternoon beverage while soaking up some sun.

Life at school has had its ups and downs. My experience, for the most part, has been very positive this go round. I quite like my prof and fellow students who are are very dedicated. Although I am definitely one of the weakest students orally, I am able to keep up with the classes. I am still very motivated and know that I am making progress, albeit slow. I can't say the same for Keith and Brian. They have been very frustrated with their prof and don't feel their learning needs have been met. I have had their prof for many of our oral language classes and I too have found myself frustrated. Keith was so distraught yesterday that he has decided to quit. He really isn't enjoying himself and feels that the additional stress and frustration just aren't worth it. Brian, on the other hand, is going to continue. He is making progress despite the prof. Keith is going to spend the last couple of weeks enjoying the weather and getting out to see some of the sights. I guess there are good and bad teachers everywhere and not everyone is going to suit your style of learning. Such is the case here.

On the bright side, some of their classmates have been most enjoyable. One of the fellows in their class, Gabriel, invited us to join him for lunch the other day. We met at a bistro on the Promenade des Anglais that he has frequented and we enjoyed a wonderful lunch and afternoon in the sun. The French have what I consider to be a lovely expression "nous profitons de... (in this case) du soleil" translated means "we are making the most of or taking advantage of the sun". Indeed we did.

Ma salade - superbe!