Making New Contacts

I visited a school today and made a few contacts. I am waiting to hear if the principal will allow me to visit classes. Outside there is a  park and after a lovely conversation there with a lady in an electric wheel chair, I was surrounded by all these school students. Well, I am not one to lose an opportunity, so had a chat with them too. I came away with about six email addresses for pen pals for my classes.

The school is keeping us busy with homework and other activities. I enjoy doing things as a group as the guide, Jean-Paul, speaks non stop, not always in French but mostly. He is fluent in many languages and likes to use them in his talk.

I introduced my tutor to the secret of TASMAN verbs. She was thrilled and so were her colleagues when she passed it on. I told her the story of the cute man today as one of the students was having difficulty with pronunciation. in this area, actually, both sounds are pronounced the same. We do lots of conversation in class, from role plays about starting our own language school to opinions on politics in Norway. Great. There is a choice tomorrow afternoon of the normal Wednesday French movie or lessons in Catalan dancing. Watching the bulls in the week end was certainly out of my comfort zone but very important here. I am glad for the opportunity.

The Mediterranean sea

Bull arena

Bulls and Wild Cows

Ma journee a Palavas

Palavas se trouve pres de la mer. C'est une petite ville toujours en vacances, pleine de touristes. Samedi, il y avait aussi des concours avec des taureaux et des vaches sauvages. Les guardians de Camargue ont montre comment ca marche a la ferme chez eux. Les fermiers ont accompagne les taureaux dans les rues. Tres genial.
Montpellier is near the Mediterranean Sea and so on Saturday, my hostess very kindly offered to take me to the beach. You can see the length of the beach from the photos I took in both directions. We just about walked the full distance you can see.
Then we visited the town of Palavas. There was a real holiday, party mood in town.The reason became obvious. There were competitions in the arena with up and coming bull fighters and also farmers from the Camargue showing their skills in herding these bulls and wild cows with their world famous horses. In spite of barricades lining the streets, many risked injury or even death to run behind these wild animals. The activities in the arena were tame in comparison but one of the young contestants was injured when he landed on the horns of the bull he was flipping over. There is great pride in these activities and it is one way to prove your courage to your peers. Even very young children were copying their heroes in the arena during the break. Yes, I went to a bull ring! I was told there would be no violence. What I saw was animals being teased and played with, certainly no weapons. I'm not sure how much they enjoyed the teasing.

My visit to the medieval village of St Guilhem le Desert

The school organised this trip for Friday afternoon. One hour by coach brought us to this beautiful village with its medieval abbey and houses. I met a lady there who is 80 years old, still living in her own home on the second level. No lifts in middle ages buildings. The river flows under the houses, like a stream really, then grows into the river you see in the photos. The weather was beautiful, 31 degrees and sunny. Our guide, Jean-Paul, was the first in the river and we were quick to follow for a well earned swim.

Visite a St Guilhem le Desert

C'est un magnifique village medieval avec son monastere du XI et XIIeme siecle, un des plus beaux villages de France. Il y a une belle riviere calme et j'ai nage. Il faisait tres chaud, 31 degres. En route nous avons vu le vieux pont. Regardez les photos.

Some more Photos

The 2 similar photos are painted on the wall but look so real, like the Rathaus in Regensburg.
The second one was taken close up so you can see it is just a wall but it really looks like there are people there and the dog, all a painting. The other is me outside the Palais de Justice at the end of our tour on Monday. This is a high point in the city and the views from here are spectacular.

Working Hard

Life has settled down to regular classes in the morning and homework assignments after lunch, unless there is an outing planned. It is very pleasant to sit by the balcony in the work area and watch the world go by while enjoying a lovely lunch. I do like the French sticks and the grain sticks are even more delicious. A few small tomatoes, some cheese and lettuce, followed by fruit and a drink of milk, what could be nicer?
Yes I was talking about work. I am preparing a presentation for tomorrow in front of the class of 5 others. I intend to tell them about the importance of rugby in new Zealand. In spite of les Bleus being an important team, I have yet to hear anyone here mention either them or rugby. Nobody seems to know anything about it.
I signed up today to do a 2 week special course for teachers who teach non French speakers, like ESOL in New Zealand. Should be instructive.
Tomorrow afternoon I will be visiting a medieval village not far from here. Looking forward to it..

Around Montpellier

Went to language school this morning. It is very organised. I'm in a class with some really good speakers so I'm thrilled about that. In the afternoon one of the staff gave us a guided tour around the old city for 2 and a half hours. He was a wealth of information and spoke many languages. His information was mainly in French but also included other languages for the benefit of his listeners, including Spanish, Japanese, German, and various dialects of the local region: Occitan and Catalan.

Absorbing new technology

I have learned a lot while preparing for this trip. Thanks to my son, I have a new digital camera, and thanks to my daughter, I now know how to use it. New technology is amazing. I will be able to write blogs and take photos in France and they can be seen in NZ almost immediately. I wonder what Captain Cook would think about that!

Where on earth is Montpellier?

First, find France in the middle of Europe.

Here is Montpellier in the south:

A closer look at the area:

Around town:

Preparing for adventure

Not long now. So much to do before I leave. You are welcome to accompany me on this voyage of discovery to France where I hope to learn heaps of stuff to take back and share with my classes in New Zealand. I am so privileged to have this opportunity.