Jack and Kirstina take time out from Australia — and just in time for their skills to be put to good use.
Kirstina and Jack, a couple with enough travel under their belts to challenge that of the Dalai Lama, were absolutely indispensible during their two weeks at La Giraudière. Kirstina graciously took over the housekeeping side of things, doing laundry galore, setting out meals, readying rooms for the new recruits, and — how did she find the time out for all this? — doing gardening, trimming hedges, and helping Karen with the newsletter project.
Kirstina powering through files
As a retired motor mechanic, Jack put his skills to fantastic use getting the lawn mower up and running again, advising the best course of action for the push mower, fixing a plethora of things on the van (the latch in the back, a door, a window mechanism, the brakes), and providing counsel on all other things vehicle-related.
Jack repairs the car window
Miraculous when it comes to the kitchen, the two made delicious fish dishes for the group, full of lemon, and spice, and everything nice (i.e., onion, garlic, and the best potatoes ever to see the inside of an oven), along with some beautiful white and green asparagus.
During the Friday French lessons, Kirstina soaked up as much as she could, putting to good use the term “je voudrais” — the polite way of asking for something, especially when ordering at restaurants.
Speaking of ordering food from French menus, Jack had quite the culinary adventure one evening. Searching for a steak, he ordered steak tartare — little did he know, he was not about to receive a piece of beef with a lovely sauce, but one that was much closer to alive than any he had previously attempted to eat. That’s one way to make the vocabulary stick in your memory!
With vehicles to be fixed, hedges to spruce up, years of applications to sort, and fish to be eaten, the arrival of these fantastic Australians at La Giraudière could not have been better timed.
Thinking of taking some time out then La Giraudiere will have something for you visit to read more at Time out in France
