Volunteers in Southwest France learn to mix and mingle at a local village fete celebrating St. Joan of Arc.
Celebrating Joan of Arc, volunteers in Southwest France light Chinese lanterns at village fete.
The fete, or French festival,celebrates religion, historical stories, art, wine, and food, as well as music and film. It is a wonderful opportunity to sample regional food and cultural ties.
Ubiquitous throughout the year, one can participate in a fete all over France, in the large cities as well as in rural towns and villages. After spying a poster for a fete celebrating Jeanne d’Arc or Joan of Arc, our fearless leader and La Giraudiere host, Paul Rice, phoned in reservations for seven curious volunteers to participate in the local fete.
Like many small hamlets in Southwest France, the village of Passirac holds any number of fetes during the warm months, which not only brings the community together, but brings much needed funds into the village coffers.
The delightfully warm evening started out with formal introductions to the French locals as well as some English expats. While I observed that all the locals greeted each other with “les bisous” or kisses, we simply shared a friendly handshake and smile. Introductions were quickly followed by apéritifs, which was an opportunity to work our narrow language skills. I however, quickly realized that the real challenge was to come, that of mixing and mingling with the locals, and the art of small talk.
I found that the best tactic was to use as much body language and lively facial expressions as possible, in order to supplement my limited French. This seemed to work very well and got me past a number of bonjours without the embarrassing silence that can often follow. While the village only charges 1 – 1.50 euro per drink, this is where they make their money, so the apéritif hour was pretty long. We all however, made it through to the diner hour happy, hungry, and with a lighter heart.
We rounded the evening with a bonfire symbolizing the burning of Joan of arc, followed by the lighting of Chinese lanterns and lively dancing back in the hall. Everyone, both young and old, locals and visitors, as well as the shy and gregarious, danced the night away in honor of St.Joan of Arc.
As we said our bonjours, I knew we had made inroads into the community when a few of us received bisous upon our departure.
Join us this Summer at La Giraudiere and experience true cultural immersion in SouthWest France.
As we said our bonjours, I knew we had made inroads into the community when a few of us received bisous upon our departure.
France.
à bientôt,
Mayra Pena 🙂 (Volunteer)
