The English have arrived!

Posted on August 28, 2018 by La Giraudiere

Welcome Jack and Janet

J² arrive at La Giraudière

As sad as it was to say goodbye to Jessse, we welcomed 2 new volunteers this week. Jack and Janet from England are spending a few weeeks here with us to improve their French and immerse themselves in the French culture!

Jack is our politics enthusiast from Devon! He loves a bit of “bant” and don’t get on the wrong side of him when it comes to scones (the jam MUST go on before the cream) Despite not speaking much French when he arrived, in the past few days he has picked up a lot of vocabulary and he feels like he is improving lots! After arriving earlier in the week, he deicded to take advantage of the local transport and spend a few days in Paris! He had a fabulous time but is happy to be back with the LG team.

Lucky Jack has been seeing this iconic French monument for the past 3 days

Lucky Jack has been seeing this iconic French monument for the past 3 days

Next we have our dancing queen Janet from just outside London!! She arrived last night, just in time for a boogie at the lake at the end of season concert. In Eilidh’s words “I hope to be as cool as  you are when I am your age”. After learning French for a year through conversation classes at home, she found LG on the internet and decided to come and spend 3 weeks with us. She is a keen gardener, so will be taking full advantage of our plants and land to show her artistic side.

Our beautiful courtyard for Janet to transform

Our beautiful courtyard for Janet to transform

Again, welcome Jack and Janet and we hope you have a pleasant stay with us in Brossac!!

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Au Revoir Jesse

Posted on August 28, 2018 by La Giraudiere

Fond Farewell to Joyful Jesse

We bid Au Revoir to our resident Irishman

We again are saying farewell to one of our volunteers. Today, Jesse returns home so to conclude his time here, we decided to do a quick interview about his time here and what he enjoyed the most…

1. What jobs were you doing during your time at La Giraudière?

I was doing a variety of jobs, including housekeeping, gardening, building maintenance and helping with events.

2. What was your first impression of La Giraudière?

I thought it was very peacful and the countryside made it very calm and relaxing. It was also such a multicultural environment as well as having strong French roots.

3.  What was your highlight of your time at LG?

I can’t pin down one moment, but I really enjoyed getting to practise my French with the locals, and making new friends from across the globe.

4. What was your favourite excursion?

It would probably be Aubeterre sur Dronne. I went there when I was younger so it was like walking down memory lane to be there again.

5. Would you come back to LG?

Yes of course!

Farewell Jesse

Farewell Jesse

Thank you again for all your hard work Jesse, and we wish you every success when you return to the UK!!!

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Dinner with a Twist

Posted on August 28, 2018 by La Giraudiere

Chinese Banquet in Brossac

At La Giraudière, we all take it in turns to cook for each other. Commonly, people cook their favourite dishes from home or dishes that their countries are famous for. On Tuesday, we were delighted to receive a Chinese Banquet from our 4 volunteers from China. Onstead of keeping this to ourseves, we invited 7 locals from Brossac along for a party!

Group picture

Group picture

Since it was going to be such a big task, the rest of the volunteers decided to lend a hand, and the girls taught us how to make dumplings and hot pot. We just about managed to get the hang of it in the end!

Teaching us to make dumplings

Teaching us to make dumplings

When the locals arrived, it gave all of our volunteers the opportunity to practise their French with native speakers. We all took advantage of this and the locals helped with our grammar and pronunciation. Alognside some great conversation, we also enjoyed some fabulous food and wine. The locals especially loved the Chinese dumplings and many of us went up for seconds…and thirds!

To end the evening, we all played music from home. We learned some French songs and dinner party games, and Eilidh let the locals listen to Trail West and Tide Lines (2 well loved bands from Scotland). The mix of cultures was amazing and we all thouroughly enjoyed our evening.

Discussing our favourite music!

Discussing our favourite music!

Thank you to all the locals for coming along, the volunteers for cooking and Paul for arranging the evening. We hope to do it again soon!!

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Star Night at La Giraudière

Posted on August 28, 2018 by La Giraudiere

Vincent, Dankie, Winnie and Ivy have been in Bordeaux for three days, they had a great time there, what impressed them most were the Miroir d’Eau and Wine Hall. Bordeaux was  really an awesome city. IMG_7776

On Sunday afternoon, they came back by train and met Jessie by coincidence who was one of the volunteers at La Giraudière, the train was late about two hours. It was eleven o’clock when they arrived at La Giraudière, the sky was so beautiful ,the cloudless sky was jeweled with myriads of glittering stars.  Here, the dusk is sudden, the night is silent. Vincent, Dankie, Winnie and Ivy were so excited to see such a wonderful night. It has been a long time for them to see so many stars. They had fun last night and took a lot of splendid pictures of stars.IMG_7823IMG_7821

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Au Revoir to our Chinese Volunteers

Posted on August 22, 2018 by La Giraudiere

Farewell to our Four Chinese Volunteers

Home Time for our Favourite Four

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when it is to our amazing Chinese volunteers!! Each and every one of them has been a ray of sunshine and great to work with. During their time here they have contributed a lot to our website by translating it all into Chinese. This was a massive help to us as it will increase the number of Chinese voluntourists we get as well as broadening our audience.

The girls after an interview with the local paper, alongside the journalists and Paul

The girls after an interview with the local paper, alongside the journalists and Paul

Alongside all their office work, they have been amazing chefs. Despite only staying for one week, they cooked twice for us. Once, a yummy curry with rice and milk tea, and last night they prepared a feast for ourselves and some of the locals! This took a lot of hard work and preparation but it totally paid off!!

Cooking meatballs for the locals

Cooking meatballs for the locals

Teaching us to make dumplings

Teaching us to make dumplings

During their free weekend, the girls headed off to nearby Bordeaux. During their trip, they visited lots of sights, including the world famous alcohol museum (well, it would be rude not to!) They then rented a car and drove to the Dunes du Pilat where they saw the magnificent sand dune, bordered by both sea and jungle.

These four  volunteers will definetly be missed, and everyone at La Giraudière would like to wish them a safe flight home and their bestest wishes.

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