Life after Melle

What on earth did people do before the days of internet? I literally cannot comprehend a world-wide-web-less world (say that 10 times as fast as you can). Here I am in a tiny village in the Pyrenees unable to Skype my parents, unable to Skype my boyfriend, unable to waste time on Facebook, unable to Google some really unimportant yet niggling question, unable to look up that French word that keeps appearing but I just can’t grasp the meaning of, unable to check the weather forecast to see if this depressing weather will ever transform into the sunny paradise I had envisaged, unable to catch up on Made In Chelsea to cure the Francis Boulle withdrawal symptoms I’m suffering, but most importantly, unable to recount the next chapter of my French adventure to my avid readers, who I imagine have been up in arms in their millions, distraught that I have been absent for the past fortnight. ;)

I am managing, however, to use the house computer every few days to do vital things like check emails. And now, after Rob had the ingenious idea of writing my blog on my laptop in my own time and then quickly uploading it online when I get the chance, I am hoping this will allow me to do fairly frequent updates.

Let’s begin. I’ve been back in France for over a week now. I’m WWOOFing (if you don't know what this is, see the end of my last post) here for 3 weeks, in a tiny village called Mont in the Haute-Pyrénées, on a cow and sheep farm where they make the cheese Tomme. I’m not going to lie, the first couple of days I was homesick, which rarely happens with me. The main contributing factors to this homesickness were:

- Obviously, lack of internet, about which I have already ranted.

- Suddenly going back to full French immersion after having spent a week back in England and the comfort of my mother tongue (yes, I am still rubbish at French after all these months, sob).

- The fact that I packed 5 pairs of shorts, about 10 vest tops, but only 1 pair of jeans and one long top....

....and the first day looked like this:

- I decided, being paranoid me, that the people here didn’t like me.

- The shower is in the barn, and there are spiders and cobwebs EVERYWHERE. Let’s just say showers have become slightly more infrequent here.

It has got better since then, I can assure you. The internet issue still exists, but I am learning slowly to adapt myself. I’ve realised that the full-on French thing can only be a good thing and can do nothing but improve my language proficiency. On the rare occasion that the sun shines, it is gorgeous. Here is the view out my bedroom on a good day:

The people are actually very lovely and I was just being silly. The shower situation still makes me want to cry, however.

The best thing though, is the food. With proper home-made French meals twice a day, fresh cheese, yoghurt and milk whenever I want, it’s not a bad deal! We had a bit of a kitchen disaster the other day though, when Julie (the woman farmer) had excitedly bought fresh, live crabs from the supermarket, having had a craving for them after seeing them on TV the previous day. However, this being the first time she’d cooked them at home, nobody knew how to eat them when she brought them to the table. Resorting to crushing the blighters with pliers to get to the meat, by the end of the meal there was bits of crab in our hair, all over our clothes, on the walls etc. And the only edible part was the legs, after all that! So, if you’re thinking of cooking crab, don’t. Biggest waste of time ever.

So this is my daily routine:

07:45 Wake up

08:30 Go down to the barn to milk the 6 cows and the 100+ sheep. If it’s not too wet, we then let the animals out into the 25 hectare park on the side of the mountain.

10:30 On Mondays and Thursdays, make the cheese. Otherwise, rub the salt onto the cheeses, or rub in the mould that grows on the rind. Yum :/

13:00 Have lunch. Yum :)

14:30 Have a siesta if it’s bad weather. Go for a walk if it’s nice.

18:00 Go back down to the barn to milk the animals again.

21:00 Have dinner. Yum :)

23:30 Go to bed.

There are 4 of us altogether; me, another WWOOFer called Marianne who’s 45 and Belgian, Julie, and Tom/Yves (he actually has 2 names, I’m so confused) who owns the farm.

And now I need to go and get changed to do some more milking and get covered in lots and lots of poo…

Ciao for now.

The End. For now...

If I say I'm writing this post in England, then that will tell you that my time in Melle has come to an end. Yes, after nearly 7 and a half months in the west of France, I am back in the real world that is north London. But fear not, I am only home for a week before I set off on another French adventure.

Early evening sunlight in Melle

But more on that later. For now, I feel it's about time that I tell you about my last couple of weeks in the pays mellois.

My absence from the blogosphere can be almost entirely attributed to my research project that was due in last Thursday. I won't drone on about my last minute struggles to get it all done, but let's just say I can't remember ever being quite so stressed. 

So on Thursday evening with the dissertation due at 17:00, I submitted it at 16:58, attempted to tidy and clean my essay-abused flat in half an hour for the landlord's inspection at 17:30, all whilst awaiting the imminent arrival of my parents.

Having my parents FINALLY get to see Melle was so so lovely! As we only had two full days before we headed back across the Channel, we decided to stay local, and so Friday was spent at the market and walking in and around Melle, and Saturday I showed them Celles-sur-Belle and Niort under bright blue skies. And we had 7 different cheeses between us. And lots of pains-aux-raisins. Just making the most of my last few days in France. ;)

Really wish I could teleport this patisserie back to England :(

Aww, bluebells

Dad and Mum loving life in Melle...

Old Melle hospital through the flowers

Celles-sur-Belle

Celles-sur-Belle

Niort - the Sèvre Niortaise river in the foreground, and Eglise Saint-André at the back

Eating bread, cheese and pâté by the river

Le Donjon

Rather excitingly, it was Games Night at the Café on Friday night, so deciding that this was the best way to witness Melle life, we went along for the plat du jour (which was Moroccan chicken and couscous) and had a game of Scrabble, as people in Melle do on a Friday night. The games commenced with a standard poem by Afro Man and his side-kick, and then bizarrely followed with a random game of musical chairs for which the music was provided by aforementioned side-kick on a kazoo (Google it if you don't know what one is - coolest instrument ever in my opinion). It may have been the most tedious game of Scrabble I have ever played and we didn't finish it until 1am. And I lost.

Side-kick and Afro Man 

Side-kick and Non-Afro Man taking the game very seriously

The result of 3 hours of wordplay

On the Sunday, after struggling but eventually managing to pack 3 cases and 5 boxes of my crap into the car, we set off on our 10 hour drive back to Blighty.

The greatest work of car loading you'll ever see.

Oh, and I also became obsessed with Wisteria at the weekend:

How could I forget?! I had my last last day at school last week, which was sad! I got given homemade macaroons, several hand drawn union jacks, and lots of cards from my pupils which was so cute, I will miss them loads!

Some of the leaving presents I got from my pupils

Me with Dominique and Anne-Lise, the English teachers

I will write another post over the next week reflecting on my past year as an English assistant and my life in general in France, but until then, I'll tell you where I'm off to next Tuesday.

For the next 6 weeks (hopefully) I am going to be a WWOOFer. For those that don't know, that stands for World Wide Organisation for Organic Farming, and is a worldwide scheme in which farmers advertise their farms and hope to receive volunteers, known as WWOOFers, to help on the farm in return for accommodation and food. So I'll be working on a fromagerie high in the Pyrenees for the first three weeks, milking cows and sheep and learning how to make cheese. If you haven't already gathered, cheese is literally in my top favourite things about life in general, so I am mega mega excited. I should have the afternoons free which will give me lots of time to go for walks in the mountains. It better be sunny!

For the other 3 weeks, I'm hoping to go to a vineyard preferably in Provence, but I haven't had much luck so far in finding a place that still has space, as I left it a bit late to contact them. I'm hoping I'll be able to secure somewhere last minute.

Beautiful sky on the way home from France :)

An Aix-ellent couple of days

Apparently I had a mini holiday yesterday; I went on a ferry, the factor 30 was out, I have sunburnt shoulders despite aforementioned presence of suncream, and there are now about 100 photos of the sea on my camera. Allow me to tell you about my daytrip to Île d'Aix on the hottest day of the year.

I mentioned in my previous post that my Auntie Sara and Maurice were visiting for a couple of days. Allow me to get you acquainted with them:

Maurice and Sara

Tuesday was spent introducing them to la vie melloise. I took them on the arboretum walk, and through the streets of Melle, and even though I've done this same walk countless times, I have never bored of it. It is particularly enjoyable this time of year when literally everyday a new flower or tree has burst into bloom, making each walk different. And since Sara is very knowledgable in all things botanical, I finally know what some of the plants are called. I reckon I have very nearly captured everything in Melle from every possible angle, but until that moment, here are some of my favourites from Tuesday for your perusal:

One of my favourite views in Melle

2 thirds of La Triade Romane

Finally the trees have blossom!

The old Melle Station, in use between 1885 and 1938

Tulips in front of the Hotel de Ville

Qu'est-ce que tu regardes, hein?

But back to our day by the sea! Having originally intended to go to Confolens and Angouleme yesterday, we changed plan when Dominique questioned why we'd chosen those places, and instead suggested we visit Île d'Aix, which I'd never heard of before. And what a fantastic recommendation! Merci bien, Domie!

At just 2km in length, Île d'Aix is the second smallest island in the Charentaise archipelago off the Atlantic coast. The island played a major part in protecting Rochefort in the 17th century, and as a result is heavily fortified, with fortifications surrounding the town in the south of the island, and 2 main forts, one in the north, one in the south.

Fort Liedot in the north of the island, which served as a prison until the 1960s, and is now used for entertainment and shows during the summer

Napolean adds to the island's history after having stayed there for 1 night following his defeat at the battle of Waterloo, before being recaptured and exiled to the island of Saint Helena. 

Where Napolean stayed, although don't quote me on that... ;)

In contrast to its battle-related history, Île d'Aix today is a peaceful haven of nature and stunning sea views. One such view is that of the famous Fort Boyard, once a military prison but more recently made known by the 1990s gameshow that took place on it.

Fort Boyard: 19th century fortification and later prison, and recent gameshow setting

A car-free zone, the only way to get onto the island is by boat, so we set off on the ferry in late morning, sailing past another fort, Fort Enet, en route. Without a cloud in the sky, it was clear we'd chosen the perfect day to go and see the island. The light sea breeze also meant that the temperature was bearable enough for walking for hours in blazing sunshine.

One of our favourite aspects of the island was its white-washed houses with terracotta roofs and coloured shutters. I'm fairly sure I ended up photographing almost every house on the island.

Shutters, bikes and flowers

Surprisingly, Île d'Aix isn't featured in many guidebooks, but I would thoroughly recommend it for a daytrip; there's plenty of beach for sunbathing and swimming, you can walk through and around the island for hours taking in the views, there's the historical element there too, and the fact that you have to get a ferry there makes it all the more exciting. The only downside was that the last ferry back to the mainland is at 6.30pm, meaning that you can't see the sunset from the island, which I imagine would have been gorgeous. 

It really was a brilliant couple of days, and I'm now looking forward to the arrival of my last lot of visitors, the parents, in 2 weeks time. Until then, onward and upward with the YARP! 

I will leave you with a selection of my favourite photos from Île d'Aix:

View towards Île d'Aix from Pointe de la Fumée on the mainland

Sparkly sea

Hotel de Ville, Île d'Aix style

It's as if they'd planned on dressing like the rainbow...

I don't imagine the island would be quite so lovely in winter

The tide goes out so far that the ferry times are really limited and change daily with the tides

You can see the La Rochelle to Île de Ré bridge in the background

Don't think this photo needs a caption, it pretty much speaks for itself

My attempt at being arty

Due to the absence of cars, the island is full of bikes

I think some of them could do with having their fringes trimmed

Auntie and niece, beautifully coordinated with the grass and lighthouses

The closest I got to a sunset

A week of lasts

They say you never know what you have until it's gone, and that sentiment can definitely be applied to this past week for me. Not that it's all gone quite yet. But this week has definitely been the beginning of the end. I shall take you through it.

Sunday night was Mexican night. Alfredo hosted a fantastic soirée in which he was able to share his culture with us, which involved cooking us a typical chicken dish with CACTUS and chillis which tasted 20 times better than it sounds, playing Mexican picture bingo, drinking tequila, and playing musical chairs to Mexican music. It was such a great night and was the moment I realised how much I am going to miss my friends out here.

Clockwise from top left: Alfredo's present to each of us; group photo; Mexican bingo; the chicken and cactus dish

Thursday marked my last day of teaching at the lycée and it was actually sadder than I thought it would be. I had a class with my favourite 2 pupils (which may have something to do with the fact that they are basically my age and are really quite nice to look at) where we just played games, I got my interviews done for my YARP, I got a brilliant reference from my supervisor teachers, and they gave me a lovely little present and card to say thank you and goodbye. In hindsight it would have been nicer to work there more than only once a week, since I don't feel I really got a chance to have an impact on the pupils as they are in rotating class groups rather than set classes, so the most I saw the same pupils over the course of the year was probably only 4 times. Also, I've really enjoyed teaching there; the pupils are much more well-behaved than I was expecting, they're friendly, and it was fairly easy to get them to talk in class. So, good memories.

Leaving card and jewellery set from Sandrine and Manue

Anna and Maggie hosted the last party in Niort on Thursday night, which was a brilliant night with lots of food, lots of alcohol, lots of nationailities, lots of tears for some people, and lots of goodbyes. I have been waiting for the group photos to surface on facebook to put one on the blog, but they have yet to do so.

Alfredo and I went back to the lycée on Friday morning to watch a concert, in which 2 groups of pupils performed to the rest of the school after having spent the week working with professional musicians writing songs and in some cases learning more instruments. I was really impressed with what they'd managed to achieve in just 5 days, and it seemed like a great way for the pupils to end the term in high spirits.

Being treated to a guitar solo

And now summer has arrived it seems! After a week in which April Showers seemed to feature heavily in Melle, yesterday was the hottest day of the year here so far where it reached mid-20s. My day was made even better when I got a phone call from Rob as I was sitting in the sunshine to tell me that he'd just finished the Brighton marathon, making me a super-proud girlfriend. The good weather is meant to continue through the week, which is perfect for the arrival of my auntie Sara and Maurice in Melle tomorrow, so bring it on.

Summer lovin'

A la prochaine, je vous embrasse.