So my first day back in France for another French immersion course at the ILA language school in Montpellier has been a great start and reminded me why I loved this so much I decided to come back. Although not starting any language lessons today I did get to spend some time with my new French host family and they are wonderful!
I was greeted at the bus stop by Jacques who was the father the host family and Baptiste the son. The bus had been delayed by 40 minutes so I was feeling a little guilty but in typical French style they just waved it off as if it were not even a side thought for them. Already I was feeling good about my decision to return to France for another French language course.
My New Home During my French Language Stay in Montpellier
The men of the house drove me to what was to be my new home for the duration of my French immersion course here in Montpellier. We had a nice chat on the way back where they told me they had been taking in French students from all over the world for years and loved that it allowed them to learn about the world from the students they met. This very much mirrored what the host mother of my previous family had said to me about the experience, I guess it’s a two way street where everyone wins. That’s one of the reasons why it’s the best way to learn French. Waiting for us at the house was Catherine the mother of the family who gave me such a warm welcome. Not only that but she was quite clearly cooking something wonderful and after a long bus journey where my diet was mainly crisps it was a phenomenal smell.
Lunch was not ready however so they showed to my room for a much needed rest. The journey was long and my French language skills weren’t exactly at the top of their game. They showed me to my room and I got to meet their two wonderful dogs on the way; Marshall and Looky. At this point I’m feeling like I have gotten pretty lucky again with my host family in Montpellier and then they show me my ‘room’ which isn’t a room at all……..it’s an apartment! I have literally everything I could hope for: cooker, sink, fridge, bathroom, TV and SO much space. I tried to muster everything I had learnt on my previous French immersion course to display how grateful I was but I felt it fell short.
Lunch with my Wonderful French Host Family
After I’d had 40 minutes of napping which I’m pretty sure was the best nap anyone has had ever! I headed up for lunch with my new French friends and eager to experiment with what I had learned on my last language stay in France. The food was sublime! Just course after course, I finished my dessert convinced I was stuffed and then they bought out some cheese and all of sudden I felt like I had some room somewhere. They also plied me with French wine and lots of interested questions, they were obviously as eager to get to know me as I was to get to know them. They introduced me to some extended family spanning various generations. This is an aspect where the dynamic of the home-stay is very unique when embarking on a French language course; you get to forge relationships with people from generations, circles and demographics you might not meet if you were just left to you own devices.
This thought alongside my contentment with my room, the friendliness of my host family and how much I was able to recall from my last visit to Montpellier for an intensive French immersion course made me slightly euphoric. I was excited to see whatever the next few weeks had in store for me in this warm city of Montpellier in the south of France. To learn French in Montpellier is great.