So as this is my second visit to the ILA French Immersion School in Montpellier, France I had a long overdue engagement. Going to dinner with my first wonderful French host family who had looked after me like I was one of their own for two months earlier this year. As I had returned home for only a few weeks I had been super busy and we didn’t get a chance to Skype as we had discussed. So after my French classes at the French language school I headed on over to their house for an absolutely fantastic meal.
The Long Awaited Return to My Old French Host Family
For my first visit to Montpellier the team at the ILA French language school had set me up with Guylaine, the mother of my host family. Just from reading the description of them they sounded ideal for me. They were a small family just Guylaine, her son Pierre-Luc and a dog called Jump who I adored. Me and Pierre were similar ages and before coming to Montpellier I had been living with my mum and our dog too so it seemed like they were the French versions of us.
As I was walking the streets of Montpellier towards the house, a route I had walked every day for 2 months I felt wonderfully nostalgic. I saw the parks where I had sometimes sat to enjoy the gorgeous Mediterranean weather, it was summer when I was last here and it was always soul liftingly warm. I wondered whether Jump would remember me at all or if Pierre had made any progress with the saxophone he had bought just as I was leaving. I was very excited to see them again.
Things Never Change in Montpellier, France
As usual as soon as I unbolted the gate to walk in I heard frantic barking emanating from the house. It was such a heart-warming sight as I approached the door; Jump spinning round, barking and crazily pawing the glass. I could hear Guylaine shouting for Jump to stop which had been another daily sound. She rushed to the door to let me in and we shared the traditional 3 kisses and lots of wide smiles. It was so good to see my old French hostess again, I saw in the background the table where I had many a lovely conversation in French over breakfast with her. She had set it up for dinner a bottle of wine and some beers ready to be opened and there was also a strange device that looked like a fondue pot.
Pierre came down the stairs and we shared a hug and a brief catch up. Pierre had been a great friend and host during my time at the ILA French Immersion School. Guylaine had taken me to do many things but obviously me and Pierre were similar ages so we went out together, taught each other some of the less polite language of our mother tongues and generally had a really good laugh exploring Montpellier. The two of them together made the best French host family I could ask for and I felt very lucky that my French school had paired me with them.
We took a seat at the table and Guylaine explained we were having ‘raclette’ for dinner. Guylaine has visited the same gorgeous village in Switzerland every year since she was two and this was one of her favourite meals she had learned from the Swiss people. Basically you have a hot plate with several tiny little dishes on it and you take slices of cheese, put them on the dishes, slide the dishes onto the hot plate and then watch. Watch and enjoy as the cheese softens, melts, begins to bubble and then turns a lovely caramel colour as the top becomes crisp. Hmmmmm. You the take the dish and pour the molten cheese over some potatoes and then tuck in with whatever sides you fancy with it. We had olives, a huge selection of cured meats and of course fresh bread, I can feel myself getting hungry as I type this. It is phenomenal, it was at this point I wondered if any of the other French students at the ILA immersion school had it this good and had host families that treated them so well. I certainly hope so!
We ate, drank wine and reminisced, Pierre gave us a little demonstration on his saxophone which gave us all a good laugh, him most of all. It was wonderful being able to communicate more smoothly with Guylaine as I had progressed further with my studies at the ILA French Immersion School since the last time I was in Montpellier. It was so great to be back in the home of the great host family who had treated me so kindly and been wonderful ambassadors for the French people.