A Week of French Immersion

I decided to begin France 2018 with a week of intensive French at CREA-Langues in Provence. The language school is housed in a renovated nineteenth century Cistercian monastery located in the heart of the Parc régional du Verdon about 6 kms from Moustiers-Ste-Marie. Moustiers is said to be one of the most picturesque villages in all of France.

Moustiers-Ste-Marie

Le monastère de Ségiès

Le monastère de Ségiès

The courses at CREA-Langues are total immersion French.  All of the students stay in the monastery and are expected to speak French 24–7.  Needless to say, this is  not for those who have never studied the language before.  There are about two dozen of us, and my guess is that the average age is over 50.  In addition to those of us who just have a passion for the language, several students are here because they need French for their work; e.g., diplomats, people who work for French companies.

Waiting for lunch

I am in one of the larger classes—there are six of us.  I placed in the mid-level class
(one person from the Netherlands, two from Australia, one from Germany, and another American).  At first I wasn't too certain of my ability, but I am surviving.  I am only speaking French this week.  We have class every morning until just before 1 pm, then lunch and some afternoon activity.  On Tuesday I learned how to paint with water colors, and Wednesday I learned all about olive oil.  Yes, you can taste the difference.  And now I know what extra virgin olive oil actually is.

My masterpiece looks halfway decent if you stand far enough  away.

Several of us went for a tour of the nearby Lac de Sainte Croix and the very picturesque village of Aiguines.

Aiguines

Every small village should have its own chateau.

An eleventh century chapel.

The food at the monastery is absolutely fantastic!  Christophe is a professional chef, and he takes good care of us.  I will say more about French cuisine, but that's another blog entry.