Hello people of the world!
Last week was very long! AMAZING but long! I guess most weeks for EVS volunteers are long- full of new things every day. It was the first real work week so I should probably tell you a little about where I work and what I do.
The EVS project which I applied for is about bringing Europe to rural areas of France. It’s no secret that many bigger nations are less enthusiastic about complete integration in the European Union and with rising nationalisms and populism it is easy to lose sight of the European values we (the EVS volunteers) are trying to bring back to rural parts of Europe. In smaller countries (like Latvia) it’s easier to see all the benefits a country has while being a part of the EU but France is huge compared to Latvia!
My project is all about bringing different cultures to the regions of France (in this case the rural areas around Le Mans) and trying to open the minds of young French people.
This can be hard at moments because it is also no secret that English as a language is very foreign in France. The students haven’t had the chance to use their English knowledge outside of school and so it is a bit “rusty” to say the least… BUT so is my French! We have a year to improve!
For the next year I will be working in the MFR Fye. It is a school for children ages 14-21 who want to or are thinking about specializing in social work- taking care of children, elderly people or people with special needs.
MFR’s are a great thing in general! Many of the pupils chose to stay at the school overnight, between their classes they also have certain responsibilities like cleaning or setting tables and so they are like a big family taking care of each other. It is a great place to work as and EVS volunteer because you can interact a lot with the children and they are all very nice!
In school I am Madam Badune (Madame + my surname). It is VERY weird and you have to get used to it! For the first week whenever someone called me, it took me a while before I understood that they were calling ME!
A big part of my work is to just interact with the students- talk to them, do some activities with them. While I’m not doing that, I am trying to get more twitter followers, snapchat and facebook followers ( ! Twitter: @mfrfye Snapchat: mfrfye Facebook: Mfr Fye ! FOLLOW US! )
The BEST part of working in MFR Fye are my amazing colleagues! One of the things I was most worried about was that I would have no one to chat with during the day or that it would be boring at work but that’s not the case. I always have something interesting to do or plan and always have someone to talk to in English or practice my French with! I have many French teachers!
So thank you for being so nice and welcoming! Merci beaucoup!
And then came the weekend.
On Saturday we went to an agriculture event in Bernay – en- Champagne. We saw all kinds of animals, tractors and the collage where Laura ( EVS volunteer from Spain) works.
There were little chicks there! Insert picture here –>
Now imagine how happy were six girls to hold cute little chicks! VERY!
There was also a dinner party! Now when French people say dinner party, they actually mean full blown party! Food, music, dancing! BUT be careful! If you get invited to such a party, don’t plan anything else for the evening! Even though the ticket says 7.30 pm, the dinner will actually be served at about 9.30…
At 7.30 everyone arrives, has drinks and talks to each other, so no food yet! Eat something before you go to the dinner party or be hungry and wait for a long time.
AND remember that the meal will be four courses! You will be there for a while! But the wait is worth it! The food was really good, the music was nice and we even danced a little!
Saturday was long but fun! We saw new things, had new experiences and now we will know what time to arrive!
On Sunday we went to a Bric-à-brac in Le Mans. For those of you who don’t know what that is (like me), it is a market where everyone can come and sell some things. There were old books, used clothes, kitchen things and everything else you could imagine!
I bought two children’s books in French! TIP! If you want to learn a new language faster- children’s books are a good way!
We also had lunch with some fellow MFR workers and it was really nice to have a home cooked meal. And the deserts were AMAZING! Thank you ladies!
So all in all this week was very full of new experiences and a great start to the first semester at collage!
Thanks for reading!
Bisses,
Monta xoxo
One Year of My Life 