Does it happen? Does Megan actually spend the weekend in Royan? This first weekend after break, due to a commitment to help at a squash event that I made awhile ago, I was indeed in little Royan for the weekend. With the weather getting better though, the town is slowly starting to come alive once more.
Friday evening I had dinner in the port with my roommate Martha and our friend Demi, the British assistant in town. This sounds like a potentially normal activity-but for us it was actually one of the first nice dinners we have had out in our town this year. I took the menu and had guacamole crab as the entrée, salmon with sweet potato as my main course, and for dessert a wonderful mint cream creation. As things are starting to open up, and the assistants are preparing to leave next month, we want to try to enjoy what Royan has to offer.
Saturday was the day of the squash event, which was so much fun to participate in! The event was an "English Day" held at Royan's Squash Club, organized by the Manchester born English teacher at Royan's middle school, Jenny Lavaud. A small group of just under twenty children participated from around the area. For the first hour and a half Martha, Jenny and I ran small English language sessions, in which we played games, read stories and practiced speaking a little. The next hour was a small squash tournament for the children, that was ran by a club volunteer. The afternoon then ended with a goutée anglais: a snack where the children got to try various British cakes such as a Queen Victoria sandwich, carrot cake, and chocolate chip cupcakes. America was also represented at the table, as Jenny's son who is currently in America had sent over some jelly beans! It was funny for myself as an American to watch the French trying jelly beans, I think for most people this was the first time they had ever seen them! With one of the children in particular it was a big hit-as the others were leaving with their parents, a boy hid at least twenty jelly beans in his pockets for later! I really enjoyed the day, it was nice to participate in the community through that.
Sunday Martha and I spent the day with the always wonderful Sore family. Sylvie and her daughter Marion came to get us in the morning first to go for a little walk. We had planned to just go to the Côte Sauvage (the Savage Coast), a stretch of beach about a twenty minute drive from Royan. Upon hearing however that we hadn't yet been to Ile d'Oléron, a small island just off the coast on the way north towards La Rochelle, it was decided we needed to stop there. I really enjoyed our short visit and would love to go back. Unlike the tourism and glitz found in Royan, Ile d'Oléron seems to have kept the true charentais fishing culture of the area, as we drove in we saw people out in the water harvesting oysters. Many houses throughout the island were brightly painted. Sylvie then explained to us that traditionally on Ile d'Oléron, fishermen use the leftover paint from their boats to paint their homes. We stopped for about an hour to walk on the beach, which was calm and quiet on a Sunday morning. In the afternoon we drove back to Sylvie's house in Breuillet to see the rest of the family for lunch. It was fun for Martha and I to chat with Marion and Céline, Sylvie's daughters. They are really the most kind family. I have gotten to know them a little by now and feel very comfortable there, but this was Martha's first time with them, and Mr. Sore made sure to tell us as we were leaving later, "You are always welcome here!"
Friday evening I had dinner in the port with my roommate Martha and our friend Demi, the British assistant in town. This sounds like a potentially normal activity-but for us it was actually one of the first nice dinners we have had out in our town this year. I took the menu and had guacamole crab as the entrée, salmon with sweet potato as my main course, and for dessert a wonderful mint cream creation. As things are starting to open up, and the assistants are preparing to leave next month, we want to try to enjoy what Royan has to offer.
Saturday was the day of the squash event, which was so much fun to participate in! The event was an "English Day" held at Royan's Squash Club, organized by the Manchester born English teacher at Royan's middle school, Jenny Lavaud. A small group of just under twenty children participated from around the area. For the first hour and a half Martha, Jenny and I ran small English language sessions, in which we played games, read stories and practiced speaking a little. The next hour was a small squash tournament for the children, that was ran by a club volunteer. The afternoon then ended with a goutée anglais: a snack where the children got to try various British cakes such as a Queen Victoria sandwich, carrot cake, and chocolate chip cupcakes. America was also represented at the table, as Jenny's son who is currently in America had sent over some jelly beans! It was funny for myself as an American to watch the French trying jelly beans, I think for most people this was the first time they had ever seen them! With one of the children in particular it was a big hit-as the others were leaving with their parents, a boy hid at least twenty jelly beans in his pockets for later! I really enjoyed the day, it was nice to participate in the community through that.
Sunday Martha and I spent the day with the always wonderful Sore family. Sylvie and her daughter Marion came to get us in the morning first to go for a little walk. We had planned to just go to the Côte Sauvage (the Savage Coast), a stretch of beach about a twenty minute drive from Royan. Upon hearing however that we hadn't yet been to Ile d'Oléron, a small island just off the coast on the way north towards La Rochelle, it was decided we needed to stop there. I really enjoyed our short visit and would love to go back. Unlike the tourism and glitz found in Royan, Ile d'Oléron seems to have kept the true charentais fishing culture of the area, as we drove in we saw people out in the water harvesting oysters. Many houses throughout the island were brightly painted. Sylvie then explained to us that traditionally on Ile d'Oléron, fishermen use the leftover paint from their boats to paint their homes. We stopped for about an hour to walk on the beach, which was calm and quiet on a Sunday morning. In the afternoon we drove back to Sylvie's house in Breuillet to see the rest of the family for lunch. It was fun for Martha and I to chat with Marion and Céline, Sylvie's daughters. They are really the most kind family. I have gotten to know them a little by now and feel very comfortable there, but this was Martha's first time with them, and Mr. Sore made sure to tell us as we were leaving later, "You are always welcome here!"