Hello all! I am
writing this post from my new home with my host family in Bordeaux, France!
Yes, I am working on a vineyard in one of the best, if not the best, wine
regions in the world. Oh but it gets even better… My family is the most
wonderful family I could have ever imagined!! I have been here for a little
more than three days now and already I feel right at home and a part of the
family! I am already learning so much about vineyard management, wine, and most
of all the French culture. I cannot wait to see what the rest of this month has
in store for me! But before I get ahead of myself, here is what I have been up
to the last four days:
Sunday:
Sunday was a travel
day. I began in Toulouse and was able to actually go to a Catholic mass for the
first time in almost four weeks due to traveling with groups and it was even in
English!! I was so happy and excited, I was practically skipping to the church
in the morning. It was just so nice to be back somewhere that will always be
familiar and feel God's love. I was especially happy that I could make this
Sunday before I moved to my family in order to calm and center myself again.
After mass, it was last minute packing and cleaning before checking out of my
dorm and heading off to the train station with two of the other students that
happened to be on my same train. The whole time I was just so excited to meet
my host family and did not start getting nervous until about 30 minutes out. At
that point also the train for some reason got stopped on the tracks and was
delayed 30 minutes. With a stomach full of both excitement and nerves and a bit
of worry for how I was going to even find my family, I arrived at my stop and
lugged my huge suitcase of the train and to the main train station. Luckily, my
host father (Willfred) was standing there waiting and could pick me out due to
my abnormally large suitcase and lack of looking very French.
It was about a 40
minute drive through the countryside then to get to the house… I mean Chateau.
The house is gorgeous both inside and out! Half of it is run as a bed and
breakfast and the other half is the families private house which is where my
room is. They have two amazing kitchens and my room is darling. Outside there
is a huge terrace that overlooks a little pond and a garden next to a pool.
There are flowers everywhere and a lovely tea room that they call the
"Glass House" and is open on Sundays. The house sits right next to
the vineyard and also their cow pastures, chicken coop, and winery. The whole
property is so lovely and I feel like I am living in a dream.
The family welcomed
me immediately and made me feel so at home with tea and cake and wonderful
conversation. Living here right now is me, Jackie (the mom), Wilfred (the dad),
Pierre (the son who is 24 and just graduated from Purpan), Louisa (a German 20 year
old who is interning with Jackie for the bed and breakfast who I get along with
very well), and the always full house of guests at the B&B that are from
all over! Not to mention the consistent visitors that seem to always pop in and
say hello or share a meal with us. (Even met an American family today that
lived in Germany for 10 years but grew up in Detroit and now living in San
Francisco!) They also have two cats (one whose name is Carter and is
mischievous and the friendliest and happiest dog I have ever met named Donut.
It is a very fun and welcoming bunch and
they have made me feel so welcomed and just like a part of the family.
That night I had my
first meal with the family and I thought I was dreaming… three courses
including the most amazing dessert ever. Lousia quickly told me also that this
was the normal every day and that we ate
the same as the guests every night. It was all home made and many of the foods
where straight from what they produce on the property. I think I can get used
to that.
Monday:
The work day on the
vineyard begins at 6am which calls for a lovely 5:45 alarm clock everyday. I
generally work from 6am until lunch around 1 with a breakfast break at 8.
Monday we began a processes called ET POM POUGE (that is not at all how you
spell it but I cannot find it anywhere so that is a phonetic spelling) which is
essentially pruning the vines to remove
all the extra non-grape producing vines so the growth is concentrated in the
grapes. It is a long and laboring process… you walk up and down each row and
hit the vines with this spade like tool. I have been doing this for four
mornings now and my hands, back, and forearms are burning. It has also been
incredibly hot with highs up to 104F (40C). It has been tough and humbling and
really makes me appreciate the wine I drink even more. These menial tasks also
really has me appreciating my education so that I never have to do this again.
I also got to help heard the heifers from one field to the next which was new
and interesting.
Piere had a friend
that was staying with us that he met on his study abroad a few years back from
New York so after work on Monday, Pierre, Jason, Louise, Two of Pierre's
neighbors around our age, and I went canoeing on the Dordogne River. It was a
lot of fun and Louise and I were champions of the canoe! After canoeing, we
went over to the neighbors house for a barbecue where I met two South Africans
that are my age and here working and an older American couple that are here on
vacation and are originally from Finneytown. It was a fun night getting to know
everyone and seeing all the different cultures converge into one.
Tuesday:
I began with the
usually 6-1 shift in the fields followed by lunch, a swim to cool down, and
then a quick nap. Tuesday evening brought a string of errands to be run with
Wilfred which included the Tractor store, the hardware store and the little
grocery in town. I sat in a giant grape harvester that was at least two stories
tall, learned the French word for glue in the hardware store, and listened to
multiple conversations in French that I had not a clue what was being said… it
was fun. After dinner, I helped Wilfred to catch the chickens and put them into
their house for the night so the foxes don’t get them…. So I held a chicken for
the first time!
Wednesday:
Today was a very
long day. I was already so exhausted from waking up at 6am everyday to work in
the fields and not being able to go to bed until after 11 due to dinner being
at 9:30 every night, so that 5:45 alarm clock came really early. It was field
work in the morning, then after lunch and an accidental 2.5 hour nap, we worked
for another 4 hours labeling and then making a delivery. I was getting very
frustrated since I was so tired and currently am a little down and very
homesick thinking about a whole month of these long days of work without
getting paid. It is frustrating to me to be in Europe and not be able to really
see very much of it while I am here. I do really enjoy living with the family
and seeing their way of life, but the lack of sleep and the long days are
already getting to me. This will be an interesting month.
Thursday:
Today I worked in
the fields by myself… just me and the vines and my shovel for 6 hours. Luckily
I brought music along to keep me company. This time in the fields has really
given me time to think about anything and everything. It's kinda nice, kinda
scary. After lunch I was off for the rest of the day which was amazing and what
I really needed! I took a nap and read by the pool and finally got this blog
posted! Just dinner and one more day of work and then we will see what the
weekend brings…
the view from my bedroom window
some vines I have been working on
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