In January of this year, I impulsively committed to a one week stay in November with Camille in her home in Paimpol, France. I’d found her just googling around the internet looking for French language immersion experiences. I have struggled with French for the last 5 years with hearing and speaking the biggest challenge for me, so before throwing in the towel, I thought a 1-1 intensive immersion experience might be a good way to determine if I should continue putting my energy into learning French. Perhaps I was too old (70yo) to learn a new language? After wiring a down payment to Camille (which my bank strongly discouraged me from doing – they were concerned it was a scam!), I immediately had buyer’s remorse. Maybe this was going to be a big waste of money and energy for me and a big waste of time for her – I worried was too much a beginner to really benefit from the week.
I returned from France a few days ago… and what an amazing experience it was!!
Camille picked me up at the train station and we immediately started conversing in French. I was relieved I could understand her pretty much – she speaks very clearly and more slowly than the rapid fire French dialogue in movies and series that I’ve tried to watch. The bank was wrong, she is real!!! By the way, I wasn’t even aware of her French Today learning program, books, podcasts until I expressed concern about wiring her the balance….at which time she sent me all that information and seeing her extensive program was quite reassuring.
Arriving at her home, we were greeted by the most darling, best trained dog in the world, Vinky. Her home is extremely comfortable with beaucoup interesting artwork and I had my own “wing” of the house with a very nice, private bedroom and my own spacious bathroom. The bed was comfy, comfy and there was a TV in the room (with Netflix and Amazon!!) on which I could watch the American election results roll in. It was mid-afternoon, so we went on a walk along the coastline of Paimpol. It’s a truly beautiful region, with a lot of history (I am a WWII buff – the French Resistance was very active in this part of France during the German occupation). Then we went home and Camille made dinner. She had warned me before I arrived that she was not a chef. She lied. Big time. She made me the most delicious meals every day!
Camille is warm, empathetic, and it’s obvious she has been teaching for some time – she was able to assess my abilities very quickly and identify my greatest weakness, which is low confidence speaking – I become paralyzed trying to say something as I roll through verb tenses, word order, and appropriate vocabulary in my head. She really encouraged me to let go of that and speak even if I KNOW it is grammatically incorrect. Her approach with me was to be completely encouraging. She even told me that she was not going to correct me (which I asked her to do) unless she saw an actual pattern that needed correction. It was very effective. I learned that I really CAN communicate in French, much more than I thought. It inspired me to keep learning. She went through the French Today series with me and how to use the audio books to keep improving, and now that I am back, I have a “study plan” I feel very good about.
We took a 2 day trip by car to Mont St. Michel with her friend Jean-Loup – a truly awesome sight. And Jean Loup was so fun to talk to – he was extremely patient with me. Camille also set me up with a local tour guide to see the cliffs overlooking the sea, nearby villages, and the monuments from the British, American, and Canadian governments thanking the network of French resistance fighters who saved 135 pilots downed in France during WWII. So I had practice speaking with and hearing someone other than Camille and Jean-Loup. Camille and I walked to the town center on the open market day and I got to speak with vendors. One shopkeeper wanted to practice her English with me, so we had a short conversation, after which Camille asked me if I noticed her grammatical errors. I had NOT, which drove home her message to me to just TALK! It doesn’t have to be perfect to have a perfectly fine conversation!
So after all my misgivings, it was just the best experience. It was so easy to be in Camille’s home – she is so welcoming, laid back, and just completely engaged with you the whole time. I have renewed interest and enthusiasm for the French language. I am NOT too old!
My only regret is that I could not steal Vinky and bring him home with me!