Au revoir à ma vie en France...

For the last two weeks of my time in France I spent time doing a variety of activities, mainly to say goodbye to people, but with the added purpose of making the most of my last fortnight in Rennes.

So I’ll kick off with the gospel concert I went to and then I’ll briefly fill you in about the rest.  It was the first time I’d been to a gospel concert in France and I have to say it was a bit of a strange experience.  Now it wasn’t really that different from a gospel concert you’d see in the UK.  It was a local gospel choir, about 20-strong, and the concert hall was packed out which was nice to see, we weren’t even sure that we were going to get a place.  The choir were very joyful, they got everyone to clap and stand up and echo things and the audience joined in willingly.  Yet the thing was that all the songs were in English.  Now, I do understand it’s normal for French people to listen to English songs but there was still a kind of paradox for me at this concert.  I knew (through a friend) that nearly all of the performers weren’t Christians.  Some of the choir ladies looked so French and here was this joyful praise coming out of their lips, and they were singing their hearts out, but a lot of them didn’t understand the significance of what they were singing and nor did the audience of what they were hearing, but there was a large attraction all the same to coming along to the concert or to spending weeks rehearsing these gospel songs and then performing them.  I really enjoyed the concert but it did stir up a yearning in me to see more French people really truly knowing the gospel truth and joyfully praising their Saviour in their own tongue (as well as English if they like)!

Following the concert, I said goodbye at the university, a teacher had organised a goodbye lunch for me and Martin and a number of staff turned up which was nice.  On the bank holiday Monday Michèle (lady I lived with) and her son Loïc took me and an American girl Joanna out for a lovely meal and walk in the countryside.

Dan, the English teacher, and me

In the final week I went round to two families from church’s houses for meals, went on a couple of bike rides, chilled out by some scenic ponds with a couple of friends, said goodbye at church and took a bit of English jubilee cheer along to English club with bunting and a flag, a quiz and games.  So all in all a good last two weeks.

The long-awaited photo of me and François,
the oldest member of English club, at 91!

The next chapter: It’s around 10 days since I got back and I’m pleased to say I’ve been successful in getting a job lined up for the end of the summer; training to be a Chartered Accountant with a French company based in London.  It will be a new challenge which I’m both nervous and excited about.

So all that remains for me to say is thank you for your support this year through reading my blog, and praying for me if you did, and goodbye for now (but I hope to see you in the flesh at some point!).  Below is an extra bit if you fancy reading on, about what I like about France and Britain.  The lists are not exhaustive, I’m really glad that I’ve had the chance to live in another country and have my view of the world opened up!

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What I like about France/the French:  - As soon as the sun comes out they sit on bar terraces at all hours of the day drinking, chatting and watching the world go by.  They’re allowed to stay there for as long as they want within reason and can even buy lunch from the bakery across the road to accompany their drink.  – The transport systems are normally clean and well-run and work on trust that most people are paying for their tickets and will occasionally get done by ticket controllers if not.  – Women aren’t expected to wear make up as much.  They also know how to dress modestly.  – They really do appreciate their food and aren’t willing to compromise on its quality.  They eat a healthier diet in general and children aren’t very fussy about their food.   – There appears to be more trust in other people and the assumption is that others are capable of doing the right thing rather than the assumption that they’re going to stuff up or find ways to play the system.  – They have really good childcare put in place before the age of 6 when the kids have to go to school. – French bakeries are great.

What I like about Britain/the British: – There are heaps of charities based in Britain looking out for all sorts of people in both our country and in many other countries around the world.  – We have good deals and offers in our shops.  – We dress in all the colours of the rainbow.  – We allow kids to learn about religions in school and we allow religious groups to use our school premises.  – We make good cakes and puddings.  – We get taxed every month in our wages (The French have to declare tax themselves in the May following the tax year (which runs from January to December) and then pay up).  – When we organise events we normally go all-out and do them well (but there’s something to be learnt from the simple way the French do things sometimes).  – We're generally more encouraging. – Creativity and imagination is encouraged from a young age.  This doesn’t really stop, we’re a bit crazy!