Knox Academy pupil Sara Muir who won this year’s Twinning scholarship details her experiences during a month spent in Aubigny.
This summer I was lucky enough to win the
Alice Burnett Twinning scholarship. This meant that I was able to spend a month
living with local families and working the tourist information office of
Haddington’s twin town: Aubigny sur Nère, in the Centre region of France. After
six years of studying French in school I was really excited to go to Aubigny
and be properly immersed in the culture for the first time!
I arrived on the Thursday before the Fêtes
Franco-Ecossaises, where I realised I’d travelled for three hours only to end
up in ‘Little Scotland’ where the locals (embarrassingly) seemed to know a lot
more about Scottish history than I did! The Fêtes are a weekend of festivities
that celebrate the shared history of Scotland and France as a result of the
Auld Alliance. There were re-enactments, fireworks, parades and pipe bands from
across Europe. It was a great social event, and I only briefly lost my novelty
‘Scottish person’ status for a couple of hours when I helped out at the omelette
stall, where I got to chat to locals and tourists.
Working from ten until five, five days a
week isn’t everyone’s idea of a summer holiday, but it was a fantastic
experience, and so much better than sitting about at home in Haddington. My
thick Scottish accent and bad grammar didn’t always go down well, but being
able to help the tourists enjoy their holiday was a wonderful feeling. The
girls at the tourist office were always on hand with a cup of black coffee and
some advice about the various attractions and things to do in the region. I
also did a lot of translation work for the website, and now when you call up
the Sauldre and Sologne Tourist Office it’s my voice on the English answer
machine message!
I’ve got so many great memories of my time
away, not just of the festivals and day trips, but also of the more day-to-day
things: helping out with a ‘history of Aubigny’ treasure hunt, dancing
around to French pop music, teaching some of the girls I stayed with how to do
a Highland Fling, getting a ride on a combine harvester and learning to make
proper crepes (and then being given a crêpe pan with typical Aubigny
generosity).
The scholarship gave me a fantastic month;
some fantastic stories and now my appetite’s been whetted I can’t wait to
return to France!
Please see the Gallery for Sara’s photos
