Thursday 30 October 2014

The children may have gone back to school in September but October has been a real learning experience for the Happy Coulson grown ups. First there was Chris’ survival skills training course. Five days in a woodland in Oxfordshire, learning how to make fire, build shelters, whittle and other manly things.

He was on his own each night, eating wild fare he prepared himself ranging from squirrel to rook and sleeping in his shelter, which he was pretty proud of by the end of the week. Chris will be sharing his skills with visitors to Happy Coulson, including our French students.

Now back on French soil, Chris’ learning month continues with the reprisal of his efforts to master the language. After two years here, his vocabulary and comprehension are impressive, now we need to fill in the gaps so he can take a more active part in conversations.

I feel moved to help Chris progress following my four-day retreat in Spain. Although all the teaching was in English so I didn’t need to speak Spanish, I found being unable to communicate unbearably frustrating. And not understanding the simplest of menus was just embarrassing. Next month I am starting an online TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course to help with my French students. When that is done I am going to start learning Spanish so the next time we go I will at least have the basics.

The yoga and meditation course in Asturias in northern Spain was wonderful. Amazing venue, beautiful scenery, great people, delicious food and four days of me being the student instead of the teacher. I found it so inspiring and came back rejuvenated and excited to share everything I learned with my students in France and England.

Filed under: Happy Coulson

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