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French Immersion in Montrèal

On our second day of service in Montrèal, we all woke up reluctantly and exhausted. It rained off and on today which allowed us to cool down for the first time since we arrived. Trying to not let exhaustion consume us, we got ready to go back to Moisson Montrèal.

When we got there, we put on our protective toe covers and locked our belongings away. We walked back to the tables we were at the day before and waited for our task. Sorin asked if we wanted to do something new or the same thing, we said we wanted to do the same thing we did the day before without hesitation. We already had a routine set up, so we knew what to do. There were already pallets full of chocolate for us to unpack, so we jumped right back into our groove. We weren’t as fast as the day before, but we were still trying our hardest.

We had half a day at Moisson Montrèal where we finished two and a half pallets and all of the chocolate that we were given. We had gotten out a little early so we ate our lunch before we got on our way to CHSLD Providence. Saint Joseph Retirement Home.

Here we got a quick tour of the home that had over eighty residents. On the second floor was a room where everyone gathered for mass or other religious activities. There were dining halls on each floor as well. We all gathered with a handful of the residents and volunteers in the first-floor dining hall to play Bingo. Each of us was placed around the tables so we could help and talk to the residents. Some of them were over 100 years old and was 108. We played many different rounds and types of Bingo. Sometimes we had to fill the whole board, get a “T” shape, the square around the FREE space, the four corners, or just a line.

Each time someone won they received a prize from the prize table. The whole time we were playing Bingo, we only spoke French so we got a lot of practice with our numbers and simple conversation.

After Bingo we said goodbye, well “au revoir” to be exact, and climbed back into the cars to go home. At home, a group of us began to make dinner. We all ate and those who didn’t cook, did the dishes.

Today went by fast and was a bit exhausting, but we were still able to have a good time. It was fun to use our French skills to help the residents and to challenge ourselves with listening and understanding in French.

Melissa is a boarding student from Oberlin Ohio, a prefect, a student photographer, and a member of the George School Yearbook editorial team. 

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