The first week, meeting peeps and trying to fit in

I have been trying to practice my French, honestly, but a number of things have been conspiring against me.

1. Babble seems to have decided that now we are in France I no longer need access to their app (p.s. it is a foreign language learning app for those who haven’t come across it - see my first blog for link and details). N.B. The complexities of sim only registration and the combination with motorhome 4G Wi-Fi caused all kinds of problems in the early days of our adventure and we’re still struggling a bit with this as Melle’s sim only contract with Three have decided they won’t offer fair usage unless she pays £2 a day so she is now without data roaming on the slopes.
2. Samoens and the Grand Massif area in general is awash with British people so that usually ‘Bonjour Monsieur’ is follow up with ‘Hi I’m well thanks - where are you from’. Obviously this is most prevalent on our motorhome campsite but there also seem to be lots of Brits who live here or own property here or both, which is not surprising as it’s a very beautiful place and not much more than an hour from Geneva.
3. As with many tourist locations especially over last ten years the local population are very competent English speakers. And of course I suspect they find it a lot easier to converse in English - it’s likely to end up with a more suitable conclusion. The right information given or the right thing purchased.

However, I am continuing to try and, when appropriate, I ask them to help me to practice my French speaking (and understanding) skills. It’s a work in progress.

Otherwise connecting with people is absolutely no problem at all and below I thought I’d share the locations and situations which seem to be most common.

Ski lifts and especially gondolas / chair lifts. We have had conversations with local residents including an older man who was very keen to share details of the best place to stay with hostelries. A family with adult children who are clearly enjoying time with each other including gentle banter with a younger brother with broken goggles and a lost glove (reminded me of our family ski holidays that). An Englishman who lives and works in the area (based from Geneva) and skis whenever he gets an hour or two free in the day. A French lady who has family living in England and who has been coming to the Grand Massif area to ski every year since she was a child. A group of middle aged English men one of whom owns a local property so brings friends and family here two or three times a year. One thing I’m deliberately trying to do is reach out for these conversations each time I catch a lift - just like my friend Dave Tozer taught me - these quick snapshots of lives can be so informative and also they’re like a little shot of positive energy during the day. I’m also noticing that some people you meet again, at the bus stop and/or pass in the street and the chat is rekindled. Everybody here seems to want to connect and that feels good.

Of course shops and cafes and our campsite reception are places where you meet and re meet people so I’m trying to take some time to connect and have a conversation - of course this can be good to practice my French too but somehow I think my approach or persona in these situations is all wrong. I’ve been watching and listening to Melle who is much lighter and more confident and has better results I think. Definitely something to work on although I need to be careful not to work too hard as it makes everything serious nd can be counter productive.

Of course other motorhomers in our campsite are also really keen to stop and have a chat too and I’ve noticed the best way to do this is go out and help clear the snow with them. This morning I helped a French lady and her family clear snow for her car so she could get to work. I also had a chat with 2 other Hymer owners as we were all out doing snow related jobs. And the lady opposite had a chat about the best way to get full value out of your ski pass. Others we’ve met in the ski/boot storage room are also keen to pass on their wisdom and it’s amazing how quickly you can start to be part of the motorhome community. One guy, Tim, who is also on a motorhome Facebook forum (there’s about 500 on there who use their motorhome to go skiing each year) recognised me from my Homer posts and as he’s only about 50 yards away invited us round for a drink!! Talk about small world.  Oh yeh, nearly forgot to mention Tim plays guitar and ukelele - video of our 'jamming' session below. N.B. we had drunk a bit of red wine by then!!

We’ve also met some lovely people in mountain restaurants and yesterday we actually had our lunch in a Sal de pic nique (an indoor venue for sandwiches etc) and sat with a couple from, yes you guessed it, Shrewsbury. How random is that, John is a rugby fan and has given me his contact details so we can go for a beer when back home.  We also met a lovely young Canadian couple who, as well as reminding us of our kids, are here working a ski season as chalet hosts in Samoens.  Melle is hoping for an invite later in the season😃.

We’ve now been here nearly a week and with every day it feels like we’re settling in nicely. There’s still lots to explore (we’ve only scratched the surface) and keeping up snow / Homer maintenance also keeps us busy. But that’s for another blog.