France is Still Here

Indeed, France is still here. What can I say? There's dog doo everywhere, and people are walking around with baguettes in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Ooo la la. No wait, I haven't heard anyone say that, nor have I ever said it.

The first 10 days here have been a whirlwind. We trained for 7 days straight while living in a somewhat grubby hostel. I then worked for 3 days before finally having a day off, today.

10 days ago I knew virtually nothing about war or military organization, and now I have given tours, in both official languages, dealing with these topics.

The student program that I'm working for staffs both the Canadian National Vimy Memorial as well as the Beaumont-Hamel Canadian Memorial for the Newfoundland Regiment, in the Somme. I'm working at Vimy, though I did not know which one I'd be placed at until I arrived. It's about a 20 minute drive out into the countryside for work everyday. Lucky kids that we are, Veteran's Affairs has provided us with gianormous vans (though they feel more like driving a bus) to get from our homes in Arras to the sites. Picture of said van/bus is shown here.