Cactus Language Blog

Cactus Opinion: French & Surfing course in Biarritz

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Staff Opinion

Alex Wolfson, Language Travel Advisor for Cactus Language, tells us about his French & Surfing course in Biarritz (Oct 07)

Biarritz is a strange clash of cultures. On the one hand you have the sophistication of the “Atlantic Riviera” and the area around Grand Plage is packed with grand hotels, expensive fashionable boutiques with gourmet food shops dealing in Basque delicacies, foie gras and vintage Bordeaux wines. Elegantly dressed French tourists sip café au lait in the pubs and move leisurely from Prada pashminas to Gucci shades.

Go south along the coast past the Maritime museum and you arrive at Cote des Basques. This open beach is pure surf. Ripcurl and Quicksilver replace the French and Italian fashion labels and you are in the heart of the French centre for surfing. Tanned bodies with long blond hair, toned muscles and “tablettes de chocolat” (six packs) emerge from the sea, board in arm, to discuss the breaks and relax in one of the many bars with surfboards and pictures of Laird Hamilton and other big wave riders adorning the walls, after a surf workout.

At the same time, this city is also the heart of the Basque country with its passion for rugby, unique food style and cultural identity. This heady mix, as well as the 25 degree temperature at the start of October, made this a perfect place for my language course.

Having done my placement test I arrived at the school on the Monday and found myself being spoken to in French for the first time since I was at school! It was surprisingly easy for me to quickly get used to being spoken to at all times in my French lessons in French, especially as the teacher was so patient and helped all the students to find the words they needed in French and explaining new vocabulary carefully in French. The classes were great for revision of grammar I had learnt at school, but since forgotten, and I soon found things coming back to me while learning useful vocabulary that they don’t teach you in school.

The activities were mainly focused on speaking and communication but we also did listening, reading and grammar activities so we got to practice lots of language skills. The language group I was in was very mixed in terms of nationalities including people from Switzerland, Singapore, the UK, Austria, Holland and Germany. By the end of my course (which was only a week) my confidence was up and I had interesting conversations on the last day of my stay about the upcoming France vs All Blacks Rugby World Cup quarter final with a lady in a charcuterie, and the cepage of various wines with the couple who ran a lovely wine shop near the market as I searched for suitable gifts for my family. The only regret I had about my course is that it was not long enough - if I had had an extra week I feel I would have made a lot more real progress in the language.

The second part of my course was surfing. I’d surfed before, badly, in Devon, Cornwall and Ireland and was, and still am, keen to improve. The difference between when I took to the water at Grand Plage on my own with a hired board on the Sunday and when I stepped out of the messy surf and into the pouring rain on the Friday was huge. Having been able to stand up maybe twice, more through luck than judgment, in a 2 hour session I had progressed to being able to stand pretty much whenever I caught a wave, the only difference being for how long I could stay up! This was mainly due to the meticulous observation of Fred and Paul, the surf instructors. They showed me exactly what it was I was doing wrong and went through how to do it right on the beach and then offering plenty of advice on the waves. They managed to give the whole group quite personalised attention even though there were about 15 of us surfing of differing levels.

The 2-hour surf session every day did leave me feeling quite tired in the evenings and, on reflection, I think my choice of a self catering studio was maybe not the right one. I found myself getting home from the surfing without much energy to cook for myself and, having heard stories of roast “canard” and delicious Basque delicacies from my fellow students, I felt I had missed a trick in not staying with a family who would have provided breakfast and dinner. On the other hand, my studio was right in the centre of town so meeting up for a beer in the evening was a bit easier than getting a bus from a host family, so there are pros and cons.

So, all in all a great week! An improvement in both my French and my Surfing skills, 6 days physical workout, getting to be in the rugby heartland of France during the World Cup France was hosting, a nice studio and getting to spend time with plenty of interesting people who were also taking courses. The only thing which went wrong was when a bottle of Saint Emilion wine smashed in my luggage on the flight back – one of the hazards of bringing back gifts from France. I will be back again for more language, water sports and Basque food – and next time I will stay for two weeks, and pack my wine more carefully for the return journey.

French & Surfing course in Biarritz: http://www.cactuslanguage.com/en/book/course.php?course_id=1528

Other French courses in Biarritz: http://www.cactuslanguage.com/en/languages/french/france/biarritz.php

Tags:biarritz, france, French, language course, surfing