Madame Gothié

I would love to introduce you all to Mme Gothié.
She is a sweet, dear retired nurse who agreed to the challenge of teaching me some foundational medical French.

 My sessions with her have been the highlight of my stay here in Albertville, I am so grateful for the blessing of her friendship, medical knowledge and steadfast faith in Christ. I have truly found in her a kindred spirit.

Every Wednesday I had the privilege of riding my bike to Madame Gothié's house, and today you sort of get to do the same. She has graciously allowed us all a rare peek into what a French Savoie home looks like =)

 So here we go on our bike ride....

....the road with the arrow leads up to Madame Gothié's house- you can choose if you want to ride up or walk your bike ;-).

  I always felt as though I were in a fairytale or something, biking through the Alps in a little mountain town with the little Swiss chalets on either side and hundreds of flowers surrounding me...I think all I would need is a red hooded cape and I'd be all set.

This view is the reward after mounting the top of the hill in the mid-day heat- it was worth it every time.

 

Just around the corner, we arrive at her house and her beautiful garden!

Living Room

Kitchen

Our desk

We reviewed anatomy and physiology and went over a LOT of pronunciation of medical words in French- it was so helpful. 

After our work was done for the day, we'd sit and visit for a couple hours, in French over a cup of tea. 

Le Muguet- traditional flower given the 1st of May

At the end of every study session, Mme Gothié would always brighten my day with a bunch of flowers from her garden.  

With no place to put them, she would always place them in the side of my bag as I headed out on my bike. So there I would ride home, my satchel over one shoulder and a bunch of flowers peeking out the side, my hair blowing in the wind and the Alpine mountains reaching high into the sky on either side of me, refreshed and ready to face another week of language school....

 

I am so thankful for the foundation in Medical French as I head to Montpellier for my medical vocab class. 

Merci Madame Gothié!