Epanouissement

On the eve of our first full week in France, we have begun to sink into the poetic cadence of la Bretagne. As we shake free of the last tendrils of the "décollage horraire" (jet lag), the French language fills our waking hours and infiltrates our dreams. Thus, it is no surprise that we should be so thoroughly taken with the word épanouissement, which flows off the tongue in a linguistic glorification of its meaning, "to bloom."

We have arrived at the beginning of spring, the threshold of what is perhaps France's most beautiful season. Yet, as our twin-engine, Paris-Rennes flight descended through first a layer of clouds, then rain, into fog, it was clear that the perennial summer of southwest Florida had become as distant as the Eastern time zone.

We were greeted in Rennes by the Governor of district 1650, Brigitte Delahaye, and transported to the house of Genviève Paquet, President of the Rotary Club of Laval. Our hostess poured champagne ("A real French welcome," she said ) as we shivered in overcoats. Rain poured down, saturating the air with moisture.

"A toast," said Claude Theraud, leader of the GSE team from Brittany that visited district 6960 last fall. He raised his glass and rolled his eyes to the heavy clouds overhead. "May it only get better from here."

We smiled at our French hosts, saying santé (to your health) and clinking glasses. The effervescence of the champagne kept pace with the pattern of the raindrops, and as the bottle emptied, the deluge lessoned. Overhead, the clouds parted, and the sun shone down, casting a watery light on our welcome party and releasing the green scent of spring.

In French, épanouissement can also refer to individuals, a personal opening or development. Here, in our partner Rotary district, our team has already begun to blossom. We have made great progress in our language skills, growing more assured with each passing day. On Monday, the very beginning of our week in France, the Rotary club of Chateau Gontier hosted our group. During lunch, several Rotarians encouraged us to try the well-known specialty of the city, calf's head stew. Alissa enthusiastically tried each part of the dish - cheeks, brain, and tongue. When the waiter asked if she had enjoyed her meal, she said in her most practiced French, "Your tongue is very delicious." That spurred a round of laughter from our Rotarian hosts and made for a perfect cross-cultural story.

Perhaps the most important development so far is the budding relationship between the team members and our host families. Each of us has been so warmly received, so thoroughly welcomed into the international Rotarian family, that it is hard to imagine this is only our first week in-country. Tonight, we gathered at a restaurant here in Laval, the team members and our host families. As we passed steaming plates of couscous and dark red bottles of wine, the conversation flowed around us, a mixed melody of English and French, and our voices spoke in a harmony of beautiful beginnings.