The French (Canadian) Connection

The Louisiana welcome sign at the Visitor Centre said it all. “Bonjour” 

Hey, look! French! Which made me rather happy. Not that I know more than a handful of words learned in my grade 6 French classes. That’s not the point. It was a tangible connection with my home country to the north. And the connection here is more than just language. There’s history too. History I wouldn't have had any clue about if it weren't for Morgan’s grade 2 social studies. 

The bane of our school days since we began homeschooling, Morgan has inquired several times what would happen if he just threw the book out the window of the truck.  He didn't, and we've spent several months learning about some of the cultural groups found in Canada…

Okay, but we’re in Louisiana. What does that have to do with Canadian cultural groups?

Well, quite a bit actually. Louisiana is home of the Cajuns; also known as Acadians.  And the Acadians lived in the Maritimes – New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and surrounding areas - before they were forced out in the 1700’s, when the British became the main influence in Canada (before Canada was Canada). Some went back to these areas when it was safe, some moved elsewhere. Some of them came to Louisiana to resettle, bringing their language & culture with them (that’s a long way to go!).

Anyway, I’m getting off track. As we planned our stopping point to wait out the storm that was set to batter the east coast I came upon some tidbits in another full-time family’s blog and on the internet that Lafayette is Acadia country. The area was settled by Acadians, and the original village, Vermilionville, has been recreated and is now a Cajun/ Creole Heritage & Folklife Park.

Woohoo, field trip! Not one to waste a lovely opportunity to actually apply some of that dry Social studies reading to something tangible, I convinced the driver (AKA Bob) to stop and stay in Lafayette rather than drive straight to New Orleans. I figured we could wait out the cold snap here as well as anywhere else and then continue on. Of course, I forgot to account for the fact that this area almost never gets below freezing and hardly ever gets ice. It pretty much shut down the city for two days, and so we had to stay an extra day to do the sight-seeing I had planned. 

First stop, Poupart Bakery, an authentic French bakery (I have a soft spot for local bakeries and often hunt the good ones down).  Let me just say yum. So many tasty treats to choose from, I could have spent all day munching my way through their wares. We did get a lovely sampling, and when I discovered how inexpensive everything was, I darned near turned around and requested one of everything!  Anyway, with everyone’s tummy happy, we headed over to Vermilionville.

The village was quiet, due to the chill, but many of the buildings had people in them, dressed in period costume and happy to share stories about the building they were in, the history, the artefacts, and life in the area in the 1800’s. Each of these people had Acadian heritage, making it feel quite authentic. 

We only got a short way into the village before the baked goods wore off and the kids were requesting lunch from the restaurant, La Cuisine de Maman (According to them, apparently they both have two stomachs now – a sugar stomach, and a regular food stomach. And evidently one does not have any effect on the other!). They had grilled cheese sandwiches (their go to food), while Bob and I both sampled the chicken & sausage gumbo with potato salad (a local combination- quite good). 

L'Ecole

Finally we set of to explore the village proper, walking through a variety of buildings, from simple two room homes to a grand two story home, the church, a schoolhouse, a smithy, and trapper’s hut. Some of the buildings were reproductions, but several were also original – the oldest being from 1790 – in various states of restoration/ preservation. Each building had a French name, and showcased a particular facet of life for the Acadian people.

Beau Bassin

All the buildings were raised off the ground, on pilings, and many of them had rows of windows and doors to let the breeze through. Almost none had electricity and only one had running water (makes sense for being so old). Interestingly, the all kitchens were separate from the main house, in their own buildings. I assume this was to keep the heat out of the house, as well as reduce any fire danger. Many of the smaller homes had an outside staircase leading to a garconniere (akin to an attic room), where the older boys slept. I thought this rather curious, but forgot to ask why it was arranged so.

The area the kids enjoyed best was where they could board a small barge at the far end of the village and pull it across a (very) narrow stretch of bayou using the rope guideline. They did this several times before Bob & I tired of making sure no one pitched themselves into the water, and shooed the kids off to see more of the village. We all watched out for alligators, but only saw a log (which did a rather convincing impersonation of two alligators for a few minutes).





In one house a lady was spinning cotton thread on a traditional spindle. She made it look easy, but I’m pretty sure that spinning thread is quite difficult. The kids were each given a piece of raw cotton to pick the seeds out of (since the seeds need to be removed before thread can be spun), and discovered pretty quickly that it was a lot of work. 

Listening to music

At the schoolhouse we listened to some authentic Acadian music on the accordion (Morgan mostly with his hands over his ears, loudly saying it was the worst music he’d ever heard – and yet staying for several songs (&&!!)).

In the one house, a local woodcarver worked on some ducks, which are sold in the gift shop.  Lily was rather enthralled watching the process.  I've noticed she likes watching artisans create their works, and always try to make sure she isn't rushed away (she was the same watching the jewelers in Dawson).

learning how water flows

Our last stop of the day was the Watershed Exhibit, where there was lots of information about the importance of the bayou Vermilion (which surrounds the area), and water, in general, to both the area & the world. There were several hands on demonstrations, to keep the kids entertained as well as slides & other information about the animals of the area. We ended up spending the whole afternoon at the village, which was quite a nice way to spend our last day in Lafayette.

I’m glad we did stop in Lafayette, winter storm or not. Sampling yummy local food, learning more of the history of the area, and meeting people descended from Acadians helped me understand and feel connected to the region in a way I mightn't otherwise have. I’m not sure if Morgan actually learned anything related to his social studies on our field trip, but oh well. It was a fun stop, nonetheless.

On the blackboard in the school