Mons - a wonderful place to spend 3 weeks!

In the heart of the French part of Belgium, is the city of Mons.  Located about 1 hour south of Belgium and 2 hours east of Paris, this city has one of the best universities in the country and it was here that I was lucky enough to work and study for three weeks.

I was awarded a grant to study the language and culture of Belgium, and in particular to look at the language similarities with Quebec.  The Universite de Mons is particularly reputed in Europe for its language and translation faculties and research.  In fact, it was here that the language teaching method verbale-tonale was created and each year many language teachers come here to learn about it.  While I was here, I had the opportunity to sit in on one of their sessions; it was very interesting.

There were also some American university students learning French and some European Union diplomats learning French language and culture.  So, there was a lot going on!  I had the chance to take classes in Belgian history, literature and culture - what an excellent experience!  Mons is very much a gem in the Francophone part of Belgium and is set to become a European City of Culture in 2015.   The city's patron saint - Sainte Waudru -  built a convent here in 649 AD and gothic church built in 1449 is dedicated to here.  They have a particularly special free standing belfry that is being fixed up for the 2015 celebrations.  Each year, they celebrate the legend of St George and the dragon, which has become their "national" holiday in the Spring.

We were lodged in a wonderful apartment/hotel about 5-7 mins from the university and since we had a car, we were able to explore a great deal of this region.