Immersion - try summer festival volunteering

Posts regularly crop up here asking for direction towards work and immersion courses for learning French, with most people asking about opportunities in the big tourist spots. If you're more interested in learning the language than making money, I would encourage anyone at Leaving Cert or university level to sign up as a volunteer for the many festivals that take place throughout the summer.

Properly organised (and the time to do it is now!) you can go from one to the next with almost no break. Costs are minimal* - most festivals will feed you and give you at least a decent spot to camp in, plus you'll usually get a free pass to whatever's on when you're not on duty. Most of all, though, you'll be working alongside real people with real lives - not just tourists! And you never know, one of them might have a job on offer for the autumn.

I'm involved in one such festival - trad music and dance - that's actively recruiting volunteers at the moment for mid-July. It features prominently on the "summer circuit" for this audience, so lots of lifts on offer to the next venue . If anyone's interested, let me know.