It was 7.30 a.m. The French driver was chatting in a friendly manner. I could only presume the subjects were the weather and other inanities in which people indulge as they first meet. Picking up only the odd word - "chaud", "temps", "ciel" - the only response I could manage was to nod, smile and open and close my mouth in a distinctly fishlike manner.
The memories of linguistically challenged schooldays were flooding back on this, my first morning in the southern French city of Montpellier. It had been well over 10 years since I last sat in a classroom to learn French and even then the results were, at best, patchy. Now, I was on the way to my first day in the language school where I hoped miracles would be wrought in just two weeks.
First, I faced an exam. I was in terror at the notion but ultimately was spared the ordeal. It was the middle of September, close to the end of the season for the summer school, and there was just one other new arrival, so we were assessed orally. Afterwards we found ourselves in an "elementary" class of six students - two Japanese, two Spanish, one Kuwaiti and one Irish.
Each summer Montpellier's Institut Mediterranean d'Etudes Francaises (IMEF) hosts hundreds of students from all over the world seeking to learn or improve their French. It is one of hundreds of similar language schools all over France. In fact, if you go to the Alliance Francaise in Dublin you will find a bewildering choice of brochures.
The recommendation of a colleague brought me to the ancient city of Montpellier and to IMEF. If you want to learn French - or even if you have to - what nicer way than to head towards the Mediterranean? Course duration, from the beginning of June, ranges from two weeks to six weeks. You have the choice of living with a family or staying in a university residence or hotel.
On arrival, it was quickly apparent Montpellier has traffic problems to equal Dublin's. There were lots of hand gestures and exasperated "alors" from the taxi driver. The city is in the middle of building a tramway system.
Montpellier is a charming city of decaying splendour. Unless you are commuting from the suburbs there is really no need for public transport - feet will do. The heart of the city is the Place de la Comedie, a large, pedestrianised square. Students make up nearly a quarter of the population but the locals are by no means tired of visitors. Once they realise you are there to learn the language, they are patient and helpful.
Most of the students at IMEF were on limited budgets, but if you had money to spend there would be no difficulty doing so in Montpellier, which has an abundance of interesting shops, restaurants and trips. While most of the "elementary" class people had roughly the same level of French, there were at times obvious differences in standard and had it been earlier in the season with more students, we would most likely have been in different classes.
That first morning, the first class involved general conversation on the weather, mealtimes, an argument with your neighbour, some French geography. Sometimes you reached into the recesses of your brain and the word was there but frequently - particularly at the beginning - it was not. And it was certainly intimidating.
In the afternoon there was another class, described as a workshop, concentrating more on written French. There had been a choice of workshop - poetry, singing, grammar - the first two seemed appealing but realistically the third was the practical option.
In all, there were 21 hours of classes a week. Also on offer was a cultural programme which involved trips to the surrounding region including Avignon, Arles, Nimes, and the exceptionally charming Les Baux de Provence. That first evening there was a lecture on French cheeses and wines. Tragically, I was able to partake only in the tasting, understanding little of what was said. The programme was worth the extra money and was a good way of bonding further with fellow students.
The difference between this and school was that in between classes the students did make a serious effort to speak French. Arriving in the middle of the month meant missing the induction, so the first few days were stressful as I struggled to find my way around and cope with the constant barrage of French. IMEF operates a "sink or swim" language philosophy.
The courses are designed for students of any age although there is a minimum age requirement of 17. As it turned out the majority of the students were in their early to mid-twenties.
However, an older group included a 65-year-old German journalist, a businessman from the Middle East, some Nigerian French teachers, a self-employed Scotsman in his fifties (who knew little if none of the language to begin with and a month later had perfected his own form of pidgin French). He declared it one of the best holidays he ever had. Despite the age difference, everyone socialised together. Some of the classes can be a little boring, depending on which teacher you happen to have. Like anything else, you get out of a course what you put in. For me, two weeks was really too short a time for any dramatic difference.
The Alliance Francaise has details of many courses on offer in France. A two-week course as IMEF, including the cultural programme and accommodation in a university residence, cost £815. For further information on the Montpellier course contact IMEF at Espace Albert Camus, 21 Avenue du Professeur Grasset, 34093 Montpellier Cedex 5, France or www.fle.fr/imef.