July 2026 - Chateau Bonus Week

Writing this on 14th September 2026, continuted on October 1st

I drive off the ferry in Caen, follow the roads I once drove in the dead of night the first time I arrived, until I find the fated turn of ‘Chateau de L'Isle Marie’. This sign, ignored by many, is the indicator of my home for the next few months. As I make that left turn in, I’m greeted by the tree-lined driveway that’s near a half kilometre long till you roll up to the castle, in all of its glory. This place was something I never thought I’d see again, nor did I think I’d want to see it again. ‘Why did I come back?’ I ask myself, but that’s cut short as I spy a man coming out to greet me. Kevin. He opens with a hug, which unbeknownst to me, is common. I remember being a bit surprised at this given I don’t know the guy but I figured I’d go with the flow.

He lets me know that he only just got in a couple hours ago and I can tell he looks stressed. Wanting to stand and move about after being sat in a car and ferry for most of the day, I get right into it with him. Kevin gives me the rundown as he shows me how they’ve got things setup and I run around the place with him getting things in order. It all falls pretty natural to me as it feels like an AirBnb turnover, just in a castle. That evening I realise I’ve barely eaten and everything’s closed, so I pull out some tofu I have in my car cooler and have that as my first meal at the Chateau. It was a weird feeling. The place was empty aside from me and Kevin. I didn’t really know what I was doing but I knew people were stressed. So I just cracked on with getting the place ready.

Continued...

The next day, guests arrived one by one throughout the day. There would be 13 of us total, Becca, Bex, Joe, Christine, Dan, Emily, Valentina, Kelsey, Maggie, and Kevin, with Jeanne and Atoosa arriving slightly later. The day was still hectic with getting things ready, I'd go up and down the staircases an uncountable amount of times, and little did I know that it would continue that way. People would arrive but Kevin handled all of it, leaving sporadically throughout the day to pick people up from Carentan train station, a 17 minute drive away. I made small talk with people in passing, but it was nothing I put much effort into - the menial 'What do you do?', 'When were you last here' questions that I asked for the sake of filling the silence. Of course I was there as a volunteer so to the guests I'm just part of the staff, and I was happy keeping it that way. It gave me a barrier I could hide behind that would 'keep myself safe'.

Later in that day, Kevin was telling me we had to prep an Apero, and of course I said sure let me know what you need, but in reality I had no clue what an Apero was - and didn't care to ask. To me, it was just a task, like any other, and can be figured out in the moment. Fast forward a couple of hours, and I'm in the fridge with him making a big mix of bitesized snacks - deli meats, cheeses, hummus, nuts, m&ms, you get the idea. To me it was a weird business like snacking board we were making, and I made it weirdly formal in my head. Turns out this was an extremely informal chateau tradition whenever a new group arrives to get to know each other.

During the Apero prep, Kevin comes in stressed - he has a pickup to do but Kelly (the white blue Kia that's the dedicated Chateau car) has run out of battery and won't charge in time. He asks Maggie, another resident who came via car but I can tell he feels bad asking her so I jumped in and said I can do it in my car. He's sceptical but I assure him it's fine, and I dump my bed mattresses in the gym and head off to Carentan. I'd been there before in March when I went to visit a friend in Paris, so it was very comfortable for me. At the station, standing there is Dan with his luggage and guitar.

Up until this point, the main people I spoke to were Kevin and Rosie, the 2 people who had met my brother. And in my eyes, I'm being compared to him all the time. This was something that would be reoccuring for a large chunk of my time at Chateau

Dan jumps in the car and we make the usual talk, and the topic of siblings come up, so naturally I mention Ibi, and lo and behold, he had heard his name in passing just a couple days prior. I of course laugh it off but it makes this everlasting

I’m in a castle and living with complete strangers. I’m helping run the place, but it just feels like a big house to do chores in which is really chill. I had this feeling of I don’t really know how to act or what to do, but it started to fall a bit naturally.

There were moments where I felt like I didn’t know what the correct answers were to things, or if I should do a certain thing or not. But I had decided to just jump into everything head first. I guess my curiosity was pushing that forward. Deep down I felt that I needed to do things that would lead to growth – I didn’t know what growth it would be, but it would be growth nonetheless.

The first d

On the first day we had a family meeting, where I suggested a game of Dungeons and Dragons if people were interested. I’d never hosted a game of D&D before, but always wanted to. I figured, like everything else, I should jump into things and see where it leads me. I did end up lying/twisting the truth here by saying I’ve DM’d before – I don’t know why I felt the need to do that. Maybe embarrassment?

Continued writing on 1st October 2026