I will not speak French: Vermilionville, LA

Vermilionville Village in Lafayette, LA

About two hours out of New Orleans is the town of Lafayette, a smallish city on the banks of the Vermilion River.  We spent a night here, enjoying catfish, crawfish and etouffee at the Blue Dog Cafe.  The next morning we headed over to Vermilionville, a collection of homes dating from the 1790s that had been saved from destruction and relocated to the Vermilion Bayou.  Costumed volunteers hang out in a few of the homes, to inform you of the bygone days, when Cajuns (French Canadians originally known as Acadians) settled in this area of Louisiana.   

Cajun school

The school house docent was a Cajun through and through.  His mother tongue was Cajun French, a dialect of French spoken only in Louisiana.  However, by the time he reached grade school,  he was told to speak only English in school.  If he spoke French, he had to write "I will not speak French" one hundred times on the blackboard.  

Cajun with accordian in the school house

Je ne vais pas parler Francais.