Photo: Day dreaming of France? The AF is the next best thing to being there.
So, you're a hopeless francophile. Then I hope you are a member of the Alliance Française. If not, read on! And even if you are—you might not know all these facts about this wonderful organization devoted to promoting French all around the globe.
The AF was created in Paris in 1883, by several notable men of the day, including Louis Pasteur and Jules Verne. Their goal: to spread the culture and language of France around the planet.
A big focus of the group is language learning—the AF has nearly half a million students, world-wide. But that’s not all! It’s a social and cultural group too. And there is very likely an AF group near you.
Before moving to France, we were enthusiastic Alliance members in Charleston. The group, with 70-ish members, was about three quarters francophiles and one French expats, and it was held at a member’s homeeach month. We celebrated the major French holidays, with a summer Bastille Day pique nique and a winter Fête des Rois, with a galette. There was a French film festival each year, and one of the French members did a cooking class from time to time. When we had it at our home one month, we fêted a visiting French ballet group that was performing at the Spoleto festival. The AF was a fabulous way to stay connected to France. Cartoon by Tom Vieth of A Small Village in France.
We also joined an AF French conversation group in Charleston, hosted by a French expat couple. If you’re looking for French language lessons, there’s no better place to start than your local AF group. Photo, below: Paris has a big AF center with a comprehensive language school.
To find an AF group in the states, click here. And if you’re planning a prolonged stay in France, you’ll also find that it’s a great way to study French in France as well. Find info on AF groups abroad here, and for Paris, click here.
I know we have lots of AF readers. Please share your AF experiences with us!
Favorite Reads: My British friend Dee can't stop talking about the book How to Be a Woman
In the COMMENTS: don't miss the good ideas about 'les restes' this week. Michelle, Martin and other readers suggested a good vegetable stock, maybe with chicken bones thrown in. Julie of the Traveling Through blog makes a stir fry, super idea. Marilyn (who makes beautiful art with salvaged materials, how appropriate for our post), you are lucky to be part of a CSA group! Linda has a yummy recipe for pears, and Suzanne has roasting ideas. Kristin of French Word a Day plans to barter with neighbors when the veggies overflow from her new garden. Carrie (of Season It Already!), they don't seem to use much balsamic in dressings here, maybe it's just an Italian thing. Bonnie, you make a good point about the difference in French shopping habits–it's a system designed to avoid waste.
9 thoughts on “For Francophiles: A Meet & Greet Spot, and More”
Well this guy too read “How to be a Woman”. Loved it. Couldn’t put it down!
I belong to a small French conversation group. Actually we have lots of members but only a handful of us tend to make the weekly “salle de conversation”. It’s great fun and happily unstructured. I agree that AF is a great resource, but no AF in your town? Try starting a MeetUp group!
Always full of helpful,inspiring ideas and tips…merci encore Lynn.
The book sounds fab and will check out the For Francophiles recommendations soon.
Lynn, we have AF in Louisville, and perhaps you’ve convinced me to join. I belong to a French meet-up group called The French Connection. They have weekly gatherings at a coffee house, but so far I haven’t enjoyed them much, since I am hearing impaired and wear hearing aids, all the noise and everyone speaking at once in French puts me on overload. We have special gatherings for Bastille Day and we have “les piques niques” and occasionally a dinner at a French bistro, and I do go to these. One dinner was a collaborative between the 2 groups. I’ve found the people, many French ex-pats, to be very welcoming.
Another wonderful and informative post,Lynn!
THANK YOU!
I don’t always have time or opportunity to meet and speak–as much as I wish I did!!
Something that helps me to stay current– and keep up my French– is Yabla. (also use Rosetta Stone).
Between the two of them, I never feel as if I’ve missed out on a great pleasure of my life.
Bon journee!!!
I couldn’t agree more.
The cultural events, the movie screenings, the coursework, the vibrant atmosphere – I love the AF 🙂 (and so does my family).
A big OUI for joining AF. It is where I’ve finally gotten a handle on my weak language skills. All the teachers at the St. Louis school are native speakers, so we get all kinds of insight into idioms, pronunciation, culture. They really were cheering me on and pushing my language skills as I prepared for my current trip to Dijon to buy that apartment my husband and I selected last summer. While I have a long way to go on mastering the language, there is also an AF here in Dijon that I might try when I’m in town longer. If you have an AF anywhere near you, give it a try.
Six years ago I had the good fortune to spend a month in France attending AF classes every morning and exploring beautiful Paris every afternoon. I recommend it highly and can’t wait to do it again!
For any grandmothers out there I’ll add that I brought my 16-year-old grandson along for one week and that was one of the best experiences either of us has ever had. He’s grown up now, but we’ll never forget the fun we had together.
I can’t be caught dead in an AF meeting. My French is so awful I’d have to sit mute all night and for me,
n’est pas possible or something to that effect.
V