Fun for Francophiles

Image by Hannah Penrose Art

Today I’m talking to you, Francophiles. Are you on a personal voyage to learn French, become a Frenchie, adopt a more French lifestyle, fulfill your French longings? We have new ideas for you.

First up: if you’re in the States, or in fact wherever you live, are you a member of the Alliance Française? If not, you should be. Most every good-sized city has a chapter. Qu’est-ce que c’est, exactement? It’s an international non-profit, dedicated to promoting the French language and French culture. Also, it’s great fun. In the States, francophiles attend events, but so do French expats. Typically you can take language lessons from the AF, or join a conversation group. Most have social activities. The lively Charleston group has Christmas parties, celebrates French holidays, has cut-throat  pétangue games, and so on. We’ve met some of our best friends there. There are groups all over the world; in their home port of Paris you can do French “language stays” with total immersion, or homestays, and sample all sorts of events and seminars.

The Alliance headquarters in Paris

In Charleston, an Alliance French conversation group

Next up, a new thing for the language learners among you. There is a fun new app call Superfluent. It’s really, really different from traditional language learning packages. It’s AI powered (of course). I can’t speak to how it works with absolute beginners, but if you’re at any sort of conversational level, it’s amazing. Pick a subject and you’ll have a conversation with what sounds and feels like talking to a good French friend. You pick the topic, and the level of difficulty. You chat back and forth for a while, and when the talk is over, they will give you corrections and ratings. Download it on your iphone, and off you go. The basic version is free.

And last of all, how about the real thing? Come on over to France with Carolyn Thompson, an expat who lives near me for part of the year, for one of her “Women in Burgundy” tours (sorry guys). It will be a group of six with Carolyn as your guide. Its starts off at a boutique hotel in Paris, with a spa treatment, then off to explore the Cote d’Or, based in a historic house in Beaune. Highly recommended! And hopefully I’ll be having the gang up for tea, as Carolyn is kindly featuring me as one of her “Women of Burgundy” this year.

Here are a couple of Carolyn’s “Women in Burgundy groups from past years:

Allons-y, it’s a new year, get yourself in French high gear!

In the COMMENTS: Bonnie, I need to find a tree like you’ve got. Betsy, I love the idea of cutting a National Forest tree, which helps clear things out as well. Natalia, decorative gifts with meaning are the best decorations of all.

Favorite READS: Natalia’s choice today is Pip Williams new historical novel, The Bookbinder, a companion to his previous book, The Dictionary of Lost Words. I’m reading a delightful book, The Correspondent, which you probably know, I think everyone’s book club is reading it!