L'automne
Bonjour les étudiants,I left France right before the Olympic Games this summer. However, please note if there were to be an Olympic French Cheese Eating Competition, this French teacher would have easily won gold. Hands down. For three weeks in May, a dear friend and I did a self guided cheese tasting tour. We started in Figeac in southwestern France and ended in Lille 9 miles from the Belgium border in the north. We learned about cheese making and the difference in goat , sheep, and cow cheeses. My adventures are chronicled in my blog: frenchpressjourneys.blogspot.com After my cheese tasting extravaganza and the tightening of my wardrobe, I explored Paris on my own.
As anticipated, Notre Dame will be opening in December. On site, a really fascinating exhibit features the gifted artisans chosen from all over France who use ancient tools in their restoration. A highlight of the week in Paris was attending a Portland friend's choir concert at La Madeleine, a Catholic church noted for its frescoes on the domed ceiling and sculptures from the 19th century. What an absolutely stunning venue! In my experience already in early June, Paris burned with Olympic fever as a number of metro stations closed for renovation, billboards advertised upcoming Olympic events, and the city studded with the Olympic logo vibrated more intensely than ever with tourists.
Upon returning to my quiet village of Monflanquin, I breathed a sigh of relief and vowed to stay put. In our house, I displayed all my favorite things kept snugly stored during my absence and even created an art center to enjoy my time alone. Slowly, the summer people returned from all over the world and fun festive activities began to shape the days. I also signed up for four French lessons with a local teacher who gave me instruction in some of the finer points of grammar and conversation.
This fall, I do have openings for individual French lessons if you would like to begin the study of French or just need a tune up. Maybe like me, you speak French fluently, but some aspects of the language remain a bit mysterious. Tuition is $60 for an hour lesson and can be shared.
If you are looking for a French Conversation Class, I have one starting Wednesday October 9 for 5 weeks, 10 A.M - 11:15 AM. Tuition: $75 We discuss short student friendly articles and anything else that comes up. I offer a pronunciation warm up exercise and gentle corrections. The class meets in my home. Please let me know if you would like to participate by September 15. There are a few spots left.
Some French related books to check out: A Murder Most French by Colleen Cambridge, The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl, The French Ingredient by Jane Bertch.
Et voilà! Thank you so much for your support. Vous êtes formidable!
Giselle Bawnik
For recipes, fun insights and stories please visit my blog!
MY LITTLE FRENCH VILLAGE is now available on Amazon for $15 which includes shipping and handling.
Recommended Picks:
Cooking Programs
French Cooking at home on the Cooking Channel
Recreational Reading
We've always had Paris and Provence by Patricia and Walter Wells
All You Need To Be Impossibly French by Helena Firth Powell
How Proust Can Change Your Life by Alain de Botton
Into a Paris Quartier by Diane Johnson
Un aller simple by Didier van Cauwelaert
L'elegance du herisson by Muriel Barbery
Malaussene Saga by Daniel Pennac
• Au bonheur des ogres
• La fée carabine
• La Petite Marchande de Prose
• Monsieur Malaussène
• Aux Fruits de la Passion
Cooking
Nuts in the Kitchen by Susan Hermann Loomis
Gorgeously written new cook book by one of our favorite cooks living in France. How to add nuts and nut oils to your cooking in delicious creative ways.
The Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo
Grammar
Practice Makes Perfect Series includes books on French Vocabulary, French Pronouns and Prepositions, and French Grammar
Dictionaries
The Firefly Mini French/English Visual Dictionary
French Films
Romantics Anonymous
Paris, Je t'aime
Mon Meilleur Ami
Apres vous
Monsieur Ibrahim
Les Choristes
Please send us your favorites and your recommendations and we will include them!