Conversation group in Paris

I know it's been far too long since I have written here, and if it weren't for a couple of kiwi friends who are always bugging me to write more, I'd have likely already given it up. So, to keep them happy, and anyone else who is interested in my comings and goings, I will try to do better in 2011. Plus, after finishing another semester of French classes, I suddenly have more time to dedicate to it.

For anyone looking to brush up or improve her/his French conversation, there are tons of options but most will cost you dearly. However, there is one exception that I found through word-of-mouth in one of my previous French classes. It costs 10E per year (yep, you are reading that correctly, that's ten euros per year) and one can go as often as s/he likes. Each afternoon from 2-7p.m. in a windowless basement room at the Institute Catholic de Paris, four native French speakers, all retired professionals, volunteer their time to sit at individual tables directing conversations with people from around the world who want to improve their speaking abilities. Each Tuesday evening there is also a special presentation or activity that lasts from 7-9 pm and one Saturday per month they offer guided tours in different parts of Paris. The place is located on the side street behind the St. Germain des Prés Catholic Church at the metro stop (lines 4 & 10) with the same name on the Left Bank.

Yesterday, I attended the group for 1.5 hours after having a coffee at a nearby café with a friend from El Salvador. That was interesting as we only spoke French, he with his strong Central American accent and me with my strong Anglo accent. I would like to mention that I've been told by a couple of teachers and other native French speakers that my accent is identifiably Anglo but it is not strong nor is it particularly identifiable as American. My aim of course is to speak like a native French....well that might take some time but I do try.

And so, I descended into the cave of French conversation where I sat at the table with an Irish man and women from China, Venezuela, Columbia, and Iran. It's always quite an interesting mix of people and the French discussion leaders are often interesting as well. I did learn yesterday--well I likely learned it before but can't remember all the quirky rules in French--that when you use "si" instead of the usual "oui" for "yes" it is to give a positive response to a negatively posed question. Okay, so that's your French lesson for the day and if you know someone who is visiting or lives here and wants to brush up their speaking for little cost, have them check out the website for Cercle International de l'ARC at
http://arc-cercle-international.over-blog.com/