Category Archives: French culture

They caught the last terrorist!

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Susan

Ils l’ont eu  vivant – finally! We won’t have to wait any longer for that shoe to drop. Some tension will be lessened. But there are so many other shoes around the world! (This refers to Salah Abdeslam, the final … Continue reading →

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Spelling Changes – Helping or Harming?

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Susan

The French are arguing again, 26 years later, over recommended spelling changes to their language. I remember agonizing over them when I was working on French textbooks at a publishing company back then. We ended up not changing our spelling, … Continue reading →

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Fête de Noël honors the French spirit

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Susan

A bunch of devoted and talented francophiles gathered last night for Susan’s annual Fête de Noël. Current and former students, nous avons bavardé en français, grignoté des mets délicieux, et fini par chanter des chansons de Noël en français. En … Continue reading →

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My Paris friends react to the horror

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Susan

My friends in Paris have all been touched by the horror in their city. Here are some of their reactions the day after the attacks: ====== Merci infiniment, Susan. Tes pensées font du bien. C’est l’horreur absolue, nous étions dehors … Continue reading →

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C’est une horreur!

Posted on November 15, 2015 by Susan

It took 30 minutes for 7 terrorists to change life in Paris.  We felt it around the world, as the blue, white and red lights on our buildings and monuments showed. And many of us know it could hit us … Continue reading →

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Adventures of living in France. Can we become bilingual? Part I

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Susan

Learning – or slowly acquiring – a new language is a miracle. Some of us have been studying it in books and in life, by teaching language as well as studying one, and still don’t know how it “happens.” I … Continue reading →

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The French Show Their Feelings

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Susan

  The French left signs of their feelings along the march today. A gifted graphic artist must have created the second one because it really conveys the emotion evoked by the killing of the Charlie-Hebdo artists and protectors. And below … Continue reading →

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A Song that really gets it. And gives it.

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Susan

A song going viral in France captures and throws at us the feelings the murders evoked – anger at the terrorists, stubborn devotion, anyway, to freedom of expression, and Solidarity with the traumatized country. Those feelings are strengthened by its … Continue reading →

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Wolinski cartoon for Susan

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Susan

Voilà un dessin de Wolinski que l’artiste a crée pour moi en 1981.  It’s on the first page of his book Tout est politique. He remained a close friend of my friend Alain who introduced me to him back then.  … Continue reading →

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Paris Off the Beaten Path

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Susan

If you think you’ve ‘done’ Paris, think again. Many new sites and experiences have developed since the old nuggets. See the following article: Dipping into a French melting pot, by Farai Chideya

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