In February, our club is hosting a banquet to raise money for civil war victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo through an aid organization called World Relief. We are busy learning about the issues surrounding this conflict and how donating will help. Leading up to our event in February, we want to raise awareness in the school and teach other students how donating will help by selling wristbands. Our goal is to sell 300 at $1/ each, making about $200 for World Relief right away. $200 will pay for 2 refugee families in Congo to have seeds and tools to restart their farms destroyed in the war.

This is a student run initiative. If you have questions, e-mail frenchclubforcongo@gmail.com.

For more information on our event, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the issues, visit:

sites.google.com/site/frenchclubforcongo

or

http://worldrelief.org/Page.aspx?pid=2722

To celebrate this French and Polish icon of Romantic piano compositions, Maine South’s own petit “Chopin” put on a fabulous piano concert. Click on the links below to hear and see him perform!

http://www.vimeo.com/11522333

http://www.vimeo.com/11522369

http://www.vimeo.com/11522431

In the Marais…

Visiting Oscar Wilde..

At the Centre Pompidou…

At the Moulin Rouge…

Trying some diabolo- menthe…

On the grand steps if the Opéra Garnier…

Bonjour de Paris encore!

Today’s busy itinerary included a guided tour of the Musée d’Orsay where we learned about romanticism, impressionism and post-impressionism. We followed our visit up with a tour of the Opéra Garnier. After being thoroughly dazzled by the grandeur and glamor of the elegant opera house, we headed out to the East end of town to tour the famous Père LaChaise cemetery where all the most famous Parisians and Francophiles are buried. The evening was a highlight for all; we braved the bitter cold and the wind and climbed to the summit of the Eiffel Tower.

Here we are at the bottom of the glimmering Eiffel tower.

Bonjour de Paris again!The theme of today was stairs! It seemed that at every monument we went to today we climbed or descended an inordinate amount of stairs. We started the morning at the glorious palace and gardens of Versailles. Upon our return to Paris, we ventured into the depths of the city to see the Catacombs, followed by Les Invalides with Napoleon’s Tomb, La Place de la Concorde, Le Champs-Elysées, L’Arc de Triomphe, Montmarte, Le Sacré Coeur, Amélie’s Café and the Moulin Rouge. We may be getting our exercise in with all that walking, but we balance it out with plenty of mousse au chocolate and Nutella crepes.

My personal favorite moments of the day were seeing the kid’s faces bright with awe upon seeing the opulent splendor of the King’s chambers at Versailles and the pure exuberance at the view on top of the Arc de Triomphe.

It was hard to pick one picture for today, because I have so many from every sight we went to! Here they are in front of the gates of Versailles.

A busy day of adventures awaits us again tomorrow!

Bonjour again!

Today was one adventure after another. Our itinerary for the day did not go quite as planned due to certain trains being canceled because of a strike amongst the train employees. The French love to go on strike. After several train changes and long layovers, we made it to the Chenonceaux  castle in the Loire valley. We spent all afternoon exploring the castle and the expansive grounds. We had an exciting ride in the high-speed train, the TGV, back to Paris, and finished the day with some more Nutella crepes.

The kids have proved themselves to be champion travelers, flexible and rolling with the unexpected surprises that come with travel! I am really impressed with their constant positive attitudes no matter what!

Tomorrow, Versailles!

Bonjour!

Today we had an action packed adventure that focused on the history of France from the middle ages to the Renaissance. We started the day at the Middle Ages museum, where the famous Lady and the Unicorn tapestries reside. We continued on to the Sainte-Chappelle, full of the most glorious 360 degree stained glass windows, and finished the day with a tour of the French galleries in the Louvre. Museum-ed out, we had dinner in a delightful little French restaurant where some brave students sampled escargots!

Here we are in front of the glass pyramid at the Louvre.

Bonjour de Paris!

Here we are arrived safe and sound! We spent our first day here busy walking everywhere! We got here early in the morning and walked to Notre Dame Cathedral, where we attended mass, and then we proceeded to window shop many of the quaint neighborhoods. We walked until I thought they would all fall over, but this is one method of recovering from jet-lag. We will sleep well tonight! Today we got a good feel for the city! We are gearing up for our visit to the Louvre tomorrow!

Here is a picture of the group in front of Notre Dame Cathedral.

DuSable Museum of African Art and Yassa’s Senegalese Restaurant

Students at Yassa's

The French 1 class took a field trip in March in conjunction with a unit of study on Francophone Africa. Our day out on the town took us first to the DuSable Museum of African American Art and History. The DuSable museum has a fantastic exhibit entitled “Africa Speaks” that examines the history, cultures, colonization, and current realities in every region in Africa. As French students, this exhibit was particularly interesting to us as we seek to understand the French role in colonization and the French presence in Africa today.

After our museum tour, we headed over to Yassa’s Senegalese Restaurant where we were treated to not only a Francophone staff and the opportunity to practice our language skills, but also a totally new culinary experience. Some students dared to try completely unfamiliar dishes and were pleasantly surprised by the delicious flavors of the region.

After our day exploring and tasting Francophone Africa, we presented our own research on the 20+ Francophone African countries.