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French History – World War I bis Posted by Tim Hildreth on Nov 27, 2018
Last week I shared a short excerpt from the Bulletin de Lille, a biweekly paper printed under the direction of the German Command in Lille. I love how the exchange illustrates the delicate dance between occupied and occupier that can arise in such situations. This week we look at a another except that highlights another…
French History – WWI and the Occupation Posted by Tim Hildreth on Nov 20, 2018
Last week the world celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that ended la Grande Guerre which ravaged Europe from 1914 – 1918*. As a young man living in France, I heard much more about la deuxième Guerre Mondiale since my host parents had lived under that occupation**, but the recent anniversary got me thinking about that previous…
Francophone language and culture – Finding an amazing meal in Québec Posted by Tim Hildreth on Nov 13, 2018
Sometimes the best things in life are surprises. The best meal I ever ate, was just such a surprise. Travelling through Québec on our way to viste la tante Rose, we found a marvelous meal, a wonderful souvenir (memory), and a story we still tell. All of these wonderful memories were brought back last week when ma tante…
French Music – Paris by night Posted by Tim Hildreth on Nov 6, 2018
One of the reasons why I enjoy driving in France so much is that so many of my favorite memories involve racing around Paris in a little red Peugeot 205 with my brother Fabrice on our way to some new adventure … many of which took place in Paris at night. There is almost…
French Culture – Candy Commercial Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 30, 2018
I was poking around online this week and came across a great video about the first French TV commercial. And since, as John reminded us last week, it’s almost Halloween, I thought it would be fun to look at a cute recent pub (short for (la) publicité / ad or commercial) about les bonbons (candy). La Pub à la télé en…
French Travel – Montmartre Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 23, 2018
Even after all these years and all the many trips I’ve made to Paris, I’m always delighted when I go back to find that there is still more to see, to learn, and to do. On this most recent trip, I took my son William up to the Sacré Coeur de Montmartre and was enchanté…
Useful French Vocabulary – The head and face Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 16, 2018
Idioms and other non-literal expressions can make learning another language more difficult. If you have the right attitude though, they can also make it more fun, they can help you learn useful vocabulary, and incorporating them into your everyday speech can help you sound more like a native. This week we’ll look at a number…