Archive for 'Uncategorized'
Joyeux Thanksgiving: Celebrating Thanksgiving in France Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Nov 24, 2014
When I was living in Paris, Thanksgiving (literally, l’action de grâce, although most French people will just say Thanksgiving) was the one day of the year when the American expatriate community would come together as one and reclaim their American-ness. I’ll be honest: For part of the two years I spent living in France, I…
Je blogue, donc je suis: New Blogger at Transparent! Posted by Josh Dougherty on Nov 19, 2014
“Il faut remonter le score, eh, Josh?” (You need to raise your score, eh, Josh?) I can still remember my French teacher, Annick, making this remark to me during a game of Scrabble against a fellow classmate. I’m not sure what made this little sentence of seven words such an impetus, but something inside me…
Bonjour Tout le Monde: New Blogger Elizabeth Schmermund’s Introduction Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Nov 17, 2014
Bonjour tout le monde, je suis ravie de faire partie de votre communauté. Hello everyone, I am happy to be a part of your community. Je m’appelle Elizabeth Schmermund and, since I will be taking on weekly blogging responsibilities for the French Language and Culture Blog, I’d love to tell you a little bit about myself…
New Blogger Chez Transparent Language: John Bauer Posted by John Bauer on Nov 12, 2014
Salut tout le monde, je m’appelle John Bauer and I’m one of the new writers on the Transparent Language’s French blog. Mon histoire (my history) with France and la langue française (the French language) is far from normal. I first came to France 3 years ago without knowing anything about the country or the language…
Ghosts’n’Goblins: The Origins of Halloween Posted by mtaulier on Oct 31, 2014
Today, children all over the United States will be donning their déguisements (costumes) and at crépuscule (dusk) will be headed out the door to make the rounds of their neighborhood to celebrate Halloween. Mais d’où vient cette tradition (But where does this tradition come from)? What exactly is Halloween? And does France even celebrate it?…
A Meal for All Seasons: La Soupe à l’Oignon (Onion Soup) Posted by mtaulier on Oct 29, 2014
Bienvenue mes amis! (Welcome my friends!) Aujourd’hui nous allons apprendre à préparer un plat bien Français: la soupe à l’oignon (Today we will be learning how to prepare a typical French dish: onion soup). Tradition has dictated that French onion soup be served avec du fromage râpé (with grated cheese) and croutons. Although onion soups…
La Dame Blanche (The White Lady): Mont Blanc Posted by mtaulier on Oct 18, 2014
Bonjour mes amis! (Hello my friends!) I thought it might be interesting to study un peu de Géographie (a little Geography). Histoire/Géographie (History/Geography) was a combined course in French schools and part of the standard curriculum in the early 1990s. Students would call it Histoire/Géo for short and I clearly remember the green cahier (notebook)…