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Winter Term Enrollment in Full Swing 
Non, you don't have to go to Paris to learn or perfect your French. Registration is in full swing for the Alliance Winter term that runs January 6 through March 20 in Portland. Register early to have your first choice of class date and time. New to the program? Click here for quotes from participants in the just-completed term, where the quality of the instruction and the teachers' encouragement were the "hot buttons." Remember too that this is one of the rare programs in the United States that offers complimentary make-ups for classes, so that students can keep up even when conflicts get in the way of attending class. Visit the website for class schedules, online assessment tests, and more. 
Cultural Lesson: Les formules de politesse  

A small French cafowner in Nice is making headlines all over the world for a sign he put up recently. The sign originally went viral when it was tweeted among journalists, then it was picked up by NBC (click here). Explains Pascaline Lefbvre of the Alliance office, "This sign highlights an important cultural difference which is part of daily life. Always say 'bonjour' to shop and restaurant staff, before all else. This relates to key cultural differences covered earlier this year in our popular French-American Cultural Differences presentation, which we'll repeat next spring."   

Beaujolais Nouveau Photos Now Online! 

The story of Portland's premiere French food and wine event is best told through pictures. Thanks to photos from Heather Heaton, Sudha Chandramouli and others, an online gallery is now available for viewing. Click here and select slideshow; set the seconds to 1 for a fast clip - a great way to get a sense of the ambiance of the event. The photos are copyright free and downloadable.    

Sixth Annual French Night at the Blazers  

The Alliance Fran�aise will again partner with the Blazers for the 6th Annual French Night at the Moda Center, oBatum2011n Wednesday, February 19 at 7pm. This is a unique opportunity for Portland's French-American community to come together to cheer the Blazers' Nicolas Batum as the team takes on the Western Conference Champions, the San Antonio Spurs. For this group event, the Blazers are often able to arrange for Batum (and sometimes Tony Parker as well) to meet up after the game for Q&A. Make sure to buy your tickets with the special group code (click here for the details) in order to qualify for the post-game event.

Hightlights of the Canals & Rivers of France

On Friday, January 17 at 6:15pm, the Alliance will host a presentation by Neil and Joan Malling on the highlights of the canals and rivers of France. Over the centuries many cities and towns developed along the country's waterways; traveling by boat is a unique way of exploring the sights. The Mallings have skippered their own boat through France's inland waterways since 2002. They will share their experience and discuss the various options for cruising the waterways. This presentation contains new and updated information which is sure to be of interest to all. Cost is $5 for Alliance members; $10 for non-members. Click here to register.

Member Postings, Jobs/Interns and Specials!  

   Year-End Specials of All Kinds: Each December we are pleased to bring our readers a Frenpoins2ch-themed collection of specials or promotions. Click here for the summary of these money-saving offers and gift ideas, and remember that some of the promotions are time-sensitive!

   French Intern Opportunity: French interns must spend time abroad as part of their degree programs. The interns in Sciences Po programs are often the most sought after. Twenty-one-year-old Jean Taddei is one such student who is seeking a Feb.-May 2014 internship in Portland. In contrast to the case for most applicants, lodging is already coordinated because Jean has family in the area (a great-aunt). Now he just needs an internship that touches on any of these fields: international relations, diplomacy, governance, French and/or international law, or political science. His English is excellent; click here for his CV in French and here for the English version; contact him directly at [email protected] with questions. Jean is well-traveled and is currently studying in Vancouver, British Columbia. Atlas

   Atlas Immersion Seeks Toddler Assistant: Atlas Immersion Academy is seeking to fill an immediate job opening for an Assistant for their toddler program. For complete details, click here
  St. Honor Expands to SE Division: Last week St Honor opened its latest bakery-caf� on the east side (3333 SE Division Street), where it features cider and Alsace-inspired dishes. New at this location is also an Apro Happy Hour menu. Don't forget to show your Alliance membership card for 10% off!   

     

Dates to Remember
Dec. 21: End of Holiday Term
Dec. 23: FETES DE NOEL at Crystal Hotel
Jan. 6: Start of Winter Term
Jan. 10: French Masters Public Speaking
Jan. 17: France's Rivers and Canals - The Highlights
Feb. 19: French Night at the Blazers
Quick Web Links

 

Now enrolling for the Winter Term (Jan.-March). Visit www.afportland.org 

or call 503.223.8388. 

  

Conversation

Groups

Hosted by Alliance staff or board members. Drop-ins welcome; membership is encouraged but not required.

NW Portland

St Honor on NW Thurman on Wed., Dec. 18 at 6:00 p.m.

SE Portland

At Chez Machin, Mon., Jan. 13 at 7:00p.m. at Vie de Bohme weekly on Sundays, 4-5:30 p.m.

Vancouver

Lapellah Restaurant in Vancouver, Tues., Jan. 7 at 5:30 p.m.

 

 

In-Kind Sponsors

 Perrier

 

 

 

PClogo

 

The Latest News of Visitors, Volunteers, Ice     
and More!      
 

French Business Networking Event: Close to 25 people attended the FACC French business networking event held on Dec. 10 at the Alliance. Special guests included Katherine Johnstone, the NY-based media manager for Atout France (the French Tourism Development Agency) and Jack Cowan, the Seattle-based head of the FACC PNW (Cowan is also Honorary Consul of France for Washington State).  

   Record December Holiday Term: Despite occasionally icy conditions, the Alliance welcomed a record number of students to classes and private lessons during the December intersession.  Pedagogy Manager Linda Fuchs notes, "We have 175 people in the holiday term period of just over two weeks. The students got to see first-hand the hard work of the city engineers as they struggled to keep SW 20th free of ice." Vocab many learned this week: "des plaques de verglas"! Many also found the new parking lot option to be very practical!       

   Visitor from the Consulate of France: Recently the Alliance hosted a visit from St�phane R�, Attach� Culturel from the Cultural Service of the Consulate in France in San Francisco. R� is shown here at left with Alliance director, Linda Witt.

   New Board Officer: Last month Pascale Theurier Beard was elected to the position of Vice-President. Pascale joins three other officers on the nine-member board (left to right: Sherry Charles, Pascale Beard, Bev Voytko and Judy Kafoury). For the complete list, click here and scroll down to Board Officers and Members.  

   Raffle Winner: The FAIS Annual Holiday Market, of which the Alliance was a sponsor, drew close to 1200 visitors on December 7. Many people signed up at the Alliance booth for the raffle of a free class. The winner of that raffle is Rose Mary Payne. Bravo!  

 New Face Around the Kamm House: For the past several weeks, a young volunteer from Switzerland, Thodora, has been helping with computer projects and events. Thodora (shown here at left) will head home to Lausanne for the holidays but will return to continue her volunteer work (and studies) here in Portland through May.     

   Merci for the Annual Fund Support: Merci to the readers who responded to the recent article on year-end giving to support the nonprofit mission. The Alliance is now just $1000 shy of the fund goal. If you would like to help close the gap with a tax-deductible donation, call 503.223.8388 or donate online.  

  Holiday Closures: The Alliance office will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and Saturday, Dec. 28. (Private lessons may be held on days when the office is closed, if arranged with teachers.)
  In the quirky give-away of the Prvert book (a 1951 copy of Paroles), we had an amazing number of touching and creative replies. (For info on the original contest click here and go to the top of the fifth article). We learned that Pr�vert was a family friend and neighbor (in Antibes) of member Jean-Claude Paris. The winner of the book is Jane Murray who submitted this delightful justification: Bonjour, je dois �tre la bienheureuse destinataire de "Paroles" car: 1) J'ai le meme �ge que cette copie 2) J'aime beaucoup les livres qui ont "v�cu" 3) J'ai fait cadeau de ma copie de "Paroles" � une amie fran�aise 4) J'ai appris par coeur "Chanson des escargots qui vont � l'enterrement" 5) J'ai �crit une fois un po�me "� la Pr�vert" Merci!  -- Bravo, Jane, vous avez gagn le livre!  
 

  

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