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Quoi de neuf · Communiqué
Bonnes fêtes de fin d'année
Tous nos meilleurs voeux pour une bonne et heureuse année 2014, from all of us at the Alliance Française.  This has been an eventful year for "all things French" in Portland. Thanks to our region's very engaged and active Francophile public, Oregon's Alliance Française remains the 8th largest in the United States with close to 2,000 student enrollments, 6,000 bulletin readers, and attendance of 10,000 to cultural events. Merci to all for an exceptional year and bonnes fêtes de fin d'année.
Portland Hosts New French Film Festival   

UniFrance and SpectiCast are expanding their French film festival (now in its 4th year) to big screens worldwide. At the Clinton Street Theater in SE Portland, January 10-12, the festival will feature six specially selected films from some of the world's leading directors and stars. Each evening of the three-day festival will include one comedy and one drama. Ticket prices are just $5 per film or $8 for a double-header. Visit the theater's website to check out the descriptions and the trailers for the films, opening with the Belgian film Mobile Home and the Canadian film, Avant que mon coeur bascule. All will be subtitled in English. 

American Celebrities Who Speak French?   
The movie, J'enrage de son absence, is one of the French-language films in the Clinton Street Theater's festival (see the above article). The film stars William Hurt, who speaks French fluently. This led us to  research other American celebrities who speak French. We came up with 100, including Johnny Depp, Bradley Cooper and Angelina Jolie (click here for an online list). Note that Alec Baldwin does a nice job with intonation (and enthusiasm!) in a hilarious send-up of a French teacher in a Saturday Night Live skit (click here for the skit on the Youku site). Students: Do NOT follow the "teacher's" faulty advice of asking for the "salle de bain" when seeking the toilet. Confused? Come take a class with us!   
Seeking "Ambassadeurs de la francophonie"   

Centre de la francophonie des Amériques is seeking candidates for their "4e édition du Forum des jeunes ambassadeurs de la francophonie des Amériques" to be held in June in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Only 50 participants will be selected. Candidates must be 18-35 years of age and fluent in French. Objectives of the conference are:  1. Outiller les jeunes pour devenir des citoyens engagés dans leur milieu, 2. Sensibiliser aux enjeux de la francophonie des Amériques, 3. Rencontrer, échanger sur les expériences et tisser des liens durables, 4. Développer le leadership. For more information, visit their website. Note that applications are due by January 31.

Openings in Winter Term Classes    

The Alliance's Winter term, beginning the week of January 6, offers 43 classes at all levels, for adults, as well as 7 classes for children. There are still openings in most of the classes, where average class sizes are generally 6 or 7 persons. The adult classes are held in the daytime, evenings and weekends - check the website listings and call 503.223.8388 if you need assistance in determining the right class for you. The Alliance also offers Saturday morning and weekday afternoon classes for children by age group and level: beginners age 5-6 and 7-10, intermediate age 7-11, and advanced/"Keep Up Your French" for ages 11-14. Visit the website for those offerings as well as the popular Parent-Child class for even younger students.  
Dates to Remember
Jan. 6: Start of Winter Term
Jan. 10: French Masters
Jan. 17: Highlights of the Rivers and Canals of France
Jan. 24: EUROSEATTLE Weekend
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 Honoré on NW Thurman on Wed., Jan. 15 at 6:00 p.m.

SE Portland

At Chez Machin, Mon., Jan. 13 at 7:00p.m. at Vie de Bohème 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

 
Member Announcements, Paris Apartment Exchange    
and More!      
 

   New Year's Eve Dinner at Le Bouchon: French chef/owner Claude Musquin of Le Bouchon on NW 14th in the Pearl, will offer a 4-course prix fixe New Le Bouchon Year's Eve Dinner for just $55 per person on Tuesday. Click here for the menu and call Le Bouchon at 503.248.2193 to reserve.   

   Paris/Portland Apartment/Home Exchange: Former Alliance students Christopher Perez and his wife have moved to Paris and now live in a 600 square feet apartment in the 15ème, located between métro stops Boucicaut (#8) and Convention (#12), with easy connections to the entire city. They are seeking an apartment or home exchange for 3 weeks in April so they can come finish some tasks in Portland before heading back to France. Optionally they'd also consider renting out the Paris apartment (shown here) during that period. Click here for complete details, including photos and contact info.

   Seeking Host Family for French Teen: Alliance member Marion Dresner is seeking a local family to host a French teen for 3 weeks this coming summer. Her friends from Marseille would like to send their son Lucas to the Portland area July 21-August 8 to improve his English. Marion is already hosting two other French teens during that time so she is seeking, on her friends' behalf, a host family for Lucas. Lucas' family, in turn, can offer a reciprocal arrangement, where the American host family's teen can come to France and spend time in Marseille with Lucas' family. Lucas loves mountain biking and other sports. Contact Marion at marion@onlinenw.com or call 503.625.3062.

   Photos from the December Open House are now online; click here and run the slideshow. Merci to documentary photographer Heather Heaton.
   Free Tickets to the Film Festival Jan. 10-12: The Alliance has 10 free tickets to give out for the film festival listed in article #2 above. The tickets will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis to current Alliance members. Email info@afportland.org and put "Clinton Street Film Festival" in the subject line. We will notify you by email if you've won. Not yet a member? Purchase a tax-deductible $36 annual membership online.
  Events Reminders: Seats are available for the French Masters session on January 10; click here for more info on this opportunity to practice public speaking in French; open to members and non-members. About half the seats for the January 17 presentation, "Highlights of the Rivers and Canals of France," have been reserved; click here for more info and to reserve. Reservations are also in progress for the February 19 French Night at the Blazers. For these and other upcoming events, visit the Events page.
  Most Popular in the Previous Bulletin: The previous bulletin's most popular article was the one on courtesy in France. Click here and see the second article, entitled "Cultural Lesson: Les formules de politesse." Next in popularity was the listing of French Holiday Specials which are valid through year-end.
   Convo Group Schedule Change: The Saint Honoré NW Thurman Conversation group will NOT meet on New Year's Day, Jan. 1, 2014. That group's next meeting will be on Wednesday, January 15. For all groups, visit the Conversation Group page. 

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