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Quoi de neuf / Infolettre
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"En garde, Valentine!" Event
On Friday,  February 12, the Alliance is co-presenting a Valentine's-themed event in Beaverton with the Northwest Fencing Center. The event is a whole new twist on "date night" or a family outing, where persons of all ages (6 and above) can participate and connect with the French tradition of fencing, or l'escrime. Participants will enjoy an "introduction to fencing" class (in French or in English) and will learn the basics of attack and defense in a controlled drill format, under the guidance of expert NWFC instructors. Tickets are $10 per person; click here for additional details and here to reserve tickets.
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Games Night (Soirée Jeux)
Come enjoy a unique evening of French conversation and conviviality with games at the historic Kamm House in Goose Hollow. You may be familiar with some of the  games, such as Taboo, Mille Bornes, Cluedo and Cranium, but playing in French puts a whole new spin on old favorites. The games night, facilitated by native-speaking French staff, is set for Friday, February 26, 6:15-8:30 pm. All levels of French are welcome; participants must be 15 or older. Refreshments and pizza will be provided. Cost is $15 for members and $20 for non-members. Click here to sign up.
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Jobs Postings - Slim But Interesting
Job postings continue to be a bit slow in January but these three caught our attention. Valeant P harmaceutical in Seattle is seeking a Medical Device Product Support Rep where fluency in French is highly desirable; click here. Mercy Corps in Portland is seeking Senior Field Leaders where fluency in French or Arabic is required. Click here for details. Costco's headquarters in Issaquah is seeking International Systems Integration Analysts who are multilingual, with French as one of the target languages. Click here.
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Welcome, New Organization Members
Domaine Divio, in the Ribbon Ridge AVA (American Viticultural Area) of the Willamette Valley, is a new Oregonian winery with Burgundian roots. The winery was  founded by Bruno Corneaux, a fourth generation Burgundian winemaker who came to Oregon to craft quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in traditional French style. The beautiful barn-style tasting room is open in Newberg from Friday to Sunday - 10 am to 5 pm - and welcomes Alliance Française members with a two-for-one tasting.
 Welcome also to Mezza French Bistro on SE Woodstock, operated by a Frenchman from Dordogne. Mezzo offers an eclectic French menu with recipes inspired by the Mediterranean using fresh ingredients cooked to order. Alliance members qualify for a 10% discount, valid for a party of up to four persons. The discount does not apply to gratuity, alcohol, or special holiday menus such as Valentine's and New Year's. Members will, however, get a complimentary glass of prosecco with reservations for the special Valentine's holiday menu.
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How Bissextile Figures in French & English
Here's a timely new "word of the day" - bissextile. In English we call the occasional ex tra day in February, leap day, and we say that it happens in a leap year. In French the only term used for this calendar phenomenon is bissextile, which is borrowed from the Latin (in fact, bissextile is also the official term for leap day, in English). An explanation of its origins can be found on Wikipedia, which describes: Une année bissextile est une année comportant 366 jours au lieu de 365 jours pour une année non bissextile. Le jour supplémentaire, le 29 février, est placé après le dernier jour de ce mois qui compte habituellement 28 jours dans le calendrier grégorien.
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Marguerite Film at PIFF, Valentine's Gift and More
French Hospitality Improves: Recent studies published by the French government indicate that the perceived level of hospitality in France has improved among visitors in the past year. This includes a perceived higher value for the money as well as improved reception or welcome services, and better service in providing tourist information. In particular, companies who went to the trouble to qualify for the Qualité Tourisme™ standard had higher satisfaction rates among their customers.  "From France with Love": Give the Gift of French to Your Valentine -Alliance Française gift cards are now available for you to share the gift of language by offering a membership or French lessons. Say "je t'aime" to your loved ones with this special gift. Click here for more info. The Peace for Paris event on January 9 raised close to $2000 that the organizers will be sending to a nonprofit in France that promotes peace. Merci to all the bulletin readers who attended the sold-out event at Vie de Boh ème. Virginian Anderson, CEO of Oregon Translation, is approved by the C0nsulate of France as an official tr  anslater. Oregon Translation now also has a full-time employee qualified to notarize documents written in French (plus several other languages).  Contact Blake Schrein or Virginia Anderson at 503 914.1119 or by email. Marguerite: In the upcoming Portland International Film Festival (PIFF). which will run Feb. 11-27, the Alliance will sponsor the movie Marguerite, a tragic-comic story inspired by real-life events in the 1920s. Click here for a recent review that describes the film as an "amusingly entertaining portrait of fortune, infamy and severe melodic dysfunction." Click here for a trailer. Film ticket vouchers will be available soon for purchase at the Alliance office. Seattle's French Fest at the Seattle Center, to be held on Sunday, March 20, is par t of the city's prestigious FESTAL cultural programming series. The event's 4th annual edition will draw over 5,000 visitors. Exhibitors, visitors, performers and more from the Portland area are welcome to participate. Click here for a brochure that contains the event description, exhibitors' rates and more. The event includes a "best baguette" contest, bilingual career expo, live music (groups from Seattle, Portland and Canada) and more. Questions? Contact Linda Witt.  Bar-Tabac-Brasserie for Sale: New Alliance member, Sophie, and her husband are selling their Bar-Tabac-Brassserie which is located around 30 miles from Bordeaux in a small town with a population of 2000. Click here for the online sales listing and call Sophie here in Portland at 503 853.4707 for more information.
This infolettre is copyrighted by the Alliance Française of Portland.
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