Want!

This umbrella is divine:

 

Exciting Updates

Bonjour, fellow Francophiles! I have a few things to share and some upcoming events to introduce to you all:

The Romance Language Club Potluck was fantastic- we teamed up La Casa Spanish Club and the Brazilian Cultural Association for an evening of food, music, and cultural exchange!

Some of the delicious food provided by our eBoard:

Happy potluck attendees:

And last Friday we had a fantastic French Club Bar crawl... I could only attend the dinner part (Peanut Barrel, yum) due to being sadly underage, but I heard it was a smash success and a fun (and drunken) time was had by all!

Woooo!

Next up on the agenda: "What Can You Do with a Foreign Language Major?" Career Workshop with Linda Gross on Wednesday, April 11. Be sure to attend this if you have ever gotten a snarky question like this from your lame Business or Pre-Med friends. Next time they give you attitude about your liberal arts education be prepared to respond with wit, class, and an iota of self-righteousness.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST.... The long-awaited CHICAGO TRIP!!!! It is quickly approaching, my friends. I know I can't wait. In case you've forgotten, April 14-15 we will be heading to the Windy City for art, culture, food, and shopping! 

   

Un croissant s'il vous plait !

Moulin Rouge - The Ballet

Coming up at the Wharton Center: Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet presents Moulin Rouge - The Ballet! This is sure to be an absolutely gorgeous and exciting performance, especially for Francophiles like us. Here's a quick description of the ballet from The Vancouver Sun:


"Versatility, technical excellence, and a captivating style are trademarks of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, one of the world’s premier dance companies and the oldest continuously running ballet company in North America. Since its premiere, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet has wowed audiences and critics alike.

Moulin Rouge® - The Ballet has been seen by close to 60,000 people across North America and features a rousing French soundtrack, high-kicking choreography by Jorden Morris, and a passionate story of love, ambition and heartbreak. Drawn to Paris by the city’s passion, a flame fueled by the hearts of lovers and the souls of poets, Matthew and Nathalie tempt fate as they seek love and destiny at the infamous Moulin Rouge® cabaret.

The company has never looked more resplendent, more assured or more ravishing...a triumph…a jewel box of sumptuous dancing...at every moment the energy and youth radiating from the stage is palpable.”

Sounds AMAZING, right? Don't miss out! Tickets are only $15 for students. 

Re-Cap

The French Club has been extra busy the last few weeks - here's a quick update on our past and future events!!

On Saturday, Feb. 25th we collaborated with the Community Language School and the Association of Vietnamese Students and Scholars in organizing and hosting a French for Kids event called "Travel around the Francophone World." Thanks to our lovely junior officer, Emily, to event was a smash success: 19 kids aged 4-13 participated in the activities and games centered around each area of the French-speaking world.

This past Wednesday, Feb. 29th, the club e-Board got together with CAL Career Field Consultant Courtney Chapin for a resume workshop. Many thanks to Courtney for helping us all figure out our future plans and organize a killer resume/interview skills!

COMING UP:

French Club e-Board Elections for 2012-2013!! Super important. If you have any interest in joining the e-Board next year, we have plenty of junior officer positions available! We'd love to have some new faces on board! The elections will take place at our weekly e-Board meeting on Wednesday, March 14th at 5:30 pm. Email our prez Ryan at waldronr@msu.edu if you are interested in running for a position.

Last but certainly not least: FRENCH CLUB BAR CRAWL! For all of you over 21, this will obviously be a fantastic event. And for those not quite of legal drinking age (myself included), the crawl will begin with dinner at Peanut Barrel. T-shirts are going to be made and sure to be great. They will probably be around $15. Check out the fbook event page to get more information and RSVP/reserve your t-shirt.



Here's the tentative plan:

4:00 Peanut Barrel (dinner)
5:45 The Riv
6:45 Harpers
7:45 PT's
8:45 Rick's

And don't forget: French club t-shirt money is technically due TODAY, so if you want a shirt and haven't paid, get in contact with someone on the e-Board ASAP!!!

Oh, and happy Spring Break everyone. :) Enjoy your week off!

Midnight In Paris

In honor of this evening's Academy Awards, I wanted to dedicate a quick post to one of my favorite films and current Best Picture nominee: Woody Allen's cinematic ode to the city of love, Midnight in Paris. If you've seen it, you know why it deserves to win tonight. If you haven't, STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING and find a website that streams it illegally. It is worth the risk of getting caught by the FBI and fined millions of dollars, I promise.

Let's talk plot: Owen Wilson (mon amour) plays Gil Pender, who travels to Paris with his delightfully bitchy fiancee, Inez, played to obnoxious perfection by Rachel McAdams. Gil gets drunk one night and, while wandering the streets of Paris, discovers a portal into 1920's ex-pat paradise: the Paris of Hemingway, the Fitzgeralds, and Gertrude Stein (to name a few). Hemingway is spot-on, Zelda Fitgerald is perfect as a flighty but beautiful lush, and Adrian Brody makes a hilarious Dali. Marion Cotillard is almost too gorgeous to be true as Adriana, Gil's love interest from the past. I won't spoil the ending, but it is a glorious homage to Paris, nostalgia, love, and art, supplemented by Woody Allen's very special brand of wit. (And if the plot leaves you cold, you should still watch if only for the opening sequences of Paris... the stuff dreams are made of)

The film has scored more than one Oscar nom: it's up for Best Direction, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Art Direction (and recently won the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay). 

I know I'll be watching tonight and hoping for a W for Woody and Co!

Quel beau dimanche!

A lovely song courtesy of the even lovelier Brigitte Bardot. Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon, an Academy Awards pre-game, or a study sesh at the lib or your local coffee shop! (I'm currently at Espresso Royale with a hazelnut latte and The Norton Anthology of English Literature... I hope wherever you are is just as enjoyable!)