Cultural Event - French Film

High Tension

            On Wednesday, October 30, I attended a French film titled High Tension. It’s a French horror film about these two female students who go to a country home and are attacked by a crazed killer. The one girl gets kidnapped, so it’s up to the other girl to save her. It was an ok film. I’m not too much on gory horror movies, and this was definitely one. The twist at the end was really good, and I didn’t see it coming. The heroine in the film was cool, and her character development throughout the film changed dramatically. If I was to rewatch it, I’d try watching it in English because French with English subtitles was too much. Regardless, I’m glad I went because I still had a fun time, and even though I’m finished with my cultural events, I’m still going to try and make an effort to watch more foreign films.

Cultural Event - Third French Conversation Table

            On Wednesday, October 20, I attended a third French conversation table at the Blue Moon Café. This was a very big conversation table, and there was hardly enough room for all of us there, so I got a smaller table for myself and three other students. Most of us at this small table were only 101 classmates, but there was one student at our table who was taking a French Phonetics class. He wasn’t completely fluent, but he could speak more than us. We didn’t talk much, but when we did, it was in English, so there wasn’t much foreign culture involved. We did, however, learn a little about each other, talking about school, work, and what are plans for the weekend were. For what it was, I had fun, plus I got to eat, which is always a plus.

Cultural Event - Second French Conversation Table

            On Monday, October 21, I attended another French conversation table. We met at Mellow Moods for a late lunch and a riveting conversation. There were five of us and a teacher, and we just sat around and shot the shit. We didn’t speak much in French, but we did discuss how important it is to study foreign languages. There was one man there (husband of another student) who told me that he has spent the majority of his life in foreign countries. He talked about the importance of visiting these different places, and how we just need to get out there and explore the world. I agreed with him completely, and I plan to travel a lot more once I have a full-time job that can pay for travelling expenses. Other than speaking to this man, I didn’t really learn more than I already knew. I’m just glad I went and was able to talk to this learned gentleman.

Cultural Event - French Film

            On Wednesday, September 25, I attended a viewing of La Vie En Rose, starring Marion Cotillard. It is a French film about the life of French singer Edith Piaf. Cotillard actually won the Oscar for best actress in 2008 for her role as Piaf. The film is fun, sad, disturbing, and brilliant all at the same time.

            The whole movie was played in French with English subtitles, so it was difficult to keep up with for the most part. Fortunately, I enjoy watching foreign films, so I had no issues with the new language. In fact, I enjoy the French language. I like listening to what they say, and not look down at the subtitles all the time. That way, I can pick a few words at a time and go “Oh! I know what she just said!” It’s seriously a good feeling.

            I had never heard of Piaf before, but I have heard her music before. I like to watch films about people I’m not familiar with, but is familiar with many others. It’s like I’m hearing a secret and now I’m part of the club. I guess that’s the way with any film, but once I know about the person, I don’t get confused when I have to write a paper on the person, or something like that.

La Vie En Rose

            By the end of the film, I was very impressed by the whole thing: the story, the character, the actors, and just about everything else. It really made me think about French culture in the early 1900’s and how bad this woman had it as she was growing up. Poor woman died before she was 50 from liver cancer, but she looked like she had been deteriorating from some sort of skin disease since she was in her 30’s. I just felt sorry for the character.

            After viewing La Vie En Rose, it really got me thinking that I should see more French films. I will definitely have to watch more whenever the campus holds another one.

Cultural Event - French Conversation Table

            On Wednesday, September 25, I attended a French conversation table at the Blue Moon restaurant in Shepherdstown, WV. I heard about in my French 101 class, and I found it interesting because I enjoy the language and I want to learn more of it.

            Ever since I visited Quebec last year, I’ve always been intrigued by the French language. I took 3 years of Spanish in high school, but I really didn’t enjoy it. Since then, I wasn’t really into learning a new language. I decided to take a French class because I needed one more elective, and French was the only class I was remotely interested in that didn’t block any other courses.

            Since the semester started, I have enjoyed the class immensely. The teacher knows what she’s teaching, and she has fun doing it. You can really tell that she has a passion for the language, and she really wants us to immerse us in the culture. That’s why she hosts these conversation tables.

            On Wednesday, I met a lot of the students and Dr. Jarman at a table in the back. She arranged the tables so that I would sit next to her (because I’m her favorite student), and she just started talking. I caught a lot of words that she said and was able to figure out most of what she was saying. Other times she would have to translate into English for me and a few other students who were listening. I learned about how the French have very, very long meals, often ending with 7 different courses. And they have a different wine for every course. I find it very interesting.

            We all spoke in French for the first half hour, but after that, we ended up speaking in English. We were discussing how American culture is influencing the rest of the world, which isn’t necessarily a good thing, so I asked Dr. Jarman for her opinion on whether or not foreign culture influences the US. She said not at all, unfortunately, and went off on a tangent that lasted almost 20 minutes. It was pretty much a lecture and a half.

            In all, I had a very fun experience, and I learned so much that I wouldn’t have been able to in a regular class. I met a lot of new people and made some new friends. It’s definitely something I will do again very soon.