Today I'd like to share my French connection with you...
I learned the French language at an early age because I attended a French elementary school in Tehran. Even though I changed schools after the sixth grade, I retained a life-long love of speaking French. I continued learning French, by having private lessons and attending classes offered by the French Institute in Tehran.
I was thirty when I moved to America. To preserve my French language skills I started exchanging letters with my aunt who lived in Denmark. She would write her letters in French and I would reply in Armenian. Later we corresponded via email, until her death in 2009 at the age of 97. She would write emails in French and I would respond in English. After her death, I no longer had the opportunity to communicate with someone in French.
A few months ago, I found an online social networking site called Meetup, where users can find groups with common interests. I checked for a French-speaking group and I found a few in Pasadena, close to my hometown of Glendale. Last night, I was able to join the group for the first time. Its founder, Caroline Busse, is a French woman who facilitates French conversation over a French movie. Last night we watched "The Conquest," a movie that tells how Nicolas Sarkozy came to power and won the Presidency of the French Republic. I liked the movie a lot.
Watching a French movie followed by a conversation in French over a cup of coffee at LA's favorite bookstore, Vroman's in Pasadena, is like being in heaven. Could I have asked for more? I don't think so.
Our next movie is "Tomboy" on December 1st. The following post is a story I penned about the incident that made me leave my French elementary school.
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