Bonjour d'Angers!
The 36th year of Notre Dame's study abroad program in Angers France (SUNDEF, or "Stage Université Notre Dame en France") has been launched successfully. Here are a few notes on this year's innovations:
- I am delighted to announce that three students have chosen to take regular courses at the Université Catholique de l'Ouest this year, along with the French students. To do so, they have voluntarily sacrificed some vacation time, and will undoubtedly have quite a challenging course of study, but we are all excited about the opportunities this will bring for greater integration into French life.
- Students have showed initiative in setting up liaisons with the Bibliothèque Américaine d'Angers. (The library is a treasure-trove of American books and videos, all in an entirely Francophone environment.) After the October rentrée, students will volunteer there to work in the stacks, man the help desk, read to children, and participate in a newly founded conversation circle with French students.
- In Spring semester 2002, the SUNDEF group will take an excursion to the Parlement Européen in Brussels, Belgium. This visit will dovetail with Prof. Xavier Jardin's course on the Union Européenne. In Brussels we will be hosted by two of my close friends, who are professional staff interpreters there (they do spontaneous translations of Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and
Danish into English). They will demonstrate their work skills, explain to the students what it is like work as an interpreter, and introduce the group to other interpreters. They will also set up opportunities for the students to sit in on key meetings of Parlement subcommittees on key topics such as financial, agricultural, and cultural policy.
- Also in Spring 2002, Richard Viglione and I will offer a new course on "Littérature et cuisine" with visits to local vinters, farmers, and artisans, as well as guest lectures by experts such as sociologist Priscilla Ferguson (Columbia Univ), author of many articles on 19th-c French gastronomical history, and Françoise Buisson,a Breton ethnologue and author of numerous Breton cookbooks.
- We have inaugurated a new tradition this year, called "Dîner en ville." Each month, Richard and I invite all students whose birthdays fall that month to a fine dinner in a local restaurant. We kicked off this event Wednesday evening (Sept 26), with 8 students at "La Taverne Alsacienne." The dinner doubled as a linguistic lesson, as students deciphered the names of Alsatian dishes and learned how to order from a menu. A good time was had by all.
I hope this gives you a good sense of the excitement on the ground here in Notre Dame--FranceCordialement,
Julia Douthwaite
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