14.38 - The Importance of Becoming Fluent in French: life, language and love
In this FREE edition of le Bulletin newsletter you'll learn from seven women who've created their own "French Life" + then we go to le Mans, (the one beyond the car-race) + photography, gelato & more
Bonjour friends… I’m thrilled that you’re here again this week.
Today I’m introducing 7 women to you. These women have all moved to France and created enviable French lives. What a diverse bunch. First, we focus on the importance of the French language then we move on to explore the types of lives created. We can all learn lessons from their approach and how they face the challenges. It’s also a reminder that we can follow in their footsteps.
If you enjoy this edition, please note that there is another entirely different version of le bulletin for paying subscribers → ‘14.38.a Paris is not France - France is not Paris’- Look for it in your inbox where you can access a preview or upgrade to enjoy it in full.
1. The Importance of Becoming Fluent in French: life, language and love
Today I’m exploring the power of speaking French and creating your own French life…
Way back, when I started learning French at the Alliance Française, I remember the numerous conversations I had with other mature students. Our objective was to become fluent! We were all Francophiles, we’d started learning French, and we all had a deep interest in France. I took four-hour classes each Saturday morning, then evening classes during ‘school holidays’… I felt I was making good progress.
The conversations were funny.
Not at the time … only when I look back on them were they funny. We were simplistically mathematically endeavouring to calculate the number of levels we needed to master to become fluent.
Why was this funny?
Well… if anyone had told us then that this would be a lifetime pursuit, we may have quit there and then??!! I wonder?
We figured that once we’d mastered the Beginner, Intermediate, and then the Advanced levels we’d pretty much be there! At that level, yes, our French was pretty good really when talking to each other and other students, and we were having fun, but we were far from fluent.
But I’m getting a bit side tracked… let’s get back to the point.(On s’égare, revenons à nos moutons.)
It was not until I reached Upper Intermediate or Advanced level that I realised that being able to speak French could be a gateway for me… a gateway to a new and different life. I became so much more curious not only about the French language, but French life, French history, French culture… how people go about moving to France et al !
so… enough about me, now let’s look at how others have created ‘their’ FRENCH life.
First, let’s focus on the importance of the French language:
Are you ready? I’m taking you to eavesdrop on a conversation between two lovely women working on assimilation. Then we’ll move on to meet other women.
The importance of the French language - copyright French Countryside Companion and Karen Bussen
Here Karen Bussen shares how she mastered the French language. She is writing about the topic of the French language and her approach… with good advice for others.
I often get asked if I’m fluent in French. According to the French government I’m a B1 which means I’m an independent user of French, and two levels from fluent. If you ask my French friends, they will tell you that I’m fluent because I’m able to convey my thoughts, ideas and respond appropriately. Regardless as to what the government or my friends say, I understand that language learning is not a one and done. It is a lifelong process and is simply a means of communication. Hell, I’m still learning new words in English…” wrote Latrice read entire article - all about her assimilation efforts
In a future ‘le Bulletin’ edition I’ll focus more on learning French… watch out for that. But today my focus is→ how others are creating their own French life (including mastering the language).
How others have become fluent in French living?
Some people always remain expats while others focus on immersion and creating their own French life.
You may or may not know some of these people. Below are a few examples of those who have created their own French Life that I’d like to share with you.
Do you have others that you can share with me?
Who do you look up to for having created their own “French Life”
Some’ve lived in France for years, even decades, then those who’ve created quite a life and profile for themselves in a short time.
a) Emily Monaco ← Emily in France - Aka ‘That Cheese Girl!’
Emily Monaco created her “French Life”… as a cheese expert: telling the stories and teaching about Fromage, online and radio and with face-to-face tours in Paris
A journalist and culinary tour guide based in Paris for over 15 years, I write about cheese (and other food, too) for publications including the BBC, Atlas Obscura, and the Infatuation. (You can find my writing porfolio here.)
I am also the host of the podcast, Navigating the French, where each week I examine a French word with an expert to try to see what it tells us about French culture. Thus far, I've explored words like bonjour, laïcité, non, and francophonie with experts including authors Julie Barlow and Lindsey Tramuta, journalist Sylvia Sabes, and academic Dr. Gemma King! “ writes Emily.
b) Rebecca Jones, husband Tim & family - ‘Between’ ← on Substack - Chateau de la Ruche opened its doors
Rebecca and Tim Jones created their French life by rescuing a crumbling petit château hidden in the woods in a quiet corner of France. They renovated over the years as they told their story on social media & TV and now their “French life” is flourishing.
Rebecca and Tim Jones — Chateau de la Ruche
Rebecca shares her story:
In 2017, my husband Tim and I, packed up our two boys, two cats and everything else we owned, sold our house in England and moved to France. I say that this is a love story of sorts; not a love-at-first-sight-story, but a slow building romance. We were captured somehow by this petit château of ours, bewitched by her special type of magic, drawn to this house in the woods, encouraged to give up everything we knew, to see where she would lead us.”
The house is hidden away in its own woodland, down a long winding, tree-lined drive, surrounded by wild flower meadows, in the quiet Sarthe countryside near Le Mans, two hours south west of Paris. The château doesn’t have turrets or a moat, it looks more like a big country manor, but it is still a château. A château isn’t, as many people think, a specific kind of building. A château gains its status from the people who lived in it, a lord, a count or a baron, someone of some noblesse once walked the halls that we now walk.”
We though, come from much humbler beginnings. I am a country girl who became a journalist, working in women’s magazines. Tim is a city boy who did something unfathomable with computers. We felt there should be more to life, something outside of sitting at a desk from 9am to 5pm each day. We had no idea what that might be until we found this house.”
We welcome every guest at Château de la Ruche as a friend. After all the château is our family home. We live here with our two sons Rufus and Laurie, our dog Monty and our five cats. In 2017 we sold almost everything we owned in the UK, packed up what was left and moved to France to restore our petit château. We have carried out most of the renovation work ourselves, with much-appreciated help from family and friends. We opened the chambres d’hotes in August 2018 with just one room. Since then we have renovated two more guest rooms and have completely restored an old outbuilding into a spacious self-catering holiday cottage.”
Our journey here at the Château has been followed by Channel Four in the UK for a series called Château DIY. Filming the show has been another huge adventure. It was great fun and we’re so excited that Channel Four felt that our little renovation project was worth all the effort that goes in to making these programmes. We feel so fortunate to have this record of our time here and of the progress we have made in rescuing this beautiful house. You can catch up with all of our episodes on 4OD by searching Château DIY.
Kate has created her “French Life”… a haven by the canal in Gascony, in south France where she always has the oven stoked and the garden laden for the continuous stream of creative guests attending retreats and residencies. Kate’s lived in France for more than 30 years… she continues to create and innovate.
Kate Hill at home - Camont in Gascony
The Camont Journals mark my time living at my 300-year-old French farmhouse. I write to capture the days and seasons in the house, kitchen, garden, and markets I haunt. Here are my stories of a quieter life, authentic food, fertile gardens, generous farmers, and wonderful neighbors that have formed my delicious life in Gascony; these are the stories behind the recipes I love to cook.
Kate at 70+
The first half of my life was formed as a restless international adventurer, working as a baker, a restauranteur, a yacht chef, an art dealer, a puppeteer, and a barge captain while traveling across the USA, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. In my mid-thirties, I slowed down to take a long, deep dive into the food and culture of Southwest France. I began to write in 1995 for the media and in my published books—A Culinary Journey in Gascony, Cassoulet: a French Obsession, and A Gascon Year- Jan-Dec.
In 2021, after a decision to stop teaching cooking and charcuterie in person, I created a new way to share my experiences writing here on Substack in The Camont Journals and by hosting writers’ residencies year-round at the newly branded Relais de Camont. This transformation to embrace full-time writing and encourage other writers and artists by offering “a quiet place to work” allows me to continue a slow, sustainable adventure of understanding how to live the good life in rural France.
And now let’s look at Karen creating her “FrenchLife”… an entrepreneur, who has lived in France for two years, already she’s achieved so much around mastering the French language, sitting French wine exams, making a home in France, and starting to explore new business opportunities.
Karen Bussen
Karen is proud to hold both qualifications: WSET level 3 in Wines & Spirits, the French Wine Scholar (FWS) (honors), as well as the DALF C1 diplôme en langue française. She is working hard on her current project of creating her “French Life”. She wrote this week about when her French life is wonderful but is sometimes a challenge.
Karen describes herself as:
“I’m a designer, an entertaining expert, a serial entrepreneur, a former digital startup founder, and a seven-time author. I’m proud to call myself a self-made woman, and proud of my scrappy years, times when I had to take risks that often (but not always) paid off in the ways I’d hoped.”
But watch this space, as Karen will have news of new ventures sure … I’m sure!
Sonja has created her “French Life” as an artist and map maker based in Paris. Her maps are about:
Stories about Paris
Maps of places
Creativity ideas, embroidery, and art projects
Hand drawn recipes
Book recommendations and book covers
Apartment garden reports
My favourite (new and old) places in Paris, exhibitions, and general musings
Travelogue
Digital art experiments and processes
My book ideas - old and new
Cheese Diary (of course!)
Sonja, is a mapmaker, designer, and illustrator always creating something.
Sonja Bajic - https://sonjabajic.substack.com
I was born in a country that no longer exists, and this has had a profound impact on me and my identity. That's why I started drawing maps and developed a love for learning languages, as it allows me to better understand people and the world around me. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don’t.” writes Sonja.
So many fascinating people have successfully created their own “French Life”. What a diverse range these women are, from map making to fromage to wine and hospitality, to running a superb accommodation venue in a chateau to hosting retreats and residencies… and you know that this is only the tip of the iceberg.
What interesting lives these 5 women have created in France. Aren’t they fabulous?
I’d love to hear of more examples… who are some people you look up to - those who’ve created a wonderful “French Life”
1.→ My Favorite French Photographer: Capturing Old Paris — Part Two — Eugène Atget by Jennifer Bragg ←
While researching Atget, I learned that he was buried in Bagneux when he died in 1927. So that’s why I went on a petit adventure to find him.
As soon as I arrived, I went straight to the office that keeps track of all the burials and gravesites, to ask about Atget”
Vie Française:
2.→ Le Mans: More than 24 hours — a rich historical legacy with modern development. by Mike Werner←
Overall, Le Mans is a city that beautifully balances its rich historical legacy with modern development, offering a diverse array of cultural, educational, and recreational opportunities.”
Gastronomie:
3.→ Is gelato just ice cream?… the history and more by Anna Muckerman←
I know, I know, you can get gelato in France. You can even get good Gelato in France, but at the end of summer I wanted to share a real gelato story… and for that, the author Anna has gone to Italy! Anna is known for her food videos and this one is no exception. You’ll pick up the Gelato recipe et al, so… c’est parti !
Bursting with news, views and articles, video chats, poetry, introductions to new magazine contributors… and more… follow us and join in @maviefrancaise … See you there soon, I hope.
Jennifer’s popular regular Pilgrimage Report:
The only constant at the moment is the weekly post by Jennifer Andrewes on her solo pilgrimage - Via Francigena - to Rome: 2500km watch out for it…
Here she is after 82 days… having crossed the St Bernard Pass, (the third highest) from Switzerland to Italy, then on to the university town of Pavia… then south, then west toward the coast at Pontremoli, then, onward toward Roma. You can read the details in her weekly guest post on our Instagram account @maviefrancaise
Hi Judy, According to the government simulator I found online, I am also level B1 - really ? I was disappointed, especially after twenty years of uncomfortable moments and throwing myself in the deep end, I was hoping at least for an A ! But, French is not straight forward, there are so many traps to trip up on and worm holes to get lost in, so guess I'm happy to say, je me débrouille ! Bon weekend xx
I loved reading about all of these women and making a new connection to one who wasn't on my radar yet, Sonja. I'm looking forward to discussions about learning French and the importance of it for assimilating into French culture.
I taught French as a young woman in the USA, then switched to teaching English here, which I did for 29 years. I'm out of the education business now but two years ago, just for fun and a personal challenge, started learning European Portuguese from scratch. That was an eye-opener!
Hi Judy, According to the government simulator I found online, I am also level B1 - really ? I was disappointed, especially after twenty years of uncomfortable moments and throwing myself in the deep end, I was hoping at least for an A ! But, French is not straight forward, there are so many traps to trip up on and worm holes to get lost in, so guess I'm happy to say, je me débrouille ! Bon weekend xx
I loved reading about all of these women and making a new connection to one who wasn't on my radar yet, Sonja. I'm looking forward to discussions about learning French and the importance of it for assimilating into French culture.
I taught French as a young woman in the USA, then switched to teaching English here, which I did for 29 years. I'm out of the education business now but two years ago, just for fun and a personal challenge, started learning European Portuguese from scratch. That was an eye-opener!