THE GLOBAL FRENCH STUDIES PROGRAM PRESENTS
The French Newsletter
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
V O L U M E
►French Students 2
Overseas
►An Unforgettable Experience by
Rachael Kabagabu
2 3 ,
F A L L
2 0 1 4
►French Students 3
Awarded Fulbrights
►French Students 4
at CUR
►Pi Delta Phi
Initiation
►French Outside
the Classroom
►French Film
Festival
►The Sweetest of
Summers in
Arles, France by
Hannah Jacobsma
5
▲ Lize on the far left with the SIT students on a visit to the port
►French Students 6
Awarded Across
Disciplines
►Catch Up with
Hope’s Global
French Studies
Professors
►Learning a Lot
7
In and Outside
the Classroom by
Hannah Gingrich
►Wine, Cheese
and Life in Paris
by Mary Elizabeth
Winther
►French Students
Attend Pre-Med
Program in Nice
►From the Editor’s Desk
8
French and More in Madagascar
By Lize Loubser ‘15.
Majors: Biology/French
Minor: Chemistry
It was a sunny afternoon in January when I got my first glimpse of
Madagascar from the aeroplane
window. Seeing the picturesque
rolling hills covered in bright
green rice paddies and winding
red soil paths, I couldn’t help but
smile. Now, 2 months later, I’m
still in Madagascar, and I’m still
smiling. Studying abroad has been
a truly incredible experience.
The SIT program I am here with
is based in the capital Antananarivo, but as part of the program
we have already travelled to
Mahajanga on the West coast,
Tamatave on the East coast,
Betafo in the highlands, and nu-
merous places in between. In
three of the locations (the ones
in which we stayed at least one
week) we stayed with host fami-
A major highlight of my study
abroad experience thus far was a
weeklong stay with my host
family in a rural village in the
lies, which was a lot of fun as
well as a great opportunity to
practice French. Although for
most of the semester the academic workload hasn’t been very
Betafo area. During this week we
didn’t have any class, so instead
we just joined in with whatever
activities our host families were
doing. It was a truly unique expe-
strenuous, I’ve learned so much.
Apart from French and Malagasy
language classes, a lot of our
class time is spent “in the field” we’ve visited schools, churches,
rience – no electricity, no running water, no cars, no garbage
cans, but an amazing group of
people and community dynamic
that simply couldn’t exist in any
mosques, ports, television broadcasting stations, local government offices, NGOs, palaces,
national parks, beaches, and the
list goes on ... in many ways I
other setting. During the stay I
got to milk a cow, learned to
make mofogasy (a kind of Malagasy rice flour doughnut made in
moulds on the fire), taught my
think I now know more about
Madagascar than I do about either South Africa (where I’m
from) or the US!
host mom how to knit, watched
(Continued on page 3)
PAGE
French Students Overseas
2
Fall 2013 - Summer 2014
Paris
Madelyn Huegli
Paige Brennecke
Emily Andrews
Meghan Ronayne
Mary Winther
Emma Krive
Megan Parkins
Arles
Hannah Jacobsma
Katherine Sauer
Rachael in
Villefranche-sur-Mer,
France ▼
“I WAS
THROWN
HEADFIRST
INTO A
DIFFERENT
CULTURE AND
SOMEHOW WAS
ABLE TO FIND
MY WAY.”
-RACHAEL
KABAGABU
THE
Rennes
Hannah Gingrich
Madagascar
Lize Loubser
Nantes
Megan Brubaker
Kelsie Lynch
Amanda Pendery
Lauren Wade
Rachael Kabagabu
Nice
Sarah Bettag
Jacob Boersma
Brussels
Alyssa Guzman
An Unforgettable Experience
I was thrilled when
I was asked to
write this article
about my study
abroad experience
in Nantes, France
this past spring.
Having just returned a few days
earlier, the memories and excitement were still
fresh in my mind.
However, I quickly
realized that it is
nearly impossible
for me to describe
my semester in adjectives. “Fun”
falls flatter than a stack of crêpes.
“Amazing” is closer, but is short
of capturing the essence I want to
convey. “Life-changing” seems a
bit premature; my life was
changed, no doubt, but a few
days of separation from my beloved city is not enough time to
engage in critical self-reflection.
me to think of my semester as a
collective whole. Towards the
end of the program the question
“what was your favorite part”
was tossed around frequently
between the 57 of us students.
My answer to this question was,
and still is, a mix of the little tasks
that made life seem normal and
the big trips that made me realize
what a blessed, crazy life I lived.
The little things were simple
and yet understatedly powerful in
shifting my daily routine from an
American one to that of the Français. I learned which newspaper
to get when I wanted to play
Sudoku on the tram to my 8 a.m.
psychology class. I found multiple
routes to the Carrefour closest
to the program center. I sorted
through boulangeries to find the
one that offered the best pain au
chocolat and ate it without a caloric care in the world. The public transportation system went
from being an intimidating beast
This problem isn’t really a to a comfortable friend. It’s these
problem for me; “Ce n’est pas routines that are going to make
grave!” as the French would say. me miss being a Nantaise.
As it turns out, it is difficult for
The bigger things came less
FRENCH
NEWSLETTER
By Rachael Kabagabu ’15.
Sec. French Educ. Major
Sec. Biology Educ. Minor
often but left just as much of an
impression. During orientation
weekend, I almost felt like Cinderella while touring châteaux of
the Loire Valley, some of which
actually did inspire Cinderella’s
Castle. I ate gelato in Milan that
was life-changing (it should be
noted that I have had ample time
to reflect on this). An IESsponsored trip to Omaha Beach
and the American Cemetery in
Normandy left all of us in tears.
Ever heard of Véronique Leroy? I
went to her show, among several
others, during Paris Fashion
Week, and on one occasion managed to make it into the front
row. I went to the French Riviera
where I laid on the beach in Villefranche and wandered into the
Grand Casino in Monte Carlo.
Sometimes it’s hard for me to
believe I actually did these things.
This past semester I had the
time of my life. I was thrown
headfirst into a different culture
and somehow was able to find
my way. It was fun, amazing, lifechanging, but more than that,
indescribable.
VOLUME
23,
FALL
2014
◄ Lize
milking a
cow with
her host
dad in
Betafo
(Continued
from page
1)
the village men
play dominoes, and played soccer with my 6
and 10 year old host brothers. The aspect of
the stay that made the biggest impression on
me, however, was language. My host family as
well as most of the other villagers barely
spoke a word of French (a big difference
from people in the cities, who speak French
very well), so I had to rely on the tiny bit of
Malagasy I had learned in the preceding
month to communicate. Now if there is any
language you could learn to speak in only a
month, it would be Malagasy (It’s a grammatically very simple language) but still my days
were marked by moments of frustration at
how little I could understand or say. On the
PAGE
other hand, there were certainly many
moments of jubilation at how much I
could communicate. The whole experience made me realize in a new way how
much French I have already learned, and
what an advantage it is to be able to communicate anything I want in a language,
even if inelegantly. At the same time, realizing that at one time
challenges, and resources in the milieu of
Betafo.
Already I feel there is no way I can leave this
place and never return to it. I comfort myself
with the thought that come May, I won’t say
goodbye, but rather, “Amin’ny manaraka
indray”.
I started French from “The aspect of
scratch and yet have my stay that
gotten this far gave
made the
me hope that in time
I could reach a profi- biggest impact
cient level of Malagasy too.
As I write this, I’m
getting ready to head
on me...was
language.”
-Lize Loubser
back to my Betafo
host family for a month to do my independent study project (ISP) on rural public
health. As part of the study abroad program we get 4 weeks to go anywhere in
Madagascar and do a field based research
project on whatever topic we want - pretty cool if you ask me! I’m premed, so I’ve
chosen to do a study of health conditions,
▲ The view from the porch of Lize’s
host family in Betafo
Fun Fact:
French is an official language in
33 countries, second only to
English which is spoken officially in 45 countries.
French Students Awarded Fulbright Scholarships
Two former French students, Susan
Haigh (‘14) and Gretchen Baldwin
(‘12), have been awarded highly competitive Fulbright Scholarship Grants
for 2014-2014.
Susan Haigh received a Fulbright Scholarship Grant to teach English in France, one
of only five in this category that are awarded nationally each year. Graduating with
majors in International Studies and Global
French Studies, Susan’s “activist” background made her an attractive candidate
for the Fulbright. While a sophomore, she
traveled to Uganda with an organization
called Building Tomorrow to oversee the
construction and maintenance of quality
primary schools in remote villages that
would otherwise have no access to education. She then founded a Building Tomorrow
Chapter at Hope to help fund more
schools in Uganda. Susan has also studied
abroad in Rennes, France and in India.
Susan will be teaching in Perpignan, a city
in the south of France, adjacent to Spain,
just minutes from the Mediterranean and
the Pyrenees Mountains.
3
Gretchen Baldwin, who majored in
International Studies with minors in
French and Studio Art, received a Fulbright to research the role of nongovernmental agencies in communities of
beekeepers in Ngaoundere, Cameroon
this October - June. Gretchen previously
studied abroad in Cameroon, and has also
worked in and traveled to such places as
the Democratic Republic of the Congo
and southeast Asia.
Congratulations, Susan and Gretchen!
PAGE
French Students Present at
Celebration for Undergraduate Research
4
Of the 14 projects
presented by the
Modern and
Classical
Languages
Department, 9
were in French!
Pi Delta Phi
Initiation
In April of 2014,
the following students became
members of Pi
Delta Phi, the
French National
Honor Society:
Susan Haigh
Kian Hashemi-Rad
Katherine Pitchford
Taylor Mann
Molly Molhoek
Lauren Wade
Whitney Yoder
Lucile Dermeche*
*Native Assistant,
honorary member
THE
On April 11, 2014, Hope College
hosted its 13th Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research.
The multidisciplinary event allows
students to present their collaborative faculty-student research
and to engage in discussions with
other students, faculty members,
family and community members.
This year, nine French students
participated in the celebration.
Here is an overview of their research:
In her research entitled “The
Persecution of the French Huguenots,” Sarah Bettag discussed
the conflict between Protestants
(Huguenots) and Catholics in
sixteenth- and seventeenthcentury France, exploring the
reasons for the persecution of the
Huguenots by Louis XIV and the
effects of their exodus from
France.
In her project entitled “Molière,
Le Libertin,” Maria Gowon explored the varied reactions of
Molière’s contemporaries to the
author’s satirical works and the
influence of both his friends and
enemies on his work, his reputation, and the context in which we
view the playwright today.
through the arts.
Taylor Mann presented her research entitled “Wadji Mouawad’s
Incendies: The Consequences of
Family History and Self-Identity” in
which she explored Mouawad’s
examination of the issues of identity, specifically in the contexts of
family history and multicultural
origins.
In his research entitled
“Understanding the Role of Polygamy and Female Genital Mutilation
in Traditional African Society,”
Arnaud Muhimpundu analyzed
the efforts of films and writing in
educating people in traditional
African society about the effects of
polygamy and Female Genital Mutilation on young women.
In her project entitled “The Independent Women: Simone de Beauvoir and Feminism,” Kate Pitchford discussed the influence of
existentialism on the feminist beliefs of twentieth century French
author Simone de Beauvoir.
Shirly Samuel presented her
work entitled “The Changes and
Remnants of French Influence in
Pondicherry” in which she examined the influence (economic,
religious, social and educational)
of French colonialism on the city
of Pondicherry, India and the
reasons for the decline of that
influence following the end of
French rule in 1954.
Natalie Woodberry presented her work entitled “Sartre,
Beauvoir, and the Resistance: An
Authentic or Compromising
Commitment to the Cause?” in
which she examined the inherent ambiguity of Sartre and
Beauvoir’s existentialist thought
during the Vichy regime and the
concurrent French Resistance.
In his research entitled
“Contemporary Translation: A
Re-Authorship,” Brandon Verna discussed the complications
of translating an author’s work
while retaining its most important ideas and senses and
producing an illusion of the presence of the primary author so
that the text may be taken as
original, authentic and reputable.
Susan Haigh presented her
research entitled “Marianne et le
Marabout by Slimane Benaïssa:
North African Culture Faces
French Culture,” an examination
of the social, religious, cultural
and economic conflicts between
France and Algeria in which she
suggested the possibility of improved small-scale relations
Students and professors of French with Provost Rich Ray at CUR ▲
FRENCH
NEWSLETTER
VOLUME
23,
FALL
2014
PAGE
◄ Students
after visit-
French Outside the Classroom
Every year, the French department offers a
diverse program of cultural enrichment
which allows students of all levels and abilities to expand their knowledge of French
and Francophone language and culture.
Here is a glimpse of the events of the 2013
-2014 program.
ing the Art
French program during the
Institute in month of September. Lauren
Chicago
Janes, Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Hope,
presented her research entitled “Selling Rice
to Wheat Eaters: Colonial Rice in Interwar
France.” Brian Gibbs, an ‘84 graduate of
Hope and an International Representative
on the Hope College Alumni Board of Directors, gave a presentation entitled
“Learning—and Loving—A Foreign Language
for Life.” Mr. Gibbs’ presentation promoted
the value of learning another language as
means to both improved cultural understanding and personal betterment.
The year kicked off on September 2 with a
soirée crêpes at the Maison Française.
There, students ate delicious crêpes and
socialized en français.
On October 9, a round table of students
returning from studying abroad in Frenchspeaking countries was held, with another
held after the holidays on February 12.
On September 14, French and Art students
joined each other in attending a special
exhibit at the Art Institute in Chicago,
“Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity.”
January 30-February 1st saw the first ever
Hope College French Film Festival at
which students, as well as the general public,
were able to view and discuss French cinema at free screenings (see feature below).
Two speakers appeared as part of the
The Sweetest of Summers in Arles, France
was daunting but I kept in mind that people
say it’s normal to feel this way. Though it
took me a while to adjust to the language
itself, I found myself jumping into all things
Arles feet first, exploring the city’s winding,
cobbled streets, breathing in the scent of
sunflowers and embracing all things Vincent
Van Gogh who spent a year of his life painting there.
▲ Hannah (far left with bandana) with
friends at Avignon
By Hannah Jacobsma ’16. English Major/
French Minor
This summer was one for the books indeed!
After spending a month in the Vienna Summer School Program, and then another two
weeks traveling around Europe with a dear
friend, I found myself settled for six weeks in
Arles, France. Arles is in the south and is
quite hot to say the least. It was a shock to
all of a sudden be speaking French, hearing
French and reading French constantly after
months of barely speaking a word of it. It
5
Arles is a city of art, photography festivals,
music, and people who dance with such a
joy and vitality you may think it was their
last day on this earth. I attended concerts
from “The Gypsy Kings,” to the
“Amsterdam Klezmer Band,” and was present for one of the largest photography
festivals in the world. Arles may be a small
city, but it is bursting with history reflected
in the Roman ruins that scatter the land. I
felt as though I had gone back in time, and
was content to stay there for eternity.
My host family included a single mother
named Stephanie and her two, twin fouryear old daughters Anna and Andrea. I am
an only child so to suddenly become a sister
Two more speaker events were held during the spring semester. On February 19,
Hope Professor of English David James (a
‘76 Hope graduate with majors in French
and English) presented on “Life After
Hope.” On March 10, Dr. Dan Golembeski (Professor of French at Grand Valley
State University) presented his research
entitled “Speaking French in Ontario,”
which discusses the history and lifestyle of
French speakers in northern Ontario.
Over the course of the year, the French
ciné-club presented a variety of films, including Amélie, Comme un chef, and La fille du
puisatier. This year also saw the inauguration of the Pause-Café, a weekly gathering at
Lemonjello’s for casual French conversation.
▲ Speaker Brian Gibbs
The Inaugural
Hope College French Film Festival
featured the following films over the course of
its three day program:
Berlin 1885
L’Affaire Farewell
Les femmes du 6ème étage
La pirogue
Monsieur Lazhar
The event was very well-attended and was a
big hit for both the Hope and Holland communities.
Big thanks to the Festival’s Organizing Committee: Prof. Brandon Guernsey, Lucile Dermeche, Kate Pitchford, Chloe Rose, Natalie
Woodberry
figure to these two little girls who didn’t speak
my native language was a little scary at first.
They did not understand why I could not always understand what they were saying. One
night we were drawing together and they
asked me if I could draw an “élan.” I told them
that I did not know this word, and so they
(Continued on page 8)
PAGE
6
French Students Honored Across Disciplines
French students at Hope are
awarded not only for their
efforts in French, but also for
their work in other disciplines
and in interdisciplinary work.
were awarded the French Faculty pa, the nation’s oldest honors Literature
Book Award.
society.
Rebekah Skinner: Sandrene
Seniors graduating from the Based on their cumulative grade Schutt Award for Proficiency in
French program also received the point averages, Rebekah Skin- Literature
following noteworthy awards: ner graduated Summa Cum Katelyn Kiner, Miriam
Graduating seniors received the Natalie Woodberry was pre- Laude, Whitney Yoder gradu- Roth: Phi Alpha Theta Freshfollowing French awards: Lau- sented the Southland Medal/ ated Magna Cum Laude, and man Book Award
ren Wade received the AATF Gerrit H. Albers Gold Medal; Chloe Rose graduated Cum Rebecca Fox: Phi Alpha Theta
Sophomore Book Award
Outstanding Senior in French Arnaud Muhimpundu was Laude.
Award; Katherine Pitchford awarded the Paul G. Fried Prize The French program also ap- Natalie Woodberry: Seyand Natalie Woodberry in International Education and the plauds those students who mour Pre-Physical Therapy
were presented the Linda D. Global Awareness and Involve- earned recognition for their Award, William and Mabel
Palmer Memorial Award in ment Award; Kian Hashemi- work in other disciplines through Vanderbilt Sr. Family Award
Shekinah Chandy: Renze
French; Susan Haigh and Rad received the Student Lead- other departmental awards:
Lyle Hoeksema Prize in Political
Whitney Yoder received the ership, Service and Advocacy
Rebecca Fox, Hannah Gin- Science
Marguerite Prins French Award; Award.
grich, Katherine Sauer: Erika Alexa Duimstra: Brad WilKian Hashemi-Rad, Taylor Natalie Woodberry and
Brubaker ‘92 Award for Promis- l i a m s M e m or i a l A w a r d
Mann and Mary Molheok Whitney Yoder were inducted
ing Achievement in the Study of (Theatre)
into Phi Beta Kap-
Catch Up with Hope’s
Global French Studies Professors
▲ 2014 graduating seniors, L to
R: Prof. Hamon-Porter, Emily
Handy, Molly Molhoek, Prof.
Guernsey, Natalie Woodberry,
Susan Haigh, Kate Pitchford,
Taylor Mann, Prof. Larsen. Not
pictured: Kian Hashemi-Rad,
Arnaud Muhimpundu, Lauren
Wade, Whitney Yoder
Prof. Larsen
in front of
Mme. de
Sevigne’s
birth place,
Place des
Vosges,
Paris ►
THE
Anne Larsen is
very pleased to
have finished her
book “Anna Maria
van
Schurman,
‘The
Star
of
Utrecht’: The Educational Vision
and Reception of a Savante”
which is being reviewed for publication. She is collaborating with
Latinist colleague Steve Maiullo
on translating and editing unpublished manuscript Latin and
French letters of Van Schurman,
housed at the Royal Library of
The Hague. The
great majority of
these letters have
never been translated and it is a special
thrill to uncover
facets of the life of
an amazing scholar
who was the first
woman ever to
attend a university.
In the spring Anne
co-organized and
chaired four panels
FRENCH
NEWSLETTER
on “Early Modern Women Philosophers, Theologians, and
Scientists” at The Renaissance
Society of America’s Annual
Conference at which she also
presented a paper on Descartes’s influence on Van Schurman. In June she chaired a couple of sessions she organized on
Early Modern Salons at the
Fourth International MARGOT
Conference at Barnard College. This past summer Anne
traveled with her husband to
libraries in Paris
and the Netherlands, enjoying as
well several great
art exhibits, museums, and marchés
en plein air filled as
always with the
produce, specialties, and crafts of
the region.
A 2003 Hope alum,
Brandon Guernsey has thoroughly
enjoyed his return
to Hope serving as a visiting assistant professor of French. While
at Hope last year, he taught beginning and intermediate level
courses as well as Advanced
French Grammar and Phonetics
and Francophone Cultures. In
addition to teaching, Brandon
also organized the "Pause-Cafe", a
weekly conversation group held
at Lemonjello's Coffee composed
of Hope students and French
speaking members of the Holland
community. In late January, Brandon also spearheaded the first
Hope
College
French Film Festival held at the
Knic kerb ocker
Theatre. Brandon
also
remained
active attending
area
conferences. In February, he presented
a paper entitled
"Turning
the
▲ Prof. Guernsey with
his new son, Emmet
(Continued on page 8)
VOLUME
23,
FALL
2014
PAGE
Learning a Lot In and
Outside the Classroom
ple had already studied at CIREFE for several
semesters already. When June came, I felt like
I’d just cracked open the door, stuck my head
through it with a quick “Bonjour!” and shut it
behind me.
Meeting the other international students
made my time in France feel particularly rewarding. I love learning to speak French (and
the classes/professors at CIREFE were fantastic), but I felt like the new perspectives I
gained from making friends with people from
around the world helped me to—affirming
the cliché!—learn more about the world and
about myself. I already felt lucky and thankful
to be going overseas, but I didn’t expect to
feel so privileged. Even though I was studying
hard and taking the maximum amount of
Wine, Cheese and Life in Paris
By Mary Elizabeth Winther
’15. Theatre/French Majors
During my semester abroad in
Paris, I learned that most stereotypes that Americans have of
Parisians are true. Parisians do
walk down the street with a
baguette in one hand, a cigarette in another. They are crazy
drivers. They LOVE their wine
and cheese and definitely DO
NOT love crowds of noisy
tourists. I saw more than one
credits I could, I never lost
the feeling that I was on
vacation because of my limited time there. The prevalence of English also gave me
pause. My friends and I
sometimes felt jealous because while the
Indonesian or Russian students could converse privately in the common room, we
English-speakers could not. But if we had
wanted, we could have purchased books to
read out of the English section of most
bookstores. Many French words are actually
English words with a French accent (low-cost,
un gag, un bluff), making the language easier
for us to learn. We are even sought-after to
teach our native language. None of these
things are true for most people, and I didn’t
fully realize this until I got there.
◄ Hannah
with her
friend Meng
in Rennes
By Hannah Gingrich ‘15. French and English Literature Majors
Last semester, I had the wonderful privilege
of spending five months in Rennes, France on
the CIEE program. I had many amazing opportunities to walk through narrow medieval
streets, eat crêpes (lots of crêpes!), and vastly
improve my French, but what was undoubtedly my favorite part of the program was Le
Centre International Rennais d'Études du
Français pour Étrangers. CIREFE is a department of l’Université Rennes 2, much like an
ESL program, and full of international students seeking to improve their French. At
first, I assumed we were all 20-somethings on
study abroad programs. For some that was
true, but after a week or so I could identify a
real diverse group from age 16-50. My class
buddy Adam from Eritrea was in his 30s, lived
in Rennes, and was trying to improve his
French to get a better job. My good friend
Meng already taught her native Chinese fulltime in Rennes, but decided to take French
classes on the side. Another American,
Atheena, who had already graduated with a
degree in journalism, lived in France just because she loved it there. Many of these peo-
7
man with a little mustache and a
beret. But my stay in Paris was so
much more than being an observer of these quintessentially
French parts of life - it was a
chance to immerse myself in the
city and the culture. In those
three and a half months, I came
to embrace the three hour long
meals; I learned to savor my food
and the dinner-time conversation.
I became comfortable navigating
trains, buses, and trams through
an unfamiliar city. I found favorite
In the end, even though I learned a lot by
exploring castles, teaching English for the first
time, and learning how to use lots of public
transportation (one of my crowning achievements) I was really marked by what I gained
from the relationships I made at CIREFE and
with the other Americans on the CIEE program. I feel like I grew up a lot. It’s made me
want to go back for a longer time and maybe
visit new countries. I hope it makes you want
to go too!
parks and streets and patisseries,
bought my own fresh bread and
produce at my local open-air market. I got lost. I struggled through
language barriers and came back
with more confidence as a language
learner, and a better understanding
of the nuances of French. I didn’t Mary Elizabeth
wear a beret or become a wine
connoisseur, but I returned to the on the Pont des
Arts in Paris ▼
US with an
appreciation
for the richness of Parisian life.
French Students Attend Pre-Med Program in Nice
Hope students Sarah Bettag (‘16)
and Jacob Boersma (‘16) were
selected to participate in a competitive program, “Summer Study in
France for the Pre-Med Student,”
organized by the French department of Washington University in
St. Louis, Mo. The program, located
in Nice, France, allows students to
take courses focused on health care,
participate in an internship in a medical profession, and experience French
culture while living with a host family.
Sarah and Jacob attended the pro-
gram from May
25 through June
29 of 2014.
Congratulations,
Sarah and Jacob!
◄ Sarah
Bettag
and Jacob
Boersma
(Continued from page 5)
spent the next five minutes acting it out until I understood that “élan” is moose in English! I learned so much from those two. It is quite humbling
to be taught by four year olds. I learned a lot from Stephanie as well. She is such a strong woman, completely independent and caring for her
daughters in every way that she can. I came to love this family very much and I hope beyond hope that I may see them again someday.
(Continued from page 6)
tables: Chukri Khodja's "El-Euldj" as an early challenge to the colonial paradigm of assimilation" at the annual conference of the Michigan Academy
held at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. Additionally, he represented Hope over the summer at "Acton University" - the Acton Institute's annual conference on the integration of faith, liberty, and free society held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Over the summer, Brandon and his
wife, Alexis, also became the proud parents of a baby boy - Emmet Alexander Guernsey. The family feels very blessed by their new addition, and look forward to sharing their
love of French language and culture with their son in the coming years!
Brigitte Hamon-Porter started the year with the Phelps Program co-teaching FYS with
four colleagues. This nationally recognized program emphasizes cross-cultural understanding and aims to better prepare students to live in an increasingly diverse society. The program welcomed over 90 students. In September, she organized with a fellow DMCL colleague the first meeting of local language teachers. More than thirty local language teachers attended. In May, she accompanied students in the London May Term co-organizing
the students’ visit to Paris. She then spent a week with her family along the western coast
of Brittany, hiking the ‘Chemins des douaniers” (coastal footpaths) overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. She had two book reviews published in The French Review: Frédérique AïtTouati. Contes de la lune. Essai sur la fiction et la science modernes. and Gilbert Paula-Ruth
(ed.).Transatlantic Passages.
May Term 2014: Students pose in front of the Eiffel Tower during a bicycle tour of Paris ▲
From the Editor’s Desk
Our gratitude goes to the staff and faculty of Hope's Office of International Education who advise students on study-abroad programs, an
essential component of the language experience. The French section would also like to thank all those who submitted essays on their study
abroad experiences. Un très grand merci to Miriam Roth ('17) for her editing, designing and formatting for this newsletter. The French Newsletter is published by the French section and funded by the Department of Modern and Classical Languages. Please contact Professor Brigitte Hamon-Porter (hamon@hope.edu) for items to be included in the next issue. As always, we love to hear from alumni! Read the Newsletter online with more essays on study abroad experiences at http://www.hope.edu/academic/language/french/.
Hope College
Department of Modern and Classical Languages
P.O. Box 9000
Holland, MI 49422-9000
Non-Profit Organization U.S.
Postage