A detail from this year's poster

Grenoble Life editor James Dalrymple met with Grenoble’s foremost English theatre group, Upstage, to find out about their 20th anniversary plans. Here is what he has to report.

Just before Christmas I had the pleasure of meeting David Simpson, Claude Deladoeuille and Katherine Upjohn of Upstage, all buzzing with excitement about this year’s production, which coincides with the theatre group’s 20^th anniversary.

For the 2012 anniversary production the Upstage team have chosen Patrick Barlow’s farcical stage adaptation of The 39 Steps, based on John Buchan’s 1915 novel and the 1935 film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock. As always, the choice of play depends on the possibility of featuring an ensemble cast comprising a balance between male-female roles and major-minor parts, while providing a contrast to the year before (Upstage 2011 was a production of Arthur Miller’s comparatively laugh-free The Crucible). Although Patrick Barlow’s script requires four actors to share a multitude of roles, Upstage have reworked it for a cast of 11 in what promises to be a “heady mixture of suspense, romance and espionage,” and, of course, laughs.

The other news is that Upstage is now an association which, while continuing to draw its cast and crew and from pupils of the International Lycée at Cité Internationale Scolaire, is now also officially independent from it. While this change of status will change little ostensibly for the time being, in the future Upstage looks set to become more open to individuals and organisations outside the framework of CSI.

Now that Upstage’s structure has changed, so too has the scale of its ambition. With previous alumni returning to offer their support, the team emphasizes the transformative “blossoming” effect Upstage has on its participants, some of whom have gone on to study at renowned film and theatre schools. One such former Upstage actor, Matias Gaggiotti, will be returning to direct two new Upstage productions in collaboration with Le Créarc (Centre de Création de Recherche et des Cultures) for the annual festival in Grenoble, Les Rencontres du Jeune Théâtre Européen, 5–14 July 2012. Watch this space for news on that.

Casting is already in place and members of the public are welcome at rehearsals, which are well under way. The team are, however, thus far holding their cards close to their chest as concerns how they plan render for the stage – among other spectacular things – a plane crash, a fight on a moving train, Scotch mist, and scenes that take place on a mile-long bridge. As always, Upstage promises imaginative solutions to these demands, with lighting and sound to be provided by a technical crew which is also drawn from the English section at CSI. While this year’s participants have sworn not to watch the Hitchcock film and to interpret the Patrick Barlow script their own way, the team will be hoping to better the movie’s authentic 1930s costume aesthetic.

Watch this space, or the Petit Bulletin, for news on performances; tickets will be made available at the usual outlets (FNAC, Carrefour, Géant, U).

As you read these lines, the collège students of the English section of the Cité Scolaire Internationale are busy, busy, busy, fine-tuning their seventh pantomime production, “Snow White.”

Rehearsals have been going on since September, and the young cast are absolutely bubbling over with excitement and anticipation. For many, this will be the first time that they appear on the school stage, in this exciting landmark event in the Grenoble anglophone calendar.

With a hand-knitted script full of local flavour, this year’s show looks set to be another success. The show is only a fortnight away, and the actors, dancers and singers are already starting to feel just a little bit of pressure …

We spoke to three members of the cast about their Panto experience: Melissa, who is in troisième, and who comes from a family with a long involvement in the C.S.I. Panto, Clara, also in troisième, who is performing for the first time this year, and Daniel, quatrième, the resident joker.

So, we asked them what made them want to get involved with the Panto.

Clara: I’d seen last year’s Pantomime, “Robin Hood”, and I thought it was awesome! And since I try to never turn an opportunity down, and I love singing, acting and dancing, I thought it would be fun to try it. I also love meeting new people, having fun and getting involved in the school’s activities.

Daniel: I’d been to see the school Panto lots of times and this year I wanted to take part because I thought it looked like really good fun.

Melissa: I joined this year’s Panto because I wanted to re-experience the fun that I had for these past two years in “Peter Pan” and “Robin Hood.” I also wanted to act and be on stage again as it is something I enjoy doing very much.

Grenoble Life: Which roles do you play in this year’s show?

Daniel: I play the part of Herman the Henchman, who is supposed to kill Snow White in the forest … but I’m a good guy, really!

Melissa: I play the part of Lord Montague (also known as Monty). He is the Prince’s trusted best friend and travelling companion. I am one of the members of the Panto’s double act.

Clara: I play the prince, Prince Caspian.

GL: How are rehearsals organised, and how much work does it take to put on a show like this?

Melissa: Rehearsals take place twice a week from 5pm until 6pm. We also rehearse some Saturday mornings from 8am until 12pm. Rehearsals are organised so that only the actors who are needed in the scenes that will be worked on need to come. That means that the Pantomime doesn’t take up too much of our week. Lots of work needs to be put in for the Pantomime but the key to it is dedication and we’re having fun at the same time so it doesn’t really feel like we are working.

Daniel: We rehearse two evenings a week after school and also sometimes on Saturday mornings from 8 till 12. It does take a lot of your spare time to rehearse for the show but it is great fun. We even get chocolate treats during the rehearsals on Saturdays.

GL: How were you chosen for your part?

Clara: I auditioned! I think I was chosen because of my acting and singing; the dancing part of the audition was terrible because I didn’t know the moves very well … At least I tried to be positive during the whole audition because I know that being optimistic was what the crew was looking for.

Daniel: There were auditions where we had to sing, dance and act out one scene. I think I was chosen because there were not many boys at the audition!

GL: Have you ever seen a “real” Panto? If so, how do your school productions compare?

Melissa: Yes I have seen many real pantomimes before in England. The school Pantomime is fairly similar to professional pantomimes. The biggest difference would be the stage/lighting/special effects. But our acting and talent are very similar!

Daniel: Lots of times. My English grandparents take me to see one every Christmas. I think the school productions are quite close to the real thing because they have all the ingredients of a good Panto, for example we throw out sweets to the audience, we sing and dance and make lots of jokes about school and Grenoble.

Clara: I have only seen last’s year’s Panto, but if I happen to come across a “real” Panto, I’ll definitely go and see it!

GL: How do you think the Panto is received in Grenoble? Does the French public “get” Panto? How do they react to the “audience participation” part of the show?

Melissa: The Panto is well received in Grenoble, most of the audience is part English and the Panto feeling is easily adopted. As for the audience participation adults are fine some small children are sometimes a bit slow to catch on but by the end of our show the audience is engulfed in Panto spirit (I hope!!)

Daniel: I think most of the audience are British!

Clara: I think that people from Grenoble are quite excited to experience something different from traditional French plays, because they can explore a different culture.

I’m French, and personally, when I went to see last year’s Panto, I thought the “audience participation” was a bit strange at first, but I quickly got into it. So that proves that the French public really does get Panto!

GL: What is your favourite aspect of the show, and Panto in general? The dodgy jokes? Is it the singing and dancing? The team experience with the whole cast and stage crew?

Melissa: I don’t have a favourite aspect really as I love all of it! The experience of putting on a show with a group of people you sometimes know very little who then become great friends is amazing, but I think that my favourite part must be when the audience claps at the end of the show. It is a great reward for all the hard work that has been put into place.

Clara: I really love everything about the Panto, but my favourite part is the singing and acting. To be performing in front of an audience is all new for me, and I’m normally a bit shy so it helps me get over that. I was also getting sick of singing to myself!

The team experience is also pretty cool, because I have made new friends and spoken to people that I would’ve never met if I hadn’t done the Panto.

Daniel: I really enjoy acting my role as Herman and I also enjoy the dance routines.

GL: What have you got out of your experience of the Panto so far?

Clara: So far, the Panto has been everything I had hoped it would be, and more! I have had the chance to discover what it feels like to “be in the spotlight”, to meet new and fantastic people and to just have tons of fun.

Daniel: At first I thought I would never be able to learn all my lines!! But now I realize that it’s not so difficult. I have also enjoyed making new friends.

Melissa: Lots and lots of fun really! A new fantastic bunch of friends and lots of lines to learn!

The Panto is a collège activity, but also involves a swarm of busy Lycée bees backstage, many of whom are previous Panto performers who just can’t get enough, and come back year after year to give a hand and relive the Panto experience, which is a delightful testimony of the bond that this kind of school activity can create within the school and amongst its pupils.

Here’s what one die-hard, backstage busy bee, Alba Besson, had to say about her Panto experience:

“I have loved being involved in the production of costumes, props and scenery for the school Pantos at every stage of the process: from the design, to the sourcing of materials to the construction and final preparation for performance. The vision of the ‘bigger picture’ needed to successfully bring together all these elements is such an exciting challenge. These moments are memories in the making.”

With a hefty sprinkling of full cast dance & song numbers, dozens of fantastic costumes, great scenery produced by the cast, and plenty of jokes, sparkle and glitter, this Panto is sure to entertain and delight. A show for all the family, and something quite unique in the Grenoble area.

The show is written, directed and produced by a group of volunteer parents, aided and abetted by two members of the school staff. If you are interested in getting involved in future productions you can contact the team at panto2012@orange.fr

The show runs from 25^th January till 28^th January, and tickets can be obtained from panto2012@orange.fr Hurry, though, as it is almost a sell-out!

Sunday school

Vickie Allen shares her experiences of a rentrée of a different kind at St Marc’s English Speaking Church, Grenoble.

Last week children donned their cartables as the mass rentrée began. Schools and universities across France once again filled with students of all ages, embarking on the new academic year. Some approached the gates with a little anticipation, I’m sure, but all the students crossed the threshold with the knowledge that ahead of them lay new skills, new insights, new friends and a new, increased understanding of how the world works. But it wasn’t just full-time students who were digging out their cahiers and stylos.

Sunday morning marked a return to the classroom of the Adult Sunday School at St Marc’s English Speaking Church, Grenoble. I joined the class last spring, keen to gain a more in-depth understanding of the Bible, a more intellectual understanding of my faith. A small class of just four, we found the discussions of the Gospels inspiring and informative.

Lead by the pastor, Stephen Coffin, classes centred on a reading from the Gospels, putting them in their the socio-historical context as well as exploring the descriptions of Jesus and his life from our basis of faith. As last term came to an end, we prayed for a larger class that could enjoy the teaching as much as we did, and would enable some more lively and varied discussions. Our prayers were answered and on Sunday morning we were a group of nine.

The first day of school is often spent easing students back into study and it was no different for us at the Adult Sunday School. The new term’s theme is the letters of the New Testament, many (but not all, as we learned) written by Paul. We looked at the social history of the time, the way letters were written, how they were carried and the language used. I was fascinated to learn that Paul wrote his letters in an everyday, colloquial Greek rather than the formal Greek more often used by those educated enough to be able to write. This simple language was more effective in reaching the audience and reminded me of the first published translation of the Bible from Latin by Martin Luther in the 16th century. We also discussed Paul’s travels in and around the Mediterranean, looking at maps of the familiar landmasses, marked with the ancient cities of Thessalonica, Antioch and Corinth.

As the lesson came to a close we were given our homework; to read Thessalonians I and II. With the historical and social context fresh in our minds, these letters will spring to life for us as we start to delve into Paul’s message to Christians throughout time. We’re still a small group and would love you to join us and gain a greater understanding of the Bible.

The Adult Sunday School at St Marc’s English Speaking Church meets at 9.30am every Sunday morning and is conducted in English. Services (which follow the Anglican format) start at 10.45am during which there is also Sunday School for children aged 2-11 and a youth group. The congregation typically swells at this time of year as families return from their summer holidays and students arrive. For more information, visit St Marc’s.

Destination Oisans: Photos, films and thoughts on the reality of life in the mountains.

September. Photo by rosemary

April Buchanan explains the concept of la rentrée for the uninitiated, and tells us all about France Etats-Unis Grenoble‘s activities coming up from September.

Bonjour Grenoble! It’s April here, back again with more news about what’s happening at France Etats-Unis Grenoble, your local chapter of the national franco-american association in France! And now that’s it’s officially the “rentrée,” it’s time to start marking your calendars, because we’ve got lots of great stuff coming up very soon — parties, music, brunch, apéros, and more! I’ll give you all the details in a minute, but first, I thought you might like to know … what exactly IS this “rentrée” everyone keeps mentioning?

Well, whether you’ve been in Grenoble for years, or are just getting your bearings, you have surely noticed people saying, “C’est la rentrée!” This phrase, loosely translated to “It’s the return,” is getting its fair share of use right now, and especially in the first two weeks of September — it’s almost as popular as “Bonne Année” during the month of January! That’s because, more so than just any old back-to-school time, here in France it means new beginnings in many things in our lives, and a fresh look or change to the old daily routine. Okay, you say … but why is it such a big deal?

I remember when I was a kid, I asked my parents if they got the summer off work like I got the summer off of school. They of course looked at me like I was crazy, and painfully informed me that no, adults must work all summer long! I remember feeling a little sad for them, and dreaded the day when I too would have no more summer vacation. So, needless to say, I am very grateful to be living and working in France, where most people take all or part of their 5-7 weeks of vacation during the months of July and August!

This means that some regions of France literally shut down, pack their bags, and go! If you were in Grenoble during the month of August, you may have felt like you were in a ghost town! That’s because a large part of the population left town for other, more touristy regions (like the Southern and Western coasts, as well as Paris) which host the masses of holiday-goers every year and enjoy the profits they bring in. And when it’s all over, everyone heads back home well-rested and gets ready for La Rentrée! And this entails much more than just back-to-school time for children and university students — it also means that everyone gets back to work after a much appreciated long break. It’s a time to get back together with co-workers and friends and compare holiday photos, tan lines, and catch up on each other’s news. It’s a time to re-evaluate personal and professional goals, or breathe fresh life into an ongoing project. It’s amazing how a little vacation time can really energize and motivate a person, which means they do a better job at work! But the implications of La Rentrée don’t stop there…

La Rentrée also means that the government gets back to business, and politicians start making appearances on talk shows, putting the wheels in motion for new campaigns or policies they are pushing. It’s also the time when new television programming starts, with new seasons of series: new movies also come out at the cinema. September is also the start of the much-anticipated literary season, or La Rentrée Littéraire, with thousands of new book titles released during the Autumn months, and book fairs popping up all over the place, in anticipation of the literary awards to be announced at the end of the season. Clothing shops put the new collections in the shop windows, and all the restaurants, bars, cafés and other shops that were closed for August (while the owners took their holiday, to the great annoyance of those who did not!) finally reopen their doors, often with a new item on the menu or a fresh coat of paint.

And while everyone is making a fresh start and buzzing with motivation, La Rentrée is also the prime time to start a new hobby, sign up for a sport, or (DRUMROLL PLEASE……) join a club or association!

Here in Grenoble, there are all kinds of activities for people with all kinds of interests, everything from African dancing to Manga drawing. And for us anglophones, there are more than a couple of English-speaking groups that meet up regularly and organize a variety of fun events all year long, including ours — France Etats-Unis! Clubs and associations like ours are a great way to meet lots of interesting people and discover a wide variety of fun things to do around Grenoble. What kinds of things? Well I’m glad you asked!

To start off, the first Wednesday of every month (except August, of course!), France Etats-Unis has a little get-together we call the ‘Hotspot.’ This is a casual come-as-you-are social event, to have a drink if you wish, and have a laugh with new and old friends. This is a great after-work, pre-dinner break that takes the edge off of mid-week stress. But in addition to the monthly Hotspot, we organize all kinds of events, all year long!

Here’s what we’ve got coming up this Fall:

• Our next Hotspot, kicking off the “rentrée” of course, will be: Wednesday, September 7th, 6:30 p.m. at the Maison de l’Internationale. It is located in the Jardin de Ville, just in front of the grassy lawn of the old L’Hôtel de Lesdiguières.
• The first of many France Etats-Unis events this year is a Jazz Brunch on September 25th in Montbonnot. Come have a traditional Sunday morning brunch while grooving on some excellent music from local favorites, The Harlem Rhythm Band!
• Then of course in October we’re looking forward to everyone’s favorite party excuse: Halloween! October 29th at La Ferme Heurard in Seyssins. It just wouldn’t be right to miss out on the crazy costumes and goofy shenanigans that a Halloween party is known for, something that is starting to become more mainstream in France.
• In November, a traditional Autumnal Thanksgiving dinner will make you feel right at home in Grenoble, whether you’re American or not!

These fun happenings are just the beginning of a great year of fantastic things to do, including nature outings and cultural events for a start. And of course, since our goal is to promote friendship and understanding between cultures, you don’t have to be strictly American or French to enjoy these events or to become a member of France Etats-Unis! Everyone is welcome!

To sign up for our email newsletter and receive reminders of upcoming events, just click the link on our website (under construction): www.france-etatsunis-grenoble.com. You can also find us on Facebook as ‘France Etats-Unis Grenoble,’ and stay up to date with all the details for upcoming events, Hotspots, and even share photos of an event that you’ve participated in! For more details or any other questions, please email me at: communications@france-etatsunis-grenoble.com.

So now you’re all set for La Rentrée in Grenoble: back to school, back to work, and back to a busy social life and event calendar! Bon courage à tous et “Bonne Rentrée!”

The shape of things to come!

In the third and final part of her blog about being an expecting mother in France, Shonah Wraith describes the last three months of her pregnancy.

Before you leave your house this trimester you might want to read this article! There is an ever increasing need to use facilities, rest and organise at this stage of the process.

This trimester follows on very closely to the second, in terms of what you have to do at the doctors and the laboratoire d’analyses médicales. You continue on your monthly visits to the doctor and they basically follow the same template:

Doc: “Hello. How are you feeling?”
Me: “Good thank you, all seems well”
Doc: “Good, Please go behind that screen…”
Doc: “OK, all looks good, blood pressure fine, weight OK”
Me: “OK”
Doc: “See you next month, thank you”

By the time my last appointment came and went within a matter of five very small units of time I was really upset that that was all. I had been reading many books from the UK saying that in the last month you see a midwife every week, they hold your hand and walk you through every step of this nerve-racking time. Because, even though for the last six months you have known you are pregnant, it is not really until you are doing ante-natal classes, practising breathing, visualising the work that is in front of you that you really realise you are pregnant and you have to get this “little” bundle out into the world, somehow!

Perhaps France is pregnancy for the fearless! No hand-holding. No floaties. Just jump in at the deep end and swim and here are some cold hard medical facts to help you keep afloat! Speaking of the medical side of the third trimester, there are some prescriptive activities you need to undertake within these three months.

You will continue to have your monthly blood tests, plus some. At about 28 weeks you will have to have your blood glucose measured – allow time for this. You have to go to the laboratoire d’analyses médicales in the morning, have blood taken, drink an extremely sweet drink, sit in the waiting room for an hour and then have more blood taken. Take a good book! Apparently it is a good idea not to indulge in delicious sugary goodies in the 24 hours preceding this. Unfortunately I read this the morning of my test, so I could not take back the scones, cappuccino and caramel slice I had eaten the evening before! But, to put your minds at rest, I passed.

Somewhere closer to the end of the pregnancy you have to have a swab taken – and just a heads up, this is not a mouth, ear or nose swab. This is also done at the laboratoire d’analyses médicales, no book necessary!

The French are very pro-epidural – péridurale – therefore it is necessary to have a visit with an anaesthetist before giving birth. He or she will ensure you are physically able to have the procedure done, then you will have a big green tick on your file to say YES you are able. Then they can wait outside the salle de travail for you to give them the nod of approval, which allows them to come and relieve your discomfort with a really huge needle! You may want to check with you doctor where this appointment takes place – mine was at the clinic I was going to give birth in – then any number of the 20 anaesthetists that worked there would be the one to administer the epidural.

It is also a good idea – if where you are going to give birth offers it – to do a tour of the facility. As each clinic/ hospital is different it is good to see what you need to do in terms of checking in (I went to the clinique Belledonne and I did not check in until about two months prior to giving birth. However, as mentioned before, each clinic and hospital have their own regulations. It is worth checking with your doctor what the process involves. From speaking to other Mums to be, some had to check in within the first three months!), where to arrive, do you need to call before-hand, who is allowed in the salle de travail and what happens in the cases of unexpected emergencies. This process helps you to feel more in control over a situation you really have no control over!

And, of course this trimester you have the final look at your baby before you meet them in person, in the third of three ultrasounds. If you have made the decision not to find out the sex of your little one, I would be tempted not to look at the screen during this process. I only say this as the only thing we saw – and could definitely decipher – of our son’s anatomy during this scan was two rather large appendages directed squarely at the transducer (on two separate occasions mind you!), and he wasn’t waving with both hands or “hanging ten”! So, if we didn’t know before that moment we were having a boy, we would have had NO DOUBTS after this ultrasound.

One last piece of paperwork that you may need to deal with. Fully paid maternity leave in France is 16 weeks in total. It is mandatory to have six weeks leave prior to giving birth. This leaves you with 10 weeks post birth (and they take into account delivering late or early). But, if you would like to have more time post birth, you can get a doctor’s certificate – from your gynaecologist – to say you are fit and healthy and able to work longer. Be aware if you do get this letter, you MUST give it to your social security office immediately, otherwise they will dispute your “extra” time off post natal. Also when considering this remember, by the end of the third trimester you will more than likely want some time to rest, the baby could come early, and if there is such a thing as a “rest bank” now is the time to make mammoth deposits as post birth the withdrawal rate is phenomenal!

Now relax, enjoy and prepare to close the covers on one story in preparation to commence another – of epic proportions.

Bonne chance!

Please note this is purely a subjective account of this situation in France

The A-WA-KEN, South African Faction logo

Carol, Sky and XiaXiahn of AWAKEN South African Faction

GL: Why “A-WA-KEN”?

XiaXiahn: A-WA-KEN is derived from the word Awaken. We chose the name in representation of very many things beginning with the simple act of ‘waking’. Waking from our dreams, waking up to our selves. Waking up to the moment and the inevitable awakening of new and shared experiences.

We are awake and open to the art of possibility within each day…

GL: What sort of activities are you offering?

XiaXiahn: A-WA-KEN is an in-depth South African experience of artistic expression incorporating dance, music and art. We also host various fun-filled English activities available under our A-WA-KEN Papillon umbrella. We are open Mondays to Saturdays 07h30–18h00. For the summer holidays we will be hosting exciting English craft workshops for children throughout the month of August and we re-open officially as of the 12th of September 2011.

Currently our general sessions for children are filled with fairy tales, artistic crafts and creative movement. We incorporate natural elements into our arts and crafts activities whilst adhering to the principle of Anglais en s’amusant. Our program is designed to be flexible and these lessons are adapted to suit the relevant age-groups of the children in question. We also offer Soutien Scolaire, family playcare and babysitting services.

Our adult members explore the dynamics of language through conversation and creative writing. We host ‘Survival English’ meetings for travellers and English conversation sessions.

We offer natural, organic meals and snacks on request as well as an opportunity to sample authentic South African foods one evening a month at our A-WA-KEN dinner.

 

Handcrafted books created at A-WA-KEN

GL: How can people find out more information and/or get involved?

XiaXiahn: For more information please contact us directly by telephone or via e-mail as we prefer a personal approach. Our contact details are as follows:

Meylan

Please contact Carol (landline: 04 76 59 31 95; mobile: 06 12 65 64 14)

Grenoble (12 bis Quai Mounier, 2ème étage, St Laurent, 38000, Grenoble)

Please contact XiaXiahn (pronunciation similar to Josiane) and Sky (landline: 04 76 03 12 74; mobile: 06 38 48 70 84)

awaken@orange.fr

skype me ° waken.awaken

Our website is under construction and will be ‘live’ on the 15th August 2011. Our ‘A-WA-KEN Online Store’ will offer a unique opportunity to order personalized items directly from our website as well as handcrafted items. Keep an eye out for our Facebook group. Follow us on twitter and subscribe to our newsletter.

GL: What are A-Wa-Ken’s plans for the future?

XiaXiahn: In light of our Ubuntu culture we are in the process of expanding our enterprise into a multicultural centre where English and the Arts come together to create a platform for creativity and diversity, expanding individuality in a space which caters for children and adults alike. We hope to inspire a ‘community-based’ youth project for teenagers focused on ‘Ubuntu in action. We are currently operating from a small and lively venue in Grenoble in addition to a small space in Meylan while we explore our options for an independent location.

We will be incorporating the following new and exciting avenues for creative exploration into our program in the near future: Social dancing – our group or individual classes will become a vehicle for practicing the art of English conversation whilst learning to dance. Gumboot fusion – incorporating an eclectic mix of tribal, urban and contemporary movements accompanied by drumming will offer us an insider view of South African culture at its best.

We will at long last be launching ‘eYe’ – a unique form of transcendental movement experienced through ambient and digital sound which takes us on a journey deep within ourselves. We look forward to crafting and making use of African musical instruments to explore rhythm and sound. We will host the A-WA-KEN Festival once a year for our members to showcase their talents.

We can’t wait to welcome you into our South African home …

The façade of Cité Scolaire Internationale, host to the American School of Grenoble

ASG headmistress Carol Margaret Bitner

The ASG logo

Getting past no! Photo: Hey Tiffany!

Rebecca Skillman talks to Ellen François-Jacobs, facilitator of the Working Women’s Network of Grenoble workshop ‘Essentials of Successful Negotiation’, 28 May.

Rebecca Skillman: Why do you think the word “negotiation” strikes a note of fear in so many of us?

Ellen François-Jacobs: I believe it’s the classic “fear of the unknown”. In the United States, where I come from, we don’t get any formal negotiation training in school, and rarely even in college, unless we’re business majors. Yet it’s undeniably one of the most important skills we need throughout our personal and professional lives. Think about it … we negotiate for cars, apartments and houses, salaries and benefit packages, raises and promotions … but the majority of people have never acquired the basic skills to get the best possible outcomes for themselves. Instead, they end up “shooting from the hip” and just hoping for the best.

Rebecca: So, we have to formally learn how to negotiate in order to do it successfully?

Ellen: Well, not exactly! [laughs] Children are INCREDIBLE negotiators! Think back to when you were a child… didn’t you negotiate all the time with your parents? Bedtime, extra snacks, and later on it was curfews and car keys. A lot of it comes instinctively, I think. As kids, we even knew which parent to ask for which favors!

Rebecca: Well, then, why do we need to take a class if so much of it comes instinctively?

Ellen: Because, as adults, the stakes are often much higher. The location and size of our home, how much money we’re able to earn, the quality of education we can provide to our children, the vacations we’ll take … all of these are a direct result of our ability to negotiate. So it’s very important to put some structure into the process, and learn some basic strategies to help you get the best possible outcome when you negotiate. It’s also important to learn about situations where you may be able to negotiate, even when you don’t think you can. A few Euros here, a few Euros there … it all adds up!

Rebecca: Many of the members of WWNG are self-employed, independent contractors. How can this workshop help them in particular?

Ellen: As an independent contractor myself, I can definitely attest to the power of good negotiation skills in working with clients. I’m a firm believer in the “win-win” philosophy of negotiation, and that’s the method I’ll be teaching during the workshop. When you’re negotiating the scope of a project, the time frame, the price, the payment terms … It’s extremely important to be able to identify the interests and objectives of your client, and how they can dovetail with your own. When both of you come away feeling good about the outcome of your initial negotiation, it can form the foundation for a successful long-term relationship with the customer.

In order to do that, I’ll be covering some basic concepts in negotiating: you’ll learn how to identify positions, interests and objectives. You’ll learn why you can’t negotiate without a BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement). And you’ll see how having a target point and a reservation point can actually give you more confidence during a negotiation.

Rebecca: Will the attendees actually be negotiating?

Ellen: Yes indeed! We’ll spend the morning going through some basic negotiation theory, and learning how to prepare for a negotiation. As with so many other things, 80% of the success of your negotiation will be the direct result of the quality of your preparation, so we’ll take time to do that right. During the afternoon, the attendees will partner up and do some actual negotiation simulations. Nothing tough … we’ll work on buying a car, negotiating a job offer … you know, the basics. And then we’ll debrief after everyone has negotiated to share outcomes and see who got the best deals … and how they did it. It’ll be lots of fun, and very ludique, as the French say.

Rebecca: And finally, what do you hope that the attendees will come away with?

Ellen: Confidence … absolutely. The understanding that negotiation isn’t some mystical, magical process reserved for used car salesmen or high level business executives — but rather, a skill that can be learned and mastered, and then used each and every day, in all kinds of personal and professional situations.

Ellen François-Jacobs is a freelance corporate trainer, and a visiting instructor of Intercultural Studies at the Grenoble Graduate School of Business and the London School of Business and Finance. She has taught workshops on Business Communication Skills and Relationship Selling since 1980 in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe.

‘Essentials of Successful Negotiation’, a one-day, active-participation workshop, will be offered by the Working Women’s Network of Grenoble on Saturday 28 May from 9h to 17h, at the Grenoble Ecole de Management. This workshop is targeted to professionals who have never attended a professional negotiation course, but who wish to acquire basic skills which can be put into practice immediately. It will cost €30–45 for WWNG members and €85 for non-members. This includes the full-day seminar, lunch with the group, and two coffee breaks. You can register and pay online here.

A detail from the cover of Thora van Male's book, 'Liaisons généreuses'

Grenoble Life talks to Thora van Male, author of Les liaisons généreuses – l’apport de français à la langue anglaise, ahead of a talk she is giving organised by Alliance Grenoble-Oxford on April 7.

Grenoble Life: What is the topic of the talk you have organised with Alliance Grenoble-Oxford?

Thora van Male: I’m going to be talking about my latest book, Liaisons généreuses. It deals with the huge debt that English owes to the French language. We English speakers (I’m from British Columbia, in Canada) are more aware of this than the French are. My impression is that in France, people are so obsessed with the supposed invasion of English into French, that they don’t realize that, a) English would not be much at all without French, and that, b) a lot of the words that are coming from English to French are just returning home, so to speak.

When you see the many many areas where words from French predominate in English, it really makes you think; such subjects as law, religion, cooking, life in society, politics. There are very few areas of life in English whose vocabulary is not affected by – French.

GL: Who should come to the talk?

Thora: Well, I will be speaking in English, which means the talk is aimed at people who are interested in and speak some English. All the AGO people speak French, though, as do I, and the question session after the talk will be bilingual and bicultural, so to speak.

In terms of the content of my talk, it will probably be more of an eye-opener for French people than for the Anglo-Saxophones, as I call us. However, I intend to make the talk interesting and accessible to everyone. And I hope to provide a few chuckles, if not guffaws.

GL: How has the French relationship to the English language changed since you arrived in France?

Thora: Well, you know about the Loi Toubon that was voted in 1994; its objective was to prohibit the use of languages other than French (Read my lips: Eng-lish!) in official French documents, in business, in advertising, etc. This law also established quota rules about how much English-language music could be played on the radio, etc.

Just to put that into perspective, remember that the provincial government of Quebec had voted its Charter of the French language in 1977; this put legislative authority behind the enforcement of French as the language of government and law, as well as that of work, instruction, communication and commerce.

That being said — and people recognize this — English exercises a certain attraction to French speakers in France; dropping an English word here and there is considered to confer a touch of class. Conversely, as you know, the prestige of French exercises a huge influence on English speakers, to this day. Of course, English no longer borrows what I might call “meat and potato” words from French, words that English doesn’t have a name for — this is something I’ll be talking about — but there are still French words coming into English. I found this really noticeable in the latest issue of The Economist’s Intelligent Life. But also in a book of Woody Allen’s witticisms…

GL: As someone who has taught English at the University here in Grenoble and published books for learners of English, what changes have you witnessed in the way the language is taught in the French educational system?

Thora: There has been a continuing move towards getting learners to work with English in a “real world” environment. The conjugation tables and the translations that I grew up with gave way to audio language laboratories, but still with a lot of rote work. The Internet has totally changed that, and the focus is moving more towards experiencing English as it is spoken in environments that are meaningful to each learner. As I see it, that is a general trend.

GL: What needs to be improved?

Thora: Have you got a couple of hours? Judging from my students, I would say that in secondary education they need to hear more authentic English and to be dragged away from translation. They also need real-life experiences with English (Wouldn’t it be nice if English language films were shown on TV with English subtitles …). They also need to shed some inhibitions.

You remember the passage in My Fair Lady when Henry Higgins says “In France, every Frenchman knows his language from A to Z; they never care what they do, actually, as long as they pronounce it properly.” Well there is a grain of truth in this. Students just don’t want to pronounce a word unless they can spell it, and once they have the spelling they tend to “spell-pronounce” — you know, pronounce the L in ‘could’, etc. — in fact, pronounce every word as if it were French. The insecurity involved in jumping in and pronouncing a word that they might not know, or might not know the spelling of, just petrifies them!

But I should get off my hobby-horse: I love my job, and am quite willing, year in, year out, to put my heart and soul into teaching English to my students.

GL: Where do you teach?

Thora: Now, I teach only at the Institute of Political Science on the campus. But like so many expats (though I now have dual nationality) I taught English all over the place in Grenoble before I managed to get a post in the French university system.

GL: When did you originally come to Grenoble and why?

Thora: I came in 1970, with a scholarship from the French government. And I just never went back to Canada! I had always loved French … I think it was my mother who got me going when I was a child, when she taught me that silly song about “La plume de ma tante”. Had I stayed in Canada, I would no doubt have become a French teacher.

GL: You are a published expert on French dictionary illustrations.

Thora: Yes, I am, but my expertise is limited to those little ABC primer type compositions that represent several objects whose name starts with a certain letter. Though this is common in children’s’ alphabet books, France is the only country I know of that has them in dictionaries for adults as well. So when you look at the alphabet illustrations in a dictionary dated, say, in the 1850s, you have a sort of snapshot of French culture and society at that time. It is fascinating. To my amazement, this is a field that had never been researched until I got involved in it. It has been a lot of fun. Since there was no existing research on the subject, I really had to start at zero, and create the tools to analyse all these pictures. I even coined a word for them, since French didn’t really have one; and that involved a meeting Alain Rey, the author of the Petit Robert, a very interesting experience. I love the “treasure hunt” side of this work: you’ve got all these pictures, and you have to figure out what they represent. Plus, I’m always on the lookout for some dictionary that I haven’t yet come across.

GL: What sparked off this particular passion?

Thora: Well, I often jokingly answer this question by saying the answer is contained in an alphabetical list of things I love: A as in alphabet, B as in brocante, C as in calligraphy, D as in dictionary, E as in aesthetics, F as in France, G as in Grenoble, H as in hedonism … The dictionaries I work on are up to 150 years old, and their alphabetical illustrations really combine these elements. In fact I love the alphabet so much that one of my recent books is subtitled La Vie secrète de l’alphabet.

GL: You have also curated a touring exhibition about dictionary ornaments. Tell us about that and where we can see it.

Thora: Shortly after I published Art Dico, I was invited by the Lyons printing museum to curate an exhibition there. It was a lot of fun choosing among the many old illustrations, having huge blow-ups made of them, and showing the general public how rich this apparently naïve form of illustration can be. Another fun aspect was rounding up dozens of artefacts, finding the actual objects that appear in the illustrations. I presented two groups of 26 items, one for children and one for adults, and the game for the visitors was simply to find the names of all the objects. Many of these artefacts were things that people just don’t see today. What I loved about that part of the exhibition was that it showed how the world reflects the dictionary, as opposed to how the dictionary reflects the world. But I could go on about that for hours, too …

Chance being what it is, once the exhibition was over in Lyons, I met a man whose surname is almost identical to mine and who is both a calligrapher and an alphabet-exhibition manager. What serendipity! Bernard Vanmalle has now taken the ART DICO exhibition under his wing. It has circulated widely in France (mostly in public libraries and médiathèques). Unfortunately, it was in Grenoble three years ago for several months, so I do not think it will be here again in the near future …

GL: This wasn’t your first exhibition, though. You exhibited photographs of rue Brocherie at the Grenoble Maison de la Culture in 1981.

Thora: That was another really interesting project. I asked all the merchants on the street I live on to stand on their doorstep for a picture, and to tell me about the past history of their shop. Then I produced a set of panels that combined my photographs and some fabulous line drawings done by a man who worked at the Maison de la Culture at the time; I wrote a text about the history of each shop, and calligraphed it onto each panel.

This exhibition doesn’t circulate any more, and I hope that it will at some point join the Musée Dauphinois collection.

GL: Tell us about your charitable work and how our readers can get involved.

Thora: For several years, now, I have been volunteering in a soup kitchen in the centre of the old town. The association provides breakfast every morning, hot lunch twice a week in the winter months, clothing, food hampers and a variety of other services. The people who come are not all homeless, but they are all in fairly distressing situations (this can include being a refugee, having mental health issues, drug or alcohol problems, or just plain poverty). We have between 40 and 100 people every morning.

If your readers want to help us, one thing we are always in need of is men’s shoes. They can be dropped off at 4 bis rue du Vieux Temple, any week day between 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. The association also accepts monetary donations; I myself am very interested in donations in kind, however, and can promise you that any shoes that are given will find a pair of needy feet!

Thora van Male will be talking about her new book at Maison des Langues on campus on Thursday April 7 at 6.30pm. Contact Alliance Grenoble-Oxford for more information.

An ultrasound scan. Photo: j.dopf

In the second part of a blog about her experience as an expecting mother in France, Grenoble Life’s Shonah Wraith describes her second trimester.

Now comes the very exciting and somewhat invigorating part of this process. The wonderful second trimester. Somewhere around the 13th or so week there is a renewed sense of vigor. There is no need to put your head down on the nearest solid surface and close your eyes for the uncountable time that hour! Amazing!

Holding onto this feeling – and a very full bladder – you are able to walk into the darkened ultrasound room and see what was last a peanut and now resembles something larger than a peanut and perhaps for the first time your partner gets to see this phenomena too!

There are lots of measurements taken and not a lot of them will make sense. However the very reassuring aspect about having a baby in France is that, medically speaking, you and your growing foetus are well taken care of. If the doctor* notices anything out of the ordinary he/ she will tell you and give you instructions accordingly. And adversely when things are OK, they will let you know.

From my experience after this ultrasound the doctor gives you (yet another) prescription to have (yet more) blood tests done and very specifically a blood test to check for the possibility of downs syndrome. Now, before you go to the laboratoire d’analyses médicales to fill this script, you have to wait until you receive a very specific letter from your doctor and go between the dates he/she gives. Armed with these bits you can go and have your blood tests done. Alternatively, you can do what I did and not listen to the doctors’ instructions (or I put it down to being totally overwhelmed by experiencing the ultrasound – and I am standing by this!) then have the lovely secretary at the laboratoire try to explain in her slowest French that you have done it all wrong! As a side note, the laboratoire will become very familiar to you and everyone is more than happy to help. My only piece of advice is to get the little container for your “sample” at the visit before you need it, as the “sample” needs to be fresh from the morning of your visit.

This ultrasound was the marker for my husband and I to tell people. We asked more than once, during the ultrasound, if the doctor thought everything was OK, and given his countless reassurances we felt confident we could tell our most treasured secret to the world! This was at week 14, so not only did we have to tell the world, but the French authorities in the form of the CAF and the CPAM.

At your ultrasound the doctor will also give you the appropriate paperwork to give to these authorities, which by law you have to do by week 14. But be aware of all the other information you will need – passport, titre de séjour, husband’s taxable income for the previous year, your taxable income for the previous year if applicable, social security numbers, work contracts, bank codes and what you ate for breakfast for the last 10 consecutive days.

Now, do not fear if you forget something they will surely let you know, but this will delay the process of you being “on the books”. All of this running around (see full training in process!) will be well worth it, as: 1) you won’t have to do it in the foggy haze of the post-partum period; and 2) If it is all done on time the government gives you a financial reward in the seventh month to assist with the baby (I believe it is more a prize for passing the French bureaucracy test!) … but do not fear if you have not done it correctly or on time, you will still receive this reward, with a delay.

AND now ENJOY! You should be “glowing” and showing. SO instead of just feeling a little bloated, your pregnancy body should be well visible. On this subject you may need pregnancy clothes, underwear, oils and potions. There may be some fabulous shops in Grenoble – and if there are I would like to know for future reference – but I was not able to find any for clothes or underwear and outsourced all of mine from the UK and Australia.

Mothercare is great, but sadly do not deliver internationally anymore – time to reconnect with long lost friends and relatives in the UK! Also bio-oil is one of the nicest things I have ever applied to my body. Sadly, it is not available in France (it supposedly helps prevent the dreaded stretch marks) and would well be worth getting it from somewhere/someone!

Another activity that is wonderful to add to your training regime is yoga and, posssibly at the end of the trimester, starting ante-natal classes. A compassionate sage-femme who conducts all of this (and more for the post-partum period) is Catherine Muguet. She will even do your ante-natal classes in English (fully refundable on social security)!

Toward the end of the semester your old friend fatigue may come knocking on your door. Welcome him in and put your feet up – remember you are growing a person in there!

You then enter the tapering off stage of the training and preparing for “the event”. Where the line seems but a hazy memory and your expanding mid-section reminds that you are closer to the end of this process and nearer to the start of another.

*My doctor did three out four of the ultrasounds. The 4th was done by a partner doctor in the practice. I understand from speaking to other people, it really depends on where you go as to the process you must undertake to have your ultrasounds done. Also when I say four ultrasounds I am also counting the internal ultrasound you have at six weeks, mentioned in the previous post.

Please note this is purely a subjective account of this situation in France

Wing It Productions logo

Grenoble Life talks to Hélène Perrin-Gouron, Vicki Bernard and Katie Coakley – aka Wing It Productions – a new English theatre group for secondary school pupils in and around Grenoble.

Grenoble Life: Who is Wing It Productions?

Hélène Perrin-Gouron: Three passionate women who have always loved and done some theater; one French having lived in the US, one English, and one Irish.

Vicki Bernard: Sounds like the beginning of a joke…

Katie Coakley: Oh thanks, ladies. I’m the Irish one (‘wanting desperately’ to change the subject)! We’re part of the abc anglais association, which aims at helping people ‘learn, improve or maintain their level of English in the most natural manner’. Our goal is to open this theatre activity to the entire secondary school community in and around Grenoble.

Hélène: That is… for this first year. I have the High School population (15-18/19) in mind too, the college students, etc.

GL: What is the philosophy of the group?

Vicki: Having worked so often with young people, we have really been able to see how much the theatre can bring them in terms of self-confidence, team-work (relying on others), their creativity and imagination.

Katie: The fact that we use English purely as a vehicle means that they improve their English without even realising it.

Hélène: I would add to this that one of the most positive things to come out of the work with young ones is the bonding that they experience. The show becomes bigger than every single one of them, and us.

Katie: Very much so! It also eradicates the age differences.

GL: What ideas do you have for your first productions?

Katie: Although we’re going to keep that secret, we can say that we’re going down the comedy road.

Vicki: Our lips are sealed.

GL: What have some of the major challenges been getting started and how have you overcome them?

Katie: To start with, we had a real dilemma. Do we create our own association or do we become part of an existing one?

Vicki: We were very fortunate to come across abc anglais (through Helen McEwan who worked on the Cité Scolaire Internationale pantomime with us.) They took us under their wing.

After that, our main challenge was sorting out a lot of things all at the same time: reading umpteen scripts to find a story, organizing and advertizing the auditions…

Katie: And making sure that all this gets done behind the scenes without a hitch. That in itself is quite a challenge!

Hélène: I, personally, was happy to have help with all that work that no one ever imagines exits. How to overcome the constant challenges? With ‘your head in the stars and your feet on the ground’ (i.e. persistence, patience, with zest, and more persistence, more patience, etc.)

GL: What kind of people are you looking for and how can they audition?

Katie: Anyone of any nationality between 11 and 15 with a good knowledge of English and an excess of enthusiasm.

Hélène: You can be French, British, American, or whatever; but you must know that the whole activity is going to be run entirely in English.

Vicki: In other words, you can come from Mars …

Hélène: Or Venus …

Vicki: As long as you can get along in English and are prepared to improve through taking part.

Hélène: If you wish to join us for this thrilling adventure, go to www.abcanglais.org, section ‘collège’. All the information you need is there!

GL: Tell us a bit about your theatrical backgrounds

Hélène: I started doing theater at university, in the US. Then I was asked to keep going with the county community theater. I thoroughly enjoyed working eight months solid on the ‘Man of La Mancha’ musical. I was there six days a week and I can’t think of any moment not being sparkling! Then these past few years, I was general director of the C.S.I. panto where every single cast has been my favorite!

‘Out of hours’, I’m a scriptwriter and have worked on long features such as Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, or Pearl Harbor; and if you’re dying for more names, you can go to my LinkedIn profile.

Vicki:  I was involved in acting in a semi-professional theatre in England. I did drama all through school, acting and directing as house and drama captain. I acted during my university days too and put on a couple of plays in the English Department at U.3 in Grenoble. Finally, I was part of the panto direction team at the C.S.I. for two years.

Katie: I’ve done theatre with small children in Ireland. Here in Grenoble, I’ve worked on the C.S.I. panto for two years.

GL: What is the potential of Grenoble in particular for this type of theatre group in terms of audiences and participants?

Hélène, Vicki, and Katie: (with one voice) Massive!

GL: Thanks ladies. Watch this space for updates and news about Wing It Productions.

Breastfeeding baby. Photo by fikirbaz

Grenoble Life talks to Kelly Rigotti of Les Marraines de Lait – an Isère based association offering breasfeeding support – ahead of their meeting this Thursday. 

Grenoble Life: What is Les Marraines de Lait and what is your involvement in the association?

Kelly Rigotti: The Marraines de Lait (Big Sisters of Breastfeeding) is a local, non-profit association dedicated to supporting new mothers in creating the breastfeeding experience that works for them. Unlike other local associations, like the La Leche League or the Voie Lactée, we don’t have regular monthly meetings, although we do meet several times a year. Instead, we match new and experienced moms to create a breastfeeding support pair; to give the new mother an experienced person she can call on when she has questions, problems … or just needs to talk. Our role is not to offer medical advice, but instead lend a friendly, supportive ear to our filleules, or Little Sisters.

I have been a filleule in the association, a marraine (big sister) many times over, as well as past president. I’ve enjoyed each and every one of these roles, although I like being a marraine the best! 

GL: How, when and why was the association founded?

Kelly: The association was founded in 2003 with the goal of recreating formally the informal bonds that used to exist when we lived in smaller communities. Little girls used to grow up seeing their moms, aunts, neighbors, sisters and friends breastfeeding and there was always somebody to turn to for advice. As we’ve moved away from our villages and into a more modern community, and especially with the dominance of bottle-feeding over the past few generations, it has become more and more common for a new mother to be the first in her circle of family and friends to want to breastfeed. After her stay in the hospital, she might not have any one to turn to with her questions, and if she does ask a friend or older relative, more often than not the advice will be to give the baby a bottle.

Associations like the La Leche League and the Voie Lactée use hotlines and monthly meetings to reach and support new moms, but the Marraines de Lait feel that it’s important for each new mom to have one (extra) person she can rely on. 

GL: What are some of the health benefits of breastfeeding for mother and baby?

There are innumerable health benefits for both moms and babies, from a decreased risk of allergies for the baby to a lower risk of breast cancer for the moms. That said, we don’t believe that formula feeding is evil – sometimes it’s necessary for a number of reasons. Our goal is not to push what some might call a Radical Breastfeeding Agenda. We believe in supporting moms and babies to find a breastfeeding relationship that works for them: from exclusive, long-term nursing, to pumping and bottle feeding, and everything in between.

GL:  In what ways do traditional views of breastfeeding in France differ to those in Anglophone countries?

France has one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in the European Union, although Isère is on par with the UK and the US with about 75% of new mothers choosing to breastfeed. Once women go home from the hospital after giving birth however, the percentage continuing to breastfeed at home drops to about 50% and there are very few women who continue to nurse their babies after about four months, when the average mom returns to work.

France also has, in my experience as an American, a very faithful membership in what I call the Cult of the Physician. I’ve found that French people (and I’m generalizing wildly here) tend to think that scientific things must be better than something that hasn’t passed through a laboratory, which to my mind explains why so many women here believe that Bottle is Best.

Women in the United States tend to breastfeed longer than in France; although the percentage of mothers who are still breastfeeding at six months (the minimum recommended by the American Medical Association) is higher than in France, the percentage of women in most developed countries who are still breastfeeding at two years (the minimum recommended by the World Health Organization) is still very, very low. I myself breastfed my three children for a combined length of time that was longer than the amount of time I spent in higher education.

GL: What support does the association receive from the medical establishment?

We have a list of doctors who support breastfeeding and to whom we refer people for any suspected medical question and we work with several certified lactation consultants. While our role is not to provide medical advice, we do have several nurses, midwives and doctors in our midst and we also organize and attend several trainings a year. We have set up a program for premature babies at the Hôpital Nord as well.

GL:  Can new mothers and fathers get support in English if needed?

There are a few native English speakers in the association (myself included) and several other people who speak English fluently. We also have German and Spanish speakers in the group.

GL:  How can people find out more and/or get involved?

Check out our website! You can also call the hotline at 04 76 33 30 81; leave a message sand somebody will get back to you. For help in English, feel free to call me: 06 67 33 74 91.

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, 24 February, 2011, beginning at 10 am (and continuing till we get tired of chatting!). It will be held at the Café des Zébulons, 2 rue Sergent Bobilot, in Grenoble.

Test de grossesse

In the first part of a blog about her experience as an expecting mother in France, Grenoble Life’s Shonah Wraith (née Kennedy) talks about finding out she was pregnant.

Even though discussions had been had, plans had been made and action put into place, it was a big shock when suddenly I found myself at the chemist asking for a test de grossesse.  The pharmacist was very kind explaining the best time to do this test for the best results – and as I am a stickler for rules I then had to wait until first thing the next morning to do the business on the stick. So it happened that at 5am I was attempting to re-read instructions, aim onto a very narrow stick to do what seemed to be the most difficult test I had ever sat – one that I couldn’t ever have studied for. It did not take long to realise what I had suspected for a few days.  All I can say about this moment is – savour it. This is the time you can breath and realise that what you have wanted has become a reality.  Take time before the other reality of doctors appointments, blood tests, getting a mutuelle and possible incomprehensions take over.

Ahhhhh! Breathe in, breathe out…

Once you have done this as many times as is necessary you have to get une ordonnance from your médecin traitant for a blood test to confirm the heart palpitations of excitement the little purple/ blue/coloured line gave you. I merely rang my doctor and asked for the prescription, rather than making an appointment with him.  He had the prescription waiting for me in his surgery, I picked it up and went to the local laboratoire d’analyses médicales for the blood test.  The following afternoon I had the positive confirmation.

Then you have to ring – who now seems like your best friend – your doctor and see him/her. The doctor will read the results and reiterate to you that you are indeed pregnant! They will then give you an estimated date of arrival, another ordonnance for a blood test to determine your blood type (you will then be given a carte de groupe sanguine – you will need to keep this for the whole process), toxoplasmosis and rubella and also suggest a gynécologue/obstétrician. Of course you could choose your own, if you had a preference of where to go. It seems to me, the place you give birth is determined by where your gynaecologist is located. Next mission* is to call this doctor, make an appointment and wait.

And waiting seems to be the word for the first trimester.  You know you have crossed the line, but there are so many potential obstacles that you don’t feel like you are truly training for the race properly. Your daily life is meant to continue, but somewhere in the background (more often than not in the foreground if you suffer from morning sickness, tiredness and uncountable trips to amenities!) of everything you do there is “that thing” that no one else knows. You go to the gynaecologist’s office and feel like an imposter amongst all the big-bellied women!

Oh!  And while you are waiting you might want to look into a mutuelle if you don’t already have one.  Especially if you want to go down the clinique route and have a private room when the time comes. As I previously said this whole process happened a lot quicker than we had anticipated, so I was looking for an appropriate mutuelle before crossing the line, however had not made a decision before the result. I was nervous that I would then not be able to have a mutuelle. However, in France, with the company I decided to go with, pregnancy is not classed as a pre-existing “condition” and I was covered instantly.

Next to the first appointment, which in a word is amazing.  Once again the doctor will confirm to you what the stick, laboratory and your first doctor told you, but this appointment is like watching your favourite movie – that you have seen countless times – in technicolour WITH surround sound … you see this tiny peanut shape and hear “the” heartbeat.

Now, it is such a personal choice whether or not you tell people within the first trimester that you are pregnant.  My husband and I decided to wait to tell anyone, so wait we did for another agonisingly long six weeks.  During this time, though, there are many places to visit virtually.  You can follow what your creation is up to, while you can’t physically see what is going on.  Some sites I found really useful during this time were

• Baby Centre (where you can choose UK or US)
• Huggies (where you can choose the country of your choice)
• Having a baby in France practical information

And if you are impatient to buy books the bookworm café has a great selection.  However, if you are trying to be discreet you can buy books from Amazon.fr and the book depository, both of which have free delivery.

You then enter into the declaration and echographie stage!  When the line is well and truly behind you and the training moves into full swing!

*My doctor also gave me un’ordonnance for an echographie.  However, when I visited my gynaecologist he did the echographie in his office, and there was no need for me to go to a seperate place for this.  This may depend on your gynaecologist.

Please note this is purely a subjective account of this situation in France

The Upstage 2011 cast and crew

The cast and crew of Upstage – an English theatre group comprising students at Cité Internationale Europole in Grenoble – share their experiences as rehearsals gather pace for this year’s production: Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Ste-Marie-d’en-Bas, March 15–19. 

Francesco Amadori 

This is my first year in upstage productions and I am so pleased to be part of it. From day one, everyone was really friendly and made me feel at ease in the rehearsals. We work in a great atmosphere and I love the way the directors take their time to pay attention to every detail in the scene which we are practising. 

I play a well-to-do, hard-handed land-owner named Thomas Putnam. He is a participant in the trials of Salem and “helps” the prosecution of Giles Corey. This part, seeing as it is not one of the major ones, allows me to participate backstage during the play, as well as being on stage. 

Alba Besson 

Girls found dancing in the forest; women accused of witchcraft; a mighty judge brought to Salem to sort it all out and to hang the guilty… Sounds like a pretty good play don’t you think? 

I’m Alba and I play the part of Samuel Parris, Salem’s egocentric reverend, and so far I’m really enjoying being one of the baddies! The cast this year is really fun: we all get on great and function well as a theatre troupe. The rehearsals, with a little nudge from cakes and the soundtrack to “The Boat That Rocked”, are progressing slowly but surely and through them is emerging an exciting adaptation of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”. 

Hopefully, Parris’s selfish, sly and self-righteous personality won’t rub off on me too much! 

Mariam El Boudi 

Hi everybody! I’m Mariam, a 17-year-old girl who plays Mary Warren, a naïve young woman, and Rebecca Nurse, a conventional 72-year-old woman. Exploring The Crucible through Mary Warren’s character is a powerful and overwhelming experience, especially since this will be the first time I’ll be playing in Upstage. The balance stems from Rebecca Nurse’s character who is, according to me, of a much lighter tone. As Mr Simpson [David Simpson] said “the emotional levels and the acting challenges are very demanding”; therefore, we are experiencing a break away from Loot which was performed the previous year and was much more hilarious. 

I’m looking forward to be performing with the rest of the team!!! 

Jaicy Elliot 

This is my third and last year in upstage and I am proud to say that I play the splendid Elizabeth Proctor. 

This is a great change as I have been accustomed to playing men. Elizabeth is a very strong lady dealing with deep emotional conflict within her marriage as well as playing an extremely important role in the witch trial. 

The play is definitely more serious and grave than the past few upstage has put on but I’m glad to say that the very new actors’ enthusiasm and good humour still fits in what we call the upstage family and style. 

Matias Gaggiotti 

Hey, I’m Matias and in The Crucible I play Deputy-Governor Danforth, a pretentious and selfish judge, who is extremely loyal to the rules and regulations of his position. He constantly changes tone and mood and so I am sometimes pushed to act calmly and then erupt into an explosion of anger. He is a challenging character to portray but it’s also fun to immerse in this selfish, “just” character. The team this year is convivial and we all feel comfortable acting in front of each other. The production team is doing a brilliant job and the play is evolving swiftly and surely. The actors help the production team from time to time in making the tickets and other technicalities. Overall everyone is having fun and enjoying their role. Although the play is a challenge (due to its sometimes complicated language and strong themes) the team faces the challenge and overcomes the difficulties to produce a first class performance. Of course there is place for improvement but we will all be there coming March to preform the play in all its splendour. And I’m sure you’ll be there too. 

Andrew Hanlon 

Ladies and gentlemen of the court, I have come here to refer you to the facts. Every year for the past 18 years there has been an Upstage production, and every year there are a talented few, selected to perform and be part of the Upstage Experience. Ladies and gentlemen of the court, ladies and gentlemen of Salem, I am no lawyer, I am but an old farmer with 600 acres with timber in addition but I challenge you now, find one of that chosen band who will testify here, before God and the good people of Salem, find one who claims that their time could have been better spent. Find one who says that the few hours a week were not worth the feeling of success. Find one, I challenge you, find one who would not have become one of the select few, chosen to join the Upstage family. Just one. Ladies and gentlemen of the court, I rest my case. 

Anthony du Hecquet de Rauville 

Hello there assembly! I’m John Hale. Reverend John Hale that is. 

Now for today’s opening sermon, I have chosen to read to you from the Book of Upstage, Chapter The Crucible, Verse 2011. 

You see, this verse details how Anthony de Rauville joined Upstage and what he thought of it. 

Everyone knows that when in trouble, Upstage is the best reference when it comes to chilling. After all, it is THE place to be. What more could a young man such as Anthony want? He decided that he wanted to not only enjoy himself, but entertain others. After a long audition, he was finally admitted into the book of Upstage. Many a cold winter afternoon, you could see Anthony and his friends practising away, repeating line after line, movement after movement, and so, after many hours of hard work and perseverance, he was finally admitted into the Chapter of The Crucible. Do you see what an interesting life he and the other members led? Wouldn’t it be a waste not to enjoy this chapter? Well then why don’t you head on over to Théâtre Ste-Marie-d’en-Bas and enjoy a wonderful show. 

Yannick Jamey 

I’m very happy to say I’m playing in upstage for a third year. This time, I’ll perform as a minor role: Judge Hathorne, a very unfair and sadistic Salem judge, which sets quite a contrast in character for me, compared to my previous roles as a thug and wanted criminal. Hathorne is very intense, as is the actual play, which is somewhat much less of a comedy than what upstage usually produces. I think “the Crucible” is magnificent and wholly remarkable, and with an impressively big crew to bring it to Ste-Marie-d’en-Bas, I look forward to a thrilling performance. I would like to thank Mr. Simpson and other upstage members for exceptionally having given me the pleasure and opportunity to perform once again with the big family… 

Astrid Lund 

This is my first year at Upstage, but I still felt welcomed from the start, and as time goes on my confidence on stage has grown. There is a real feeling of belonging to a group, and it’s great seeing the play coming together, thanks to a wonderful cast and crew. 

I play Abigail Williams. She is 17 years old during the trials. She is manipulative and dramatic, as well as darkly charismatic, with constant shifts of mood and behaviour. At first she seems to be modest and proper, but soon it is obvious that she is far from that… 

Colleen Massé 

Upstage. Since the moment I saw the play last year, I just knew I wanted to be part of it. And I’m not disappointed. It is better than anything I had expected!!!! I’m Tituba, Parris’ crazy servant on my good days, and Mercy Lewis – as Arthur Miller said “A sly merciless girl of 18″ – on my bad days … These two small parts seem just perfect for me to get used to acting, and to how Upstage works … Why now, what more could I say? Apart from buy your tickets, and expect a night you won’t forget! Because there shall be no trickin’ with no Devil as long as Tituba’s around, and no terrible secrets with Mercy Lewis. Of course not…! 

Mairwen Perenon 

I wanted to act in Upstage since seeing The Ladykillers. I am very happy to have been included in the Upstage team this year. My characters are very challenging for me as I have never acted before. I hope I will satisfy the audience with my work on them. Ann Putnam is an old woman who is deeply affected by the loss of seven children in childbirth, whereas Francis Nurse is a landholding farmer whose wife is accused of killing Ann Putnam’s babies! 

Fred Shahani 

Hi, Fred here. This is my first year at Upstage, I arrived a little late but I felt welcomed from my first day. I am part of the production team and I mostly do the odd jobs such as fetching Mr Simpson and Julie’s coffee, scrubbing the floors and filling in for the actors who couldn’t be bothered to come… The main reason I wanted to come to Upstage is for the cheap coffee and free food but I’m also interested in how a play evolves and what happens behind the scenes. The Crucible is a great play to start off with as it has a lot of themes that are still valid today. The play is rapidly improving and I look forward to the future. 

Lewis Smith 

Hi, I’m Lewis. This year will be my second in Upstage, working with the magnificent Production team! I’m mainly responsible for any sound effects or music you hear in the theatre, as well as the Upstage website. Why did I join Upstage you might ask? Because I love working backstage in theatre productions and contributing to them, having tons of fun, and of course watching lowly actors rehearse for hours on end! (Cue evil laugh) Upstage really is great fun, whether you be an actor or techie, whether the play be a comedy or not; there will always be great people, great music, and of course free food. 

On top of all that, on top of the teamwork and stress management skills you develop, the feeling of accomplishment and success after the final production is wonderful, and is definitely worth the effort! 

As Nietzsche once said, “What is good? – Whatever augments the feeling of happiness.” Upstage is thereby the highest form of good. 

Nicholas Smith 

Hi, I’m Nick and this year I decided to join Upstage, the Europole theatre troop. So far I’m not regretting my decision at all! Since the beginning of the year I’ve been having bucket loads of fun at rehearsals. The atmosphere amongst the cast and crew is great, everyone gets on really well, and when you’ve had a stressful week and are rundown with exhaustion, Upstage is a real pick-me-up. It helps to swallow the proverbial medicine that is the French lycée system. 

I play John Proctor, an honest and faithful farmer, pillar of the community and model to all … kind of … 

Camille Tabary 

Aye love! 

I am Cheever, the prison guard. 

I am a minor character in our play The Crucible who likes to get tipsy, or even drunk … My real name is Camille Tabary and I am a terminale. A small part was perfect for me this year because it really enabled me to participate in the upstage experience and have fun, but also continue working at school. Upstage is a lot of hard work but also great fun because we all have the same goal: perform the best Crucible possible. It will be an amazing play that you won’t forget, because we put our heart into it. So come and see us. Maybe I will share with you some of my cider. 

Teo Taylor 

Lights On! 

Hi. My name’s Teo Taylor, and I play the role of, well, Teo Taylor. I have to admit, it’s a role I particularly enjoy, because it is that of a psychorigid, boring, terribly bad looking “computer genius” (that’s what a history teacher once said, so for all you know it might just be that I know how to turn on the printer.) In short, I’m the closest you’ll get to the Upstage geek – shirt in trousers, glasses, terrible taste for shoes, and never eats at midday. 

As you might have expected, I’m one of the four techies. More specifically, I’m the one who does the stuff like the poster or the lights. So, if you like the poster, knowing I’m responsible for it, I hope you’ll trust me when I say that what the actors are producing is way worth seeing, to come and see for yourself in March (I’ll be sad if you don’t…) 

See poster below for ticket and performance information 

The Crucible poster

A still from Garage, 2007, directed by Lenny Abrahamson

Camille Bromley reports back from the Celtic Connection’s third annual Irish film event and tells us a bit more about activities planned by the association over the year.

At the end of November Grenoble’s Irish cultural association, Celtic Connection, held a film event at Cinema les Melies, showing two Irish films: the animated children’s film Brendan and the Secret of the Kells, and Garage, winner of the 2008 Irish Film awards as well as the CICAE Art and Essai Cinema Prize at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.  

Asked about the choice of the film Garage, Celtic Connection explained, “We have shown films for three years now and wished to show the ‘maturity’ of Irish cinema with a provoking film about a social theme that was not too evident in the euphoria of the “Celtic tiger” era, and we seem to have been a bit prophetic in our choice.”

The film shows a lonely garage attendant’s tentative first steps towards friendship and human connection with a 15-year-old boy.  The story plays between comic and tragic, with a nuanced and delicate perfomance by Patt Short. Perhaps the most wonderful aspect of seeing the film on the big screen was the beautiful Irish country landscapes. The pace of the film being slow (like life in a rural town), it allows plenty of time to appreciate gorgeous shots of Irish countryside, which can only be described in the most typical way as green, lush, and foggy. The film was shot in Cloghan, County Offaly; Woodford, County Galway; and Rathcabbin, County Tipperary over a six week period in late summer 2006

This was the third annual Irish film event for Celtic Connection.  Previously they had shown Small Engine Repair with the Cinemathéque de Grenoble, and Once.  At every event Celtic Connection offers an apéritif beforehand and “a few drinks” afterwards in the Irish bars of Grenoble.

Don’t want to wait until November 2011 to see another Irish film? 

The Celtic Connection gives its recommendations:

For Adults: 

Breakfast on Pluto, 2006, Neil Jordan
The Wind that shakes the Barley, 2006, Ken Loach
Paveen Lackeen, 2005
Once, John Carney, 2007.
Bloody Sunday, Paul Grengrass, 2002
In America, Jim Sheridan
Omagh, Pete Travis, 2005
The Magdalene Sisters, Peter Mullan 

For Children:

Into the West, Mike Newell, 1992
The Ugly Duckling and Me, Michael Hegner and Karsten Kiilerich, 2007
The Secret of the Kells, Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, 2009

 The Irish film institute website also has an archive of films

What else does Celtic Connection do?

A lot, as it turns out—Celtic Connection holds a variety of activities centered on Celtic identity throughout the year.  All the events are annual.

Upcoming is Christmas drinks at the Family pub on Friday December 17th.

Then they start off the new year with a restaurant meal for the ladies, in the tradition of Nollaig na Mna (Women’s Christmas). Traditionally, each year on January 6th men would take care of the housework for one day, offering women a chance to go out to relax with each other.

Later in January a night to celebrate the life and works of the national Bard Robert Burns: Celtic Connection’s Scottish contingent organized Burn’s night last January, complete with haggis, speeches, and music.

On March 17^th is, of course, St. Patrick’s Day.  Celtic Connection celebrates on a weekend around this date, organizing a meal at a farmhouse restaurant just outside Grenoble.  Last year, they say, “we had 70 people and a band and danced the evening away.”

On June 16th in Dublin and elsewhere is Bloomsday, to celebrate the life of Irish writer James Joyce and relive the events in his novel Ulysses, all of which took place on the same day in Dublin in 1904. Last year the Bookworm Café hosted a reading of Ulysses, with the enthusiastic David Simpson as a reader. On the agenda this year: Edwardian dress-up…? 

Around the 20th of June Celtic Connection holds their annual picnic in conjunction with the Irish association in Lyon, AFIL.  The picnic is held at a lake near Grenoble, and attendees sometimes reach 80 people, making for a great afternoon of fun, games and songs.

Celtic Connection isn’t about to miss a Halloween event on October 31st, seeing as the celebration of Halloween began in Ireland around 100AD.  There’s an event for the kiddies with traditional games, apples and fruit, and costumes, while the adults have mulled wine or the more traditional Irish coffee.  In 2010 the Halloween event was held at Café Mari and included a full Irish breakfast, which is “a brunch with sausages, rashers, eggs, black pudding, lashings of tea and brown bread” (being American, I have no idea what rashers or “lashings of tea” is supposed to indicate, so I leave this in quotations).

The Irish film showing, growing in popularity each year, takes place mid-November.

Finally, Celtic Connection winds up the calendar with Christmas drinks in an Irish bar.  It starts no later than happy hour and everyone brings food and music.  This is a social event and people are welcome to drift in and out all evening.  Celtic Connection does advise drinking in moderation, although they know that it won’t be a problem—at least on the Irish side—because “the French traditionally consume more alcohol than us!”

Don’t believe them?—According to the World Health Organization, Ireland’s per capita litre consumption increased from 7.0 in 1970 to 14.5 in 2001, and was 13.5 in 2004. This compares with 20.4 in France in 1970 down to 13.0 in 2004.  Ok, so the Irish do drink slightly more that the French . . . but it wasn’t always the case!

For more information:

Celtic Connection’s website

To be kept informed of Celtic Connection events sign up for the mailing list by emailing celtic.connection.grenoble@gmail.com

AFIL, Celtic Connection’s sister association in Lyon

The Irish Film Institute website

The 2011 official St. Patrick’s Day festival in Dublin

Burn’s Night

A detail from The Crucible poster

We talk to David Simpson, producer of Upstage – an English theatre group comprising students at Cité Internationale Europole – ahead of their 2011 production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.

Grenoble Life: Why did you choose Arthur Miller’s The Crucible for this year’s Upstage?

David Simpson: When you do one play a year, you want to do something good, something striking, something memorable. The Crucible is one of the most powerful and moving plays ever written, and is a very strong challenge for myself and my fellow directors, Therese Zanone and Claude Deladeuille, as well as the Upstage team as a whole.

GL: Arthur Miller’s work isn’t known for its comedy – does this mark a departure for Upstage? 

David: It’s true that we have a reputation for doing comedy, and there really is very little comic potential here. But very often, our comedies have had a serious thrust, and a couple of our plays could not really be classed as comedies at all. Top Girls, as one upstage girl said, ‘… made people laugh, and think, and cry.’ I had a lot of encouragement too, in choosing this play, from people who thought last year’s short Harold Pinter play Mountain Language was a brave and important performance, about the survival of human dignity in the face of totalitarian abuse, and the destruction of cultural identity.  

GL: What particular problems does The Crucible pose for cast and crew in terms of staging?

David: Of course, the emotional levels and the acting challenges involved are very demanding. But the intensity we’ve all been feeling already, in rehearsals, only seems to spur everyone on even more.

That’s the real area of difficulty, and everyone is coping well. Technically, in terms of the set or the lighting for example, this play is much easier to manage than many of those we’ve done in previous years. So the production team are able to focus on both subtlety and power of effect. The poster is a good example of this (see below).

GL: What makes The Crucible relevant today?

David: This year’s play is about collective hysteria and the persecution of individuals, people who could save themselves, save their lives, by confessing to something they haven’t done. As, such, it was relevant during the period of McCarthyism and witch-hunting when Miller wrote it. It’s just as relevant today.

The play is based on real events and real characters, settling their scores, their political, social or sexual rivalries in Salem, Massachusets in 1691. Who would say this doesn’t go on today? The Upstage team have taken to these issues and conflicts, and to the wide range of well-drawn and strongly contrasting characters, with great enthusiasm.

GL: How are rehearsals progressing?

David: There’s still lots to do, and two and a half months to go, but we all feel proud of what we’ve managed so far, and that this is a play that’s going places.

Watch this space for more info on performances and reflections from the cast

The Crucible poster

Robin Hood - a pantomime. A detail from this year's poster.

As the Junior High students at Cité Scolaire Internationale start rehearsals for the annual pantomime, Grenoble Life catches up with some of the cast.

Siobhan Coakley is playing ‘King Richard’, Jessica Vacheresse is playing ‘Lady Eleanor’, and is also Choir Director, and Matthew Lloyd is playing ‘Bobby, the Castle Guard’.

Grenoble Life: How old are you and what year are you in at the Cité Scolaire Internationale? 

Siobhan: I’m fourteen and I’m in troisième. 

Jessica: I’m fourteen and currently in troisième.

Matthew: I’m twelve and I am in cinqième. 

GL: Why did you decide to get involved with the school panto? 

Siobhan: I’ve seen previous pantomimes from the school when I first came to France. I love singing, dancing, acting and the idea of the audience taking part in the show so it was definitely something I wanted to be a part of. It’s also very different to the other types of theatre in France so it was also the excitement to be a part of something original to this country. 

Jessica: I decided to get involved in the school panto because I used to go and see it every year, and I always really enjoyed it. I also wanted to discover acting and making the public laugh. I’ve been acting in the panto for three years now. 

Matthew: I got involved in the panto because I thought it would be fun to take part.

GL: Have you ever performed on stage before? How do you feel about it – nervous, excited?  

Siobhan: Yes, when I lived in Ireland I was a part of a lot of dance, musical theatre and speech and drama clubs, so I had performed on stage before, I just wasn’t quite aware of all the people watching me at the time because I was a lot younger. However now I realize the “responsibility” of giving a good performance. Before going on stage I always feel anxious, excited and extremely nervous but once I get on stage (like many people performing in the pantomime) I don’t want to get off! 

Jessica: I’d performed on stage a couple of times before, in small singing concerts with the music school I went to. I think the memory of the fun I had on stage back then gave me confidence to walk on stage at panto. The feeling before the panto show is always tense, yet we can’t wait to start. It’s during the last couple of weeks before the show that the cast really gets close together and by the time we start the BIG week we feel like a giant family. 

Matthew: I’ve never performed on stage and I’m actually really looking forward to it.

GL: So you’ll be acting, singing and dancing? Which are you best at and which are the most difficult for you? Why? 

Siobhan: I’d say I’m probably best at dancing and acting, because they’re what I’m most experienced at. Although I’d say acting is harder because you really need to find a way to stay in character , especially during the embarrassing or intense parts. What embarrasses you usually doesn’t embarrass your character. 

Jessica: I, like most of the cast, act, dance and sing. To me singing and acting are the easiest. When I act I feel like myself (which is quite ironic as I’m not being myself!) I also love singing. Dancing isn’t my strongest point; some people feel like they’re flying when they dance. Personally I find it really difficult to coordinate my movements.

Matthew: I think I’m best at acting because I like it, whereas singing or dancing I don’t really like. 

GL: Did you all know about pantomimes before you got involved in this one? 

Siobhan: Yes, it was always a tradition when I lived in Ireland to go see a pantomime around Christmas time. So doing the pantomime at school brings back a lot of memories. 

Jessica: I don’t think many people in the cast knew much about pantomimes before watching our school panto or participating in it. One of the adults involved has sent us videos of pantomimes in the UK but most of us had never been to see one ‘live’, apart from our school panto!! 

Matthew: I’ve already been to a pantomime in England called ‘Peter Pan’. 

What interests you about the story of Robin Hood? 

Siobhan: What interests me about the story of Robin Hood is that it has never been done before as a pantomime. So the scriptwriters were able to create a completely new pantomime which we would be the first to put into production! 

Jessica: What I like about Robin Hood is that it’s not like the usual fairytales. It really might have happened! The prince has been replaced by an outlaw who wants to help, the princess has been replaced by a maid, and the “bad guy” rules the country! The roles have been exchanged and that’s what makes Robin Hood great. It also makes it an AMAZING panto! I can’t wait to see what people think about it when seeing it.

Matthew: The thing that interests me about the story of ‘Robin Hood’ is that he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. 

GL: When did you start rehearsing, and how many rehearsals do you have each week? 

Siobhan: We started rehearsing in the start of September and we have two hour rehearsals each Tuesday and Thursday, as well as occasional song and dance rehearsals at lunch time and on Saturday mornings. 

Jessica: We tried out for this year’s panto in May, just before the summer holidays. That’s when we were given our roles. But the actual rehearsals started at the beginning of our school year, in September. We have two permanent rehearsals: they take place every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 5 pm to 7 pm, at the Cité Scolaire Internationale. (Thanks to our direction team who do a great job of helping us!) We also occasionally have singing and dancing rehearsals on Tuesdays and Fridays from 12pm to 2pm. (Thanks to song director and dance director who are there every time to encouraging us!) Some of the cast also participates in the panto choir. Their rehearsals take place at the same time as general rehearsals. All of these hours make our timetable heavier but we are prepared to take that on board to participate in this year’s Pantomime, Robin Hood.

Can’t wait to see you at the show!! 

Matthew: We started rehearsing the panto in early September and we have two rehearsals per week (if you not dancing or singing in it). 

Shows will happen at the Cité Scolaire Internationale (Terminus Tram B), 4 place de Sfax, in Grenoble, on Wednesday January 26th (2.30pm), Thursday January 27th (7.30pm), Friday January 28th (7.30pm), Saturday January 29th (10am), and Saturday January 29th (7.30pm). 

We highly recommend that you reserve tickets (over 18: 6 euros, 4-18: 3 euros, under 4: free).   

Send name, address, email address, date and time, and number of tickets (adult/child/under 4s) required to gregg.west@ac-grenoble.fr.  

A check, payable to Umbrella Association, is to be sent within a week to Gregg West, c/o Cité Scolaire Internationale, BP 1570, 4 place de Sfax, 38012 Grenoble Cedex 01.  Tickets will be held at the door for you. You will be asked for an ID. 

Lastly, you may see our sparkling poster up (see below) in some English speaking place, or in an English speaking website. Look for it! 

Robin Hood Poster

Graines de Polyglottes

Grenoble Life editor James Dalrymple chatted to Elisabeth Malandrino, Directrice at Graines de Polyglottes, a new language centre for children in the city.

Grenoble Life: What do you do at Graines de Polyglottes?

Elisabeth Malandrino: Graines de Polyglottes is a language center that welcomes children from 3 to 11 years for them to learn foreign languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian.

In small groups of 5 up to 8 children organized by age and level, children come one hour per week. 

GL: How, when and why did get involved?

Elisabeth: Graines de Polyglottes was born naturally - coming myself from a multicultural family, the idea of speaking several languages has emerged very early.

My mother was born in Spain, my father was born in Italy, one of my sisters lives in the United States, I have a American nephew and a German one.

At my daughter’s birth, I thought that other parents would also like their own children to learn other languages.  Graines de Polyglottes was then born!

It’s a project which required several years of preparation and we welcomed our first students in September 2010.

GL: What is the Graines de Polyglottes philosophy and method?

Elisabeth: Our philosophy rests on the pleasure of learning through play.

In a child-friendly environment, children are happy to come and share these moments with their teachers and other children.

They learn without effort, having fun and, of course, they repeat words.

For this we use an active, structured and playful method.

We aim at awakening auditory, visual and gestural language for the youngest (3-6 years) by mobilizing all the sensory abilities of children. We use puppets, rhymes, songs, drawings …

For older children (7-11 years), we develop the understanding and expression, both oral and written skills by role playing, the media …

GL: What is the typical profile of the parents of children at Graines de Polyglottes?

Elisabeth: We have many different cases:

- French families, who understand the importance of foreign languages and want to give their child this advantage.

- Mixed families who speak one or more languages at home and want to improve achievement.

- Families coming back from abroad to France who want their children to continue speaking and writing their new language.

GL: What is the typical profile of a teacher at Graines de Polyglottes?

Elisabeth: The teaching team consists of language teachers with a proven track of several years of teaching experience with young children.

Their knowledge of the French educational system and the one of their countries of origin is a valuable asset in developing programs.

Our teachers bring their professionalism and enthusiasm in the centre.

GL: What is the ideal age for children to start learning a second language?

Elisabeth: The sooner the better, babies are able to distinguish the sounds of all languages.

A baby’s mother and entourage will make him or her familiar with the phonemes of the language spoken within the family and little by little, he will keep only the sounds that are part of that language.

That’s why the more a young child hears different languages, the more he/she retains more language skills, both for listening and speaking.

At Graines de Polyglottes, we welcome children from kindergarten age for practical reasons.

GL:  Why have you set up a Graines de Polyglottes particulary in Grenoble?

Elisabeth: First, for personal reasons because Grenoble is my hometown.

Then, for reasons peculiar to the city, Grenoble became multicultural and cosmopolitan. Many families around the world come to live for a year or more for professional reasons.

Increasingly, we hear other languages in the street.

I think Graines de Polyglottes responds to the requests of many parents.

GL: Will you have any recruitment opportunitues? What are the advantages of working at Graines de Polyglottes?

Elisabeth: We recruit motivated graduate teachers with experience of teaching young children.

We work in an atmosphere where everyone works together and exchange between cultures takes place naturally.

GL: How can people contact you?

Elisabeth: You can contact us by phone 04.76.87.37.01 or by email:  contact@grainesdepolyglottes.fr.

For more information, see the website www.grainesdepolyglottes.fr

Montessori school shelves with toys. Photo: 3neus

In a three-part blog Camille Bromley describes a day in the life of a teacher at the Montessori International School of Grenoble. Read part I.

7:38 am

Bus stop, Place Verdun.  As the number 31 bus to Meylan: Maupertius approaches I’m hastily devouring the remaining third of my Big Chocolate, freshly purchased for 1 euro from Sandwich House located behind the Maison de Tourisme tram stop, outgoing side. Ordinarily the Big Chocolates from this Sandwich House are not especially good pain au chocolat, but they’re easily the size of two regular pain au chocolat, a good bargain at 1 euro (the American in me is always a sucker for bargains), and in the morning when they’re warm they’re still pretty darn tasty.

The Big Chocolate is the ritual first step in my once-weekly workday as an English teacher at Montessori International Primary School in Meylan, as this is the only day in the week I exit the house early enough to catch one while still warm. The other days of the week I work as an English assistant in public primary schools.

Teaching at Montessori International School is not like teaching in French public school.  It’s vastly different, in fact.  If you’re not familiar with what’s called the Montessori Method, I’ll briefly explain: The Montessori Method of children’s education was originally developed in the early 20th century by an Italian educator named Maria Montessori. It’s an alternative approach to schooling, encouraging a child’s individual self-directed learning using the support of materials and teacher observation. 

From what I understand, while many schools worldwide function under the heading of Montessori School there are no defined guidelines for the specific practical application of this education system. However, the general idea is that children learn best when they follow their natural instincts and interests. In other words, it’s self-study for kids; less academically-put, the kids do what they feel like.

This “do-what-you-feel-like” philosophy is most decidedly not the norm in French public schools, from what I’ve seen in my year’s experience there, the essential part of a teacher’s oral utterances consisting of phrases such as, non, tu n’as pas le droit!; vous levez la doigt pour avoir la parole!; TAISEZ-VOUS! [yelled shockingly loud]; vous êtes insupportables aujourd’hui! [tone of resignation and accompanying sigh]; and finally the much-loved Bravo!, with exaggerated sarcasm. Thus, Montessori International reputedly offers an alternative to parents who prefer their kids to receive more positive encouragement than negative during the first 6–9 years of their educational development.

However, I haven’t given an entirely clear picture of the Montessori International School in Meylan. This school is foremost an international school, with instruction provided in French and English. I am the English-instruction teacher (on Mondays anyways), and a woman with a confounding last name, Martine Grzelak, functions as school director and French-instruction teacher. 

We take care of the primary-age children, age 6–12. The children in this group, about 25 of them, are mostly Francophone, with a solid group of Anglophones and couple French-English bilingual kids. There is another, separate class of students at the school, the pre-school age group (ages 3–6), also Francophone or Anglophone or both, headed by Emilie Ballivy. The pre-schoolers are called Les petits castors, which gives an accurate impression of their work ethic and focused accomplishment under the guidance of Ms. Ballivy.

The school makes use of an impressive collection of Montessori materials and supplies, and the curriculum is organized around the French National Education program, so that children are expected to cover a similar material to public school students. More on the Montessori Method as the day progresses.

Part II

Part III

Part III

12:00 pm

Lunchtime. The microwave cart is wheeled in, desks are cleared, chairs fetched. The students eat in the classroom. The children are expected to be settled quietly in their chairs, ask to go wash their hands, and then ask to get their lunchboxes before they are allowed to eat. Meanwhile, the child in charge of setting the table this week goes to get the silverware and dishes.   

12:30 pm

Everyone is finally sitting and has more or less the complete tableware set in front of them: plate, fork, knife, little yogurt spoon, and plastic cup (Martine’s cabinet has slowly but surely been rid of all the glassware glasses, not intentionally).

The table setting procedure always takes much longer than is logically necessary, probably because the child assigned to set the table is for some reason 90% of the time the same small boy, who due to his diminutive size and severely ADD nature seems the absolute worst person in the room to give the task of distributing various separate pieces of cutlery to students sitting in disorganized clumps around the big room, not to mention that when you see him trying to lug the heavy glass water pitchers around to each table you get the sinking sense of futility of watching someone trying very hard to complete a Sisyphean task. Half the pitcher will have been emptied on the floor by the time he gets to the table, and he’ll be sent to get more in five minutes.

I send the children in groups of two or three to the cloakroom to get their lunchboxes. I imagine that you can tell a lot about the home life of individual children from their lunchboxes. A lot of the older children seem to have the freedom to creatively fashion their own concept of a meal; there’s a group of three girls (who aggressively defy the assertion that social cliques don’t exist in small schools) that bring their lunches in family-style portions to share with each other: a bag of Lay’s potato chips, a Tupperware box of pasta and sauce, an entire sleeve of Speculoos cookies.

The Anglophone children belong to a different breed of household, one that clearly holds in contempt the irresponsible consumption of low nutrient-to-calorie ratio foods and environmentally unfriendly packaging. S—, a six-year-old with extraordinary feminine style (how a child of that age is able to exude such class is beyond me), declares matter-of-factly that she hates ice cream and cake. Her treat of choice is the green pressed seaweed paper that sushi rolls come wrapped in — in French it’s translated as algae, which expresses better, I think, the total bizarreness of a six-year-old reveling in the taste of a seaweed wrap (imagine an apple cheeked little girl saying with a charming missing-front-tooth smile, “My favorite food is algae”).  

1:15 pm

The kids are fairly hopping to get outside after a full morning of being together in one room. They go into the cloakroom to remove their slippers and put on their outside shoes, most of which resemble work boots or what English people call “wellies” rather than the slick bright white Pumas or the metallically shiny girl-sized heels (!) public school children wear. This is because the playground provided for amusement and the venting of various child frustrations during the lunch recess is not actually a playground, it’s an empty field behind the Montessori school building accessible only by a quick jump across a ditch (a wide step for you or me, a brief air-bound thrill for the 11-year-olds, and an unbreachable chasm for the 3-year-olds, who nevertheless enjoy the jump immensely so long as you’re holding their hand.

Supervising, I can’t help thinking that innovative playground developers, with their tangle of curved colored bars and knotted rope systems, are entirely missing the point — the kids have more fun rolling around in the grass and throwing rocks at trees than with any preconstructed equipment education authorities can buy. I’m reminded how innocent and sweet children are at heart when I hear G— and S— playing a sort of tag-zombie game which seems to consist of yelling “I’m going to suck your brain!” and attempting to grab the skull of another player.

2:00 pm

Emilie and I file the children back into school, past the company workers in button up shirts and pencil skirts taking their smoke break. Monday afternoon is devoted to art class and Spanish class, and the children are sent in small groups to participate in those activities. Otherwise, the students can continue the projects of the morning. The students complete impressive individual projects throughout the year that don’t sacrifice depth or quality for the lack of collaborators.

S— is working on a postcard project; she’s contacting friends and acquaintances across the U.S., asking them to send her postcards at the Montessori school address, teaching her about their town or state. She’s gathered a large number of postcards and will organize them into a visual presentation. O— has completed a project about the state of Israel, its history, people, and culture, and the poster is hanging on the classroom wall.

One of the goals of the Montessori school is to effectively link all subjects together in the child’s mind; to create a truly interdisciplinary understanding of the world. This objective makes for very creative project ideas, and the results are evident in the variety of student-made artwork and presentations on display around the school.

3:30 pm

The school day is over, but many students will stay for the next one to two hours, playing the gymnasium or participating in an activity Martine or Emilie has organized. I, however, say my rounds of “See you next week” and am out the door.

The next day I’ll be at one of the public primary schools in Grenoble. Not being an education expert, I’m not going to offer my judgment of the effectiveness of the education system in public schools compared to the Montessori approach. The purposes and needs of the two school systems are vastly different and require different methods of teaching and classroom management. Montessori schools may give more individual attention, but they also provide a lot less guidance and structure. This may or may not work well, depending on the character of each individual child. One thing I do know, however, is that I’ll be doing a lot more yelling in my public school.

Part I

Part II

For more information:
http://www.montessori-grenoble.com/UK/school-montessori-grenoble.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori

Part II

8:12 am

Terminus on the number 31 bus line. The bus halts in front of a grouping of new, enterprise-y looking buildings with big reflective glass windows framed in a shade of blue that suggests innovation and forward-thinking. The school is rather unexpectedly housed in one of these buildings, towards the back of the complex, sharing quarters with some kind of company that requires men and women in business attire to enter and exit through the same doors as the free-spirited, frequently-in-high-speed-motion Montessori kids.

The school is essentially three large rooms, the primary schoolroom, the pre-school room, and the gym, which is carpeted and doubles as an art studio and Spanish nook. There is also Martine’s office, a nap room for the preschoolers, a storage room, and a cloakroom where the children hang their coats, bags, and change their shoes into indoor shoes. They are only allowed to wear slippers inside the school, as it is carpeted. This reminds me of Japanese schools, except that here the children are allowed to bring their own slippers. In Japan the slippers are part of the uniforms and must be regulation color and design.

8:45 am

The kids wander in the room one by one and are by this time more or less all present. After some general comments and reminders, Martine starts the weekly routine of designating “responsibilities” onto each child. This is performed by use of a chart listing cleaning tasks to be completed each day and a small canvas sack containing the names of each child on Velcro tabs.

It took me a few months to figure out that the responsibility entitled Muffin referred to the class hamster. Insisting that the responsibilities be assigned by a random pull from the bag, Martine cheats openly on her own rule by fishing for names that she believes merit a particular nasty chore this week. The kids either suffer tremendously from the injustice of this favoritism or get a kick out of it, depending on how you choose to interpret the situation.

The responsibilities I find to be an ingenious system for ensuring an attitude of collective care and respect from all the students towards the cleaning and upkeep of the school room and materials. By being allowed to choose, in a fashion, what chore they do each week the child is given some autonomy and feels like she’s making a voluntary decision to contribute. This is probably a distinctive Montessori touch. Japanese schoolchildren also clean the school as part of their daily duties, although there they are responsible for the bathrooms as well, which I remain convinced is a mistake (imagine how what kind of clean job a second-grader might do on a bathroom — then repeat that every day for the whole year).

8:52 am

Work time. The children are either broken up into groups or sent to a desk to work individually. All the primary school kids, from 6 to 12, work in the same room, some in groups and some independently, and they pursue different activities. Martine keeps an eye on all of them and remains aware of how they’re doing and what progress they’re making, a remarkable feat for about 15 different students and different levels.

There are no set subject periods or age groups. The children have more or less the choice to work on one activity the entire morning or change subjects freely. There’s no morning recess, although there is a snack, which the children are expected to provide, following a rotation schedule. If the children tire of one activity and want to do some less-strenuous but still constructive activity such as reading, it is permitted within reason.

I take the group of English speakers. There are two first grade girls, a third grader, a fifth grader, and sometimes a first grade boy. We either do a language-arts activity all together, harder versions adapted for the third and fifth graders, or I split them up to work in pairs or alone. It’s my choice based on what we’re doing that day and how well the children are working together. When the English speakers take breaks to work on another subject, I choose a group of French children to do an English language lesson.

11:00 am

With Martine in the room, the classroom functions smoothly. With some notable exceptions, the children work quietly, although their rate of productivity is subject to debate. Clearly, some children are more ideal Montessori students than others. A group of three boys writes a bilingual dialogue together concerning an inept motorist and a driving instructor for their upcoming play. Another boy does French grammar exercises on the computer. A girl visualizes multiplication with wooden beads and a counting board.

Meanwhile, little G— sulks at his desk, complaining that his work is “too hard” and he doesn’t “understand nuffing,” and I— doodles on the margins of his essay and gazes out the window. I remind I— to get back to his work and Martine appears over G—‘s shoulder to investigate the veracity of his claim.

Part I

Part III

Judith Bouvard, Dean of Grenoble Graduate School of Business

Grenoble Life talks to Judith Bouvard, Dean of Grenoble Graduate School of Business, about her background, the changing business and training environment in France, and why students should consider coming to Grenoble.

Grenoble Life: Where do you come from originally?

Judith Bouvard: I was born in a small town near Manchester in the North of England. 

GL: Why did you come to Grenoble ?

Judith: When I left Manchester I went to live in Romans in the Drôme, to work in the luxury shoe industry. After a couple of years there I came to live in Grenoble to resume my studies.

GL: What kind of work did you first do on arrival in Grenoble ?

Judith: When I arrived in Grenoble at the same time as I was studying I was working part-time for a UK firm as a marketing consultant helping them to develop the market of protective clothing for building sites and road works. I then started to work in the training and continuing education business by doing some teaching and helping some French companies to set up in-house training courses.

Then I started working at ESC Grenoble – this was the name of the school before we became ‘Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM)’. I was involved with the school right from the day it was founded and I was even a member of the entrance juries for the Grande Ecole program before the building was finished.

I started teaching at the school and little by little I increased my contributions by developing the international relations. Then, in 1995, I created the Master in International Business (MIB), which was the first international program to be offered by GEM. I really felt there was a niche market for such an Master in Management program taught in English in Grenoble.

I gradually introduced more international degree programs taught through the medium of English and continued to develop the portfolio of international programs until GGSB became one of the schools of GEM.     

Parallel to that I continued my studies on the Henley DBA program and also obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Management Consultancy.

GL: What three professional achievements are you most proud of?

Judith: Developing a whole new international school from nothing and setting up all the programs; putting Grenoble on the map in international rankings, such as those of the prestigious Financial Times. I am also very proud of the careers and success stories of our graduates further to qualifications that I designed.

GL: Apart from the quality of the course programmes on offer at GGSB, why should potential students consider coming to Grenoble?

Judith: They should certainly consider coming for the dynamic nature of the city. It is easy to get by in Grenoble for non-French speakers. There is not a day that goes by without me hearing English on the street. However, most of our students become quite fluent in French rather rapidly as they experience true French culture. Our students are also sure to build a large international network of friends they can rely on in the future due to the fantastic diversity of the student population at GGSB.

GL: You have created partnerships between GGSB and schools around the world, including those in Iran and Saudi Arabia. As a woman, did you face any challenges in this respect?

Judith: The challenge was for me to actually challenge the pre-conceived ideas of what people had warned me about in advance. In those countries, people actually respect you for your intellect, status and qualifications regardless of your gender. Qualifications come above anything else and with more and more women gaining higher education degrees, the challenge for them is lessening. The other challenge was the dress code, but only from a comfort point of view. Wearing a head scarf when it is 40 degrees outside can be quite uncomfortable when you are not used to that!

GL: How has the business environment changed since you arrived in France, and how has GGSB contributed to this change?

Judith: Over the past 30 years, I have seen more international exchanges – both academic and corporate – and better means to conduct these exchanges, thanks to technology. Technology has definitely changed the way people do business. We can now work with different parts of the world without feeling that it is far away. For example I can be talking to a colleague in China or Singapore in the morning and to another colleague in Mexico in the evening. Of course the result is that the working day can be quite long!

At GGSB, we train qualified managers capable of working beyond national borders with a multitude of cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Our graduates are increasingly working in virtual teams spread over different countries. The contact with colleagues all around the world definitely adds a different dimension to business. 

GL: How has the learning and training environment changed?

Judith: We now have access to more information, thanks to the internet. What used to be called a ‘correspondence course’ is now called a ‘distance learning course’; technology has made learning more user-friendly. Furthermore, whereas years ago classes were made of one single nationality, the learning environment has become highly international, offering numerous opportunities for students.

Also the faculty members have become more like facilitators than lecturers. At GGSB gone are the days of long monologues by a lecture standing in front of the students. Now there is far more interaction and exchange between the lecturer and the students. Also I think that business schools have realised that it is important to have a good blend of lecturers with a more academic approach and business professionals who bring their work experience to the classroom.

GL: What is next for you and the school?

Judith: I’m very excited about our new Global Executive MBA that will begin in January 2011. This new course will run in eight different locations: Grenoble – Geneva – Moscow – London – New York – Singapore – New Delhi – Beijing, and is aimed at top managers who will travel to each location for specific courses and country case-studies.

This Global EMBA is the result of all the knowledge I’ve acquired over the years, after observing how companies function and their different needs. I’m also an AMBA auditor, so I’ve got to examine various programs, their pluses and minus.

I’m also preparing the future of GGSB when I will no longer be there to ensure the continuity of GGSB. I’m busy getting the right people in so the school will keep the same prestige and have the possibility of progressing. I’m proud as I see the next generation come in to be trained by GGSB. Often, children of those who I taught come to seek advice and are keen to live the same enriching experience at GGSB as their parents did.

Nicola Piroth at work and at play

Nicola Piroth is a play therapist with a private practice in Grenoble. She talks to Grenoble Life about creative approaches to psychotherapy, her international background and setting up a cabinet in France.

Grenoble Life: Tell us a little about your methodology.

Nicola Piroth: I practise as a play therapist, which means that I use a creative approach to psychotherapy. Play therapy recognises that children naturally use play as a creative form of self-expression and communication in order to grow and develop, as well as to address traumatic and painful issues from a safe distance. Children that are faced with distressing life events may not feel comfortable talking about their emotions, but through play therapy they can communicate and explore their feelings, learn skills and tools to heal their emotional pain.

In my cabinet, I mostly see children and adolescents in individual, regular play therapy sessions.  However, I also use another approach called filial therapy with some families. Using this alternative method I train parents to conduct individual play sessions – similar to play therapy but with their own children. This way of working can be so helpful when communication hasn’t been possible between parents and their children – for any number of reasons, but often simply because we don’t get any training to be parents even though it is quite possibly one of the hardest tasks we are faced with as adults. Children communicate through play – it is their innate language. By teaching parents the language of play, and how to use play therapeutically, the communication gap between parent and child can be closed.

Perhaps it is surprising, but I also use play therapy, and more specifically sandplay therapy, with adults. Using small trays of sand, clients sculpt the sand and position miniature objects and figurines to create scenes, worlds or designs that are expressions of their inner world. Sandplay therapy gives the client direct access to their internal self, allowing them to understand issues in a deeper way. As adults we often get stuck in certain situations or circular ways of thinking, and it is helpful to use a creative non-verbal tool to explore our inner workings, alongside more traditional dialogue.

GL: Does this methodology differ to established methods in France?

Nicola: As far as I know, traditionally, psychotherapy here has mostly been a verbal, intellectual process, perhaps based on a more medical model of psychiatry concerned with cause and effect. This relies mostly on talking things through. In play therapy we additionally use non-verbal, creative approaches that give space to the intuitive Self – the part of us that knows what it needs to heal, even if it can’t explain it. Experiencing our Self at this level allows us to integrate what we feel and what we know intellectually in order to move on.

Another aspect of the predominant model of psychotherapy in France is that it is still largely ‘adult’ led, with the doctor, psychiatrist or therapist seen as knowing more than the patient who is a passive recipient of the treatment.  In my own work, I believe it is essential to follow the client’s lead, to trust that – given a safe and accepting environment (as in child-centred play therapy) – children have within them the desire and strength to find their own way to heal and to grow.

This non-directive approach facilitates the development of self-responsibility, self-control, and appropriate self-esteem. It is my responsibility as the therapist to provide that safe and containing space in which the child can explore who they are, how they feel and ‘play out’ different solutions.  This also has larger implications regarding how I work with parents. I believe therapy must be a collaborative effort. For the child to have the safe space in my office is one thing, but regular meetings between the parents and I give parents the support they need in order to be able to accompany their child on the journey towards growth and change.

GL: Who comes to you and what are some of the reasons why?

Nicola: I see clients between one and 100 years of age … Traditionally play therapy was developed to work with the specific needs of 2–12 year olds, but I practise a more general creative psychotherapy that I feel applies to all of us…

Why do people seek psychotherapy for themselves or for their children? It’s a very big question that has as many answers as there are people in therapy… adults come to work on existential issues, difficult life experiences (such as divorce, a loss, or adapting to a new country), or to further their personal development. Children and adolescents are referred for equally diverse reasons, for example, their parents have noticed low self-esteem, depression, or the development of challenging behaviours at home or at school. Perhaps the family or child has recently undergone a traumatic experience – ranging from maltreatment to moving homes, the birth of a sibling, long-term illness and hospitalisation, adoption, bullying … to name but a few.

Yet other children have difficulties ‘fitting in’ (whatever that means!), struggle at school, or have been diagnosed with developmental difficulties that require a little extra help to develop their sometimes hidden potential.  Play therapy is useful for a whole range of emotionally-based problems of behaviour and adjustment.

GL: Are these reasons different in any way to those you have encountered working in other countries?

Nicola: Regarding my work with children, I would say that generally the reasons are the same here – parents come because they are worried about their children –  and though the way I work using play is unknown in France, it attracts a lot of people looking for a more child-centred approach. International families often come to the cabinet when they feel misunderstood or judged by more traditional French therapists who might be unfamiliar with different child rearing and cultural practises (for example long-term breastfeeding or co-sleeping), or the challenges facing  multi-cultural families.

I certainly do not pretend to understand the cultural background of all of the families I work with, but through my own personal experience, I am aware of some of the daily struggles one faces just trying to adapt to something as potentially stressful as a new school system …

GL: Where do you come from and where did you train as a therapist?

Nicola: That’s not such an easy question for me to answer… I was born in Germany to German parents, and have since lived in six different countries across four continents. I originally trained as a psychologist specialising in child development in the UK, but after a short career in a major child and adolescent psychiatry unit in London conducting psychological research I decided to train as a play therapist.

I think I realised that I am much better suited at playing Peter Pan with four year olds than at establishing a diagnosis or quantifying human experience in order to plug the results into a computer for analysis.  Don’t get me wrong, I respect and value psychometric testing when it’s necessary and well-carried out by a sensitive psychologist – but those are not my skills and no longer the approach I practise. My training as a psychologist remains extremely useful to me and it definitely informs my work, but I have tried to move away from ‘putting problems in boxes’ to working and thinking problems ‘out of the box’.

GL: What languages do you work in and why?

Nicola: I work using the languages I am fluent in – that is English, German and French.

GL: Why did you come to Grenoble?                   

Nicola: Our move from the USA to Grenoble was not an easy one for me – I loved living in California, but at that time it was necessary for our family to return to Europe. Luckily we were able to settle in Grenoble since it’s so central in this fantastic mix that is Europe.

GL: What difficulties, if any, did you have in setting up your cabinet in Grenoble?

Nicola: Perhaps the biggest hurdle for me was that play therapy didn’t exist here – at all. There wasn’t even a French translation for it, so I made up my own, la Thérapie par le Jeu. I am affiliated and registered with several international play therapy associations – but none of my foreign qualifications were recognised in France. Coupled with an attitude I frequently encounter here of “no one’s every done that before, so surely there is no point changing things by trying something new now….” I took a risk setting up my practise without any professional network.  And now, of course, that the cabinet is up and running, the French reaction is extremely positive and open minded with reactions such as “why don’t you train people here”!

GL: What advice would you give people setting up their own businesses/private practices in France?

Nicola: I’m not sure about giving advice, other than don’t be put off by all the scary looking forms and impressive civil servants. It does sometimes feel like everyone is trying to dissuade you from even trying, either by piling useless and endless paperwork at you or by sounding generally negative and complicated about relatively straightforward business. But if you have enough time to stand in queues and patiently rephrase your question for the third time, often that very same administration (like the URSSAF) can actually be a goldmine of information. France really is ready for some innovative business ideas, if you can just navigate and bully your way through the system.

Helen McEwan (left) with children joining in on English Talk Radio

The May 21 English Talk Radio show features Helen McEwan of ABC Anglais, and took place at Les Petits Bilingues, Grenoble.

Listen to the show: here

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. There are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life.

A filled blackboard. Photo: Rainer Ebert

In response to criticism of the education system on Grenoble Life and from the Anglophone community in France, Iain Smears mounts a passionate defence of French schooling.

Many people in the Anglophone community in Grenoble will come into contact with the French education system either through their studies or those of their family members. There are aspects about it which seem to draw criticism from a considerable proportion of the English-speaking community.

In this article, I would like to depict how my own experience of doing maternelle, primaire, collège and lycée in Grenoble, then of going to university in the UK, has shown me the many benefits of the education on offer here. In fact, it is precisely some of those aspects of the system which are often criticised which I would argue have been of value to me in my university studies. I will focus on secondary education, or more specifically the Bac Général, as I have only glimpses and second hand experience of French higher education and cannot claim to know much about the other paths in secondary education.

A major concern for some is the long hours of schooling throughout collège and lycée. I did the Bac Scientifique with the OIB (L’option internationale du baccalauréat), and I’m the first to admit that it was demanding. On a few occasions, I’ve been asked by parents with children about to embark on this path if it’s true that I did 50 hours of work a week. Their frowns of anguish are of little surprise to me when I place a finger on my lip, recollect, then declare that it was probably a dozen or so hours more than that.

I do see the sense in many of the objections to long school days and I will readily concede that perhaps the content of lessons from 5-6 pm isn’t what I remember the best – however, little is said of the end result of French schooling: how does it influence one’s experiences in higher education and after that?

I chose to study mathematics in the UK. Bit by bit, I noticed how my fellow students were finding the course more trying than I was – some would find it hard to do their work on time, others found it hard to get out of bed, some needed vast amounts of caffeine or chocolate to feel ready to take on their work. Someone put my thoughts into words by calling it a “great big hangover for having partied for the previous 18 years.”

For my part, I continued at my usual rhythm inherited from Terminale by learning my lectures as well as I could and doing my homework sooner rather than later. I think that strong discipline not only leads to successfully acquiring the material, but also helps to explore the subject to its fullest, satisfy one’s curiosity and therefore enjoy one’s studies.

The extensive testing and harsh grading schemes in French education also attract criticism. Yet I believe that it is instead very beneficial to get substantial practice of long examinations. Being able to focus and to stay sharp under pressure is an important part of exam technique and I am glad I was able to get practice in this before end-of-year exams at university.

As for the unforgiving grading, it made those good grades well deserved – something in which I found satisfaction. I found that for me and other pupils at school, it encouraged a determined attitude towards trying one’s upmost. Compare this to the comments I have heard of several students in the UK about how they were “spoon-fed just to pass exams” and “weren’t proving [their] own ability, but that of [their] teacher”, which has not helped them find self-confidence and belief in their ability. I think that learning that someone can indeed rise up to a challenge is important for him to value and appreciate his work and also helps in face of future challenges.

It is true that some people can find the difficult grading scheme discouraging. But even though grades matter for later progression, it should be remembered that what is learnt matters most. Whether someone gets a B or C on an A-level or roughly equivalently [i] a 10 on the Bac, what they have gained from school will likely be the same. When that person goes onto university, it is what that person has acquired that will be key. I know of some who struggled in a subject throughout lycée, then needed that knowledge to some extent in their later studies, and have told me since that they felt they were at an advantage against others in their group.

However if there is a clear-cut problem with the grading system, it is that it puts at a disadvantage French students who wish to study abroad, e.g. the UK. This is because admissions tutors might not be aware of the discrepancies between the systems and take estimated grades for the Baccalaureate at face value – i.e. they would assume, say, that an A is worth 16 on the Bac. Things are made worse by the fact that high numbers of UK students get the top mark: according to wikipedia [ii], 43.7% of students taking an A-level in Mathematics got an A in 2007. And unlike A-levels, Baccalaureate students cannot retake exams to improve their grades. This can result in disproportionately demanding offers for Baccalaureate pupils.

A final advantage of the French education system, which is not immediately apparent to those still undertaking it, is that it offers flexibility in later choices. Of those who did the Bac Scientifique in my class, some have gone into media relations, politics, languages, nursing… Some feel that the schooling did not suit them, but what they have done enables them to embark on a wide range of paths afterwards.

In conclusion, even though the French secondary education system has its faults, I hope it will not be forgotten that the overall result of the extensive schooling is threefold. First, it is an opening to numerous topics – it showcases vast bodies of knowledge and works to stimulate the pupil’s mind in all forms. Second, it helps to equip its pupils with the attitude, determination, self-confidence and ethos which are important in all walks of life. Third, it aims to keep as many doors open as possible all the way until the end of the Baccalaureate. Combined, I think these three aspects allow the education system to offer what one generally wants: the freedom to choose one’s way through an opening to the world.

The crèche: in safe hands

Grenoble Life editor James Dalrymple blogs on his experience with French childcare in Grenoble and the difficulties getting that all-important place at a crèche.

Handing over your baby to complete strangers is not first on our list of desirable experiences but it is an everyday reality for working parents. France has a relatively high proportion of working mothers and an enviably fertile population, but a surprisingly short basic maternity leave. These are just some of the contributing factors that necessitate widely available and affordable childcare, which in turn do their bit to help get the balance right between being a parent and having a career.

The scolaire system

Getting a place at a municipal crèche, however, is notoriously difficult in Grenoble (and probably elsewhere in France). The largest intake of babies is in September when toddlers doff their mortar boards and graduate to Ecole Maternelle (nursery school), freeing up space for the newbies. Thus, unless you are confident of conceiving in accordance with the demands of l’année scolaire, you may find yourself out of luck when your congé de maternité or parental comes to an end. (For your info, nine months of pregnancy added to around three months of post-natal maternity leave - give or take – would make this September a good time to conceive in order for your baby to get into the crèche in September 2011 – you know what to do!).

Such crèches are subsidised by the Mairie, but parents still pay the bill depending on their means: making them affordable to all. The charges are subject deductions from the CAF before you see them, so that there is none of the time-consuming reimbursement admin which affects visits to many doctors. For my wife and I, it amounts to about two euro an hour. What’s more, thereafter, you can declare this expense against your annual income tax obligations (impôts) which sees this figure drop by a further 50%. In short, the piggy bank can be left intact for the time being.

In my experience the crèches are clean, well-equipped and staffed, with fresh meals prepared on the premises and bubbly personnel. At the end of each day I am given a detailed report on my daughter’s food intake, sleep time and number of nappies (couches) filled with unnerving precision. I am always reassured she is in safe hands, free to explore a terrain filled with ludic objects to peruse, which makes a change from her reordering my CD collection or trying to rewire a wall socket chez moi. 

The nanny state

The alternative is a crèche familiale: effectively smaller groups of children cared for at somebody’s home. This is billed as a municipal service and thus subsidised but is closer in spirit to having a private nanny. In our case, we were desperate for the lively atmosphere of the crèche for our daughter, with the different carers and larger number of children. Whereas many people appreciate the crèche familiale, we didn’t feel comfortable leaving our daughter with only one person: a person who wields such an enormous influence in a child’s life yet does so largely away from the scrutiny from her peers.

Although I’m sure the majority of women who work at crèches familiales are professional, I have heard of instances in which they were not. And if you refuse the woman the Mairie offers you, they immediately blacklist you and you have no chance of getting subsidised municipal childcare. It seemed that if we accepted this process, it was a big step into the unknown. Private nannies were also scarce at the time, and among those we met who weren’t fully booked there were some who didn’t seem to even particularly like children. These individuals were also unwilling to accept temporary terms with us while we waited for a place at the crèche to become available, as they wanted a longer commitment.

In my local quartier, the municipal crèche is situated ideally at two minutes walk from our flat, and would have stood as a mocking reminder of what we had missed if we hadn’t got a place there. Finally we resolved to make an arrangement whereby our daughter attended the halte garderie, which is effectively the same as the crèche but only for up to two days maximum. Normally this is organised on an ad hoc basis or, as in our case, with temporary rolling contracts. Luckily we were able to make other arrangements for the remaining hours that we needed but it allowed us to ingratiate ourselves a little with the staff there and secure our position on the waiting list until a place made itself available. This happened in three months.

Baby betrayal

At first our daughter was crestfallen upon being left at the crèche, acting as if having befallen an enormous betrayal. Traitor! she seemed to cry upon being passed to the crèche staff. There is an integration system by which you can leave your child at the crèche for a couple of hours at a time, gradually building up to full days, but babies are an unpredictable bunch. One day you feel a guilty tingle of satisfaction when your baby cries on being handed over to a carer: yes, my baby still loves me best! The next day your child will cry when you come to pick her up. Traitor! you seethe in silence. In the parental logic, the latter is just the baby ‘releasing tension’ at the end of the day.

The inevitable inconvenience to all this contact with other children is what has seemed like an endless loop of spectacular illnesses. The first time you see a baby projectile-vomit (à la L’exorciste), it is terrifying, but it is impressive what one can become inured to. The winter just past has been a hard one: with the somewhat false alarm of swine flu providing unwelcome distraction from the lurid retinue of tummy bugs and gastros doing the rounds. At the crèche, there is no escape from the steep curve towards stronger immune systems, but this has to happen at some point.

The three days a week my daughter spends at the crèche currently provide most of her contact with French, despite the efforts of certain staff members to speak English to me. As my wife and I speak English at home we hope this will be an effective path towards her obtaining bilingualism; but it is interesting to see the different phonemes she manages in her babillage. Among the distinctly Anglophone syllables we have started to identify some impressively rolled Rs. Once she yelled what was clearly a resounding Merde!, but I’m sure she didn’t learn that down at the crèche.

If you want my advice, persistence is key. Where there is will there is a way.

Trudi Penkler: Active Adaptation Counselling

Trudi Penkler is a psychologist, psychotherapist and ‘Intercultural Consultant’ with her own practice, Active Adaptation Counselling, in Grenoble. In the second of a two-part interview, she talks to Grenoble Life about the experiences families can have adapting to life in France.

Grenoble Life: What kind of difficulties can families have adapting to life in a new culture?

A lot has been written about culture shock, but in my experience few difficulties in adapting to a new culture can be attributed to this alone. Certainly there are some very real challenges to be faced in making our lives work in unfamiliar surroundings. Actually living day-to-day in a new country is very different from a holiday visit. Sometimes we can feel completely ‘outside’ of what is happening around us, disconnected, as if we’ll never understand or be part of where we are. There can be a sense of loss when nothing seems to be as it was before.

Although we have risen to the challenge of relocating to a new country and find the differences we encounter interesting and stimulating, we may not identify with anything within the culture around us to begin with and may feel that we are having to live in isolation, surrounded by a world we have no part in. The social support network of family, friends and people who shared our way of life before, is very much missed and it takes time to recreate this again.

We may feel robbed of the roles that gave meaning to our lives and defined our social identity before. Generally this proves to be temporary as we start forming new habits and patterns, new friendships and connections which bring meaningful structure to our lives again and also when we realize that the previous chapters of our lives are still important. If, however, sustained helplessness, anger or resignation emerge, with continued feelings of anxiety, disorientation, confusion and depression, this requires attention.

When we establish our homes in a new environment, we’ve stepped out of the rut of our own ‘normality’ for a while. Any day-to-day challenge we would have managed in familiar circumstances will require more of us in unfamiliar ones – more concentration, more energy more time. Being prepared for this and accepting it upfront as part of the adaptation process, rather than resisting it and hoping for things to feel the same as before, is helpful.

We also need to be aware that we take ‘ourselves’ with us wherever we go. This means that pre-existent problem areas like fragile marital situations or wobbly self esteem, parenting difficulties or dependency issues will not go away or magically be ‘fixed’ in the new situation. Not only will they re-emerge, but they will be amplified by the stresses of moving. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes being brought face-to-face with difficulties that we’ve been carrying with us for years, but can no longer ignore, pushes us to address them.

Education is usually a very important priority for globally mobile families and whereas younger children generally adapt relatively easily, moving older children may be more difficult. Adolescence is of itself a time of change during which young people begin identifying more with their peers than their parents. Resentment, disengagement, helplessness and unhappiness can set in, if these young people feel they have been uprooted against their will and they will need empathetic understanding rather than motivational lectures from their parents. It is important to keep communication lines with teenagers and younger children open, especially about choices concerning them, at all stages of the relocation process.

When couples move, one partner’s career has often been favoured and the other may have renounced their own professional development and feel that they have lost too much, particularly if they are unable to resume a professional activity in the new country, because of language, legal or family constraints.

Leaving parents who are aging or in ill health behind in our home countries may be difficult.

GL: What other advice would you give families considering making a move to a new culture?

We don’t only take our weakness with us when we move across cultures, we also take our strengths, sometimes strengths we didn’t even know we had. We all have the resources within us to adapt to change, if the conditions are there to allow access to those resources …

But we do need to be very clear on the reasons for a move like this. Each individual family member may not be equally enthusiastic or benefit as much from the change, but each will be happier to be part of it all if the reasons have been clearly discussed and they makes sense.  

When we’re going to embark on an adventure like this, preparation is indispensible, not only in terms of the logistics of the move, but in familiarising ourselves with information about the new culture. Knowing more about the documented “do’s and taboos” of another culture is not going to prevent us from encountering obstacles and making mistakes anyway though.

A very important aspect of good preparation will involve also thinking about how we’re going to deal with change. Our emotional reactions and personal experience of a new situation are so much more positive when we’ve considered this beforehand and are consciously prepared to develop a tolerance for difference and uncertainty.

Things will be new and exciting, but the ease with which we did things in a familiar environment will not be there to begin with, especially if acquisition of another language is part of the equation. Simple tasks that we did without thinking before will take more time and effort. Although this may be frustrating, this doesn’t mean we’ve become less effective.

Coming to grips with the language of the country we’ll be living in will be essential, but there is no rule book as to how best or how quickly this should happen – we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be bullied into feeling inferior, while we’re actively learning and not yet proficient in a new language. Adapting to a new culture is not an end-point or a destination. It is a process, a learning process. We’re on the path and we are continuously progressing as long as we keep going. The pace of our own individual progress should not be measured or dictated by self-appointed ‘experts’ we may meet.

We’ll need to be gentle with ourselves, set realistic (yet ambitious) goals and respect the values and protocols of our host culture, without compromising our own. For a while our judgement will be a little cloudy while we’re learning about a new culture. It is important to consciously switch on the ‘data gathering radar’ in our minds, observing curiously all the time and verifying our conclusions by asking questions, rather than assuming we’ve understood what we’ve experienced. Most people will not find our questions bothersome and on the contrary, will enjoy being considered wise enough to be consulted.

Everything is easier when we feel stronger, so looking after ourselves health-wise should be a priority. Children should be kept informed of family decisions all the way (they’ll the need reassurance that their parents are ok, if a little lost and confused, still ok and still in charge).

We shouldn’t give up on the things we love or do well, music or painting, football or throwing a frisbee, but we’ll need to put effort into finding how to continue these activities in a different way. We also shouldn’t push ourselves to do things we don’t really want to, even though everyone else seems to be doing them. Some people really don’t like skiing or really aren’t interested in discovering the wonderful French wines here – and that’s just fine!

Keeping regular and ongoing contact with faraway loved ones will be very important too. You won’t have ‘betrayed’ them by coming to France and the more part of your experience they remain, the easier the separation will be for everyone.

And we’ll need to take the time to have fun and enjoy being where we are. This is not a test of endurance but an adventure and an “Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” (Amelia Earhart)  

                   ————————————————————————

Please do not hesitate to contact me. My office is at 2 Rue de la République, in downtown Grenoble, just off of Place Grenette opposite Haagen-Dazs.

Tel: 04 76 98 93 85 e-mail: trudi@aac-intercultural.com website: www.aac-intercultural.com

Trudi Penkler

Trudi Penkler is a psychologist, psychotherapist and ‘Intercultural Consultant’ with her own practice, Active Adaptation Counselling, in Grenoble. In the first of a two-part interview, she talks to Grenoble Life about helping foreigners adapt to life in a new culture, going professional in France, and being a Ghostbuster!

Grenoble Life: What is an Intercultural Consultant?

Trudi Penkler: Our professions, education and social interactions are becoming more and more ‘globalised’. We can be based ‘at home’ but work with teams and organisations all over the world. We can also find ourselves living, learning and working in different cultural environments from the ones we’ve spent most of our lives in, sometimes for a short while, sometimes longer. This can mean trying to ‘belong’ in more than one place, or having children who do.

Intercultural consulting aims to provide information, awareness and skills, to help people be more effective in their work, pursue their research or studies comfortably and manage the demands of their daily lives with competence, in unfamiliar cultural contexts.

Active Adaptation Counselling was founded to serve this objective in 1998.  My work is about finding and emphasizing what works well in intercultural or multicultural situations, not what doesn’t. It’s about focusing on commonalities and strengths rather than differences and weaknesses. It’s about building bridges across the ravines that we imagine separate us from each other in terms of communication, understanding and interacting constructively. The experience of relocating across unfamiliar cultures myself provided the opportunity of looking closely into how to deal with diversity and developing expertise in this field, while continuing to practise as the psychologist and psychotherapist I was to begin with. 

Perhaps the best description of what I do was given to me by a young man of twelve who had come to see me, struggling to accept and settle into a new school system that at first seemed most alien to him and who was finally feeling more at ease … “You know what you are?” he said “you’re a ghostbuster.” I decided to keep the title!

GL: Tell us a little about your background

Trudi: Born in South Africa of parents and grandparents who were also born there, I never imagined living anywhere else. During the worst of the Apartheid years however, conditions became increasingly unbearable. It was inconceivable then, that Nelson Mandela would ever become the first president democratically elected by all the people of that country. ‘Broadening our horizons’ and trying to make our lives ‘elsewhere’ as parents of a young family, was a choice we felt constrained to make. Discovering a new culture and language were high on the ‘pro’ list when choosing to come to France. These were indeed to become great advantages, but naively we could not have imagined how hard won they would be!

Before coming to Grenoble, I had studied to work in both nursing and teaching biology, but a natural ability to deal well with crisis situations and to identify and redirect negative thinking and behaviour patterns towards more constructive ones, motivated more specific qualification in psychology, guidance and counselling. Experience in emergency situations with the South African Red Cross and responsibility for adolescent counselling in schools reinforced this choice.

GL: Why did you decide to develop a counselling service focusing on families moving to a new culture?

Trudi: The English speaking community was a lot smaller when I first came to Grenoble in 1986. Was it really more than two decades ago now?! Very little at the time, apart from house-hunting services and French lessons, was being provided by the companies and organisations that were relocating their employees, or students, even political refugees to the area. Interacting with other expatriates, I began to observe that wherever we’d come from, whatever the reasons for us being here, there seemed to be a pattern of common challenges and ways of coping with these – or not. It appeared that while some individuals embraced diversity and change easily, flourishing in a new cultural context and dealing well with situations and experiences very different from what they had known before, others managed less comfortably, sometimes very much less so.

What began as random observation and informal, voluntary help where appropriate, led to an avid interest in intercultural adaptation mechanisms, a need to understand these better and to establish the environment within which to contribute professionally. I spent a number of years reading and researching the thinking and behaviour patterns involved in cross-cultural adaptation, as well as studying the methodologies in cultural awareness training before beginning to work in this field.

GL: What challenges did you face in transferring your professional skills to France and set up your own practice here?

Trudi: Deciding to do something in France is one thing. Identifying the appropriate administrative processes and getting the paperwork right is another! Until I learned that “Non Madame, ce n’est pas possible,” were merely the opening words to further discussion, I would return defeated from the various offices that apply the regulations that govern self employment (trying to register my professional activity) or from the university (trying to obtain recognition of my qualifications).

Often when we’ve come from elsewhere, what we are trying to do in France doesn’t fit into any of the ‘boxes’ on the forms to fill in and much time is wasted in finding an alternative or solution. There is a cultural phenomenon that can work in one’s favour though and this is that unlike in our ‘bottom line’ Anglo Saxon cultures, negotiation can be a possibility, as long as one accepts the status quo to begin with and then looks at ways around obstacles from there.

Beginning almost as a ‘freelance consultant’, then establishing a practice and a small company concurrently, required carefully familiarising oneself with the details of ‘how things work’ officially, especially as in my case there are two distinct categories of services provided – i.e., Consulting in professional contexts as well as psychotherapy and counselling.

Balancing overhead costs and incoming revenue when we first start building up a client base can be daunting. I had the good fortune of sharing offices for financial reasons at first, with four wonderful French therapists, two of whom worked part-time for the government in judicial and social placement cases and also independently as therapists. Their input in terms of ideas, information and support was invaluable.

GL: What services do you offer?

Trudi: Although the services provided by Active Adaptation Counselling are two-fold – i.e., consulting in professional environments and personal counselling or therapy – the premise underlying both, is that active intervention can improve or repair our experience of a situation or event.

Intercultural consulting can involve any of the following: individual, management and team coaching; mediation and facilitation, which can be motivational, goal-directed or problem-solving; cultural awareness training programmes; workshops and lectures or presentations on specific topics or themes; independent screening for potential relocation; expatriation preparation, not only for those coming to France, but also for French expatriates moving elsewhere; preview visit interviews and ‘welcome’ talks; performance review and interview preparation; and repatriation or reintegration preparation for returnees.

Psychotherapy and counselling is provided for adults, adolescents and children, for couples and families. Problems and difficulties are addressed, but also aspirations and self development. What happens to us, as well as how we think and do things, all have an effect on how we personally experience of our lives, our work and our relationships. Psychotherapy and counselling can be useful when we are experiencing stress, emotional difficulties, psychological obstacles to learning, relationship problems, difficulties in adaptation to change, substance dependency, crisis situations, grief, difficulties in coping with physical difficulties or illness, post traumatic incident syndrome or simply when we need tools for going forward positively or improving a process rather than being stuck.

Lastly, my experience in the medical field has made it possible to provide medical interpreting services – i.e. the presence of an interpreter and counsellor during medical visits or hospitalisation.

GL: You work with international companies in the region – why do they approach you?

Trudi: Three main scenarios lead to requests for consulting to companies: Firstly, when intercultural awareness is important for individuals or teams working in multicultural or geographically diverse contexts and coaching, training programmes or workshops are required.

The second is when communication or motivation in multicultural teams needs to be stimulated and again, coaching services or workshops would be useful.

Thirdly, when cultural misunderstandings have led to errors in judgement or paralysis of a situation and external mediation or facilitation would get things moving forward again.

Smooth carrying forward of objectives can be hampered at various levels of management, by miscommunication or simple lack of awareness. This potentially becomes all the more complicated in diverse teams whose cultural filters are not all based in the same values and traditions. When we take the time to identify and focus on commonalities and the strengths to be drawn from diversity rather than differences and weaknesses – the most gridlocked of situations can gain momentum again.

Rarely, help can be required to defuse or get through a crisis situation, either the personal situation of an employee or group becoming critical in the workplace, or an external incident like a business travel accident, or hostage taking, which would require emergency support in handling the situation itself and for the employee’s family if necessary.

GL: What do your therapy sessions typically involve? (i.e., do you work with families, or in one-to-one sessions?)

Trudi: We find it appropriate to take responsibility for our own physical health. My sessions are about taking responsibility for our mental and emotional health too. Every case is different. Although most counselling is individual and face-to-face, couple, family or group counselling is often appropriate and constructive. Telephone counselling is also common for those living further afield and I’ve come to use this more often since consulting regularly by telephone for a company in America supporting French expatriates living there.

When the step of seeking help is taken, it is because something in our lives is not serving us well. As my clients often have to continue functioning effectively and in a ‘foreign’ environment to boot, my aim is always to actively begin the process of movement, from the present situation towards a more positively perceived one. When we look at our responses to others, to what happens to us, even to our own thoughts and fears, we also start reclaiming responsibility for ourselves and our own wellbeing, whatever the situation.

Endless digging about in the past without a clear intention or purpose does not make sense to me. Understanding where a difficulty may have its source is certainly important, but identifying and acting on what can be done about it from there, allows us to start leaving behind the ‘victim status’ we may be stuck in and become central actors in our own life stories again. This is what I help people do, through a structured method, like putting together the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. I hold up a mirror of what I have gathered from what is expressed. This brings a life situation into perspective or provides a different angle of seeing things, which can affirm and reassure, provoke reaction or even motivate change.

Therapy is always an interactive process. It is not a random one however and requires structure and direction. Although Jungian and existentialist at heart, I draw on both CBT – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and NLP – Neuro-linguistic Programming methods.

It is essential to me that those who work with me, leave every session more fortified and have access to the strategies and tools we’ve explored together, that will help them to be able to cope better, even if only a little each time, with the demands their lives are making on them.

GL: Are there cases where you find you cannot help?

Trudi: There are severe pathologies and difficulties, that I would be neither qualified nor capable of taking on and in these cases I would suggest referral to medical professionals who would be better suited to the problem, accompanying the client all the way if necessary though.

In recent years, more English-speaking medical and paramedical professionals have set up in Grenoble and I have instigated an English Speaking Therapy Forum so that we are in contact with each other, share information and are better able to serve the needs of the community. The WWNG (Working Women’s Network of Grenoble) has also been most important in facilitating the exchange of information so that professionals in the field get to know about each other, what is available and how to find it.

In part II, coming soon, Trudi will be talking about the difficulties familes can face when moving to a new culture and offering some advice on how to manage this adaptation.

Upstage website

The March 10 English Talk Radio show was recorded at the Cité Scolaire Internationale de Grenoble, and includes an interview with the director, the cast and the crew of Upstage, which is putting on two plays: Loot by Joe Orton and Mountain Language by Harold Pinter, performing March 22–27 at 7:30 pm at the Théâtre Ste-Marie-d’en-Bas.

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. We are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life.

Listen to the full show: here

Just landed in Grenoble? Don't worry, there's a club for you. Photo: Guillaume Brialon

Just landed in Grenoble? Grenoble Life editor James Dalrymple gives his rough guide to Grenoble’s expat clubs and Anglophone businesses and services.

I have been asked by the French Entrée website to write a post with general advice for expats in Grenoble and the surrounding area, including relevant clubs and associations to join. Where to begin? Maybe you have already heard claims that Grenoble has one of the biggest Anglophone communities of any French city. I’m not sure of the real stats, and I will resist the temptation to invent some here, but suffice to say you stand a good chance of meeting other English-speakers whether you wish to or not.

It can be a bone of contention. Some people get defensive about the expat thing, saying something along the lines of, “I didn’t come to France to meet other [insert relevant English-speaking nationality here], I came to meet French people etc.” I don’t really subscribe to this view. When I lived in the UK, I always gravitated towards people who were very international in their outlook, and counted many cultures among those I called my friends. Just because I came to live in France, doesn’t mean that I should only spend time with French people just to feel good about myself. Among the expat groups and associations listed below, one may find many Anglo-French couples, so-called ‘third culture kids’, and all manner of general pan-European activity that belies the widely held view of what expat communities are.

Most new English-speaking Grenoble residents, particularly those with families, are likely to encounter Open House, the city’s long-established and possibly largest expat association. Among the activities Open House organizes are children’s parties, excursions, wine tastings, lunches, outdoor activities, book groups, coffee meetings and French-English language exchange.

The more student-orientated Happy People 38 organizes intercultural social events and language exchanges. Meanwhile, Celtic Connection promotes Irish and Scottish culture and sport in Grenoble and hosts Hallowe’en and St Patrick’s parties, a Burns’ supper, and summer picnics. Scottish expats and a host of other nationals can also be found at a weekly Knitting Bee at Café Leyritz, Place Vaucanson, every Tuesday afternoon at 2pm.

Although not Anglophone I feel duty-bound to make you aware of the lovely people at Le Club Danemark – Rhône Alpes, who are known to organise Glögg parties, Danish lessons and excursions, including cross country skiing. For more info contact: danemark-rhonealpes@live.com

English Talk Radio, presented by Vivian Draper, is a bi-monthly show on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble.  The show talks about film, theatre, finance, restaurants and travel, and has a variety of topical local guests; every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble.

For those expats who want their young children to have plenty of contact with the English language, there are some associations which can help with this, including Communication Café and ABC Anglais. Alternatively, French language classes for adults can be obtained from a variety of institutions and associations outlined in depth here.

If you are looking for American or British style cakes there is The Cake Shop and Bookworm Café. The latter also hosts book and poetry groups, language classes, local artists’ exhibitions and occasional musical performances. They also buy and sell second-hand English books, and have English newspapers and magazines to peruse. Furthermore, if you meet French friends yet to be convinced of the potential merits of American cuisine, Pumpkins might be wise place to convert them.

If you can’t find the book you are looking for at Bookworm Café there are two Anglophone libraries, La Bibliotèque Anglophone de Meylan and the English Library at Babel, which also runs book groups for teenagers and adults. Many municipal libraries also have English-language selections, particularly the International Public Library.

Given the dubious French proclivity for dubbing foreign language films into la langue maternelle, you may want to exercise caution when going to the cinema. Le Club (rue du Phalanstère) and La Nef (boulevard Edouard-Rey) are two theatres with dependably interesting programmes, all in version originale. For more info on the city’s movie theatres and film festivals, check out this comprehensive guide.

For church-goers, members from about 10 different denominations and 15 nationalities are welcome to attend The English Speaking Church of Grenoble, which also has a programme of social activities including dances, crafts nights, family evenings, visits to local attractions and walks.

In terms of professional development, the most dynamic and active association is the Working Women’s Network of Grenoble, which organizes networking lunches, workshops and seminars, and is run by a very helpful and efficient body of women. For opportunities to do volunteer work there is VSArt, an association that brings cultural opportunities to disadvantaged and elderly people. The Grenoble chapter was set up and is run by American Meredith Charreyron.

Grenoble also has a number of amateur English-speaking theatre groups. Students of different ages from Cité Internationale Scolaire de Grenoble participate in an annual pantomime and Upstage, respectively. The latter puts on very high quality plays every year at Ste-Marie-d’en-Bas, a 166-seat theatre off Place Notre Dame. Likewise, students of the English department at Stendhal University put on productions on campus every year. English-speakers are also invited to join a new Grenoble English Theatre Group, run by Nathalie Joshua. Novices welcome. For more information contact her at nathaliejoshua@hotmail.com

For health and well-being, Anglo-style therapeutic massage and aromatherapy can be obtained from Amy Cannata (waterfallwellness@me.com) and Shiatsu massage from Rebecca Skillman.

Finally, of course, I mustn’t forget to mention your very own Grenoble Life, which has articles and practical info for English speaking residents past, present and future. It also includes photo sharing, free classified ads and interviews with prominent members of the Anglophone community.

If I have forgotten any essential clubs or organizations, please use the comments box below to add to the list.

Classroom. Photo: sfar

Gregg West is an American history and geography teacher at Cité Scolaire Internationale. He also handles the school pantomime, organic gardening club, interpersonal communication classes and music club.  In this explosive article for Grenoble Life, he describes his career-long efforts to change the education system in France.

It would be preposterous to assume that any education system in the world does its job correctly, when one observes the amount of poverty, crime, violence, drug addiction, alienation, loneliness, pollution, general unhappiness, and other symptoms of human foolishness, frailty, or limitations.  But one could just say, “Oh well, people do their best and one can’t ask more of them than that.” Nevertheless, when one is a teacher and has to face an educational system day in and day out with its many constraints, it can be very trying, for even if he or she sees many kids succeed and go on to brilliant careers and happy, if not totally unperturbed, lives, there are a lot of others who will live troubled existences.

Over the last 37 years, I have tried to learn to teach and have perpetrated my teaching upon unsuspecting people, both children and adults, in North America, Scotland and France, but I have also had these teaching systems (pardon my syntax) perpetrated upon me. The following observations about the French system are not at all intended to exonerate other systems from similar criticism.

More is better

Since settling permanently in France in 1983 I have witnessed a system which believes that more is better despite the famous saying of Montaigne (loosely translated) that a “well-made head is better than a full head.” Indeed, in the Connexion of February 2010, the minister of Higher Education, Ms. Valerie Pécresse went so far as to say to a journalist “you seem to be contradicting yourself when you cast doubt on the level of lycée students passing the Bac but then suggest reducing the number of hours.”  Really, Ms. Pécresse, this is a national disease, thinking that more is always better. So why not give children 16-hour school days? Children need time for other things than school work to become thinking, feeling, well-balanced individuals. I thought everyone knew that … hmmm.

A second aspect of the French system that is curious for those of us from English-speaking cultures is the belief held by many that school is only for instruction of specific subject matters, does not require a global education of children in terms of understanding their social and psychological context, learning to motivate them, inciting them to improving their citizenship, social relations, and so forth and that, therefore, teachers do not need to learn anything but their own subject matter at university. No interpersonal communication, no group dynamics, no pedagogical methods, no interdisciplinary knowledge to coordinate interdisciplinary projects … It apparently threatens many whose work status and contract only commits them to knowing their subject … even if inspectors put pressure on them to teach better … and the French government has just decided to shut down IUFM (teacher training institutes), something highly consistent with this view.

In this extremely cerebral environment, a third characteristic of the French system, at least insofar as it concerns university-bound students, is that they needn’t develop artistic, manual or day-to-day skills like typing, driving a car, first aid, or cooking at school. (Well, they DO learn road security, but only the theory … ) In short, learning does NOT involve doing things, except writing essays, carrying out a few carefully limited classroom experiments, doing research and other relatively abstract tasks. So these other skills surprisingly only get developed among a minority of people who have the money to do them outside of school or have families patient and qualified enough to help them learn these things. When I see high school kids pecking away with their fingers on a keyboard, when I have to fork out over 1000€ for driving classes, or when I see the beginnings of obesity among French young people like in my native America, I do wonder about these priorities.

Lip service

Finally, as with many other school systems, the French speak of democracy, but practice dictatorship, pay lip service to cooperation and solidarity but practice competition, praise acceptance of differences, but punish those who do not “fit in” with ridicule, humiliating grades, and other forms of social exclusion, lecture people about human rights while submitting high school students to 50 hour weeks (35 hours of class plus 15 hours of homework a week), claim to be ecological while using throw-away pens, producing millions of tons of new, bleached, non-recycled fibre paper waste that are not even recycled, and brag about their great cuisine while abandoning their children to canteens that serve poor quality, poorly balanced meals that contain pesticides, instead of making quality and organic food priorities.  What is the saying, “Do as I say, not as I do?” Problem is, it doesn’t work that way and, as Leonard Cohen said, “Everybody knows…” Kids’ strongest learning experiences stem from doing and from example.

In such an unnatural neurotic environment, is it any wonder then that many French kids suffer from depression, insomnia, smoke a lot of cigarettes, become fashion victims or anorexics, drop out due to a lack of motivation (around 10%), or decide not to care about politics or association activity, plunging into a life of semi-blind consumption as adults, with no personal artistic side that they can cultivate to express themselves healthily? Is it any wonder that they become recalcitrant at suggestions that they drive less (so little physical exercise during their childhood), watch less TV (when did they learn how to entertain themselves?), vote more (when did anyone ask their opinion anyway?), or think about important issues (weren’t they only supposed to give teachers the answers required?), or question notions the media and political elite expound as evident (nuclear energy and genetically modified organisms aren’t dangerous, are they, or THEY would tell us … like our teachers … wouldn’t they?) Once you’ve got people conditioned, it is very hard to change them. Some would even suggest that this conditioning has been done CONSCIOUSLY to preserve the privileges of elite, but I’m not much of a conspiracy theory advocate, so I’ll leave this idea aside. I think it’s just force of habit and past conditioning … an unwillingness to question what came before.

Unfamiliar future

At any rate, all that I have described is what one would call a SCHEMATIC, OVERDRAWN picture of the French Educational system. Of course, there are positive sides, but you all know those; France is one of the world’s leading countries in social programs, economic productivity, democratic freedoms, and so forth … well, for the moment at least … But is this preparing us for an oil-poor, resource-poor future in a world where company relocation to Newly Industrialized Countries may force us to reorganize a great deal of our economy and learn to share, be happy with less, and use our imagination to find new, workable ways of life?

But of course changing things is never easy. People are afraid of unfamiliar ways, they think that what they know is the only way, there are vested interests, it involves calling habits and training into question, it doesn’t suffice to throw money at problems, and even good ideas, if poorly or insufficiently applied will lead to failure. In short, it isn’t a technical impossibility, but it remains a political improbability.

Political debate

I decided in 1987 to try to do something about all this. I spent five years in a minor political party which seemed highly motivated to lead change in society as the chairman of their education commission, consulting hundreds of students, parents, teachers, and others involved in education, as well as union representatives and school directors. We worked out propositions to change school radically (more on what these were later) … something in line with the party’s desire to “create a cultural majority for change.”

I sent the propositions to the hundred or so representatives of various regions in the party’s governing committee a few months before it was scheduled for debate on the agenda. But the day of the debate, there were “more urgent matters” so debate was pushed back till the very end of a Sunday afternoon when one third had already left to take their trains, leaving only 10 minutes to debate a topic that concerns every single citizen of a democratic country. Of those remaining, fully half were teachers … and a plurality of these opposed all the measures which might require them to retrain to handle new functions. So without any guidelines on HOW to change our propositions, we were sent back to the commission to “work on the propositions some more…” Thoroughly disgusted, I resigned as commission chairman.

An alternative school

In the U.S., as a young teacher, I had already experienced the difficulties of even modifying one local system of education, so I reasoned that if what I considered the most progressive political party in France and its host of teachers were unable to be open towards real change, then there was little hope of changing such a huge system from within. I worked for the next seven years on the idea of creating an alternative school, parallel to the system, in hopes that an example outside the system might show people what is possible. But here too I was to be foiled. Among the enthusiastic parents supporting this idea, most were penniless; among the enthusiastic teachers supporting this idea, most, not surprisingly, wanted to be paid! Real estate was too expensive to rent in large towns, and small towns placed obstacles in our path, fearing we might lower already precarious enrolment figures, provoking the closing of their public schools. There were also dreamers who talked about “borrowing seven million francs” from a bank as if any bank would ever entertain such an idea. A subscription among political activists raised some 135,000 francs, but we were never able to establish a three year budget that promised any hope of surviving, even on minimum incomes, so we were obliged to abandon the plan and send people’s money back.

At this point I decided to give up. I had a good job in a public school and began trying to develop extracurricular activities to compensate for the unidimensional aspects of school. I created a music club and later a theater program where kids could learn self-management, cooperation, create, express themselves, develop their confidence, teamwork and self-esteem, associate with older students and adults as role models instead of submitting to age segregation, and receive recognition without grades from those around them.  I found no need to involve parents for the music club, but broke an additional taboo when I got parents involved heavily in the theater program … something few French school teachers like to see … parents in the school working with kids … perhaps because it threatens their own prerogatives to teach as they see fit … but this was only outside of class …

In my own classes, I developed a method of teaching involving considerable debate and discussion, with occasional projects and games, but the program was often so immense that time was always pressing us to return to a teacher-centered curriculum.

Moving the mammoth

I suppose this is why when I was approached by a sympathetic political activist, I accepted getting involved in an association whose goal, like mine, was to move the mammoth (change the educational system) even though I remained very sceptical about the possible success of such an effort.

Over a period of about three years, we developed a support group of some 300 people, including thirty to forty teachers and three school headmasters, and we elaborated propositions very similar to those the education commission I’d managed had put forth only to be rejected. We outlined a plan for creating special schools, particularly in the junior high years (collège), and hopefully one or two in each department, which would function differently and thus serve as an illustration of alternative approaches to education. The basic ideas behind these schools included:

• Only four hours of academic solids per day, so less Math, less French, less language, less science, less history and geography (oh dear!!!). Interdisciplinary projects as a way of exploring basic subjects.
• Groups for enrichment, remedial work and orientation for one hour a day.
• Workshops to learn practical subjects, develop artistic abilities, and physical education 1 hour a day.
• Collective expression and action a few hours a week to put democracy into practice.
• A severe limit on homework and no grading, but still evaluating and testing.

One can like or dislike these propositions, but the fact remains that they allow schools to handle a number of the objections mentioned above and the existence of a certain number of schools of this type in the Northern part of Europe tends to confirm that they can be a positive experience, developing well-rounded, independent, thinking students … if properly applied.

We sent a 10-page summary and a longer 40-page detailed version of the project to various people in positions to make decisions. We met with those in charge of education at City Hall and the Conseil Général, as well as the man in charge of innovation at the Rectorate and the Academic Inspector of Isère. All reacted favorably, saying the idea looked great. When we said we also had a list of teachers and an administrator to run the school though, the Rectorate and Academic Inspection suddenly began hemming and hawing about the fact that they would need to talk to unions about it, that they couldn’t name people on the basis of aptitude or motivation, but only on the basis of seniority points (meaning the death of the project) and that they would have to check with their hierarchy on whether this was all possible (i.e., if it wasn’t pursued, it wouldn’t be THEIR fault …) Despite attempts to get them to put this on paper, they refused and they began doing what bureaucrats do when they don’t want something to happen. They sat on it, refusing further meetings, correspondence or any other indication of their position, killing the project.

Things I can do

So, at age 57, tired of spending so much energy for nothing, I chose to devote myself instead to things I CAN do without political games and support from people higher up. I continued with my teaching job, interpersonal communication classes, the music club with its concerts and CDs, the theater program with up to five shows and 750 spectators per year (our headmaster even had a stage built for us … and other groups in the school to use.) And I created an organic gardening club in our school.

None of this however will make the changes I believe that France (and other countries) desperately need in their education systems if they want to create a vast majority of real human beings capable of adult behaviour, wisdom, commitment, values, and coherent behaviour emancipated from the manipulative, narrow channels that current systems carve for them.

Film Projector Lens. Photo: Daniel Leininger

Are you a film buff? Know your Nouvelle Vague from your Cinéma Vérité? Grenoble has a wealth of cinemas and film festivals to cater for all movie tastes. Grenoble Life’s Camille Bromley investigates. 

During the grey Grenoble winter I frequently find myself ducking out of the rain and snow and into the cozy darkness of the movie theater. Grenoble’s a particularly rich city for movie lovers; lately there’s been one film festival after another, while the numerous movie theaters in town already provide plenty of occasions to see lesser-known or international films.   

Most of the theaters mentioned below show films in their original language with French subtitles—check for VF (version française) or VO (version originale) next to the listing. Ticket prices in the art cinemas range from about three to six euros, and are free in some special cases as part of film festival programs. Be sure to catch some of the extras with film festival screenings, as they often program-in shorts, stage talks before the film or dialogues afterwards, invite the filmmaker to be present, or even plan a goûter. 

The theater of choice for all cinephiles in Grenoble would be La Salle Juliet Berto, home to the Ciné-Club de Grenoble. Juliet Berto is conveniently located on Place Saint André, across from the former Tribunal court. The Ciné-Club projects films each Wednesday at 8:00 pm, and many more films are shown throughout the week at Juliet Berto on behalf of other associations. The Ciné-Club has just finished a cycle of film noir, including The Maltese Falcon; a cycle of B horror movies, including Invasion of the Body Snatchers; and will kick off a cycle around the theme “strange love” with Hal Ashby’s Harold and Maude on March 3^rd. 

The biennial film festival Cinéduc concluded their 10-day program last week. This year’s theme was Bonjour le Bonheur!, and included daily films, debates, and conferences exploring how happiness is portrayed in cinema spanning all corners of the world and all decades in film history. If you’ll be in Grenoble in 2012, keep an eye peeled for the next festival. 

La Cinémathèque de Grenoble is another association that projects films regularly (about 120 showings per year) at Juliet Berto. The films are often accompanied by talks, debates, conferences, and meetings with the directors. Last week I saw a free showing of Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent classic Metropolis, along with Arrival of a Train at a Station, one of the Lumière brothers’ first films. Currently they are projecting a cycle of animated films and films for children. To come is a selection of established classics, including The Grapes of Wrath; an evening with Yemenite director Khadija Al-Salami and her films; a conference on cinema and pornography; and a showing of Jacques Tati’s Mon Oncle. From July 6^th to 10^th this year, the Cinémathèque de Grenoble will also hold its annual Festival du Court Métrage en Plein Air. Thirty to forty short films competing for prizes will be shown under the stars in the center of Grenoble. 

Until March 3^rd, the cinéma le Méliès is hosting a series of children’s films and events. Among the 14 films being shown are The Wizard of Oz and Where the Wild Things Are.       

This year’s annual Festival isérois du film sur la Résistance, organized in connection with the Museum of Resistance and Deportation, will take place from March 15^th to 25^th.  Classics of European cinema, documentary films, and conferences will be held in various theaters in Grenoble and the surrounding area. 

From April 20^th to 27^th, the organization Vues d’en face will hold its annual Festival international du film gay et lesbien. The films are not yet selected. 

While it’s not film, there is also a Marionnette Festival happening now, from February 15^th to 28^th, on stages across Isère. 

Listing of independent/art house cinemas: 

La salle Juliet Berto
Passage du palais de justice, 38000 Grenoble
04 76 54 03 08 

Le Méliès
3, rue de Strasbourg, 38000 Grenoble
04 76 47 99 31

Mon ciné
10, avenue Ambroise-Croizat, Saint-Martin-d’Hères
04 76 44 60 11 

Espace Aragon
19 bis boulevard Jules Ferry, 38190 Villard-Bonnot
04 76 71 22 51 

Commercial movie theaters: 

La Nef
18, boulevard Edouard-Rey, 38000 Grenoble
08 92 68 00 31 

Le Club
9 bis, rue du Phalanstère, 38000 Grenoble
04 76 87 46 21 

Multiplex Pathé-Chavant
21, boulevard Maréchal-Lyautey, 38000 Grenoble
08 92 68 00 31 

Les 6 Rex
13, rue St Jacques, 38000 Grenoble
08 92 68 00 31 

*Film showings for the theaters without websites can be seen on www.allocine.fr or in the weekly publications GreNews and Grenoble & Moi.

Radio. photo: morberg

English Talk Radio is a talk show in English on 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. We talk about film, theatre, finance, restaurants, travel, and have a variety of topical guests. We are four presenters: Kristine Minski talks about finance, Christina Menez talks about China, Mary Zaccai talks about student issues, and Vivian Draper – animatrice/rédactrice – hosts the show. Every Sunday at 12.30pm, and every Wednesday at 7pm on 90.8, Radio Campus Grenoble and live on www.campusgrenoble.org – and also here on Grenoble Life.

The February 7 English Talk Radio show took place at The Bookworm Café in St Laurent, Grenoble. Listen to the full show here:

The French Paper website

Michael Streeter, Editor of theFrenchPaper, talks to Vivian Draper of English Talk Radio, 90.8 Radio Campus Grenoble. Read the full interview here.

Vivian Draper: Hello Michael and welcome to Grenoble, even if only in print. It is eight months since we last spoke about theFrenchPaper, what has happened in those last eight months?

Michael Streeter: It’s been busy! In addition to the main paper we’ve produced a number of supplements to go with it, including one on sport and another on winter sports. We have also been hard at work trying to promote the paper in various places. Obviously as your readers know France is a big country and targeting our audience of English-speakers is not always as easy at it might seem, so this has taken up a lot of time and will continue to, I’m sure.

The main thing, however, is that we’ve been trying to maintain and improve our editorial quality. Our aim has always been to produce a quality newspaper about what’s going on in France with a design and feel that can compete with, for example, the best of British national newspapers. That’s the level we’re aiming for and we spend a lot of time on getting it right. Obviously nobody’s perfect, but I’d like to think we’re moving in the right direction. Certainly the feedback we’ve got from readers has been fantastic. I think they can see that a lot of effort and thought goes into each edition. Above all they seem to find us a grownup and enjoyable read, which is great – that’s what we’re aiming for!

Vivian: Printing newspapers has changed vastly in the last 30 years, no more inky fingers?

Michael: Yes, things have certainly changed since I first started in Fleet Street many years ago. Back then you needed to wear gloves if you were handling bundles of paper. The quality of the presses and inks has improved so much – as has the ability to price good quality colour pages. When you compare newspapers of today with those of 30 years ago they are so much bigger, more colourful and, I would argue, much better value for money.

Vivian: Where is theFrenchPaper published?

Michael: It’s published in London by the printers of The Guardian and Observer, though we have no editorial or other link with them. Why there? Not for any chauvinistic reasons, it’s simply that not many presses can currently print the Berliner format we use (it’s half way between a tabloid and broadsheet in size).

Vivian: Is distribution of theFrenchPaper going smoothly?

Michael: Don’t get me started on distribution! Much as I love France there are still some things that baffle and frustrate me here and newspaper distribution is definitely one of them. Let’s just say it’s a ‘challenge’ getting the right number of copies to where we want them to go each month … and if people find it hard to get hold of a copy at their nearest outlet please do let us know. Things are getting better, but it’s a slow process.

Vivian: What is your average day like?

Michael: The first thing is to keep on top of the news. I’ll always listen to the radio news bulletins in the morning (France Inter usually) and then catch up on the Agence France Presse wire service. I also read news websites, newspapers and the weekly magazines such as L’Express and Nouvel Obs. Much of my day is spent coming up with ideas, commissioning and briefing reporters, editing stories and where necessary sending them back to be re-written! The final week before we go to press is obviously the most hectic, and the working day is rarely under 12 hours. There are pages to proofread, headlines to rewrite, captions to check, all the time making sure we aren’t missing anything major.

Vivian: Not only French news in English, you have broadened your scope to include many other areas?

Michael: I think these days a newspaper has to offer more than ‘just’ the news. As a monthly paper we both have a round up of key stories that have affected France in the previous weeks and offer analysis and commentary on those stories we think really help tell the reader something about France and how it works. On top of that there are features, real life stories, lifestyle, travel, motoring, sport, puzzles and crosswords, commentary, advice pages, financial information, pages with advice for small businesses, food, gardening, nature … it’s quite a full list! I see our mission as being to entertain and stimulate as well as to inform.

Vivian: Such a variety of articles too, does each newspaper have a theme?

Michael: To an extent yes, especially if it’s linked to a time of year, such as Christmas, or the summer holidays or the start of the skiing season. However it’s also important that we cover a broad range of what’s going and we need to appeal to a wide range of people so I don’t like to get too tied down to one theme.

Vivian: What has surprised you most about theFrenchPaper since the first issue?

Michael: One has been the reaction of many readers. I did expect people to like the paper as it’s something different, but I have been amazed just how much some people say they love it. It’s not for everyone of course and some people have complained that there’s ‘too much about France in it’. Fair enough, you can’t please all the people all the time, I guess. Another surprise has been how popular we are with some French people – I really hadn’t expected that.

Vivian: Talk about the technology used in editing a newspaper in 2010

Michael: Where would we be without the internet and email? Information gathering is so much easier now because of websites, searchable databases and libraries and so on, though I still prefer to speak to people directly for information if possible – you always get more like that. In terms of the page layout and design process, it’s simply a question of using a publishing software package and having the skills to use it properly to produce the pages. These are all laid out and designed by our great design team, including the photos, and once we’re happy with the pages they are simply emailed to the printers ready for printing. It’s that straightforward, though of course you need the right skill to be able to make the pages look good (that’s down to Nadia, our art editor, not me I hasten to add). With an internet connection you could edit the paper from the top of a mountain!

Vivian: Who is reading theFrenchPaper?

Michael: As I’ve just mentioned quite a few French people! But of course our main readership is among Britons and Americans living in France or coming here on holiday or to visit their second home, as well as Irish residents, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans and other nationalities who prefer to read in English rather than in French. As for age groups and profiles … very varied. Lots of pensioners read us, but then so too do young working families with children. I think the common theme among readers, though, is that they are all interested in life in France, rather than just life as a foreigner in France, if you see what I mean. They are people who like to look outside the ‘expat bubble’ and want to know what France is doing and what French people are thinking and saying.

Vivian: Your articles on Work & Money are most interesting; also The Eco Worrier, which can be quite funny, in an English sort of way.

Michael: The Work & Money section is very important for us – we want to give readers advice on running their business, on saving money or even what benefits they can legitimately claim here. As for Eco Worrier’s English wit … Graeme is Scottish so I’m not sure how he’ll take that!

Vivian: The small Ads and KidsPaper are lively too – do children really write theFrenchPaper KidsPaper?

Michael: Yes they do, though naturally they get a helping hand from adults too. It’s a section that’s gone down really, really well with young families, including young French families.

Vivian: Recipes, gardening, and giveaways – talk about the giveaways, please

Michael: Well, food and gardening are part of those lifestyle things that many people associate with their life in France so they are very important subjects for us. As for giveaways, many of our readers come from Britain where they are used to their newspaper offering them a variety of promotions, free goods, cut-price deals on so on. So it’s simply part of the mix, something that readers expect. We all like the chance to win a little treat, don’t we?

Vivian: You also have a part of theFrenchPaper called Real Living; I’m thinking of the article about sheep and shepherds, which was so interesting

Michael: Yes I loved that story. France has such a varied landscape and people, and the aim of our real life stories is to bring to life the many characters who have amazing and fascinating lives here – whether French or not.

Vivian: As Editor of theFrenchPaper, you have final say on what goes out in each issue – does it keep you awake at night?

Michael: As an editor you do get used to that kind of decision-making. To be honest, I have always enjoyed that kind of pressure as an editor. I think the toughest thing for me is that theFrenchPaper is a monthly. On a daily paper, which I’m used to, if you felt you’d under or overplayed a subject one day, you had an immediate opportunity to put it right the next day. With a monthly you have to live with your decisions for quite a while!

Vivian: Lindsey Partos on food prices in your January issue was most informative, can we expect more articles like this?

Michael: Definitely. Lindsey has a good track record in food industry journalism and I’m very keen that we do more of this type of consumer story.

Vivian: Ma Belle France is a great read in The French Paper, also the idea that we use more lipstick when the financial outlook is bleak – how about free lipsticks for your great giveaways?

Michael: Lipstick isn’t my speciality subject but I will definitely mention this to one of my better-informed colleagues!

Vivian: The Big Quiz is a super idea in theFrenchPaper – we can feel really well informed, or if we are not, we can sneak a peek at the answers, right?

Michael: Of course – it’s just a bit of fun! That said, it is also a good source of snippets of information, as well as being a lot of work!

Vivian: Of course you don’t work alone, how many permanent staff does theFrenchPaper employ?

Michael: There are two of us who oversee most of the editorial, with another two who look after the design, sourcing photos and so on. Then there are regular freelancers who work on sub-editing, proofreading, columns and other parts of the paper. The vast majority of the content is written by freelance contributors under our guidance. Then there’s the ad and marketing teams.

Vivian: What is next for theFrenchPaper?

Michael: In the paper, we’ll be seeing more supplements and specials on subjects of particular interest to our readers. Essentially my aim is to maintain the quality and reputation we have established and build from there. A key issue is marketing – getting the paper better known. Having launched in June last year I’m sure that the majority of our target audience still doesn’t know we exist. We have to put that right. Another key area is our news website – it’s under construction and we’ll let you know when that’s ready.

Vivian: How about some contact information?

Michael: Well we do have a marketing website at www.thefrenchpaper.com. Here you can subscribe from as little as €29.47 for 14 issues. And on the newsstands we are just €2.50 an issue – which I hope people agree is pretty good value for money. If anyone wants to contact me they are very welcome to email me at: editorial@thefrenchpapaper.com

Vivian: Michael thanks for this interview and we look forward to the next issue of theFrenchPaper

Michael: Thanks for letting me talk about a subject I love – newspapers!

Musée de Grenoble

The colors of Gaston Chaissac are brightening up the winter season here in Grenoble with the current exhibition at the Musée de Grenoble, Gaston Chaissac: poète rustique et peintre moderne. Camille Bromley of Grenoble Life explains.

by Camille Bromley

Chaissac was a self-taught French painter from the first half of the 20th century, a working class man who was eventually ‘discovered’ by a couple of established artists and introduced to the society of artists in Paris. Chaissac separated himself and his work from the intellectual elite, however, referring to his style as “modern rustic.” The description seems apt; his work is modern in form, in color, and rustic in its simple, even childlike crudeness. In addition to the drawings, paintings, and collages on display at the Musée de Grenoble are sculptures made out of common objects: a bucket, a basket, stones, a personified broom, endowed with Chaissac’s signature awkward smile.

Sans titre, 1957-59, huile

This is a perfect exhibition for children; certainly much of Chaissac’s work actually resembles children’s drawings, and the bright colors and unsteady shapes are immediately appealing. Chaissac’s world is highly personal and isolated as well; despite the rainbow of colors these figures aren’t openly joyous, their uneven eyes and crooked mouths seem to be hiding an inner something. You can imagine an emotional complexity being expressed with unsteady hands. The museum has set aside a room at the end of the exhibition for the Chaissac-inspired artworks done by local children. It is now quite full with colorful figures and bent smiles. There are collages on the wall, faces made with buckets, flower pots, colanders. One of my elementary school classes painted their own Chaissac portraits — what a wonderful way to introduce children to art!

The exhibition will run until January 31^st, 2010.

There’s much more to see than the Chaissac exhibition, however. The Musée de Grenoble is renowned across Europe for its permanent collection, especially that of the 20th century. The museum is over 200 years old (founded in 1798), making it the oldest museum of modern art in France. It houses Egyptian, Greek, and Etruscan antiquities, and a history of Western painting is organized chronologically from the Middle Ages to current day, including significant works by Matisse and Picasso. One of the most pleasantly surprising rooms features former artists from Grenoble and their breathtaking landscapes of the surrounding mountains.

For a small city of about 150,000 residents, Grenoble is home to a rather impressive art museum, and the entrance fee is next to nothing: 5 euro, or 3 euro reduced rate, and only 2 euro for students. Free for children under 18. In addition, every first Sunday of the month is free entry.  

The museum is open every day except Tuesday between 10.00 am and 6.30 pm. Closed January 1^st, May 1^st, and December 25^th. Audioguides are available in French, English, and Italian for 3 euro. Guided visits are also conducted at 3 PM Saturday and Sunday, 3 euro.

On the premises are a library of art history, coffee bar, bookshop, and Sculptures Park. Concerts are held regularly; consult www.musee-en-musique.com

Musée de Grenoble
5, place de Lavalette
38010 Grenoble
Tél : 04 76 63 44 44

Loving life with the kids

Felicity Lodge is a financial planner with The Spectrum IFA Group, offering independent financial planning advice for expatriates in France. Felicity is based in Grenoble and works with English speaking expats the Alps region.  Here is her guide to some of the personal finance considerations for those making the move to France.

Moving to a new country can be a stressful time – changing jobs, finding somewhere to live, moving schools – and all this in a foreign language. In the midst of all this, financial issues get overlooked. People often assume that because their savings and pensions are well arranged in their home country, they can leave things as they are when they are living in France. In fact, all countries have different tax systems and what is tax efficient in one country may not necessarily be as suitable when you become French resident.

A common way of saving in the UK is with an ISA. Whilst you can continue to hold (but not contribute to) existing ISAs if you are non-resident in the UK, many people do not realize that an ISA is not tax exempt in France and any interest, dividends and capital gains must be declared on your annual tax return. If you will be moving back to the UK it may be worth holding onto your ISAs anyway – this will depend on your personal circumstances. Another popular way of saving in the UK is with the Post Office through National Savings and Premium Bonds. These are also not tax exempt in France and any interest or winnings will be taxable (since you can get your money back, Premium Bonds, wins are considered as interest not as lottery winnings). Some people place their money in offshore banks thinking they will not have to pay tax, however, a French tax return requires you to declare all worldwide income, including interest, and all accounts. Paying withholding tax does not remove the obligation of disclosure.

Bank Savings Accounts

Luckily, as a French resident you have other options available – different but equally valuable. Your first stop will be your bank for savings accounts (compte epargne), specifically a Livret A and a Livret Development Durable (LDD). These should both be offered by your bank and allow you to save a significant amount without tax. However, the interest rates at the moment are not very enticing, so while these accounts are good for holding emergency funds or money you will need in the immediate future, in the long-term your savings run the risk of being depreciated by inflation.

People today are aware of the risk of loosing some of their savings if a bank collapses. France has a compensation scheme that covers up to 70,000 € of a depositor’s net deposits per banking group. The UK scheme covers £50,000 per banking group. People are less aware that the biggest threat to your savings is that the return may not keep pace with inflation, eroding purchasing power in real terms.

Long-Term Savings

For money that you have no plans for in the near-future you might want to have some exposure to bonds or shares, to try to improve long-term returns. The safest way to do this is by investing through funds, since this way you have the expertise of a fund manager and his team and also, since your money is pooled with that of many other investors, your money will be invested in a wider range of shares, which reduces risk compared to holding shares in a few individual companies.

There are two main ways to do this tax efficiently in France. The first is through a Plan Epargne Actions (PEA) which is an account in which you can hold shares and funds. There are tax advantages, but these are combined with restrictions. You can only hold funds or shares that are based in and invested in companies in the European Economic Area (EEA). This is quite a severe restriction and means that you cannot fully diversify and take advantages of growth in other parts of the world. In addition, you cannot continue to hold a PEA if you cease to be French resident.

An alternative and less restrictive option is to hold funds in a life insurance bond. A French approved life insurance bond (Assurance Vie) is similar to a PEA in that it is an account with tax advantages in which you can hold funds. Funds held in an Assurance Vie must be based in the EEA but can invest anywhere in the world. Assurance Vie policies are widely held by French people for long-term savings and to supplement retirement income, since personal pensions in France are not as developed as in the UK and have quite strict requirements on when and how you can take your money. An Assurance Vie is much more flexible: for full tax advantages you must hold the policy for eight years although you can continue to hold it for as long as you wish and you have access to your money at all times.

Holding your savings in an Assurance Vie offers a number of advantages, particularly in France where the tax treatment of an Assurance Vie is very favourable. No tax is due on any asset held within the Assurance Vie whilst it remains in the policy and funds can be bought and sold within the policy with no tax payable, which means that the policy grows tax free. Tax is only payable when money is withdrawn from the Assurance Vie, and this is at extremely beneficial rates after the policy has been held for eight years.

In addition, there are benefits with regard to succession. The policy can be left to whomever the holder wishes, currently with a considerable tax free allowance and a comparatively low rate on any excess. Holding assets together in an Assurance Vie also simplifies your paperwork, tax treatment and asset management. The policy can be kept if you leave France, in which case the tax regulations of your new country of residence will apply.

Assurance Vie policies are not all made equal. Those offered by your bank are often expensive and have little choice of what to invest in. Some are available online with very low charges and a wide range of funds (supports) offered, but for this route you must be comfortable with a DIY approach. If you consult a financial planner, they will be able to find the best policy to match your needs and help you tailor the investment to your risk profile and to changing personal circumstances as your life changes. An Assurance Vie can be a lifetime investment that evolves with you.

Mortgages

Buying a property in France is highly regulated.  The amount you can borrow is controlled so loan payments and any other regular obligations cannot be more than 33% of your monthly income (net of social charges). This amount must be sufficient to cover any existing financial commitments, your new mortgage payments and the associated life insurance cover (which French banks insist on). The same rule applies if you are renting accommodation. French people tend to use fixed rate mortgages, but other options are available and are becoming more common. Re-mortgaging is more difficult in France, so choosing the most suitable mortgage in the first place is essential.

Succession

Inheritance law in France is very different to in the UK and other countries. French succession law applies to properties in France, even if the owners are not French resident, and to worldwide assets if you are. Under French succession law you are not able to leave your assets to anyone you please. Protected heirs (usually your children) are entitled to a portion of your estate and you are not able to leave the total of your assets to anyone you please. Inheritance tax, especially for non-related beneficiaries, is severe.

If you have a complicated family situation or have a will that does not agree with French law, it is vital that you consult with a notaire and a financial planner.

If you have not yet moved to France, professional guidance is essential since there are tax advantages to making some arrangements before you are French resident. If you are already resident in France, trying to understand the details of your different options can be a nightmare, especially when everything is written in a language you do not fully understand. A financial planner can help you to work out the best route to achieving your personal and financial goals within the French system.

Felicity Lodge, based in Grenoble, is a financial planner with The Spectrum IFA Group. For a free, no-obligation consultation please contact felicity.lodge (at) spectrum-ifa.com

'my guitar'. Photo: Chewy Chua

Gregg West is an American history and geography teacher at Cité Scolaire Internationale. He also handles the school pantomime, organic gardening club, interpersonal communication classes, and music club, which he has written about here for Grenoble Life.

by Gregg West

About ten years ago, I had a student in ninth grade (3ème) who had stopped working at school. As I listened to her, I discovered a deeper cause.

“My parents have a wonderful house and a swimming pool, but they work 60 hours a week and I never see them. And school is beginning to resemble that for me. I can’t be bothered. I don’t care about these things.  I don’t want to grow up and be like that!”

“Well you don’t have to if you make different choices. You know, one can live with a lot less.  Happiness isn’t about wealth though many confuse them.  But I can see you feel discouraged.  What really interests you in life?”

“I’d love to learn to play the guitar,” she replied “’cause I love music. But the school day’s so long and I live so far away that there’s no possibility. And anyway, everybody says you can’t make a living at that.”

“Well, life isn’t just about money, is it?  You can do music on the side and still learn a profession.  What if I taught you a bit here at school when you have an hour between classes, would that interest you?”

Her face was transformed, “Oh, Mr. West! I’d love that!” So we organized a little guitar class. And this girl began studying again, her motivation back, started a rock group, and finally got her Bac and went on to university.

Soon, the rumour got around and the demand for guitar lessons became a problem because there was no place in the school where we could do this without bothering classes.

But creative, manual and self-run, co-operative enterprises are a sorely missing aspect of education in France. Children need these to round out their personalities, to develop a sense of self-esteem and responsibility, a sense of meaningful activity that they choose for a change that is not imposed, and, of course, to have fun!

So when the new International High School was created in 2001, I immediately identified a place where we could set up a club. At first I lent my own equipment and we built a drum set out of wood and plastic paint cans until concerts brought in enough money to purchase equipment: guitars, a bass, a synthesizer, amplifiers, drums, microphones, cables, and a digital studio. I encouraged all those who knew how to play to teach others and little by little the club grew. The Foyer Socio-Educatif in the Collège and the Maison des Lycéens in the High School also gave us some help buying equipment.

The club now has about 100 members, and 10 supervisors chosen from among the students involved run the club, keeping a check on how members put things away, notifying me of problems, and organizing three or four concerts a year, including one with pay entry to help finance equipment repair and purchase. There are groups that rehearse there an average of about 12 hours each week, free tutorials by experienced members to teach others to sing or play an instrument, and we have even put out two multilingual albums, one in 2006 about AIDS (Sept langues contre le SIDA) with 17 songs which sold about 160 copies and led to a 1000€ contribution by the club to an anti-AIDS association and a more recent album Etat Planète (Et Ta Planète/Et Tape-là-nette) which has sold about 70 copies so far, allowing us to finance an organic gardening club.

The club is only open to our own students for obvious reasons of security and competition for the time slots, but if others want to know how we did it, they can contact me at: gregg.west (at) ac-grenoble.fr

CSI Panto 2008-2009

Hélène Perrin-Gouron is part of the team that puts on the annual pantomime with students at Cité Scolaire Internationale (CSI). She talked to Grenoble Life about costumes, props, music and risqué double-entendre …

Grenoble Life: What is your role in the production of the pantomime at CSI and how long you have been doing it?

Hélène Perrin-Gouron: It’s my third panto with the CSI. Yet this program has existed for five or six years. I’m currently managing the rehearsals. Mandy Besson, Gregg West and I are co-ordinating the show, each one of us in charge of a specific area. We’re also helped by a crew of about 15 people on a regular basis. Then we get extra help when we get closer to the performances. I’d say that a total of around 40 people (adults and teens, though not including the actors themselves) will have worked on the panto by the time it gets on stage for the shows.

GL: For the benefit of non-British readers, what is a pantomime?

Hélène: Ha! Someone burst out laughing once when I said that I was doing a pantomime in English. Of course, the thought was that a pantomime is a mime, therefore silent. Actually, it used to be; but over the years, it turned into a ‘humorous musical’.

Pantomimes are very much a British theatrical genre, usually performed around Christmas, and almost always based on long-established children’s stories. It also has conventions: the leading female character is usually played by a man, there’s also risqué double-entendre, well-known songs with re-written lyrics, an actor in an animal costume and there are various kinds of interactions with the public. This means that we could be throwing out candies to you … [laughs]

GL: What is this year’s pantomime? When and where does it take place?

Hélène: The students of the Junior High English Section of the Cité Scolaire Internationale of Grenoble will be performing Peter Pan. The first show will be on January 20^th, 2010, in Salle polyvalente at the CSI. We’ll hold five performances there.

GL: How is the script chosen?

Hélène: The previous years, Gregg West and Mandy Besson edited existing scripts so that each individual on stage would have a moment. This year, with the help of two other adults, Mandy wrote a script from scratch! I’m dying to talk to you about my favourite moments but then, I would spoil it for you if I did!!!

GL: How are the actors chosen?

Hélène: Thanks to the quality it’s reached, the CSI panto seems to have turned into a tradition. Its success has brought more and more students to the auditions. They are cast accordingly to their strong points knowing that we need actors, dancers and/or singers. This year, we have a cast of 41 students on stage, aged from 11 to 14.

GL: For how long do rehearsals take place - there must be a lot of preparation?

Hélène: Not at all! [wink] Yes, it’s colossal work. First there is the script to find and either edit, or write, and do the blocking too. Then we have auditions in June, and in September, rehearsals start. Not only do the students have ‘regular’ rehearsals twice a week, but they also have song and dance rehearsals. (Just to give you a hint of what’s hiding behind this little group of words ‘dance rehearsal’: 17 choreographies were created this year by Isabelle Lietar.) We’ve got to get lyrics changed, find the pieces of music we need, record the soundtrack, imagine and make costumes, list and find props, compose and paint the scenery, create an ambience with lights, and finally organize the publicity and ticketing. There’s work during the shows too …

GL: Tell us a little about your background and how you became involved with the international school panto?

Hélène: I did some theater when I was in the US. And then … life! For years, I was busy with my job as a scriptwriter for film and tv. No time for theater, which I was missing. The CSI panto is always looking for passionate committed people so … I guess we were all lucky there!

GL: How do the French, or even non-British audience members, react to the panto – do they not think it’s a little unusual!?

Hélène: Pantos certainly are unusual, which may be why one gets caught up by the ambience though he/she must experience some sort of a culture shock. In fact, last year, when I was watching a Monty Python film, I suddenly realized how incredible it was that these guys were so obviously panto-raised and the world does not know about it!

GL: How can we find out more and get tickets for this year’s panto?

Hélène: Our posters and program will be ready mid-November and the ticketing will start right away. We’ll have a show at 2.30pm on Wednesday, January 20^th. On the 21^st and the 22^nd, shows will be at 7.30pm. And on Saturday, January 23^rd, we’ll have a show at 10am and a show at 7.30pm. Tickets are six euros for adults, from age 4–18 tickets are three euros and children under four come in for free. Most performances sold out last year so we highly recommend that you make reservations at gregg.west (at) ac-grenoble.fr, starting now!

Parents and their Toddler Talkers enjoying a story. Helen McEwan is second from left

abc anglais is a brand new English speaking playgroup in Grenoble for the youngest of children and their parents no matter where you are from. Mums, dads, toddlers and babies are totally immersed in an English-speaking environment during the session, joining in the nursery rhymes and songs, listening to favourite stories, playing age-appropriate games as well as taking part in art and craft activities all conducted in English. It’s run by me, Helen McEwan, a UK qualified Speech and Language Therapist and experienced English language teacher.

Every session is structured around a subject, which forms part of a five week theme, for example, ‘On the Farm’. We always have at least one story, one song, one nursery rhyme per subject, e.g., ‘cows’, and plenty of games and craft activities to keep the children actively interested. There is also a story and a couple of songs on the general theme which we come back to every time to reinforce the learning of the theme and to allow the children (and parents) to familiarise themselves with the English songs and stories.

There are currently three levels – “Baby Babblers” for babies up to 12 months old, “Toddler Talkers” for one to two year olds, and “Chatterbox Children” for two to three year olds.

My idea of exposing very young children to a language they do not normally speak at home is based on the theories of language development in general. There are still many mysteries surrounding language acquisition (and even more so around the thorny issue of bilingualism), but it is believed that a child learns the fundamentals of his/her own language by age three. So, in order to maximise the chances of a child learning an additional language as naturally and easily as possible, it is best to start early.

In addition, there is clear evidence that learning the sounds of language is done in the first year of life, much research quoting just the first six months as the time limit on acquiring the speech sounds specific to your language. So, if you noticed your baby being able to trill or click and make sounds more akin to more ‘exotic’ languages in its early months, this is because your baby was born with the ability to make all speech sounds, but quickly hones into the sounds s/he hears in her environment and continues to practise only those in the babble phase, around six–nine months. Therefore, if you want to pronounce another language well – especially if it sounds very different to your own, (French vs. English!), ideally you need to be exposed to the sounds of that language in the first six months of life, or certainly no later than the first year in order to reproduce them accurately later on!

Making spider bracelets with Chatterbox Children at Halloween

For this reason, I choose stories which use repetition, rhyme, have a strong rhythm, are not very ‘wordy’, but have captivating story lines as well as bold, striking artwork to capture the child’s imagination, even if s/he doesn’t know any English yet. For any form of learning, familiarisation of the subject matter is essential. Repetition is therefore a valuable learning tool, and so we come back to the stories and songs and rhymes during one session, during a theme, and also during the course of the year, but from different angles. ‘Noah’s Ark’ can be used in a session on rain, as well as animals, boats, or counting for example.  In any case, children love returning to their favourite books, toys, programmes over and over again.

The same principle applies to the songs we sing. They are carefully chosen for their ease of learning, and because they are fun, and tuneful and worth singing. Learning through song is almost primeval. Often it is easier to learn a phrase with music or with a strong rhythm – do you remember doing this when revising for an exam, or learning a new language? – as you are allowing your brain more chances of storing the data and hence more opportunities of retrieving it via various routes – the linguistic and the musical. Singing is an almost instinctive response to childcare. Many cultures use music for child rearing, and children respond instinctively to the human voice, particularly their mother’s. In this way singing constitutes a fundamental form of early interaction between parent and child.

I set up abc anglais because of my own experience of coming to Grenoble six months pregnant with my first child. Although I have worked with children, including newborns and premature babies, I had no idea what to expect with my own baby, particularly in a very new and foreign environment. And I was very disappointed to discover that actually there is very little available for parents and babies in particular. It was a very isolating and disorientating experience. Thank goodness for Open House and the Baby and Toddler Groups there, which I quickly became involved with (and I encourage all similar families to). Running the groups there and doing prototype abc sessions at my daughter’s garderie gave me the idea to combine my professional skills with offering something that I feel is lacking in Grenoble – a service for our youngest of citizens. In the UK, I worked in nurseries and clinics for the under fives, and ran parent-child interaction groups which encourage positive communication. I draw on this experience and other principles of my profession in designing and running the abc sessions.

Helen McEwan

So, abc anglais is as much an opportunity for parents to have some quality play time with their young children, as it is an opportunity for the children to become exposed to English at the optimum time for language learning. It is also an opportunity for parents to practise their English, and enjoy being in an English-speaking environment. abc anglais is as much for parents as for children, and this is a fundamental basic principle. And it’s open to everyone, not just Anglophones. Families from USA, Asia, as well as many different European countries, and French families are currently attending.

Sessions are held in two locations in Grenoble – at Les Petits Bilingues, place de Metz, on Mondays and Tuesdays, and at the new English café – Bookworm, rue St. Laurent, on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. The new block starts the week of 9 November. It will run for five weeks, with a special Christmas session in the week of 14 December. Come and join us, it’s lots of fun!

(Check out the Bookworm Café blog and the fantastic Mômes à Grenoble blog for further information on forthcoming events, or contact me: abc.anglais (at) free.fr)

A montage of Upstage publicity

David Simpson is producer and director of Upstage, an English Theatre Group comprising students at Cité Internationale Europole in Grenoble. Now in its 18th year, this annual play has established a tradition of outstanding comedy that draws a diverse audience from the local community. James Dalrymple met him over a pint or two – as British expats are often found doing – at O’Callaghan’s Irish Pub, to discover more about the history of Upstage and plans for next year’s production.

When I met him David had just completed successful first rehearsals for Upstage 2010. Students from the International Lycée have assumed roles both theatrical and technical after an audition process overseen by David and former student participants. Under David’s supervision this team will “take over and run all the operations, front of house, backstage, sound and light control room,” during a five night run that normally takes place between February and April.

Upstage has a long standing relationship with Ste-Marie-d’en-Bas, a 166-seat theatre off Place Notre Dame that he describes as,

… a first class theatre for audience and actors alike, in terms of size, intimacy, atmosphere, acoustics and so on. They’re much solicited, like all theatres and venues around town. But we are perceived as part of the family, and they make sure there is a place for us in their programme. Les Anglais bring a breath of fresh air and youthful vitality and joie de vivre. The Director, Diden Berramdane, is extremely supportive, and generous in help and advice. He has a very special input in terms of setting up lighting effects. We’ve built up an understanding and strong working relationship over the last 15 years, based on mutual respect. According to Diden, ‘Ils n’ont rien à envier aux professionnels’.

While rehearsals are conducted within the school, during its run the students assume almost total control of a real playhouse with an audience mix of Anglophones and local people (French translations of the script are made available in advance). Upstage is therefore not only a theatrical experience for these young people, but one in which they learn team-building and project management skills invaluable in later life. The Upstage motto, David tells me, is “strong traditions to follow, new precedents to set.”

Although Upstage productions, since its inception in 1993, could be roughly described as comedies, David – who chooses the play, before running it by a reading committee comprising colleagues at Cité Internationale (where he is head of English) – does not shy away of challenging, darker themes. Plays have included Giles Croft’s adaptation of the Ealing comedy The Ladykillers, Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good and Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring. David aims to select ensemble pieces, in order to include as many students as possible, and works that feature a fair balance of male and female roles. Previous productions have, however, had male roles played by female students and vice versa, and in the case of plays such as Caryl Churchill’s ’Top Girls’, where the cast was dominated by female characters, more room was made for the boys in a technical capacity.

Nor does Upstage shy away from challenging technical feats, David emphasises. “There were plays I put aside, as too difficult technically, but that I found myself coming back to, as I really wanted to do them. And that’s what theatre is about in many respects. Finding solutions, and ways to do things.” Such challenges have included the depiction of:

… rowing boats up rivers; throwing bodies off bridges in the path of oncoming steam locomotives; getting the 9th Century female Pope Joan to vomit into a vase at the front of the stage; having for a set an English country house on two  floors - with staircase, gallery and nine doors/ windows, and which required rotating 180 degrees at each of the two intervals; rooftop fights, parrot escapes, a murder in a bathtub, firework displays and so on; a play that takes place, apart from the first five minutes, in the dark … when you’ve managed to meet that kind of requirement, you really do think you can cope with anything. Two years ago I seriously considered a play that needed a hot air ballon!

David is proud to announce that next year’s production will be a double-bill. The main feature will be Joe Orton’s Loot (1966), which David describes – with a glint in his eye – as a “ferocious satire about sex, death, money and the Catholic church”, lest anyone doubt that Upstage tackles more demanding material. As Loot is a relatively short piece, it will be preceded by Harold Pinter’s aptly-titled (for Grenoble) one-act play Mountain Language. The late Pinter is not, of course, known for the kind of themes typically performed by schoolchildren, and David is keen to emphasise that Upstage is a professional quality English theatre group that aims to engage adults and young people alike.
Of next year’s programme, David says:

… Loot was one of those plays I wanted to do, but put aside, as there are only five real roles in it. I need to involve a team of 10 to 12 actors. I’d also thought of doing a Pinter double bill a couple of years ago. He’s just so good. But I put that idea aside as Diden Berramdane was putting on a Pinter, The Caretaker, and which he wanted me to act in. I didn’t want to compete with him. It turns out, I found, that Loot is not too long, and I realised I could do a short play with it, and involve more actors: two teams in fact, alternating the roles they play each evening. The first rehearsal was excellent.

They are both very powerful plays, in their different ways, and can be seen by some (indeed were) as provocative. But a few years ago I was telling some ex-Upstage people about what my options were, and how I thought I would do a safe Neil Simon comedy, rather than the play that really interested me: based on history, about the first convicts sent to Australia putting on a play, against extraordinary odds. One of the convict actresses, for example, who couldn’t read for one thing, was due to be hanged before the performance, for stealing food. So the young people told me  how proud they had been to take part in plays, difficult and demanding,  which had aroused very strong reactions. They convinced me to do the Australian play. It was a huge success.

With tickets normally available at the University, Carrefour and Maison du Tourism, expect publicity – also handled by the students – to begin in earnest in the New Year. Watch this space!

Gill Baconnier has lived in France for over twenty years – seven of them in Grenoble. She teaches English, works with dyslexic children and, in her spare time, tries very hard to actually finish writing her children’s novel. A former feature writer for an English regional magazine, her articles about life in France can now be found at her blog French Windows. She kindly agreed to share this article about la noix de Grenoble with Grenoble Life.

Nuts about Grenoble

by Gill Baconnier

Walnuts have been around in France for a long time … a fossilised nut dating from the Tertiary era has been discovered in Ardèche and fragments dating from the Neolithic period have been found in the lake dwellings of Charavines in Isère. The image of Stone Age man cracking nuts around the fire is comfortingly familiar, even without the paper hat and the cheap sherry…

The walnut was sacred to the Ancient Romans. They thought it looked like the human brain – the outer husk was the scalp, the shell represented the skull and the crinkly nut inside, the two hemispheres of the brain (this is interesting because my own brain, judging by its performance these days, probably looks and functions exactly like a walnut.) It was the Romans who brought walnut trees to France, after having successfully cultivated them on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. They established plantations in the Narbonne area, in Perigord and here in the Dauphiné where they thrived.

During the Middle Ages, the walnut was used to pay rent and for a little farmhouse in the Dauphiné region you would have had to shell out a few sétiers (just over a pint) of walnuts. They were so important in mediaeval life that a new profession was created, that of ‘walnut measurer’, although it was a limited career choice as only two posts existed for the whole of France.

However, up until the nineteenth century, the Dauphiné peasants’ main income came from silk worm farms and vineyards. It was not until disease killed off the silk worms in 1858 and grape phylloxera wiped out the vines in 1870, that they turned to walnut cultivation. It was a wise choice. Walnut orchards demanded far less work than vineyards and the new Grenoble to Valence railway line made export easy. Certain species of trees were more prolific than others and legend has it that one in particular was brought here by a young demoiselle as part of her dowry, for her marriage to a local lord. These trees were nurtured and protected so that today, Grenoble produces the finest walnuts in the world. Over fifty percent of the total French production comes from this region while France itself is the third biggest exporter behind The United States and China.

In 1938, the Grenoble walnut was awarded an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée and – just like fine wine – it meant that the quality was strictly controlled. To qualify, the walnut must be one of three varieties: the franquette, the mayette or the parisienne. These are only three of many. All walnuts look the same to me but to those in the know, each variety has its peculiarities: they are elongated or round, pale or deeply coloured, bland, sweet or bitter. Their names are sometimes bizarre and – like roses – they are often named after events or people: Oswald, Lent or Conference Souvenir; Big John, Fat John or Distaff.

Harvesting is mostly done by a harvester these days but in some places – particularly on the mountain slopes – it is still done by hand. Back at the farm, the nuts are sorted, washed and dried then packed up and sent all over the world. Technology has replaced the veillées of old where the whole village would get together in the evenings to shell walnuts and tell each other stories by the fireside, sing songs, play games and eat together. Now computers bleep, machines whirr and business booms while the ancient nut presses and dryers are quaint ruins left to crumble quietly in the shadow of the Vercors.

Both the tree and its fruit have many uses. The nut is a fertility symbol and in parts of France walnuts are mixed with onion soup and served to newlyweds or they are thrown at them instead of rice – presumably shelled beforehand. Biting on a green walnut is said to relieve toothache and a poultice of crushed walnuts and pork fat cures boils. Walnut oil was once used in lamps or as axle grease, which is hard to believe when you see the price of a tiny bottle of the stuff today. The husk was used to dye hair and clothes and stain furniture and was even used as a self-tanning lotion as recently as the 1950s.

The tree itself was considered cursed: people believed that witches held their meetings in its shade and so they would rip off its branches and throw stones at it as punishment. French folklore warns against falling asleep beneath a walnut tree for fear of waking up with a fever or pneumonia – or perhaps, quite simply, a face full of walnuts.

The wood is of superior quality – it doesn’t split, it is fine-grained and easy to sculpt and polish. It is highly resistant but also beautiful to look at. Unfortunately, it fell victim to these very qualities during the First World War, when all the trees were cut down to provide wood for rifle butts. New trees were planted when the war was over so one catastrophe at least was averted – although not the most important one.

The walnut is omnipresent in Grenoble. Eat it as it is or candied; in the form of sweets, nougat or jam, or made into wonderful tarts and cakes. Savour walnut bread or walnut-covered cheese with a salad tossed in walnut oil. As an aperitif, drink eau de Noix or ratafia, both made from walnuts. I cannot think of a better way to find out if la noix de Grenoble is really all it’s cracked up to be …

Visit a walnut museum at:

Le Grand Séchoir
Maison du Pays de la noix
705, route de Grenoble
38470 Vinay
Tel : 04 76 36 36 10

Alexa Meresse carrying her son in one of her wraps

Rebecca Marcenac of Grenoble Life meets Alexa Meresse, founder of Colimaçon et Compagnie, a local business selling made-to-measure baby carriers.

by Rebecca Marcenac

With my two-month old daughter pushing towards five kilos and my arms sore from carrying her up and down two flights of stairs in her carrycot, we took off one scorching hot Grenoble summer morning for the slightly cooler heights of Herbeys in Belledonne to meet Alexa Meresse, founder of Colimaçon et Compagnie, and to purchase a made-to-measure wraparound baby carrier.

An entrepreneur and mum of two, Alexa sells and produces beautifully coloured wraps from her home, where she also has a workshop. On arrival, Alexa pulled out colourful wraps from a hidden chest under her sofa and proceeded to show me three wrapping techniques. My daughter, who had made friends with Alexa’s demonstration doll, protested at first, but soon settled and seemed at least as happy as I was. We then went up to the workshop where I selected my material. We worked out the perfect length for my wrap and chatted away while Alexa sewed my wrap. Here’s what she had to say.

Rebecca Marcenac: Where did the idea to make and sell wraparound baby carriers come from?

Alexa Meresse: Shortly after my first son was born, I wanted to carry him in a wrap. I bought one over the Internet from a maman couseuse (mum who manufactures baby items such as wraps, reusable nappies, bibs etc. from home and sell them on an ad hoc basis). I was very disappointed by the quality of the product and decided to make my own. Then I started making wraps for friends, for friends of friends … until one day I was contacted by health professionals. That’s when I thought ‘I should make a living out this!’ and took the leap and set up Colimaçon et Compagnie!

RM: What are the advantages of using a wraparound baby carrier for both the child and the parent?

AM: There are numerous benefits. For babies and toddlers, wraps are comfortable and respectful of their physiology: their neck is supported, and the natural curvature of the spine is respected (especially in newborns). It is like sitting in a chair – legs are on either side of the carrier – there is no weight on the sexual organs, only on the child’s thighs. Furthermore, carrying your baby in a wrap provides skin to skin contact. Curled up against mummy or daddy, the child feels secure and appeased. It is a fact that children carried in wraps cry a lot less than those who are not. Studies have also shown that babies who were frequently carried in a wrap from birth grow up to be children who are more serene, more independent and less prone to tantrums!

For parents, the major benefits are twofold. Wraps are both comfortable and easy to use. You can carry a 10-kilo toddler for several hours without feeling any discomfort, and once baby is in the wrap you can go about your daily business, be it housework, shopping, using public transport, but also hikes etc. Some parents even use their wrap at the seaside or at the swimming pool to gradually get their baby used to water.

RM: How did you go about starting your own business?

AM: I have a rather eclectic background. I have a degree in technical sales. After having worked for several years in the charity sector, I went on to work in communications at a blood transfusion centre. I was on parental leave making wraps for friends and relatives and started getting a reputation locally through word of mouth. I was then contacted by health professionals.

Shortly after going back to work, I was made redundant. It was at that point that I decided to have a go at creating my own business. I found two bodies in Vizille which support people who setting up their own business. They helped me create a business plan and generate financing. Then I had to have the wraps tested to meet European standards …

Setting up Colimaçon took a lot of work and energy. I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be so difficult when I decided to launch my own brand!

RM: What challenges did you face?

AM: There were two big challenges. First, having the wraps tested in accredited testing laboratories to meet the European standards. The standards are drastic and we had to work on the mechanical properties of the material and compulsory labelling for the wraps to be validated.

All these tests, as well as setting up the website cost a lot of money. Banks are not so keen on financing such investments, especially as this was a particularly innovative project. So the second challenge was convincing the bank manager to lend us money!

RM: Where are your customers based?

AM: Most of our customers are based in France. That said, we do get orders from abroad. That’s why we have an English-language online catalogue and provide an English-language user’s guide upon request.

RM: How can our readers contact you to order a wraparound baby carrier?

AM: If you are ordering from France, you can order directly from our website (don’t forget to ask for our English language instructions if necessary!) If you live abroad, it may be easier to contact us directly by email with any queries.

Alternatively, if are a local and would like a baby carrying demonstration and a visit of the workshop in Herbeys, do contact us to make an appointment!

A barn in Vercors

Suzanne Bonnefond is an enthusiastic amateur photographer and contributor to the Grenoble Life gallery. A long-term resident of the Grenoble who has also lived in Paris and London, she kindly agreed to share her sightseeing photos around Grenoble.

by Suzanne Bonnefond

Photography is my hobby. I like to take pictures of scenery, romantic places and close-up portraits of flowers. I always try to give my photos a poetic touch.

In Grenoble we can easily reach a lot of beautiful places without having to walk for a long time. These photos will show you wonderful places for family walks.

waterfall near la Grave

in summer … Lavaldens

Chartreuse, le Granier

la Meije

Fishing in a mountain lake in Belledonne