French speaking places you'd like to visit or visited

[Teacherangele]

Let us know which part of France or French speaking countries you are attracted to!

Why this one in particular?
Do you have ancestors in this part of the world?
Have you heard about it through a documentary and since then dream of seeing it with your own eyes?
A friend went there and was enchanted?

[eclubb]

In February 2002 I spent a week and a half in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I was there with a team from my church to provide supplies (water, blankets, food, etc.), medical aid, and spiritual encouragement to refugees from the volcano that erupted near the town of Goma. It was my first chance to practice the French I learned in high school.

Earle

[Teacherangele]

Wow How fantastic to do such things! What a great way to enrich yourself!

Of course how great to practice your French!:wink:

Was it difficult to understand/talk to people talking in French?
Did they have a little, no or heavy accent?
How did it sounded like?
I've Never been to Congo myself!

My parents went to Cameroun and my father tried out an one time pineapple exportation ! I believe it failed and the pineapples never arrived at destination!
Hmmm maybe it was just one of his crazy-do-business idea! I'm not sure. I was 6 years old or so at the time!

PS I love to eat pineapples!

[eclubb]

I'm not able to distinguish different accents yet. I did learn some useful expressions, though. The one I remember best is "pas de quoi". The lady who cooked for use would always say that instead of "de rien" whenever I told her merci. "Pas de quoi" is less formal, correct?

I remember one conversation I had with a Congolese teenager. He spoke some English, but was by no means fluent. His English was about as good as my French - barely conversational. We would try to converse in French and when we were unable to communicate, we'd switch to English. I don't know how many times we switched back and forth, but we were actually able to have a real conversation. It was pretty comical.

I also like pineapples. The ones I had in Congo were the best I've ever tasted. Fresh and juicy.

Earle

[Teacherangele]

Hi again eclubb

The full phrase is "Il n'y a pas de quoi." meaning "There's nothing to it." also shorten with " y'a pas de quoi" or "pas de quoi".It is the most familiar phrase among its equivalent:
"de rien"
"Je vous en prie" or
"Je t'en prie"

To make more sense of it, you could say "Il n'y a pas de quoi en faire une remarque." translated as "It's not worth make a remark about it".
I think now you'll get a good idea about this phrase!

Oh yeah switching languages is quite a cerebral exercise. When talking on the phone to my mother as I am speaking 99% of my time in English, I use a lot of "anglicisme" - meaning - using French words (with "comfortable" for example) in context they would be used in English.
She always points it out to me as I don't realize while I do it!

[angel_95885686]

Bonjour tout le monde!

Moi je suis française et je conseille à tous ceux qui aiment le français (and if you like it, I like you ) de venir à l'ile de la Réunion.

J'habite ici depuis cinq ans et je vois beaucoup d'étudiants étrangers, ils viennent pour apprendre le français dans un cadre idyllique (looks like a dream).

L'ile de la Réunion est une île française située dans l'océan indien, et les langues parlées sont le français et le créole.

So if you like beaches, mountains, volcanoes, tropical fruits and landscapes, come and visit l'ile de la Réunion

Elaine

ps: I study italian, english, spanish and japanese, and I'd like to have "e-penpals" to improve my language skills! So if you're an english, italian, spanish or japanese speakers, please send me an email at and we'll share our knowledge! Anyway, if you're not, you can send me emails if u need some help in french!


Thank you sooooo much for your answers!

see you !

[Teacherangele]

Bonjour Elaine!

I hope you will find many friends here to paractice your language skills.

Thank you to be an active part of your forum!

A bientot!

Angele

[dlcalhoun]

I'd love to visit Belgium -- mainly because I met a wonderful Belgian guy a few months ago, and we have since fallen in love.
He speaks English very well, but French is his first language. I want to understand him better by learning to speak the language he grew up with. I can barely say "Bonjour", so I hope you all can help me get started quickly with my French.
Let me know where would be the best place to start for a total beginner...

Thanks!
- Debbie

[Teacherangele]

Bonjour Debbie

You can start with the Absolute Beginner or the Newbie series.
You could even jump form one series to the other.

Angèle

[harleygypsy2003]

bonjour,I lived in new orleans,la. There are a lot of french people ,esp. in surroundin,g parishes,where several dialects of french are used,some use more slang,casual,and there are fine french cafes for dining and coffee,famous places,they speak with true accent of france and dialogs.I enjoyed the historic french culture and learning about people and their heritages, and the baguette,yum,yum,harleygypsy.[/img]

[Teacherangele]

Bonjour
I went to New Orleans when I was sixteen and experienced the heavy rain and walking in the water in the streets of New Orleans while being hot and humid.
It is a vivid memory. We stayed only a few days.
Tu parles un peu français ?

Angèle