fête de la francophonie

Imagine my excitement and delight in knowing about the francophonie festival this year!

I've started learning French 2 years ago and had that 2 years break till now...
finally I've come to know what I've missed out all these while!

what is fête de la francophonie?

Half a billion Francophones around the world will celebrate International day of Francophonie on 20 March. This event began in 1998 as a way for the 49 members of La Francophonie to celebrate their common bond, the French language, as well as their diversity.

Francophonie refers to the ensemble of people around the world who speak French. A Francophone is a person who speaks French.

(from french.about.com)

how wonderful it is to know that there is actually a festival when people celebrate the language of French! and yes, all around the world!

check out the francophonie events happening around the globe!

17 Mar 07

Nearer to home, there are many activities lined up for the french-speaking community here!

There was a competition with the theme on the comic character Tintin with participation from various universities/schools... all who are learning/have learned french. Up till the last minute before the race begun, my friends and I were still thinking we were just going to be spectators! Not so when our teacher roped us in to form a participating team! Trust us, we know nuts about Tintin! Yes, I have never watched a single episode or read the comics as a kid!

-> catch Tintin and The Broken Ear, english version

So there we found our other team members... with our two youngest friends from the german school and the eldest being a 70 year old lady.

We were up and about the entire school... from staging some scenes in the comics, answering quizzes from watching the cartoon, piecing the comic sequence, translating and coming up with the original scripts, singing french songs (perhaps that was my only contribution). Excuses being that we are the only elementary learners while the rest are already seasoned french learners and speakers... we could barely understand most part of the game. Yes, even the german kids beat us to it.

Unexpectedly or not, our team won first prize. We even went up the stage to receive our prize and took a picture with AF's executive-director. We were delighted but could only humbly accept the prize for our contributions seemed so minimal.

In the evening, there was prize presentation for the francophonie awards... the best students were rewarded with a trip to France! That certainly was the best reward for any french learner! :)

Later, we had a buffet serving up an array of delicacies (presented from francophonie countries) like belgian wafflesand beer, swiss chocolates, canadian brownies, egyptian pastries, french dishes, cheese and wine!

A great gathering of french-speaking people where I caught up with all my french teachers (even the one from 2 years ago)!

24 Mar 07 -> Beach Party at Bora Bora Bar, Sentosa

Drop the idea of sexy bikini babes if that was what you would expect from a beach party with the French! And mind you, this party was organised by APFS! So expect nothing but a decent gathering of all things French!

Venture into the island at night on the brand new Sentosa Express!

It was like an amusement ride or similar to the skytrain at the airport.... so yes if that was what you wanna know. By the way, the train only stops at a few stations which left us on a walking trail to Palawan Beach. Being newbies to the nightlife at Sentosa, it was not easy finding our way to the bar! We only knew we were in the right place when we heard that familar tune from our french singing class!


Lesson 1 - Never be late for a party! We were left stranded amidst the heaps of people where life at the party had started way ahead! Forget about what they told you about Chinese weddings, it doesn't apply here. We had a hard time finding our places to fit into the crowd - and I meant literally. All seats taken. So seems like the first protocol we gotta keep to is punctuality. With the kind assistance from our mr. nice guy cum professor, we found a whole big table to ourselves - which didn't help when we were seated away from the tentage area where the crowd were! We were at least compensated by being near the centrestage where the live French band was singing and playing away! The food was nothing impressive compared to the international buffet we had earlier on. So be glad for the company and music we had for the night.

Hop on to the dancefloor for that was the most happening part of the party!

Dance the night away! How I wished I could but pardon me for being a lousy dancer :( Oui, ma premiere fois! More dance practice, more clubbing please! Perhaps I just need that extra boost of alcohol! So otherwise, let loose and enjoy the rest of the night!

Alas, the night was not good for photo-taking as the wind was so strong that plates and things started flying everywhere... and yes, in my direction! So we were all virtually Marilyn Monroe... only that by standing against the night sea breeze, we risked getting hit by sand and being blown away if we were ever light enough. Even on our way back, we saw people sitting in the tram with their hands on their face!

Some late night beach partying to remember! :)

la musique

music did something profound to me.

I see my life segmented by different songs... each piece conjuring up some memories at some point in my life... the things I did, my thoughts and feelings back then.

and somehow when I was in distress, a certain tune starts ringing in my ears and luring me to another place. a place where one should never worry and one should always be happy. and with this, I followed the instinct subconsciously and it did, I was as though hypnotized, and found myself moving towards an irrationale and idealistic self.

totally lost control of my mind.

ruled by my heart.

as I sank into the piece, I found peace and fulfillment as though I did the only right thing.

I found dreamland in music. another life in it.

If only reality is in the dreams and dreams are in reality.

Pourquoi

taken from the movie 'le papillon', a film I vaguely remembered watching some 5 years back and when I could barely understand a single french word.

and coincidence has it that I got the chance to learn about the meaning of its song.

learning about expressing and replying the word 'pourquoi' - meaning 'why' in french.

and this nice little tune brings out the curiosities of a little mind questioning on the little things happening around us that we often took for granted. silly but meaningful questions.

how often do we question about things that are happening around us? on things that thave always been there.

and try thinking your own answers to the questions

pourquoi?

Pourquoi les poules pondent des oeufs? Pourquoi les amoureux s'embrassent? Pourquoi les jolies fleurs se fanent? Pourquoi le diable et le bon Dieu?

Pourquoi le feu brule le bois? Pourquoi la mer se retire? Pourquoi le soleil disparait? Pourquoi le diable et le bon Dieu?

Pourquoi le loup mange l'agneau? Pourquoi le lievre et la tortue? Pourquoi les anges ont-ils des ailes? Pourquoi le diable et le bon Dieu?

Pourquoi notre coeur fait 'tic-tac'? Pourquoi le temps passe si vite? Pourquoi tu me prends par la main? Pourquoi le diable et le bon Dieu?　　

La vidéo est ici

dans la vie, faut pas s'en faire

Dans la vie faut pas s'en faire
Moi je ne m'en fais pas
Ces petites misères
Seront passagères
Tout ça s'arrangera
Je n'ai pas un caractère
A me faire du tracas
Croyez-moi sur terre
Faut jamais s'en faire
Moi je ne m'en fais pas

from the chorus of 'Dans la vie, faut pas s'en faire' by Maurice Chevalier

Another new song learned today though I must admit it was quite a lullaby! In midst of keeping myself awake during the class, like many French songs; this one sends a reminder, as said by its song title, 'in life, you should not worry'.

Ca n'avance a rien d'etre triste
Le vrai moyen pour etre heureux
C'est de vouloir etre optimiste
En se disant demain ca ira mieux
Au lieu betement qu'on recrimine
Disons-nous que dans l'univers
Il n'y a pas de medaille sans revers
Il n'y a pas de roses sans epines
C'est pourquoi me riant du sort
J'ai chante et je chante encore

Il n'y a pas de roses sans epines - there is no rose without thorns
what an unique way to describe the hurdles in life & really, that's the kind of beauty I see in the French language and probably why I'm so in love with it! there's some way I feel I can relate better to the language than with any other languages - like they say, some French words just can't be translated or explained in English! it's an unique sense of affinity. like how I fell in love with works by Marcel Proust cos I felt some connection with his works! French comes naturally to me and it just grows on me everytime I am in touch with anything French! Pourquoi francais? and many times I find it hard to explain why... probably the best reason I can find; je pense je suis francais dans ma vie precedente! what a wishful thinking!

Here I am, into my next session of classes! I am so grateful that I am able to continue the classes! Only pity is I will miss my professor! He is just such a nice guy, and everyone would just agree! I can't thank him more for his patience, guidance, understanding and attention! And for forming part of the reinforcement and drive for me to do well!

At this time when I'm questioning about the decision I've made... I saw another strong beam of light ahead of me, leading me to follow on... making my little mind so preoccupied & filled with excitement... that at least, I can quit worrying about things that have already been decided and have no turning back for.

Looking ahead, I felt anticipation... I have so much to look forward to. my goals. my ideals.

I'm so thankful for everything.

to be happy and selfish

it's not easy to commit to the decision.

but I did.

it was tough, not on coming to the decision but rather, after making the decision, thinking about the aftermath, the what-ifs.

and pondering over the possible indication of my self - my weaknesses.

the young generation these days are thought to be self-centred and unfortunately or fortunately, I'm one of the culprits. I love myself too much. I can't afford to let myself dread on my life, hating what I do each day. I want myself to be happy and enjoy every single thing I do. I say no to anything that threatens to bring dread into my daily life. I'm overprotective about myself and I would fend myself from anything that is going to murder my personality.

I am indeed selfish.

Everything is just about me, me, me.

I can't afford to let myself compromise to compelling reasons to stay on though they are realistic. indeed they are. but I can't. I just care too much about what I'm feeling and going through and I can't bear to see the worse which is impending.

and in this selfish world where there is no space for anyone else, all I could think about is how I feel. I don't think about how others would respond, as though they don't matter. I just can't.

It's my life's reflex to be selfish if that can be a reason. I just don't know how to stop caring about my own feelings.

if I can, then I may be able to live a life like everyone's else... turning a blind eye to my inner self & doing what is logically correct. also a time when I will stop questioning, thinking, feeling, breathing and living.