Language fun

One of this week's themes has been intercultural language stuff.

So Tuesday evening found me at a meeting of Bordeaux Interculturel, my second visit.

This is a group that aims to help people cross intercultural barriers by arranging language exchange evenings and also themed evenings. And they meet just round the corner from DAN, our restaurant, in a super facility called a Centre d'Animations, run by another group (association).

This Tuesday various teachers had been invited to give people a taster of different languages, including Korean, Italian... I chose Mandarin, and our very affirmative teacher ("You are doing very well for someone of your age", he said) taught us to say I/me, you, he/him/she/her/it and also we/us, you, they/them, to introduce ourselves, you count to twelve and to name the months.

I bumped into a few of the folk I met there last time I went (in February, I think).

Yesterday evening found me at a Spanish themed café where a French/English language exchange evening was taking place. Like speed-dating, you sign up and arrive and get assigned a table for two, one francophone, one anglophone, where you speak with your partner in English for 7 minutes, then switch to French for 7 minutes, then change tables. Four changes of table and your head is spinning and you go home.

One the way out I met a chap I met some months ago at a book event and we walked and talked back to his apartment up near my bus stop.

It was a nice way to meet people and to help folks with their English and to get help with your French. The café was noisy, however, so it wasn't all that easy to hear each other.

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