What is your connection to the French culture?

[Daniel Boucher]

Was french just the language you chose to learn in school?
Are you of French descent?
Where did your family come from?
Was the language passed down to you?
Was music present in your family and passed down?
Do you have any traditions that you still keep up today?
Do you feel that your culture is not existent?
Are you interested in bringing back that culture so it may be passed down again?

Give me your thoughts. Share your stories! Tell your friends! Pass the word around! I want to help be a part of those connections and make it fun and exciting!

[suzanne pellerin]

I lhave lived in Vermont, except for a short period, since I was 5 years old. I was born in Canada, my family is in Plessissville, Victoriaville, St Sophie de Megantic area. One of my brothers moved to Canada after college and has stayed. He was born in Vermont.
I am one of 7, only the first 3 were born in Canada. I always spoke french with my parents and with all the french speaking people that came to visit. We went to visit family in Canada often, especially in earlier years, usually every month sometimes twide a month. This was in 1957 and later so the interstate was not in yet so to keep us kids happy my parents sang the old folk songs which I still love to this day.
My parents did great harmony together and I loved to listen to them sing. Every get together we went to in Canada family always sang. My sister, Martha Pellerin, who died 11 years ago, did a lot to promote french culture here in Vermont and beyond. She was 10 years younger than me so our memories were not the same. For a time in her teens speaking French was not cool and as an adult she had to learn french in order to do some projects she did. She collected many folks songs and did many interviews with French immigrants and decendants of French Canadien immigrants.
So our family always had french at home.
My grandkids today are very interested in the French culture and come with me to concerts etc. They do not speak French much but are learning by learning songs and hanging out with their grandmother who throws out a little french here and there to them!!
I took french in school, in my small school it was the only choice, I always tell folks that parisian french is not much different really, I compare it to the English from England and ours -- different yet the same.
I hope that the music continues and gets passed on and on and on. It is a great way to get folks involved and from there I hope people check out the history of their families and french canadien culture in general. I lived in California for a few months in the early 1970's, there was NO french at the time that I knew of. Today with the internet I might find it easier to connect with folks in different areas of the country.
Lets keep it going and growing!!! I would love to see schools NOT use books when teaching a language at least not until at least 3 years of conversation. once you can speak the language you can then learn from the books. So many say they took so many years but can't speak it at all. That is because they did not speak it!!! Need to learn to converse and interact well first in order to have the language. Then the books would make so much more sense!! The whole point for most folks in taking a language is to learn to converse with people who speak that language so lets teach conversation!!! Oh well that is my thought

[Paul J. Gutman]

I spoke and read French before learning my first words of English, at around six and a half years old. I never flunked French in high school or College, only because I had an advantage that most Franco-Americans here don't have. Namely, I could WRITE French too, because of my exposure to the written language in Quebec and also because my brothers and I were read to in French as kids. Since written French looks identical everywhere, there were few complaints about my writing because I spelled well and used standard written grammar.

Still, some students and professors alike complained about (and made fun of) the way I spoke, because they thought I didn't speak with "the right accent" or use "the right words." Because I had been born and raised in North America and therefore didn't sound European, some people felt that my French was inferior to theirs. But, I knew better! I got an A- in French, and if I had changed my pronunciation and vocabulary the way some people would have preferred, I probably would have gotten an A+ instead. But, that's a small price to pay and I don't really care, because their opinions don't count. Je parle couramment, et je m'exprime bien!

[Nina Beaudoin]

I was raised in a very french household. My father, Louis Beaudoin and mother Juliette Lacourse Beaudoin. Dads grand-parents were from the Laurentians and moved to Lowell, Mass where my father was born. He moved to Burlington, VT when he was 17. They moved to Lakeside, (primarly a french community) where he met my mother. My mother moved from Canada when she was 2 yrs old. They married in 1946 and had 5 girls. I am number 4. The language was passed down but I am sad to say that my french is kind of rough. I'm trying to get it back. Music was a very important part of our family. My father was a party person. Every time we had a party there was singing, fiddle playing, guitar, jews harp, spoon, step-dancing, etc. Everyone had a great time. My sisters and I all have our own musical talents. I will go by age: Louise, plays the piano and sings:: Carmen, sings french answering songs, spoons and can do some piano cords: Sylvia, plays accordian (any size), piano, and sings: Nina (me), I sing answering songs, no instrument talent at all: Lisa, plays guitar, harmonica, piano, sings and dances. She has also taught the grandchildren to dance. Carmens son, Glenn, plays the fiddle, spoons, jews harp and dances. The other dancers are Nicky, Elena, Cara, Jake, Cassie, and Emily. Spoons: Alex . It may sound silly to those who have never seen someone play the spoons, but it certainly is a talent. We still carry on the tradition of making "Tourtierres". Carmen and I have a business called Carmenina's Cakes and Confections, LLP. We make Tourtierres to sell every year.
I was very fortunate to be brought up in a family that prided themselves as French-Canadian. My parents always told us to be proud of who we were and to carry on the traditions. I feel sad that other french families do not carry on the little things, that would always say what your heritage is. In our family our grandparents were called Memere and Pepere. I couldn't wait to be a Memere. Even the son-in-laws that are not or didn't grow up with french, are happy to be called Pepere. It is an honor for us to carry on this tradition. We also are carrying the tradition of music. Carmen and I are part of The Beaudoin Legacy, check out our u-tube performance. We also have a cd of that performance for sale. That was the last concert my mother sang in. It was 10 days before she passed away living. Mom, Carmen, my daughter and grandsons were at the Grand Canyon when Mom passed away.
Be Proud of who you are and teach your children the same.

[Maeve Lemoine]

Salut,

- Everyone on my father's side of the family speaks French as a first language, so before he died I absorbed a fair amount of the Quebec idiom . After his death I was largely separated from my French relatives and hence forgot much of what I had learned. In high school I chose French as a second language to re-connect with my roots, but what I learned (bourgeois Parisien) was a bit different than what I knew as a little girl!

- My pepere's paternal line (Lemoine) is originally from Normandy, and my memere's paternal line (Lafond) from the south of France. My pepere's maternal (Beaudoin) and memere's maternal (LeBeau) origins in France I know not; although my great-grandmother is from Montreal...

- As an adult I am happily in contact with my father's family once again, and we speak what I have termed "Franglish" - A bit of Quebecois here, a bit of Parisien there, and a bit of English for good measure!

- Sadly, no French music. Although the music/dancing heritage that I have inherited from my mother's Irish family I'm sure more than makes up for it!

- Family recipies, straight from memere, are the best!

- No one where I live is of Quebecois origin, but when I visit my memere and matante I feel like a real person with a real history :)

- Because of my father's death (and the ensuing chaos), I rather feel that I was cheated out of his culture as a girl. Now that I am grown, and my grandmother is damn near 90 (!), I am re-connecting with her, my aunt, my cousins and second-cousins, etc. I will definitely pass down the recipes, the memes, the strength, the practicality, and the sentimentality of my Quebecois heritage to my future children! Growing up in the big ol' messy "melting pot," I am staunchly aware of the importance that family bonds and cultural roots hold!