French Conversation

When I decided to move to the Twin Cities I was glad to hear that there was an "Alliance Française" here.  These are centers that seek to promote the French language and culture both in France and in cities around the world.  One of the items on their web site was a list of French conversation groups around the city.  That caught my attention because I know my French will get rusty if I don't use it.  It's also a way to meet people who most likely have some connection to France. 

Several weeks ago I participated in a group at a coffee shop on the University campus.  Everyone else was a student with either a French major or minor.  I think all of them had spent at least a couple of months in France so their French was pretty decent.   Yet, I found myself wondering if I should correct errors or not.  The other downside was that the conversation was kept in one big group. It would be better than nothing - but some engaging conversations probably wouldn't happen. 

This past Sat morning I finally made it to another group that meets at a coffee shop about 10 minutes away from where I live.  I arrived a bit late and there was about 15 people around a line of tables.  There was a couple of empty chairs at one end so I sat down next to a young man who introduced himself as Guy.  Before long Dan and Ed joined us.  All of them had learned French while at University.  Dan walked in with his dictionary as he's just beginning to use his French after 30 years of being out of school.  He did lots of listening but said that was OK.   It looks like I'll be able to interact with some interesting people as I try to keep my French at least somewhat sharp.