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Foreign Language Academic Alliance for International Rapport An Academic Alliance of Georgia and South Carolina Vol. 32, No. 1 (September 2016) Editor: Jana Sandarg

Department of English and Foreign Languages Augusta University

Fall conference 2016

World Languages and Career Readiness in Georgia – a Worldly Fit! On Saturday, August 27th, FLAIR sponsored a free teacher workshop at the Augusta University Summerville campus — World Languages and Career Readiness in Georgia – a Worldly Fit! Michaela Claus -Nix, the Program Specialist for World Languages and Workforce Initiatives at the Georgia Department of Education, talked about several new initiatives in the state of Georgia, including two new seals for graduating high school students, the International Skills Diploma Seal and the Seal of Bi-literacy, and an overview of the rapidly growing dual language immersion programs and the 50/50 model recommended by GaDOE.

Mes Aventures en France Par Michael Harris Cet été, j’ai eu l’occasion de retourner en France, que je considère ma deuxième maison!

Grâce à mon frangin Eric, je suis resté avec lui et ma Maman française à Nice!! Donc, les aventures ont commencé!!

Tout d’abord, Eric et moi avons passé environs une dizaine de jours à faire de petits excursions et nous sommes allés tout d’abord dans la vieille ville d’Antibes pour goûter les meilleures glaces artisanales.

Nous avons également dégusté les meilleures pizzas de la région, c’est-à-dire à Nice et à Cannes. Puis, nous avons visité les endroits comme Saint Tropez, Monaco où nous avons visité le Musée Océanographique de Monaco historique, et à Cannes pour faire l’excursion à l’Île Saint Marguerite.

Pendant les trois semaines suivantes, j’ai étudié à l’Université de Nice pour faire un stage pédagogique où j’étais le seul homme de la classe!! Je me suis bien amusé oops – bien étudié!!

Pendant mon séjour, j’ai aussi suivi les matches de football de l’Euro 2016. Dans la ville, tous les restaurants, les snackbars, et les cafés ont installés des télévisions pour les clients et les milliers de passants dont je faisais partie!! (J’ai arrêté à Haagen-Dazs où j’ai regardé les matches de Demi-Finales et Finals !) C’était extraordinaire. Pour la première fois depuis des décennies, l’équipe de France a battu l’équipe de l’Allemagne en demi-finale ! C’était de la folie absolue après le match dans les rues!

On chantait: on va en final !! Mais, le final contre le Portugal était une autre histoire. Pour la première fois, l’équipe de Portugal a battu l’équipe de France, 1 à 0 dans les prolongations. Dans les rues, on pouvait sentir le choque et entendre les mouches voler. Hélas!!

J’avais une autre aventure qui était les grands feux d’artifices sur la fameuse Promenade des Anglais au bord de la mer (Méditerranée) le jour du 14, la Fête Nationale du 14 juillet. C’était magnifique….mais qui malheureusement s’est terminée par la tragédie que l’on connaît.

Après les feux d’artifices, j’ai décidé d’aller à Hard Rock Café pour prendre une boisson fraîche en regardant la grande foule passe. Après quelques minutes, j’ai vu une vague de panic – des gens courant pour sauver leur vie. J’ai vu la Police en formation tirer sur le camion. J’ai entendu environ une quinzaine de coup de feu et finalement, j’ai commencé à courir. J’ai téléphoné à Eric et il est venu me chercher. Il savait déjà au-dedans de lui que quelque chose de terrible aller se passer. Pour ces 86 personnes tuées, il n’y a pas mots donc je laisse … J’étais juste là mais Grâce à Dieu, je suis saine et sauf!

Les jours suivants, je suis allé passer quelques jours en Normandie chez un autre frangin, Bruno, que j’avais déjà accueilli chez moi par le passé. On a passé de bons moments. On a visité les plages du débarquement. J’ai aussi nagé dans la Manche! J’ai aussi visité le plus grand cimetière Américain qui abrite plus de neuf mille tombes. C’était très émouvant.

Pendant que j’étais chez Bruno, je regardais les nouvelles au sujet de l’hommage aux victimes de l’attentat de Nice. Il y avait quelque chose au fond de moi qui m’a dit: retourne à Nice. Je suis donc reparti à Nice car je ne pouvais pas retourner aux Etats-Unis sans revoir les lieux du drame et tourner la page. Je n’y ai passé que quelques heures et j’en ai aussi profité pour revoir mes amis à l’Université et mes amis bien-aimés à Antibes et surtout mon frangin Eric, ma grande famille française.

Puis, je suis allé à Paris pour passer juste un jour et aussi rendre visite au frère d’Eric et sa famille et pour voir ma belle, c’est-à-dire, la Tour Eiffel!

Je peux vous dire que cet été en France était vraiment une grande aventure!

My Adventures in France

By Michael Harris (French) brother Eric, I stayed with him and my French mom in Nice!! Hence, my adventures began!! First, Eric and I spent around ten days doing short trips around the area and we went first to the old city in Antibes (about thirty minutes from Nice) to have a “taste-test” of the best local home-made crafted ice cream!!

We also taste-tested the best pizzas from the region in Nice and in Cannes! Then we visited areas such as Saint Tropez, Monaco where we went to the historic Musée Océanographique de Monaco and Cannes to visit the island of Saint Marguerite!

During the next three weeks, I studied at the Université de Nice where I participated in a teaching pedagogy where I was the only man in the class!! I had a lot of fun – oops – where I studied!!

During my stay, I also kept up with Euro 2016: Europe’s soccer tournament. In Nice, all of the restaurants, snackbars, and cafés had put TV’s for their customers and for all of the thousands of people that were just walking through, which I was among them! (I did stop at one café to watch the Semi-Final and Finals match: Haagen-Dazs!) It was amazing! For the first time in decades, the French teal beat the German team in the semi-finals!! There was absolute craziness after the match in the streets! We were singing: we’re going to the Finals!! But…the Finals against Portugal was another story! For the first time, the Portuguese team beat the French team 1 – 0 in double overtime. In the streets this time after the match, you could feel the shock and hear the crying in the handkerchiefs (flying!) Alas….

I had another adventure which were the fireworks show on the famous, Promenade des Anglais at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea on the 14th of July, France’s Independence Day. It was magnificent….but which unfortunately ended as we now all know.

After the fireworks show, I decided to go to Hard Rock Café to get something to drink while watching the crowd walking (in the street on La Promenade). After a few minutes, I saw a panic (a wave of) in the street – people running for their lives. I saw Police in formation pass by then I heard around fifteen shots fired (what I learned later) on the truck (that the terrorist was using as his deadly weapon to kill those people killed by him in the street). Finally, I began to run (at the time thinking that terrorists were heading right towards the Hard Rock Café not realizing that the Police had already killed the terrorist in his truck.) I called Eric and he came looking for me. He knew already within himself that night that something terrible was going to happen. For these 86 people that were killed by this terrorist, there are simply no words, so I leave alone….I was just right there – literally not even a minute away from the attack, but by the Grace of God, I am safe and sound!

The next few days, I went to Normandy to spend these few days with another (French) brother of mine – Bruno, which he had already stayed with my wife and I for around eight months. We had a good time. We visited the Landing Beaches (of D-Day). I also swam in the English Channel! I also visited (for the very first time) the enormous American cemetery where more than 9,000 soldiers are buried. It was very moving.

While I was staying with Bruno, I watched the news and saw the tribute to the victims of the terrorist attack in Nice. There was something inside of me that I needed to go back to Nice. So, after finding a place on the train (which was not easy on such short notice and during high volume during vacation time), I returned to Nice because I could not return back home to the States without having seen for myself the place where this tragedy took place in order to “have closure”. I only had but a few hours because I only spent the morning time after having arrived very late the previous evening before I had to leave again for Paris (because the very next day, I would return home in Aiken). I spent the time well where I saw my university class, saw my (beloved) friends in Antibes, and especially my French brother Eric and my French family!

After this, I went back to Paris (had already spent two days there) for just one day where I spent some time with my other French brother, Axel and his family, which by the way is Eric’s brother and also to see my sweetheart, meaning, La Tour Eiffel – The Eiffel Tower!

I can honestly tell you that my summer in France was an incredible adventure!

At right, Michael Harris, French teacher at Butler High School, poses in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Michael was the recipient of a FLAIR Teacher Study Abroad Award. His summer adventure is featured in this newsletter in French and in English.

Clemson University Declamation Contest At least two Richmond County high schools will participate in the Declamation Contest at Clemson University on Saturday, October 22, 2016. Michael Harris, the French teacher at Butler High School, will accompany four students to the contest, and Abigail Russell, the Spanish teacher from A. R. Johnson Magnet High School, is taking a few students as well. We hope their students will give recitations in French and Spanish at the FLAIR honor society induction next year!

JOIN!

JOIN!

JOIN!

JOIN!

JOIN!

JOIN!

JOIN!

*the ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE: Call Liana Babayan or Nicole Meyer at 706-737-1500 for more information. *the ASOCIACIÓN CULTURAL HISPANOAMERICANA (ACHA): Email acha@elcervantino.org www.elcervantino.org *the FOREIGN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA (FLAG): www.FLAGeorgia.org *the AMERICAN COUNCIL ON THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES (ACTFL): www.actfl.org *the SOUTHERN CONFERENCE ON LANGUAGE TEACHING (SCOLT): www.scolt.org *the AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS OF FRENCH (AATF): David.dePosada@gcsu.edu *the AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS OF GERMAN (AATG): http://georgia.aatg.org *the AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS OF SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE (AATSP): www.aatsp-ga.org *the GEORGIA CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION (GCA): http://www.gjcl.org/ *the GEORGIA ASSOCIATION OF THE TEACHERS OF JAPANESE (GATJ):rsteen@oglethorpe.edu

Hispanic Festival Oct 7-8, 2016 at the Augusta Commons Sponsored by the Asociación Cultural Hispanoamericana — www.elcervantino.org Food, music, entertainment, dance contests, children’s tent, crafts and more!

NEED VOLUNTEERS Anyone interested in helping at the Hispanic festival, please contact Ricardo Rodríguez BEFORE the festival at RicardoRodriguez@elcervantino.org to volunteer.

FLAIR

FLAIR TEACHER GRANTS are available to active FLAIR members who are presenting at a conference, working on a special project, or other similar items. Up to five $100 teacher grants will be awarded per year, if funding is available, to active FLAIR members. Teachers may receive the grant only once. To apply, email Terry Meredith at tmeredith@aquinashigh.org. No deadline.

wants you! We need steering committee members.

Please contact Terry Meredith (tmeredith@aquinashigh.org) or Jana Sandarg (jsandarg@augusta.edu) if you wish to be added to the steering committee email list. Everyone is invited to attend the meetings.

2016 Sept Nov

24 AATSP-GA Conference, Lawrenceville, GA 18-20 ACTFL Conference, Boston, MA

2017 Mar Nov

3-4 6-7 16-18 17-19

FLAG Conference, Atlanta, GA FLAIR Honor Society Induction, AU SCOLT Conference, Orlando, FL ACTFL Conference, Nashville, TN

Feb

26-27 FLAIR Honor Society Induction, AU

2017 Please email items for the calendar to the editor: jsandarg@augusta.edu

$250 Student Study Abroad Award

$250 Teacher Study Abroad Award

Students who are members of the FLAIR Foreign Language Honor Society are eligible to receive a $25 award for participating in a study abroad program.

Only one award will be given per year. Students must participate in an organized program and the funds will be disbursed after receiving official documentation of completion of the program. No deadline.

Contact: Terry Meredith at tmeredith@aquinashigh.org

Teachers who are active members of FLAIR are eligible to receive a $250 award for participating in a study abroad program. Only one award will be given per year. Teachers must participate in an organized program and the funds will be disbursed after receiving official documentation of completion of the program. No deadline.

Contact: Terry Meredith at tmeredith@aquinashigh.org

Minutes of the FLAIR Steering Committee Tuesday, August 30, 2016 The FLAIR steering committee met at 5:00 pm on Tuesday, August 30, 2016, at Mi Rancho Mexican Restaurant on Washington Road. The following members were present: Julio Avila, Michael Harris, Di Johnson, Richardson Lane, Pam Light, Terry Meredith, Nicole Meyer, Vasco N’Kutula, Christy Presgrove, Sonia Puerta-Quinn, Jana Sandarg and Robert Walker. Jana prepared the agenda and she volunteered to lead the meeting.

We thanked everyone for attending the conference and going to lunch with our speaker. We had about 20 attendees. Julio announced that his friend, Miguel Coves, is hosting a Hispanic Festival at his Springfield, SC, farm on Oct 8 from 1-4 pm. He will cook paella for all and provide entertainment afterwards.

Cost is about $80 per person. Confirm your attendance with Julio. Jana announced the AATSP-GA conference in Lawrenceville, Georgia, on September 24th, featuring “Cuba.”

Send all items for the next newsletter to Jana as soon as possible. Her email is jsandarg@augusta.edu.

The treasurer, Edwin Pérez, sent the treasurer’s report by email. As of June 30, 2016, we have a balance of $4,479.46. The bank statement says we have $4,579.46 because there is a check for $100 that hasn’t been cashed yet. It was moved and seconded to accept the report. The motion carried. It was moved and seconded to cover lunch for Michaela Claus-Nix and Michael Gottert, who gave the FLAIR conference.

The motion carried. Jana will be reimbursed for covering their lunches.

We discussed possible topics and speakers for the 2017 FLAIR Conference. Julio suggested we get a speaker from the UN to talk about multiculturalism. A lawyer from the UN gave a presentation on multiculturalism at Julio’s school, and it was excellent. He will investigate this possibility for August, 2017.

Teachers will encourage their students to provide entertainment at the FLAIR Honor Society induction next February, such as songs, skits, dances, recitations of poetry, etc. However, we will also ask the Panamanian dance group, “Venimos de Panamá,” to dance one night and a Colombian group (arranged by Sonia Puerta-Quinn) to dance the other night. It was moved and seconded to give each group $50. The motion carried.

We discussed special events for this year and next year. For the second semester of this academic year (January-April 2017), we will try to bring back Victoria Vox for a concert and spelling bee at AU’s theater. Nicole volunteered to make the arrangements. In October 2017 we will try to bring the Tuna Universitaria back to Augusta, and Jana will work on that. The concerts by Victoria Vox and the Tuna are for FLAIR teachers and students.

Michael Harris and Vasco N’Kutula volunteered to give a talk on French poetry during February 2017, as part of Black History Month.

Michael Harris shared with us his story of the terrorist attack in Nice, where a terrorist ran over bystanders with a truck. Michael was there during the attack, and described it to us. Other than that horrific incident, he enjoyed his summer in Nice, France. He brought French chocolate for all to share. Delicious! Merci.

We set the next meeting for Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017 at 5:00 pm at Mi Rancho. The meeting adjourned at 6:30 pm.

Submitted by: Jana Sandarg