French immersion in New Orleans: This is how it works

FRENCH IMMERSION IN NEW ORLEANS: THIS IS HOW IT WORKS

So have you ever been to New Orleans?

If you could be part of an amazing French Immersion experience, would you choose to go?

Some don’t know about its vibrant French Quarter!

It’s like the Paris of the U.S.!

Check out the article below for more about the wonderful French NOLA, and watch the video for the best French choice!

(This week: the verb CHOISIR – to choose)

The problem with French immersions is that they are supposed to be in… France.

You take the airplane, sleep or fast or have sore knees after a 10-hour flight, maybe you get a special treatment and have a stop in Amsterdam or somewhere you don’t understand the language. You have to eat in the airport – otherwise why would they stop there, if not to give you the opportunity to eat the national food of some country you don’t know at their most premium price?

The party doesn’t stop here. You remember that you are on your way to Paris, where everything should be dreamy and chic and dreamy again.

So you are willing to forgive and forget all the mishaps during the flight, the neighbor who snores and trusts you with their head on your shoulder, the flight attendant that doesn’t speak a word in French and mocks the francophones with remarks like “I have no idea how to say that in French, just eat it!” – yes, it happened on one of my flights.

And then, Paris!

Oh, supposedly so romantic – but nothing chic at the airport. In fact, the airport looks the most un-chic possible.

OK, now is the time for you to check and see who is writing this article. Is it Llyane? The French language coach who takes people on immersion retreats in Paris?

Well, yes, it’s me, and I’m being the devil’s advocate. I’m speaking in the voice of the first time traveller to Paris who doesn’t quite like to travel overseas. The traveler who would much rather have some sort of American immersion in French first, rather than getting on the plane to go straight to a much too radically exotic destination.

I’m your voice, if you like rehearsal dinners and hamburgers, but you’d love to have a taste of the French culture and language in a vanilla immersion.

If that is you, then I’ll spare you this secret: French is adored and the French culture is proudly displayed in two places in the US: New Orleans and New York.

You probably know a few things about the French New York from my French immersion in New York journal, but New Orleans seems the obvious choice.

The unique mix between the cultures can only make one feel at home, while taking the French language from the books and classroom, in the lively streets of NOLA.

New Orleans is ‘there’, and always available, a flight away, yet many francophiles didn’t visit it yet, to prime themselves before a Parisian French immersion.

“The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré – or the “Quarter” to locals, sits on a crescent in the Mississippi River on some of the highest ground in New Orleans. Not only is this is city’s cultural hub, but is a community where residents take time to reminisce with neighbors about times gone by and to welcome visitors in the streets.” (neworleansonline.com)

Street names like Bourbon Street (dating back to 1718 when New Orleans was founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville), The French Market (Founded in 1791, is the oldest public market in the country), Le Petit Théâtre (community theatre dating back to 1916 is the oldest continually-operated theatre in the country), Musée Conti – a different kind of French atmosphere, but French nonetheless.

Imagine yourself visiting these places (and watch the sun set over Mississippi river), talking about them in French, then have your dinner chez Broussard’s or a coffee at Café Amélie.

Not to mention the palm trees that you won’t find in Paris and the warm 73 Fahrenheit (23 Celsius) that you can’t find anywhere in the Northern States or Canada (Geez, Toronto has 2 feet of snow as I write this).

So come in the French Immersion to NOLA – you can book the trip in February and November – and you’ll have a well deserved break in the harsh winter.

Don’t come, and you’ll miss the subtle spring or fall breeze that you can only feel under palm trees, with a NOLA French accent.

NOW IT IS YOUR TURN!
Tell us in the comments below, what would you like to do in the French Immersion in New Orleans?

Let me guess.