FAFF2010

Twenty years ago, I took French lessons at the rambling old bungalow which housed Alliance Francaise amidst a sprawling garden on Lorong Gurney. Early this year, Rudi, Iman and Inas registered at af to take up basic French. So now, we are introduced again to the wonderful community at Alliance where Azizah runs the af Cafe, Natalie selects and screens the weekly movies and on Saturdays, the family meet at af to go to the library [Ikesha's first library ever] and have lunch at the Cafe.

This has led to a whole new world for us as a family. We sing favourite french folk songs like Alouette and Au Clair de la Lune and play Monopoly in French. And because we are singing folk songs, I also sing Malay folk songs like Oh Bangau Oh Bangau, Kereta Kecil and Burung Kakak Tua to Ikesha. On Sundays, we listen to bistro music like La Mer, La Vie en Rose etc. We dream about the seemingly unaffordable holiday in France [for all 8 of us]. Iman googles and checks out the possibilities of studying in France - now apart from A levels, perhaps she has to study for IB as well after SPM.

So when Natalie told me about the FAFF a couple of weeks ago, we were all excited. The first French movie we saw earlier this year was Les Choristes and the girls sang the beautiful songs in earnest. Songs like Caresse sur L'Ocean, La Nuit et Vois Sur Ton Chemin are firm favourites.

A Mum and Teenager outing saw us watching Coco Avant Chanel which featured the enchanting Audrey Tautou. Iman and Inas loved it and so did I. Inas loves Marion Cotillard, so I would love to watch LaVie En Rose in which Marion Cotillard played Edith Piaf with her. A few days later, Rudi and I watched L'heure Zero, an adaptation of Agatha Christie's Towards Zero - followed by Robin Hood on the same night - which contributed to our foray into french as some scenes were in french- the movie highlighted the tussle of power between France and England.

The highlight of FAFF 2010 was watching Mouron in concert at the Panggung Bandaraya. An excellent chanteuse, Mouron - the French Diva de chanson delighted us with an array of best known french songs - La Mer, Padam Padam, La Vie En Rose and her own Un dessert au desert. It was certainly memorable.

We will continue our adventure and immersion into all things French.

My next project? I am going to translate Oh Bangau Oh Bangau into French soon.

Find our favorite songs: http://ninotazizfavouritefrenchsongs.blogspot.com/