Sunday 13 March 2011

The French diaspora and the Quebecker expat

My wife found yesterday some information about some French language group doing activities in the area. I went on their website, thinking that it might be fun to have something to do after my acting course, but I didn't feel this was for me. As I mentioned here, I don't feel French, for one, and apart from the language I don't think I share all that much with France. I know I did say in the past that I wanted to keep in touch with the French speaking community and this would be a good way to do it, heck it would be the best way to do it, but apart from speaking French with natives, which I miss often enough, I don't feel like doing all those other community activities this kind of group is centered on: watching French films, listening to French music, etc. I can do this on my own. And again, I am not French so do not feel the same attachment to French culture. Oh there is another more pragmatic reason why I probably won't join: it is about an hour away from home and I cannot see myself spending more time on trains in the evenings on a semi-regular basis. But it is mainly because of a cultural détachement. If there was such a thing as a Québec diaspora around here, I would be an enthusiastic member.

2 comments:

Cynthia said...

Indeed, we have nothing, culturally-speaking, in common with the French. Quebecers need to make more babies so that we can get our own diaspora ;)

Anonymous said...

Its like English. The Queen's English, American English, English Down Under...it's the same language (most of the time) but it is so culturally flavoured, that they become unrecognisable at times. The things that home make us are certainly not contained in the vocabulary and syntax of a language. I felt just as foreign in English speaking New York as I did in Thailand :-)