French House Article

By Emma Mitchell-Sparke, A20, French House Manager 2019-2020

This article was originally published in the Spring 2020 Department Newsletter

As I walk in the front door, I am immediately greeted by the delicious scent of buttery

“galettes des rois” baking in the oven (Image 1). Drawn in by these delectable smells, I head towards the kitchen where the sounds of Stan Getz’s dreamy saxophone lines float to my ears. There I find Megan, Ella, and Patty (three of the current French House residents) chattering away, and as I enter they all welcome me home with a loving “Coucou ! Ça va ?”

Although this particular day is special because we were preparing for the first “soirée” of the spring semester, life à la Maison Française is nearly always like this.

For a little context, the French House is an on-campus house that houses ten people, including two French exchange students. Students interested in French and francophone culture and language are encouraged to apply to the house if they want to practice their language skills and take full advantage of the French scene at Tufts. Going into the year, I figured the house would be a great place to do exactly these things, but little did I realize how much living here would positively impact and alter my Tufts experience beyond just improving my French skills.

An unexpected component of life at the house that has contributed tremendously to this impact is that we have gotten the opportunity to know the exchange students studying at Tufts this year. Since Thomas and Rania (our two French residents in the house) are themselves exchange students, they are close to the others in this program. As a result, our house has become an exciting, warm, and welcoming hub of intercultural exchange where

Tufts and exchange students gather together. Since these students are from all over, we often end up conversing in a vast multitude of languages, from French to Spanish to English to German to Japanese.

While there were many of these informal gatherings, the Spanish House Manager

Lexi Serino and I were also able to organize more formal events for the cultural houses and exchange students to participate in last semester. These functioned as a means to encourage interactions between everyone and also to show the exchange students some of our unique American traditions. A wonderful example of one of these events was our trip to go apple picking this fall at Connor’s Farm. The glorious fall colors were alive that day, and we all returned home filled with apple cider donuts and feelings of contentment (Image 2 and 3). Other events have included ice skating in the Commons and baking pies!

Apart from these events with the exchange students, those of us at the French House also organize three large events called “Soirées à la Maison Française” each semester

(Images 4-8). We choose a theme for the soirée that is relevant to either French or francophone culture, such as “Soirée des Salons Artistiques,” our first event of last semester, in which we discussed the old tradition of the salons in France. These were times of the year in 17th-20th century France when artists would converge and present their work. To simulate that experience, we created a crafts table where students could draw and express their more creative sides. We also lined the walls of our living and dining rooms with famous art masterpieces for the students to observe and discuss amongst themselves. Of course, there was also tasty food available, since it was a French event after all.

It is hard to be more emphatic in my love of and praise for the French House living experience. Not only has my French actually improved since returning from Paris, but I have also developed some of the closest ties from my time at Tufts in these months, with Tufts and exchange students alike. Returning often to the smells of freshly baked galettes, sounds of sweet saxophone lines, and the effusive greetings of my loving fellow residents has made la Maison Française a home like no other.

Image 1. Galettes des rois

Image 2. At Connor’s Farm

Image 3. Enjoying apple cider

Image 4. French House residents

Image 5. Crafts themed soirée

Image 6. Foreign exchange and Tufts students

Image 7. Tufts student Image 8. French House residents