Alliance Francaise 2014

Bonjour tout le monde!

No, I haven't learned French yet, but I am bringing you an update from Alliance Francaise St. Kitts and Nevis.

To refresh your memory, the nonprofit organization educates and spreads French language and culture through satellite locations around the world. They do so in a very open, creative, and inclusive way.

We are fortunate to have an Alliance Francaise right here in the tiny island of St. Kitts and Nevis. Although small in membership size compared to other organizations, the Alliance's impact here is big, with events, trips, language classes, and opportunities abound.

Recently I had the chance to attend a monthly Voyage A' event, where great wine and cheese is served and someone usually tells a story about a voyage or trip they took in France. This Voyage A' event did have good wine but there were two differences this time, one of those was a surprise.

The first order of business was meeting everyone, one of the secondary benefits of Alliance events. Many important people were in attendance but the mood was, as always joyful and the conversation was mostly in French.

Patricia, left, and Pauline, right speak in French to Director Karine Lennox, center.

The membership of Alliance is very diverse and events like these give them a chance to share an interest they have in common: The French language or culture.

There were people from the U.K., France, St. Kitts and Nevis, Venezuela, and The U.S., if you counted myself. There were several Consulates from other countries present also.

Alliance members socializing at Voyage a' Night.

At the event I tried to speak to everyone but it's not always possible. The one young lady i spoke with is teaching the French classes at Alliance now and told me she was able to go to France to study the language because of Alliance. That is great! Another way the organization is helping to broaden the world for the people here.

I also didn't realize that French was taught here in high school but a teacher here informed me that they do teach it and in fact were having a ceremony to congratulate the students who had done so well recently on their exams.

For that surprise. If you are from St. Kitts then you definitely know the young lady from WINN FM with the golden voice. If you're not from here you can still tune in to their station online here: WINN FM

I'm definitely bias because I know Toni, but even before I met her at an Alliance event I heard her on the radio and thought, "What an interesting, intelligent voice." I tune in to the local radio stations everyday still and when Toni is on, I listen to her over everyone else. She is bright, entertaining, and vibrant. She's also a great person and an Alliance Francaise member and Committee member now.

Yes the surprise...... Toni recently went out with her fiancee and got married on a beach in Nevis with no warning or invitations. (It wasn't eloping because you can't do that on a tiny nation of two small islands.) She did so we believe because of her humble personality and didn't want to be the center of attention. Karine, Alliance's Director set up a mock wedding for her and her now husband as a surprise. Alliance bought her a cake, which she didn't have at her real wedding.

Long story short, I became the back up groom (What a title huh?) since her husband couldn't make it and we took pseudo-wedding pictures with the cake. Toni didn't show up in her dress as planned but that's fine. She was very taken aback and bashful about the surprise. Every time I listen to Winn FM now I have to chuckle and smile.

Me with Toni, my favorite St. Kitts DJ.

Toni with her "wedding cake."

Once the fun and games were over it was time for some serious business: The election of 2014 Alliance Francaise St. Kitts and Nevis Committee members.

Democratically all of these ladies were chosen as the new committee members for this year.

1- Président: Denise Mertins 2- Vice Président: Carlene Morton 3- Trésorière: Sybil Welsh 4- Secrétaire: Sonia Daly- Finley 5- Relation Publique Nevis: Isabel Byron 6- Relation Publique St Kitts: Toni Frederick-Armstrong.

The ladies didn't take long before they were already deep in brain storming mode about what kind of events they should hold this year and how to boost membership.

If you haven't met Karine, the Alliance Francaise Director then you're missing out, because she is completely full of energy, positivity, and great ideas. In the army we called this a "Can Do Attitude" and Karine has that. She energizes Alliance Francaise St. Kitts and Nevis and is great at leadership and is a role model for many younger children.

Karine leads a quick meeting of the new committee members.

From the meeting held with the new committee members some new events came out that will be taking place this year. These events include: 1. A free Movie at The Marriott on February 6th at 7 p.m. 2. A wine tasting event on February 25th for members only 3. Pottery Workshop Session 2 on February 1st. 4. A French Play will take place for the children on February 11th.

Also the organization started a unique way to bring French books to students all over St. Kitts. It's called the AF Bibliobus and it will tour St. Kitt's High Schools twice a month and bring the books to the students, and members if they like. They will be able to check out the books from the bus instead of coming to the main headquarters building in Greenlands.

Alliance Francaise has also been working diligently on a brand new, more informative website and here it is......Alliance Francaise St. Kitts Nevis

Also "like" their page on facebook as well as Island Babble's since most of their events are on there too.

Be sure to look over the new website for events past and future, how to become a member, and how to attend an event or better yet, how to start taking a French class.

Here are links to past Alliance Francaise posts I have done:

1. Alliance Welcome Reception March 2013

2. Montserrat Trip with Alliance Francaise Part 1

3. Montserrat Trip with Alliance Francaise Part 2

Become a Member Today and Learn Something New!

Montserrat Trip Part 2

Ah, so where were we??

We were headed to the Montserrat Volcano Observatory.

And another picture to prove that I actually was there, Haha.

As I was doing some more research about Montserrat and the Soufriere Hill Volcano online I found some fascinating video that was taken during the eruption and many more fantastic videos explaining the eruption and what took place. You have to definitely "google"Montserrat Volcano and watch some of the video because there is no substitute for these videos and actual footage. A great one to watch is this one but there are many others.

You can also watch video of actual footage of scientists observing the aftermath of the eruption as viewed by them in their helicopter.

The only disapointing part about going to the observatory was that it was closed, but I expected it to be on a holiday. From other research I've done I read that the Montserrat Volcano Observatory is one of the best in the world because they monitor the volcano 24 hours a day, all year around and in doing so they've learned a lot of great scientific information about volcanoes. Check out their website here: http://www.mvo.ms

At the MVO, for the first time we could see the northern side of Soufriere Hills from the observation deck, but that wasn't enough to whet our appetites. We wanted to see Plymouth and what remained of it.

The view from the observation deck. Below is the helicopter landing pad and you can't see much of The Soufriere Hills Volcano because of cloud cover.

We were all anxious to get an up close view of the volcano so off we went up to the one road leading into the exclusion zone. Our first sign of volcanic activity was in the Belham Valley where ash flows had at one time completely engulfed the river bed and road. Now they actually sift the ash and export it for construction material of some sort.

We drove past some abandoned houses that appeared to be falling down and then we hit an unexpected obstacle.

A locked gate into the exclusion zone, the taxi drivers didn't have the key, and the guard at the guard shack was nowhere to be found. That's a real bummer!

He must be celebrating Whit Monday.

Very quickly we had three busloads of unhappy campers and the taxi drivers looked confused but we weren't giving up. We wanted to see the volcano!

Of course I didn't have to even say a thing because the other travelers with us demanded answers from the taxi drivers/tour guides and rightfully so. A great argument by one of the ladies was that we had come all this way across bumpy seas and this was the highlight of the trip. She said if she'd known we wouldn't get into the exclusion zone then she wouldn't have decided to come on the trip.

To make a long story short, one of the drivers called the police who were there in an amazing amount of time, considering how windy the roads were and how far we now were away from civilization. He was very friendly and I liked his uniform.

Saddle up! On into the most dangerous part of our voyage, so far at least.

Along the road to Plymouth we saw a geothermal drilling rig. Our driver told us that this was the second exploratory well to be drilled on the island and the first one was very successful. It makes sense. Use the earth's heat to make your energy. They've talked about this in Nevis and I believe that's all the further they've done, talk. Montserrat is making it happen.

Along the road we went. We were definitely on a sort of ridge line or plateau and soon we were overlooking Plymouth. I don't know what to write, or have the words to describe what Plymouth looked like, so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

The former AUC Medical School is at the top of the photo, center. Photo Courtesy: Irene Gunn.

The following are AUC Medical School photos from 1983.

American University of the Caribbean 1983. Photo Courtesy: https://picasaweb.google.com/ABE7777/1983Montserrat#5174993842569157522

These are all photos of Plymouth, or what used to be Plymouth, a thriving capital city of thousands. I found an old photo of what Plymouth used to look like before the volcano erupted.

Before. If you look closely in some of my later pictures online you'll see only the pier on the left survived.

Gas Station

Even The Government Headquarters were ruined.

A strange feeling of eeriness and silence really makes your adrenaline pump and your mind race thinking about what it must've been like to be in these houses when the eruption took place. I read that the capital was evacuated in 1995 after the volcano started to show activity, but mistakenly the residents were allowed to return and less than two years later Soufriere Hills blew it's top, literally.

Thankfully, the city was evacuated after the volcano erupted and the first pyroclastic flow rolled over the eastern slope into the ocean. Amazingly only 19 people died during the entire event. Imagine if the capital hadn't been evacuated quickly. Thousands would have perished.

Everything inside the houses was left behind. There was no time to take anything with them. I took a few pictures inside the door and windows of a house, where clothes still hung in the closets.

As you can see anything that was metal was chemically burnt by the ash. The buildings paint and roofs were also burnt chemically and some roofs caught on fire from flying hot pyroclastic rock.

Right behind where we had parked was the town's museum, which was an old windmill converted into a display area. I walked in, climbed up the stairs, and was able to get some awesome shots from a higher vantage point.

Museum 1983 Photo courtesy: https://picasaweb.google.com/ABE7777/1983Montserrat#5174994065907457122

Museum Now. See the people looking out of the window?

Check out the corrosion and erosion of this old generator near the museum.

Yep, this once was a generator.

The entire place was just weird. Everything was a ghost town and something that kind of reminded me of St. Kitts was that there was an American medical school in the city at one time too.

After most of us had starred at the abandoned city for possibly a half hour we rode over to an old hotel resort closer to the water. I thought we'd just look at it but the taxi drivers motioned for us to come inside and check it out. Wow!

The Montserrat Springs Hotel I'm sure at one time was a beautiful place, but now the floors were covered in ash, the roof looked like Swiss Cheese, and a person could walk on the hardened ash that filled in the Olympic-size swimming pool.

Here are other pictures of the abandoned hotel:

If you really want to see something cool, I found old photos online of the hotel before it was destroyed!

Before. Photo Courtesy: https://picasaweb.google.com/ABE7777/1983Montserrat#5174993833979222914

Before

 

After

Here are some more hotel pictures:

Yes, that's ash near the bottom of the door.

After seeing all the devastation and imagining how it all used to be I couldn't help but feel a little down, but we headed out of the exclusion zone and to one of only a few places that would brighten your day at that point. The Beach!

Alliance Francaise had arranged a catered lunch for us at a pavilion on the beach. It was really beautiful and it reminded me of a public campground or state park at home. I ate and then had to jump in the water, snorkel, and compare it to St. Kitt's snorkeling. It was nice but we didn't have much time to really explore.

We need one of these in St. Kitts, a nice public pavilion.

What a beautiful beach!

Check out the house on the hilltop.

And of course my favorite picture.

No Rush

After the beach we were back on the ferry to St. Kitts. The way back was much smoother since we were heading with the waves to our backs. We arrived in St. Kitts just around dark. It was a long mind and eye filling day and I was ready for some sleep, but It was an incredible one day trip. I'll definitely be back and hope Alliance Francaise will schedule another trip to a neighboring island soon.

I definitely recommend Montserrat to everyone who is in the area or can make time to see it. What an experience!

Alliance Francaise St. Kitts and Nevis

French in St. Kitts? Oui, Il est vrai (It is true). Just because the British eventually won the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis in colonial times doesn't mean the French wouldn't come back. Of course the island of St.Kitts official language is English but once upon a time France and England lived side by side peaceably for quite awhile.

The Alliance Francaise is not attempting to win back the island but they are trying to spread The French Language, Cuisine, and Culture in St. Kitts and are having a fun time doing so.

The Alliance Francaise, an international organization (Who Louis Pasteur helped create in the 1880s) received a new director a few months ago and held a welcoming reception to welcome her and her new leadership to St. Kitts.

Welcoming Reception with some of the board members.

I was present at the reception as were many other important and interested people. (In fact I was able to meet Minister of Education Nigel Carty there. (Another reason I like St. Kitt's small size. You never know who you may be standing beside.) One of the local radio stations Sugar City FM sent their most well known DJ to cover the event and spread the word the following day. I was happily recruited to write up a quick article about Alliance Francaise that he read on the next morning's local news program. (As a side note, radio is a hugely popular means of communication in St. Kitts, even more so than in the United States.)
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I am writing about this now because I wanted to update everyone about what Alliance Francaise has been doing under the leadership of the new director, Karine Lennox, who calls the Caribbean French-speaking neighbor country of Guadeloupe home. Lennox has done an amazing job at not only bringing French classes and culture to the island, but has also organized numerous other activities that have benefited the community.

I can't say much about the director preceding Lennox because I wasn't here in St. Kitts at that time but I can say that under Karine's direction Alliance Francaise has been very ambitious at bringing some interesting and educational opportunities and events to the adults and children of St. Kitts.

 At the reception Lennox stated that the people of St. Kitts would hear a lot about Alliance Francaise and their events and they have. This small organization run mostly by two people at it's building on the outskirts of town has been forming great relationships with a lot of people and other organizations on the island

Lennox has focused a lot of attention on helping children here in St. Kitts and held a summer camp for children where they took field trips and learned more about their own island country. Of course the main focus is learning French but that doesn't mean you can't have fun in the process. The next camp will be the French Immersion Easter Camp. The info for it is below.

The organization also offers classes for Children and Adults, Library facilities, French television, and Movies in French. In addition they prepare teachers for the European Diploma in French, provide Scholarships for overseas study in Guadeloupe and Paris and assist with student exchanges to Guadeloupe and Paris.

Guadeloupe, notice they also have a BasseTerre. 

Alliance Francaise Headquarters in Paris, France. The non-profit organization has offices in countries.

One of the popular recurring events is Free Movie Night. A movie is shown at The Marriott Resort in French with English subtitles. The latest movie shown was La Cite De La Peur, which took place on the last day in February. Stay Tuned for the next movie!

The organization also held a private showing of Les Miserables at Caribbean Cinemas today.

The Alliance just recently held a financial skills workshop and there have also been French cooking workshops, pottery making workshops, and art workshops held at Alliance's headquarters in Greenlands, across from Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College in Basseterre.

Another interesting workshop the organization has recently held was a self defense class for women. Don't worry though if you're not a woman because due to popular demand a self-defense workshop for men, women, and children is scheduled to take place soon. Check out the info below:

The photo got cut off for some reason. The Dates are the 20th of March -10th of April on Wednesdays, from 5 to 6 p.m.

The organization has really done some unique workshops and events so keep an eye on Island Babble's facebook page and Alliance Francaise for future activities. Also, if you've ever wanted to learn French, this is the place to do so.

The newest upcoming event will be the Hommage A Mademoiselle Coco Chanel Fashion Show, on Saturday, March 16th at the Marriott Ballroom. It'll surely be an exciting event.

Stay tuned to Alliance Francaise in St. Kitts because you never know what kind of interesting workshops they're planning next.

For more information Contact the Alliance Francaise by phone at 465- 9415 or 465 1547 or stop in the office. You can also check out their website at www. alliance-francaise-antilles.og