A house Francophiles can call home

The Post and Courier
Friday, September 14, 2007

At first sight, the house looks just like any other students' house around the College of Charleston. Or does it?

Once you enter, you can't help but notice something special. Not so much that it is an all-girls place. What really captures the attention is a board covered with maps of Paris' metro and quotations from famous French authors, on the wall of the hall. Walking in the living room, a garland made of small French flags catches your eye, along with an Eiffel Tower ornament, and the peculiar selection of books on the table: Balzac, Marie-Antoinette and French news magazines.

Your first thought might be to say that the roommates are French. But they are just regular students, which you might notice when taking a closer look at the quotations on the board, sometimes written in a somewhat approximate French.

Enough with the mystery, welcome to la Maison française - the French house at the College of Charleston on Bull Street. Since school began, it has been home to nine young women all learning French and interested in French culture. Valerie Kuehne, Lauren Franks, Cheryl Ingram, Catherine Wolfe, Erin Smith, Rosie Younan, Lauren Sheplar, Tiffany Howard and their resident assistant, Kerranna Williamson, ages 19-21, all have different curricula but all share a passion for everything that is French.

The house is the result of a partnership between the college administration and the French department of the College of Charleston. The idea derives from an experiment that was conducted a couple of years ago, when the administration decided to establish a "Health House" - a no alcohol, no cigarettes, only healthy food place. In the wake of that, a French House and a Spanish House were established. Students applying were required to speak a foreign language as often as possible when at the house. The French House project was revived this year, after being discontinued last year due to a lack of applicants.

The French House means a lot to its new tenants.

"I used to speak random French at home, but no one understood me - everyone else in the house studied Spanish, Japanese… I felt frustrated!" Ingram says. Surely, now she can enthusiastically speak French whenever she wants. This is even more useful as all nine girls study French. Some of them will even spend a semester overseas. Kuehne will study in French-speaking Senegal later this year. "Oui, living here now will help," the 19-year-old assesses. An exciting (or frightening?) prospect for the young women: "chief" Williamson is contemplating organizing "If you don't speak French, you have to pay a fine" nights - a great way to have fun, improve their skills and raise funds to organize more events.

But isn't there more to France than its language and literature? Yes, there is. Food.

"We try to avoid junk food and eat as healthy as possible, in a quite European way," the roommates say. The young ladies try to pay tribute to the French art de vivre (art of living) anyway and put American basics on the side. Erin Smith seems to be the official best cook in the house: "Soon after we moved in, I saw her cooking a quiche at 3 in the morning," Ingram giggles.

"Now that school has started again, we've been discussing organizing events such as French dinners or French movie nights. Everybody willing to show up is welcome … as long as there is enough space around," Williamson says.

All their initiatives are put together in collaboration with the French club of the C of C. Come meet the young women. They will gladly tell you what event is coming up. Boys are "bienvenus" (welcome).