Co-written with Dylan Tsai
Twenty-five members of the French Honor Society met in B103 after school on Oct. 10 to celebrate the light-hearted aspects of French culture that cannot be experienced through a textbook. The annual Fête du Fromage, or “cheese festival,” held by the club is an opportunity for students to have a full French experience: eating French cheeses, watching a French movie, and speaking French as though it were their primary language.
“[Fête du Fromage is] not a specific holiday,” FHS co-president senior Ramya Satish said. “It’s more of a celebration of French culture.”
Satish worked with the other co-president, senior Rhea Choudhury, and the other officers of FHS to locate five French cheeses and a movie called Tais-toi, a classic French comedy. Tais-toi, which is French for “Be Quiet”, tells the story of a fictional outlaw teaming up with a dimwitted prison inmate to avenge the death of the woman he loved.
“Showing a silly movie that doesn’t have a ton of educational value, but still has cultural value, is a great thing to do after school on a Friday,” club advisor French teacher Sarah Finck said. “I think a lot of students are interested in what real French people do, what are the actual films, not just the ones your teacher chose because it has ‘redeeming value’.”
Because Tais-toi is a non-academic movie, Finck would not have taken time in any of her classes to show the movie.
Choudhury bought the cheese for Fête du Fromage from Milk Pail Market in Mountain View, one of the few stores in the area that sells authentic French cheeses. When selecting cheese for the club, Choudhury made sure to include Brie, a general favorite among students for its soft consistency and mild taste, as well as famous cheeses from each region so that students could taste as much variety of French cheese as possible.
This year, FHS is encouraging all students taking a French class to attend casual, fun events such as Fête du Fromage.
“I think [students] see French as a community, so we’re trying to bring together [students from] all of the levels,” Finck said.
According to Satish, FHS generally does not include freshmen due to the national organization’s rules that officers cannot give freshmen certificates and official rewards. However, since MVHS lacks a separate French Club that is open to students of all grades and levels, this year’s FHS officers have resolved to play both the role of a language-based honor society as well as that of an all-inclusive, culture-based French club.
