Is Brad Pitt an existentialist?

Madeline came up with another cool fact today! Did you know that Brad Pitt has a French tattoo? It reads "Absurdités de l'existence" roughly translating as the absurdity of life/existence.

We were all very impressed! Could he possibly be a fan of Camus?

Heres what he had to say about it in his interview with "Le Figaro" in October last year:

Le Figaro: Votre tatouage a l'air de dire que l'existence n'a pas de sens... non ?(Il rit.)

Brad Pitt: Je pense que l'existence elle-même n'est pas absurde mais qu'elle est pleine de choses absurdes. La tragédie, pour moi, c'est de se voir piégé à un carrefour parce qu'on est incapable de choisir son propre chemin.

Our final comment? C'est la vie Brad!

Plus de Amelie!

We watched more of "Amelie" today, Polly still likes it a lot. There were some very strange scenes involving a creepy fruit vendor and Amelie's ongoing search for love. She looks for a man named "Dominique Bretodeau" because she found a momento of his past and wants deeply to return it. Eventually, after learning how to spell his name right, her quest began again. Polly likes Amelie's father's gnome.

C'est tout for now!

Petit déjeuner à la Française...

Lundi 17 Novembre, au "Rendez-vous", c'était l'heure du petit déjeuner....Français, biensûr!!
Pains au chocolat et croissants étaient au menu...
Et on s'est bien régalé!!! 

Join the Big Blog Debate!

Es-tu pour ou contre les blogs?
Are you for or against blogs?
Before you cast your vote(to the left of the page!) read what our AS French students have to say about it here:
http://www.shimnacollege.org.uk/modern-languages/French%20Students%20Blog%20Debate.htm

Bonne lecture!

Amélie!

We watched the first few minutes of "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain" (Or "Amélie Poulain" for short)

It's an extremely bizzare film (E.g her home was so depressing, her pet goldfish "poisson rouge" (meaning: "gold fish") tried to kill itself!) but it has a great story behind it: "Je l'adore!" says Polly... And as usual, we all agree. =D

The narrator speaks VERY fast, adding to the originality (seemingly like a fairy tale - he introduces each character, their interests and strange habits.) Amélie's wild imagination means that she lives in her own world, meaning it's hard to understand her mind, hence the originality of the film. (C'est une histoire d'amour) C'est la vie d'Amélie, and her search for love.

C'est un film très bizzare, mais romantique!

We haven't finished watching it yet, but it looks like we will soon!

If you have seen this movie: Tell us what you thought!

"Rendez-vous" do a random French quiz!

This week we completed an online cultural and linguistic quiz. We found out some very random and bizarre facts and information. Did you know..............

• French is spoken in 45 countries!
• "Chien" is the word for dog! Quelle surprise.
• The French national football team is called "les bleus"
• Some French people refer to us as "Les Roast beef" .
• Lots of French people prefer tea with lemon.
• The French drink a lot of coffee.
• France is known as the hexagon.

Why not try the quiz for yourself! You'll find it here:

http://www.careerseurope.co.uk/TalkIT/Introduction/QuizonFrance.htm

Don't forget to let us know how you get on!

Premier "Rendez-vous"

Voici deux fidèles étudiantes au "Rendez-vous".

Une visite fantastique!

Year 10 and year 12 students had a visit last Thursday from the exciting French theatre company "Théâtre Fantastique". Students had the opportunity to watch a play, and listen to fantastic original French rock songs while at the same time improving their skills in French. We were delighted that students had this excellent opportunity which contributes to three areas of their education – drama, music and French. Students from St Mary’s in Downpatrick and Blackwater Integrated College also attended the event. Et oui! C'était vraiment fantastique!

Le Rendez-vous

We finally came up with a new name for our club! (Le Rendez-vous!)

Today (Monday 3rd November) we had some french food, "Le gratin Dauphinois" It's made mostly with "les pommes de terre, fromage et crème fraîche et lait". It was GREAT!! (We all love cheese, especially Polly =D)

The recipe:

Ingredients:

(For 6 people)

- 1 kg of large potatoes
- 150 ml of milk
- 150 ml of fresh cream
- 1 free range egg
- loads of grated cheese (to taste - for topping)
- Salt and pepper


Preparation:

- Peel potatoes
- Cut potatoes in slices
- Put half of potatoes in a big bowl
- Mix egg with milk and cream (adding salt and pepper to taste)
- Add around 1/3 of the mixture to potatoes
- Add the remaing potatoes.
- Top off with cheese
- Bake in oven at 250 degrees for 30-45 minutes. (Untill cheese turns golden brown)
- ENJOY!!!

Send us comments telling us what you think!!