Lisa

Paul Landowski? who’s he?

Here's a famous sculpture that everyone recognizes, Christ the Redeemer in Rio, but do you know who created it? Here's a bridge in the center of Paris with a sculpture of the patron saint of Paris, Genevieve, and a little girl holding a boat representing the city of Paris, we've seen it many times, but do we know who created it? This well-known statue of Michel de Montaigne on the rue des Ecoles, you've walked past it many times and enjoyed his benevolent gaze, but who is the sculptor? This is the Porte de Saint Cloud in Paris 16th which we at FUSAC see every day on the way to the office. It has been just renovated. But do we know who designed these fountains covered with bas-reliefs which depict Paris, the Seine and all the goodness of Ile de France? How about the magnificent bronze doors on the Faculté de médecine in the 6th arrondissement or the monument to the fallen at Trocadéro? The answer to all these is Paul Landowski. No one knows his nam…

John Vanden Bos de FUSAC, le Boulonnais du mois!

John Vanden Bos de FUSAC, le Boulonnais du mois! (Paru dans Boulogne Magazine mars-avril 2018) John Vanden Bos, l'éditeur qui rendait service au Tout-Paris anglophone Qui ne se souvient pas de FUSAC? Dans les années 90 et 2000, ce magazine de petites annonces était disponible un peu partout dans la capitale, comme feu Paris Paname. La particularité de FUSAC, c'est qu'il s'adressait à tous les anglophones de la capitale, principalement des expats et des étudiants, mais aussi à des francophones désireux d'améliorer leur maîtrise de la langue de Shakespeare. C'est la Génération FUSAC. Aujourd'hui, FUSAC n'existe plus qu'en ligne. Son papa étant voisin, nous l' avons rencontré. Retour sur une formidable aventure et les nombreux défis qu'a dû affronter John Vanden Bos, le Boulonnais du mois. John Vanden Bos, vous êtes le Boulonnais (d'adoption, nos lecteurs l'auront compris) qui a fondé FUSAC, le magazine des petites annonces pour anglophones de Paris et sa région. Les hab…

Clubs Associations of Expat Paris

Paris Clubs Associations of Expats Joining the social fabric in your new home is part of settling in. Of course you want to integrate into France and meet French people, but it is always pleasant, and some would say important, to join fellow expats or folks from your own country to pursue your favorite activities as well. Just like sometimes you need comfort food you also need comfort time in your own language, activities and customs. Churches and synagogues in Paris are great resources providing community, study and discussions, lunches, youth groups, fairs, choirs and volunteer opportunities just like at home. Many schools and universities have alumni clubs in Paris. Here below is a non-exhaustive list of clubs associations of all types in the expat community in the Paris area. Index : British Scottish Welsh Norwegian Finnish Swedish Polish Danish German Irish Canadian Australian American Worship in your own language Paris Churches Other ideas and act…

Hogtied in the Hexagon? understand France part 2 of 3

Hogtied in the Hexagon? understand France Part 2 Our choice of 15 Books to help you better understand France. Part 1 of this article Part 3 of this article First of all what is "hogtied"? To hogtie is an Americanism that goes back to about 1890 literally meaning to tie an animal, in particular a hog, with all four feet together. Figuratively the phrase mean to thwart or hamper. So here is part 2 of our list of 15 books that'll help you feel less bewildered and understand France. What is the Hexagon? The Hexagon is a nickname for France! (due to the mainland's nearly hexagonal shape) Memoirs of Hadrian Marguerite Yourcenar Memoirs of Hadrian is a novel by the Belgian-born French writer Marguerite Yourcenar, the first woman ever elected to the Académie française (1980). It is about the life and death of Roman Emperor Hadrian. The book takes the form of a letter to Hadrian’s cousin and eventual successor «Mark» (Marcus Aurelius). The emperor meditates on militar…

All about the FUSAC brand

All about the FUSAC brand The FUSAC brand began with a magazine containing classified ads and advertisements in 1988. In 1998 we created our first website. Today FUSAC's classified ads are all online and we continue to serve the English-speaking communities (Americans, Brits, Canadians, Irish, Australians, New Zealanders, and many other nationalities who speak English as a second language) of Paris and the surrounding area. In 25 years FUSAC produced and distributed 523 issues of the magazine for over 20 million copies. Since 2013 all the classified ads are online. 40,000 readers come to our website each month and many more receive the monthly newsletter. We also publish the annual magazine LOOFE (Light and Lively Observations on France Extraordinaire). FUSAC is well-known for ads offering employment, childcare and housing. In addition, the FUSAC site contains ads and articles for all aspects of the English-speaking community: music, dance, theatre, courses in English and Fre…

Speak Easy – Etre marteau

Time to do a Speak Easy puzzle! The Speak Easy Puzzle is available in a collection of 68 puzzles, order on Boutique FUSAC

Say Fromage, A Speak Easy

Say Fromage !

As long as 7,000 years ago, cheese was being made in northern Europe — albeit in a simple and functional form, a new study reports. And cheese has been part of the language for as long. There are so many French expressions involving fromage, pain and vin that we decided to do a Speak Easy on the subject. We hope you will enjoy it and come back saying cheese and hungry for more (or maybe even buy the book!).

But why do we "Say cheese" when taking photos? It goes back to Texas in the 1940s as a sure way to get someone to smile for a photo. Read more here! Plus here's our article on French cheese where you'll learn how to choose, cut and serve, plus the etymologies of fromage and cheesemonger.

For this Speak Easy puzzle Match the French phrase or expression with the English.

Order the Book - Commander le livre

Water in Paris, Part 3: Non-Drinking water

A series on Water in Paris. Part 3: Non-Drinking water In the 19th century, Baron Haussmann, who was in charge of reorganizing Paris to make it more sanitary hired Eugène Belgrand as Director of Water and Sewers. Mr Belgrand with great foresight created not one but two water systems. One of course for treated drinking water which is expensively processed stuff and the other a network of non-potable from the canal Saint Martin and the Seine. The less expensive untreated water is used for watering parks, decorative fountains and cleaning the streets. There are 12,000 bouches de lavage from which water flows into the gutter. They are turned on by sanitation workers with green brooms and directed by soggy rolls of old carpet. The water flow and the green broom push the accumulated debris along to the sewer openings. Tout un système! The non-potable water is also used in the high pressure sprayers that clean up after markets and festivals. 1 600 kilometers of streets are sp…

English language press in France in an Exhibition

Exhibition: Language Matters

Why this exhibition ?

Did you know that the French National Library holds almost 6,000 English-language periodicals (including your beloved FUSAC) that have been published in France since the Revolution? Such a large figure may come as a surprise, since these are but too rarely dealt with in the history of the French press. The titles which are displayed in this exhibition come under the banner of a marginal category, that of the foreign, in this case, English language press. It is defined as periodicals or newspapers written in languages other than the national language(s) – whether de facto or de jure.

Exhibiting the wealth of the English language press in France Digitalisation operations that were launched in the 2000s in many libraries throughout the world have brought to light this global foreign-language press heritage. Its wealth is beyond imagination. Foreign-lan…

Remarkable trees in France

France is remarkable in many ways, including in trees. We recently published an article about the remarkable trees in Paris and now below you'll find some for the rest of France. We were out on a bike ride a few kilometers from home the other day and came across a tree planted in 1556! It was huge! And in great shape. The tree is called the Platane de Diane because it was planted by Diane de Poitiers, favorite of Henri II when she received the hunting property at les Clayes. A beautiful plantain tree that has seen not only Diane, but certainly Louis XIV walk beneath during a hunting trip, saw a first chateau built under Henri III, destroyed partially during the Revolution and another chateau built in the 19th century, burned by the Germans as they retreated at the Liberation, the telegraph line running past up on the hill, the writer Tristan Bernard and the artist Edouard Vuillard and who knows how many other famous people and events. All that in the Paris suburbs Les Clayes…