Week 1: Arriving at the Alliance Française

A community-driven, French speakers haven!

Arriving at University City, Saint Louis

I made my way from Mount Vernon, IA to University City, Saint Louis MO in about 5 hours the day before I started at the Alliance Française de St. Louis. I had been coming to this city since I was an infant because my mom grew up here before moving to my hometown in Colorado. So it is safe to say that my first-day nerves were calmed by the familiarity of University City. For this experience, I have the opportunity to live in my mother's childhood home with my grandparents so not only will I be getting a great experience at the Alliance, but I will also be getting some quality time with my relatives. 

Getting to Know the Alliance

The first day consisted of your typical standard practices, including a facility tour led by Dave Mount, who works in IT. He introduced me to Laïka Thomas, my supervisor and guide for the project I will be working on. They assigned me to a small library where I would work and conduct research for my project. After I got settled in, Laika and I talked about my project and the goals she wanted. 

The Alliance

The Alliance Française is home to one of the largest French libraries in the state of Missouri. The selection includes Fiction, Non-Fiction, Theater, and Classic Literature as well as hundreds of textbooks, movies, and CD’s from all different genres. Some are even available to buy.		The Alliance Française de St. Louis houses the local Agence Consulaire of the state of Missouri, otherwise known as my advisor Laïka Thomas! An Agence Consulaire helps French citizens in the US obtain passports, civil status registries, and identity cards.

Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker was a St. Louis-born French singer and dancer who lived from 1906-1975. She was known for pushing the boundaries of performance and celebrating her individuality. She is one of the iconic figures of the Alliance and is a core figure in a lot of their curriculum.

Fun Facts:

• She adopted 12 children, whom she referred to as “The Rainbow Tribe”, from all different nationalities as she could not have children herself
• She was awarded the French Resistance medal by the French Committee of National Liberation after WWII
• After MLK was assassinated, she was offered unofficial leadership of the civil rights movement but declined the offer because she was concerned about the welfare of her children

The Alliance Française de St. Louis made it a goal of theirs to honor Josephine Baker and her roots in St. Louis. They did this by inducting her into the Missouri Music Hall of Fame, declaring November 30th as Josephine Baker Day in St. Louis, and prompting the Missouri House of Representatives to declare a Resolution of appreciation for her contributions to society. 

My Project

Here at the Alliance, I will be responsible for creating a curriculum for an after school program at the local elementary school in University City. The curriculum will be centered around exposing students to African-French culture, which is usually overlooked. 

My project consists of three themes: dare, dream, and curiosity. With this, I will create a program for children aged 6-12 that will discuss French-African and African-American culture. We will talk about figures such as Josephine Baker, Gaël Faye, and Fatou Diome, all of whom are authors, poets, and African singers. The community in University City is 31.8% African-American, so it is important to teach content that is relevant to the population.

With my background in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, designing a curriculum is a bit outside my comfort zone. Luckily, I have the guidance of Molly White, a master's student in Pedagogy who is helping to improve the current Alliance curriculum. I feel this experience will help to expand my professional skills because I’m being challenged with a task I’ve never completed before and relying on collaboration to succeed.