ADVOCATING FOR EACH OTHER & BUILDING COMMUNITY
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think that plenty of good French wine and cheese enabled our disagreements to be agreeably managed ; but not always .
For many years , the University of Louisville has had a student exchange program with the University of Montpellier in southern France . Some members of our group had participated in these exchanges when they were students . It seemed only natural that any student from Montpellier who was interested in joining the group of middle-aged Americans was welcomed with enthusiasm . They taught us argot ( street slang ) and entertained us . I remember a number of them who demonstrated significant musical talent . We took an interest in their long-term professional goals and commiserated with them over the intense competition to obtain university positions for higher degrees in their own countries .
Over time , natural attrition caused a significant reduction in the size of the group . Core members moved to new cities or countries . People made career changes or undertook family responsibilities that demanded more of their free time . From a peak of 20 to 30 attendees , the group settled out at about eight to ten regulars who relished the weekly discussions . We still had two native French speakers who were part of the core group , but time and mutual affection meant that language errors were only corrected if the speaker requested clarification or if a mistake was egregious . Acceptability , not perfection , was our goal . This was the nature of my community by the time I retired .
Following my retirement , I was no longer confined to evening-only activities . I had the opportunity to join a weekly morning group of four retired ladies , two of them well-known to me from our previous encounters . This group focused much more on grammatical accuracy . I joined them knowing there would be challenges for me , but I welcomed that . I have always considered myself a word nerd and now I was becoming ensconced in a group of like-minded individuals . We would laugh as we spent time researching the accurate usage of particular words and phrases . Oftentimes we would scour old and battered dictionaries hoping to find the elusive meaning . Anyone eavesdropping would have thought we were a bunch of crazy old ladies . From time to time we admitted as much . their early and mid-80s . Inevitably , those four have passed away , but enough time has elapsed that when I think of them now , it is with a smile on my face . As I write this , I can hear some of the lively , perhaps feisty , discussions of this or that . I guess we were all pretty opinionated , each in our own way .
Eventually it became convenient for the group to meet at my home . During the early days of Covid-19 we curtailed our activities . I suggested we meet over Zoom or something similar but that was simply unfeasible . Our intrepid 90-plus-year-old member , long a widow and living in a quite large and well-ventilated home , suggested we could meet at her place . Three of us took up the challenge and positioned ourselves strategically around her large dining table . Initially we wore masks and reminded each other that yes , indeed , that next vaccine was necessary . It was a mutual support group in other ways too , but always in French and always with a chosen book to anchor events . Post-Covid and after the ( peaceful ) death of our nonagenarian member , the group rebounded and moved back to my home , where we continue to read and challenge ourselves . I keep a dictionary and encyclopedia at hand but now we are more likely to consult monsieur Google or Wikipedia Francais in search of answers . Over the years I have learned much about the availability , or not , of foreign language books . I now have two reliable sources that will usually accommodate our requests and at reasonable prices .
How lucky I have been , and still am , to enjoy the company of these friends . A common interest holds us together . Mutual respect and support are unspoken benefits . We may be small in number , but we are clearly a community .
Dr . Amin is a retired diagnostic radiologist .
One of the delights of this small group was a love of French literature , classic and modern , and that led to more discoveries for me . Literature became a focal point . We morphed into a book club , sharing points of view that increased everyone ’ s enjoyment . On my own , it is unlikely that I would ever have chosen many of the books to read just by myself . Together we moved to a new level of experience . I look back fondly on this time in the 2010s . Our group actually increased in size and of eight ladies , four were in
8 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE