“Parlez-vous français?”

If your answer is “oui,” Pause-Café may be the perfect setting for you to practice your French and enjoy a hot cup of coffee.

Every Wednesday from 3 to 5 p.m., University students and Charlottesville residents are invited to the French House, or la Maison Française, to brush up on their French speaking and listening skills.
“It definitely helped improve, or at least maintain, my French,” third-year College student Kristina Wolf said.

A French House resident, Wolf said she loved the Café so much last year that she decided to head the program this year. In her new role, Wolf has a host of responsibilities, such as ensuring that there is bread, butter, coffee and other food items for Café attendees, as well as helping to set up beforehand and to clean up afterward.

Most importantly, Wolf said, “I talk.” The best part of Pause Café, is that “you get to speak French, speak to native speakers and meet new people you wouldn’t generally meet,” she said. With coffee and baguettes, Café-goers talk about classes, experiences studying abroad and other subjects.

True to its name, which is French for “coffee break,” the Pause-Café experience exudes the charm and coziness of a European coffeehouse. Marked by the heavy aroma of brewing coffee and scattered bits of French conversation hanging in the air, the Café makes for a comfortable and laid-back environment for French speakers of every level.

Pause-Café emphasizes informal French communication, Cultural Activities Coordinator Rachel Geer said. “A lot of times in classes, there’s a focus on grammar and if you are saying it right,” she said. “Here, it’s about communication. It’s more natural.”

Pause-Café has about 15 participants per week, making it one of la Maison Française’s most popular events.

“That’s a lot for something that takes place every week,” Geer said. “I’m always impressed.”

Usually, there is a mix of new faces and people who attend the Café regularly. Most attendees are University students who are taking French courses or who come from French backgrounds and miss speaking the language. Anyone who can speak French is welcome, however, including Charlottesville locals, Geer said. Some participants have a very limited knowledge of French, while others are native speakers from Cameroon, Senegal and France, she added.

Every week, Café participants gather around the tile-topped tables, seat themselves in a mismatched assortment of chairs, and almost immediately, begin to talk and snack. A coffee pot brews in the corner and the food scattered across each table offers an eclectic mix of appetizers, ranging from the typical French baguettes and Nutella to a box of Dunkin’ Donuts and a jug of apple cider.

First-year College student Hillary Hurd said she was surprised by how much food is provided at the Café. Currently enrolled in French 1010, Hurd came to Pause-Café because she wanted an opportunity to speak the language outside of class. The Café was recommended to her by her professor and her friends. Although Hurd has only been taking French since the start of the semester, she said she probably will continue to attend the Café as well as other French House events to improve her language skills.

Hurd was also surprised by the feeling of community at Pause-Café and la Maison Française, in general.

The sense of kinship is not limited to Pause-Café, Geer said. In addition to the Café, la Maison hosts a cooking club, poetry club and Ciné-Club, which shows French films. These clubs, including the Café, are student-run, which, Geer believes, fosters a deep sense of community and makes the French House program unique.

“It’s a very student-run house, which I think is very special,” Geer said. “I love working here.”

Wolf agreed. As one of the 27 undergraduate students currently living in the house, Wolf said she has made the commitment to communicate only in French in la Maison’s common rooms, as Thomas Jefferson envisioned.

First visualized in October 1817, la Maison Française, Jefferson wrote, was to be a French boarding facility “wherein it is proposed that the boarders shall be permitted to speak French only, with a view to their becoming familiarized to conversation in that language.” Jefferson’s vision was finally realized more than 160 years later when the University acquired the Queen Anne-style mansion at 1404 Jefferson Park Avenue. Since that time, students have bonded through a mutual love for French culture and language.

Expanding to include cultural activities for the greater University community, residents, through programs like Pause-Café, seek to enrich life on Grounds. A resource for French-speaking students and Charlottesville residents alike, Pause-Café helps to bring people of different backgrounds together each week, simply to chat and enjoy a cup of coffee.

“What is so nice about the Café is it’s so habitual, so simple,” Geer said.