On July 12, the West Baton Rouge Museum held its Café Français event. Andre St. Romain, a French speaker who works at the museum, led the event. Café Français was held at the museum from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. It allowed people to practice French and share their culture with others. The event was open to all kinds of French speakers. All dialects and proficiency levels were welcome. 

At the most recent meeting, the theme was Gumbo, and before any conversation began, everyone introduced themselves in French. The attendees all had different ways of speaking, but with each person, the group listened and helped when needed.

After introductions, Andre St. Romain introduced the theme and gave everyone the words of the day, all corresponding with Gumbo. Starting with “riz,” rice, and moving to “Chevrette.” In Cajun French, this means shrimp, but St. Romain explained that Chevrette means baby goat in France. In French, “Crevette” means shrimp, and everyone talked about the differences in what they call shrimp. 

The same air of curiosity and openness continued with each word. The pronunciation can sound different even if a word is spelled the same in these dialects. Oysters, “des huitres,” is pronounced differently in Louisiana in the singular form when speaking. In France, “Une huitre” would sound like separate words, but in Louisiana, it would sound more like one word and as if there was a “Z” between them. St. Romain called this phenomenon a false liaison. 

Another difference between Louisiana French and French from France is the names for Bell Peppers. In France, they’re called “Poivron,” but in Louisianna, they’re called “Piment doux,” or Sweet Peppers.

After going through the words, St. Romain showed the group a video. The clip was from the Animated Series “Les Aventures de Boudini et ses ami.” The series is entirely in Cajun and Creole French and was created by Télé-Louisiane, a multi-lingual media program by and for the people of Louisiana, as an educational tool. 

The video was all about Gumbo, the different ways to prepare it and how they vary based on location. 

Once the video finished, a wave of chatter swam through the room. Everyone began talking about how they eat Gumbo, how they cook their okra, what meats they use and how their families eat the dish. 

One conversation that dominated the room was the discussion on eggs in Gumbo. It was a new concept for a few, but many went back and forth on how they cooked eggs in their gumbo, whether they used boiled eggs or if the egg was cracked straight into the pot.

Each person shared their stories and histories with the dish, and that openness would continue into the next part of the event. Following the ending of the Gumbo topic, they switched to having open conversations.

All around the room, different groups of people spoke in French about whatever their hearts desired. No matter what dialect or proficiency level, people worked with one another to communicate and converse in French. 

During this time, Cajun French music underscored the conversations. Culturally significant songs in French floated around the room as people talked and told stories. 

These open conversations in French, in which people could share culture openly is the ethos behind the entire event. St. Romain said the original goal of this ongoing event was to give French-speaking people in the area “a place to meet each other and gather.” 

“The tragic aspect of the situation is that you could be right next to someone in Walmart who speaks French, but you don’t know,” he said. “You could be passing by people every day that speak French, and you have no way of knowing.”

At its core, Café Français is community building for St. Romain.

 ”When I have one of these things, I am just trying to get people together, get people to meet each other, and get people engaged,” he said that he’s trying to help some of the older people remember their French. 

St. Romain also talked about one of the regulars, Mrs. Rudy. He said French was her mother tongue, but she forgot over time. “My goal for people like her is for her to hear some French and start remembering some things,” he said.

Another intent he mentioned is to get many of the older folks to start talking, sharing and teaching what they know. 

“I’m just trying to offer them the chance to teach what they know,” he said.

The West Baton Rouge Museum holds Café Francais at 1 p.m. every first Friday of the month.