An American Corner in the Grenoble Maison de l’International

Red, White, and Blue or is it Blue, White and Red?

Salut, tout le monde,
   A temporary break in the cold, sleety, snowy, windy, and downright yucky Grenoble weather of late prompted me to leave the warmth and dryness of our apartment to check out la bibliothéque in the nearby Jardin de ville. I had never visited this library before, but as a library-card-carrying, paid subscriber to the Grenoble municipal library system, I wanted a look at their book collection, which is geared for les enfants et les adolescents. (Can you guess my French reading level?) 

Hôtel Lesdiguières/Maison de l'International

     At the library, I picked up a couple of contes de fée full of illustrations, necessary for my comprehension (a picture is worth a thousand French words), and headed out the door. Glancing to my right as I negotiated the slippery stairs, I saw a banner hanging above the door of the adjoining building. It read, Maison de l’International—International House. This was a place I had heard of but hadn’t yet been to in Grenoble. Since the weather was in my favor at the moment, I decided to see what it was about. 

     As soon as I walked through the automatic doors, I saw two familiar “faces"—magazines with American English titles, the Economist and the New Yorker—among the foreign language magazines beckoning me from across the room. But before I could reach them, I heard a friendly French voice asking, “Je peux vous aider?” Ah, oui! I pieced together some French to tell her that I had never been there before and wanted to look around. I can only guess that my American accent was slightly detectible because another woman quickly appeared and asked me in English in a British accent if she could show me around the place. After introductions, Kate gave me my own private tour of the maison.

     We started in the reception room full of tables and stands that held information, including brochures about language courses and international associations in the area, for foreigners living in Grenoble. She pointed out that the International House is not a tourist center, but rather it has the mission to provide access to information about international goings-on in town and the European Union, and beyond to everyone. 

    Moving into the next room, we came upon three college-age students busily working on filling book shelves and hanging framed posters in what looked like a newly renovated room in this early 17th century building that was once L'hôtel de Lesdiguières. I said bonjour and my American accent echoed back to me in triplicate as they returned the greeting. They were from American universities, and they were studying in Grenoble and working at the International House for a semester. At the moment, they were preparing this room for the opening of the American Corner in Grenoble the next night. 

American Room library

    I was unfamiliar with American Corners, and with a little research, I discovered that there are about 400 of them in 60 countries. This one in Grenoble was one of the newest members of the club. The American Corners disseminate information about the United States to the foreign public, providing access to current information with books, videos, and the Internet, and information about American culture, history, and government. It seems more like a mini-diplomatic station, but the US doesn’t financially support it; the host country pays for the staff and the rental of the facility, but the US State Department sometimes provides American books and some equipment.

     Steve and I were interested in attending the opening. Some heavy hitters were scheduled to be there for the event, including the mayor of Grenoble, the consul of the United States in Lyon, and the United States minister counselor for public affairs in France. When we arrived the next night, we joined the mass of people who also came for the opening. The reception room, the American Corner, and two more rooms were packed, and viewing monitors had been set up in all but the American Corner in anticipation of the crowd. The three men spoke enthusiastically about this first American Corner in France, and when “The Star Spangled Banner” was played after their speeches, my hand immediately went over my heart and I admit to tearing up. (They, of course, also played “La Marseillaise.”) I was surprised when we were invited afterwards to enjoy some hors d’oeuvres and wine to celebrate. We located some of our French and American friends among the crowd, and we toasted this new addition to Grenoble’s International House.

The Good Old American Days*

Yes, we can!*

*Posters in the American Corner, Grenoble.

    I returned a few days later to see the finished American Corner without the crowd and to take some pictures. It’s a good space, and as an American, it makes me feel welcome here. I think it will be a comfortable place to come and sit down on a snowy day and read the New Yorker.

Salut, tout le monde: Hello, everyone
la bibliothéque: the library 
les enfants et les adolescents: children and teenagers
contes de fée: fairy tales 
Je peux vous aider?: Can I help you?