Public Presentations and Workshops

Association of French Schools in the Americas

San Diego was the location for the annual conference of AEFA/AFSA (Association des Ecoles Françaises d'Amérique/Association of French Schools in America) in February 2005. Faculty and staff from French and international schools from the US and Canada, along with representation from the French Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met to discuss current issues and common concerns.

Using the Cultural Detective™ method and case studies related to child-rearing and education, Ruth led the group in a series of reflections on their own cultural assumptions and expectations, and potential areas of culture clash with North American cultures. Participants were eager to share their own intercultural experiences in a lively discussion that continued well past the end of the session!

Meeting Professionals International (MPI): Potomac Chapter

Ruth stopped off in Washington DC on the way home from Paris to speak at a luncheon event for the Potomac Chapter of Meeting Professionals International. As a member of this organization's Platinum Speakers Program, she has worked with MPI chapters in Santa Fe, Calgary and San Francisco.

www.mpiweb.org

The meeting was organized in conjunction with a major intercultural effort by the organization and focused on the effects of multiculturalism on today's hospitality industry. The message was, "All meetings are multicultural meetings", not only international ones! Participants learned how to use cultural values and expectations to create more open, inclusive and welcoming events. When planners take into account the needs and concerns of diverse attendees, they increase attendance and attendee satisfaction, and more importantly, bring many resources to bear on the goal or topic of the meeting or event.

Living and Investing in France Conferences

New Orleans native Adrian Leeds has lived in Paris for over ten years and shares her love for her adopted city with fellow Americans dreaming of making the same move. She helps find properties in Paris for those wanting to live there full-time as well as those looking for a wise investment that can double as a vacation home.

Adrian brings together a team of experts in areas such as real estate, insurance, tax law, immigration and insurance for the "Living and Investing in France" seminar (www.parlerparis.com). Her personal experience in adapting to French culture convinced her that an understanding of cultural differences and culture shock is essential for a successful transition to Parisian life, and she included Ruth on the program for recent seminars in Washington DC, New Orleans and San Francisco, as well as our colleague Natalie Lutz for the Paris conference.

The enthusiasm of Adrian and her staff is positively infectious, and participants followed Pépé Le Pew (in action with Ruth, below) on a journey of cultural discovery as they moved a step closer to making their dreams of Paris come true.

Paris Presentations

Ruth and Gilles were guests of the Fondation France-Amériques in March in their gorgeous 18th century "hôtel particulier" located, appropriately, on avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt. During an informal Happy Hour, they chatted with members of various cultures and shared insights and humorous anecdotes about living an intercultural life.

Another invitation came from Georgia native Patricia Laplante-Collins who runs a multicultural Paris salon from her charming Ile St. Louis apartment, providing American-style "à la bonne franquette" dinner and conversation for a fascinatingly mixed bag of guests. Ruth and Gilles gave a brief presentation about French and American cultures, which led to a lively exchange of ideas and anecdotes! Contact Patricia (and her puppy, Eve) at parissoirees@noos.fr

Ruth also enjoyed a soup and salad party to celebrate the 8th anniversary of Parler Parlor, a French-English conversation group hosted by Adrian Leeds and Elisabeth Crochard (www.parlerparlor.com). A very multinational group shared conversation and then enjoyed the warm spring sunshine while having lunch on the terrace.

Voices on the Waves:
Religion and Faith in Our World and Our Field
SIETAR USA

Ruth and her colleague Karima Bushnell co-presented a forum on religion and intercultural relations at the SIETAR USA (www.sietarusa.org) conference in Jersey City in November. Karima, a Muslim, and Ruth, who is Jewish, have spent many hours discussing their shared frustration at the invisibility of people of faith in the intercultural field. They are concerned that such people are seen by many interculturalists either as gullible fools or as dangerous fanatics.

In an effort to begin dialogue and reflection, Karima and Ruth proposed asking questions such as, "What is the place of religion in our world and in the field of intercultural relations? Can we afford to ignore this subject, a defining factor in the lives of billions?"

Choosing theatrical performance as an entry point, they began with Karima's wonderful award-winning play, Voices on the Waves: A Multicultural Comedy-Drama in Two Acts. (The full text of the play can be found at www.bridgebetweenworldviews.com/Voices.htm). The work features a lifeboat full of strangely assorted people whose thoughts and conversations illuminate issues of culture, identity, faith, motivation, belonging and believing. This approach reveals the multiple truths within each of us and shows how these truths help us to validate or silence one another.

Thanks to Professor Anderson Johnson of the Theatre Studies Department at New Jersey City University, SIETAR members were treated to a performance by a wonderfully enthusiastic group of student actors. Some of them said afterwards that working on the play had been an important experience in their own spiritual development, since it encouraged them to ask questions of themselves and others.

The following morning, Ruth and Karima co-facilitated a discussion about issues raised in the play with participants from several faith traditions: everything from Mormons to atheists!

Further evidence of interest in the topic was the group of some 20 SIETAR members who then trekked out to Brooklyn for a tour of a Hassidic Jewish neighborhood with two local rabbis. This was truly a unique opportunity to discover the mystery of Hassidic life with warm, friendly Hassidic scholars who answered questions with knowledge and humor. The group visited a historic synagogue, a mikveh (ritual bath) and a workshop where craftsmen created ritual objects, and had a chance to schmooze (chat informally) with people as they went about their daily tasks. The experience ended as the group shared lunch and conversations in a neighborhood restaurant (www.jewishtours.com).