Student Perspectives: Amy Estes

Salut! I’m Amy Estes, a student in Neda Akbarnejad’s B1.3 class. My love affair with French language and culture began when I was just three years old. As the story goes, I would pull my father’s college French textbooks off of the bookshelf and ask him to teach me. Sadly, he wasn’t able to offer much help. My interest persisted, and when I was eight, my parents met a French-speaking Belgian woman, Mme Vivienne. Thus began a once a week, hour long visit to her home. She taught me basic vocabulary and some present-tense verb conjugations. Merci Mme. Vivienne! The next year, I gave up my French lessons to be on a gymnastics team. In hindsight, I should have stuck with French. After that, my attempts to improve my French were spotty at best, including an independent study my senior year of high school.

I resumed my French studies in college and was lucky to spend my junior year in Tours and Paris. It was my first time abroad, and although I had opportunities to visit other countries while I was there, France truly captured my heart, just as I had sensed it would as a child. I loved the language, yes; but I also loved walking through the city, the quirky residents of my pension, the parks, the Metro, the museums, the food, all of it. I took courses at l’Alliance Française, évidemment, and Université de Paris VII, Jussieu. My favorite courses included The History of Paris through Its Monuments, and French theatre. Hélas, just as I was feeling confident in my language and making French friends, it was time to go home. I had declared a major in cognitive science in my sophomore year of college, and when I returned for my senior year, I had enough credits to add a French major as well. I took a course in French autobiographical literature that year, and I loved reading the works of Simone de Beauvoir, Nathalie Saurraute, Colette, and André Gide.

Once I graduated from college, I was swept up in work and day to day life. Whatever mastery I had of the French language evaporated from lack of practice. The Francophile in me reemerged, stronger than ever since moving to Montclair in 2014. I came to Montclair to take a position as the marketing director for Peak Performances, the contemporary performing arts series at Montclair State University. I learned about the Montclair campus of L’Alliance through its executive director, Marie-Catherine Glaser, who helped me promote a performance by a French opera company. A few years later, I had an amazing opportunity to travel to France for work. I took a class at L’Alliance to prepare for the trip, and it served me well. Soon after that, I took a position at Bard Graduate Center on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where I promote the institution’s gallery exhibitions. Although adjusting to the commute sidelined my studies, my new job provided numerous opportunities to practice my French. It’s even given me the opportunity to interact with counterparts at Musée des arts decoratifs, Bibliothèque Forney, Centre Pompidou, Sèvres, manufacture et musee, Villa Albertine, and Cultural Services of the French Embassy. 

As you can imagine, these experiences have given me an intense desire to improve my French! I finally returned to French classes at L’Alliance Montclair this past fall, and I can’t describe how much I enjoy them. Neda is such an encouraging and supportive teacher, and my classmates have quickly become friends. I was thrilled to learn at my first class that so many of my fellow students were like me – they had majored in French in college and perhaps lived in France for a time, and are once again embracing their love of the language and Francophone culture. Now we message each other between classes with recommendations of our favorite films and television shows in French and photos from travels to France. Recently I proposed a French game night at L’Alliance, and I’m so happy that the staff have supported this idea. Stay tuned for details!