The Farmville herald and farmer-leader. (Farmville, Va.) 1934-1957, 1954-05-28
Tanners Fulbright Year in France
Combines S ,t1!6l Parlez, Travels

1t is the reply of French friend
to Helen Tanner, Longwood al
umna. who is worrying in France
about her exams. while we at
Longwood worry about our own.
Il have warned Madame Fulchi-
ron that she will have a jacket to
make. but I continue to hope that
by some miracle will get
through" writes Helen Tanner in
a recent letter to Miss Draper.
eve happen to know that Helen
made a marvellous grade on her
mid-term exam
Helen Tanner, who graduated
from LongWood in June 1858, was
awarded a Fulbright Scholarship
for one years study in France.
She sailed from New York on the
Queen Mary September %. 1858,
and from the very first her let
tiers have been bubbllng with en-
thusiasm and happiness.
OF her first glimpses Of the
country Of her dreams. she wrote:
How I'd love to live in an old
stone house on little farm IN
Normandy What a country" The
frantic stages OF fright she had
suffered during the previous sum-
mer were quickly forgotten as
Helen plunged herself whole
heartedly into the business of
speaking the language. She chat
ted with children in the lovely
Paris parks; she struck up ac-
quaintance with fishermen along
the Seine. and she took every OPP
portunity to 'parlez, parlez, par
lez" Sometimes. of course, she
slipped up on a word, and some-
times the results we're embarraS-
sing.
Orientation in Paris for the
Fulbrigtlters consists of three
hours of classes each day at the
Sorbonne. The time is divided be-
tween informal conversation in
small groups with professors from
the institute for the training Oh
foreign teachers, lectures on the
French educational system and
other subjects Of general interest.
lyceums presented by nationally
recognized cultural groups such as
the Coincide FrancaiSe, and eX-
cursions to places of interest in
and around Paris. The Institute
professors conduct tours around
the city, invite the students to
their homes for meals and tea
parties. and advise them on the
ways of profiting from their
months stay in Frances capital
The month Of october slipped
away with Helen bewaillng every
passing day and waxing each
week more eloquent in her praise
of the magic city What is
it about Paris that makes one feel
so happy gay. and alive? Maybe
it's partly because everything is
so different and that each day
brings new interests. l believe,
though. that there is an uneX-
plainable sort Of spirit about the
city that gets in your blood
How I hate to leave it's narrow
streets. its sidewalk cafes the
magnificent museums, the beau
tiful gardens However, real
ize that Lyon will be so much bet
ter for me because I speak French
so little here, and l realize that
shall like Lyon. too, When I get
settled there
And soon after her arrival in
Lyon on November l, a letter from
Helen read Il love Lyon as much
as I did Paris She quickly
made a place for herself in the
family of a prominent Lyonnaise
lawyer Monsieur Fulchiron. his
mother. wife, and three children.
OF her classes in the foreign
students school at the University
Of Lyon. Helen writes: Il love all
my classes, and m even begin
ming to understand them
The foreign students here are the
incest group of people in the
world There is a German girl
who is a darling Yana, who came
from ISrale. always sits beside me.
She loves to mother me. On my
other side sits Pepito, the incest.
funniest, most gallant Spaniard
alive. He works III a hospital, and
relates all the operations to us in
conversation class. We have all
nationaitieS
A recent letter tells of her
Christmas trip through the old
southern province of Provence.
One OF the hiGhlights of the jour
ney was a heartWarmipg welcome
2iven to her and her companion
by simple family IN Marseilles.
whom they met while asking di-
rections on the street. We we're
asked to lunch. she wrote, and
the daughter, who speaks a little
English. told us shyly that she
sang a few English songs. We
gathered around the piano. and
sang God Save the Queen and
Aud Lang Syne l suddenly felt
quite close to this simple. good,
hardworking family who were so
interested in US. and who had
been so generous and hospitable,
It is little contacts like these
which can help bring about feel
ing of brotherhood between peo-