Current Affairs | Novel French Learning

(Image courtesy Wikipedia)

On January 12, 2010 Haiti was devastated by an earthquake which struck near its capital, Port-au-Prince. A year has gone by, the one year anniversary has passed, and it is easy to forget.

But it's important not to forget. Haiti has a long way to go to recover from the earthquake that hit over a year ago and the recent outbreak of cholera has not helped. With an estimated one million poeople still living in displacement camps, the effects of the earthquake are far from being behind us.

800px-Haitian_national_palace_earthquake (Image courtesy Wikipedia)

So today we'll take a moment to remember that even though most of the reporters, camera crews, and lights have gone home, there is still work to be done.

The French Wikipedia (can you tell I'm a fan?) has an excellent article on the earthquake:

Séisme de 2010 à Haïti

And some very basic earthquake vocabulary:

I've never been to Haïti, but I want to go some day. I know it's not number one on most tourism destination lists, but any francophone country is worth visiting as far as I'm concerned and who said that tourism was the only reason to visit a foreign country anyway? Why not go with an aid organization and make a difference? You might find it a much more memorable and moving experience than any vacation.

So? What about you? Have you been to Haïti?

On February 2nd 2008 Nicolas Sarkozy, who was then and is now, president of France, caused a bit of controversy among his countrymen by marrying model, songwriter, and singer Carla Bruni.

From the French Wikipedia article:

Carla Gilberta Bruni Tedeschi, née italienne le 23 décembre 1967 à Turin (Italie), est un mannequin et auteur-compositrice-interprète connue sous le nom de Carla Bruni. Épouse de Nicolas Sarkozy depuis le 2 février 2008, elle porte depuis son mariage, en tant qu'épouse du président de la République, le nom Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, tout en conservant le nom Carla Bruni pour ses activités artistiques.

Installée en France depuis l'âge de sept ans, Carla Bruni a mené une carrière de mannequin de 1987 à 1997 puis s'est reconvertie dans la musique. Elle a écrit plusieurs titres sur l'album Si j'étais elle de Julien Clerc en 2000 puis a sorti son premier album, Quelqu'un m'a dit, en 2002. Elle a remporté en 2004 la Victoire de la musique de l’Artiste féminine de l’année. En 2007, elle sort son deuxième album No Promises, puis Comme si de rien n'était en 2008.