About us

Bonjour à tous!
Je m'appelle Mariette. Je suis ravis de faire votre connaissance!
Hello - my name is Mariette, your organizer. And I am excited to meet you.

I created this group with few key things in mind:

I have been running another group (LA French Corner meetup group) for the past 3 years. And many of my meetup members have asked if we could have events dedicated to French conversation. Therefore I created this one to be specifically dedicated to conversation practice.
I grew up in a multi-lingual home, with both parents Francophone, yet French always remains my favorite of all languages to speak!
I am a person who loves people, and believes that the best interactions are "human" interactions, (other than our pets of course); In this world of AI, I am hoping that real human connection will remain a thing of value.

BEYOND BONJOUR is more than just a conversation meetup:
We curate events with the goal of enhancing the conversation experience in a fun, easy -going setting.
This group meets "IN-person" because the best way to learn expressive language is to interact with real people, in real time. I believe that a lot of learning is also associative learning, for example using sensory experiences to connect with memory.

Our meetups are generally organized to allow each person the ease and practice time:

Welcome- and introductions
A light ice-breaker
Let the conversation flow as we enjoy coffee/and or food.
A little break, to breathe and stretch....
A fun interactive exercise or game in the second half of our session.

LEVELS:
This meetup may NOT be suitable for absolute beginners, but for those with at least level A2 and up.

What this Meetup is NOT:

NOT a place for soliciting people/persons for any reason
NOT a place for any kind of negativity- bring your positive, fun attitude.
We do NOT tolerate any harassment of any kind. Period. And this will result in immediate dismissal from group and not welcome back.

NO DROP -INS POLICY
Is strictly enforced. Please be considerate and RSVP at least 24 hours ahead. This group provides quality, meaningful experiences in community, where thoughtful details and effort goes into organizing each event. Therefore, RSVPd members only attendance.
NO DROP-INs please.

NO-SHOWS POLICY: and Last-minute cancellations put our ability to book terrific venues at risk! Your event organizers and fellow members will appreciate your courtesy, especially when there's a wait list and they hope to join!

RSVP FEES:
Yes, it actually costs the Organizers money to keep this group open. Meetup is technically NOT free for the group Organizers.
Please check details on each event for RSVP fees.
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NOTIFICATIONS:
For the ability to communicate with you your EMAIL UPDATES and NOTIFICATIONS must be turned on in SETTINGS both on your computer and phone app. Without notifications you will miss out on newly posted events, but more importantly you will miss out on schedule changes. Important updates can include, time and meetup location changes, a rescheduled event date, and in some remote cases an event cancellation.

Please note: the Message Board is available on the Web Application, but not on the Mobile App.
To edit settings on the MOBILE APP, go to your profile icon (bottom right corner), then go to the 3 dots icon (upper right corner). Select "Push notifications", then select "Change email updates." Make certain all options are GREEN.
If you have and further questions please send me a direct message.

We look forward to meeting you soon.
À bientôt!
Mariette
☕️☕️☕️