Alliance Francaise de Taiwan，Center of Kaohsiung / 高雄市法國文化協會 晴空下熱烈綻放的法國文化
Alliance Francaise de Taiwan, Center of Kaohsiung
◎English Witten by Peng Hsin-yi
◎Photo courtesy of by Alliance Francaise de Taiwan, Center of Kaohsiung
Underneath the clear blue subtropical sky in the Gushan District, a haven of French culture is coming to its own.
Ms. Marie Muller, coordinator of the Alliance Francaise de Taiwan, Center of Kaohsiung, speaks fluent Chinese, which sometimes caught people by surprise since they didn't expect the level of command of the language. But it is not surprising once you get to know her story. As a child, Marie had attended school in Taipei, later when she was in university she came to Taiwan as an exchange student as well. But when she arrived at Kaohsiung five years ago, she still felt pleasantly surprised to find a city with many characters that make it one of a kind. Kaohsiung is unlike any other metropolis, she said, while there are many impressive modern constructions, there is nothing that beats the ever present blue sky and beach scene. The megacity is less as crowded as many other big cities, yet there is a closely knitted sense of community, people are kind towards each other. And she does live like a true local; commuting on a motorbike, shopping in the hip "Shinjuejiang" district, finding inspiration from the exhibitions in the Kaohsiung Pier-2 Art District, as well as movies in the Kaohsiung Film Festival to satisfy her love for art and culture. When it comes to food, Marie has nothing but praise for the culinary selections here in Kaohsiung. Her favorites include fish ball soup and braised pig knuckles. Marie told us when her friends and family visited; they were also very impressed with the fact that various delicious treats are available anytime.
Marie's job is to enhance cultural exchange. She is very enthusiastic about the study tourism program, through which the center provides all kinds of help to Taiwanese people who plan to experience the French way of life, and to study French there. In recent years, as more students were interested in French learning, Marie became busier all the time. But that didn't put a damp on her passion for her work, she constantly came up with new activities to promote French culture to people in Taiwan. For example, she personally went to a few schools to demonstrate the making of crepe, a very popular French desert. Marie's goal is to continue working towards greater cultural exchange between the two nations, and to that end, she plans to reach out to more local art events to enhance cultural understanding .
※Alliance Francaise de Taiwan, Center of Kaohsiung
Address: 3F., No.1, Darong Steeet, Gushan District, Kaohsiung City.Telephone: (07) 521-4600
高雄市法國文化協會
晴空下熱烈綻放的法國文化
◎文／張嘉玲 ◎照片提供／法國文化協會
高雄市法國文化協會的負責人穆瑪莉(Marie Muller)一口流利中文揭示了她與台灣的深厚淵源。幼時曾在台北短暫就學，大學時亦曾來台當交換學生，Marie道地的中文往往讓對方相當驚訝。五年前初抵高雄之際，Marie 對這個城市感到驚豔，她表示，高雄不僅是座大城市，更擁有湛藍的晴空與海景，街上人車並不像其他城市般擁擠，人情溫暖。她逐步融入高雄生活，騎摩托車、逛新崛江。喜愛藝文的她尤其欣賞高雄電影節，駁二藝術特區及文化中心的展覽。提到在地小吃，Marie熱情推薦魚丸湯還有豬腳，並提及親友來台時，也愛上高雄幾乎24小時從不間斷的美食饗宴。
親切的Marie表示，協會致力推動文化交流，她積極推動遊學法國專案，讓民眾可以透過協會安心到法國學法語，體驗法式生活。面對越來越多到協會進修法語的莘莘學子，Marie業務相當繁忙，但喜愛與民眾交流的她總是充滿活力。Marie為台法間文化交流構想了許多新點子，包括曾至學校表演拿手的法式甜點「可麗餅」，未來也希望可以結合更多高雄當地藝術進行文化交流。
※高雄市法國文化協會
住址:高雄市鼓山區大榮街1號3樓
電話:(07)521-4600