French club promotes culture with petanque

A taste of southern France came to IU on a chilly Friday in Dunn Meadow.

The French Club sponsored a game of petanque, a popular game similar to Bocce Ball, as a cultural experience open to all levels of students taking French. The game originated in southern France and is popular in Aix-en-Provence.

“This semester, we are trying to explore different regions of France and different Francophone countries throughout the world,” said Amber Panwitz, French Club coordinator and a graduate student in French linguistics.

“We like to have different activities from different regions.”

In petanque, players try to throw the hollow metal balls, or boules, as close as possible to the cochonnet, a small white ball that is thrown between six and 10 meters from where the players are standing.

The winning team of each round receives one point for each boule that is closer to the cochonnet than its opponents. A game lasts for 13 rounds.

Panwitz said the game was also a way to generate student interest in studying abroad through IU, particularly with the Aix-en-Provence program.

Junior Augusta Stoughton, who studied in Aix-en-Provence in spring 2011, spoke briefly about her experiences to the students in attendance.

She said on her walk to class each day, she would see a large group of old men playing petanque in a park for hours.

“I feel like the old men took it very seriously,” Stoughton said. “I’ve played in a much more loose setting, but never (as) a serious, competition sort of thing.”

While the French Club has a conversation table at 5:30 p.m. every Tuesday in Ballantine Hall 004, Stoughton said the French department seems to be really interested in teaching students about French culture rather than just teaching the language.

Later in the semester, French Club will be exploring Brittany, a region in northwest France, with a Breton dance night. There will also be a film series with movies from Francophone countries, including Canada and French Guiana.

“We’re trying to make people interested in the culture, make them want to go where they can play (petanque) with French people in a real context,” Panwitz said. “We’re really trying to show different aspects of the French-speaking world.”