Meet Travelers, Vivian and Irene

Je m' appelle  Vivian. 

I am a retired English teacher and had the great pleasure of teaching across the hall from Marge at Henry Ford II High School.  I taught Advanced Placement English and she Advanced Placement French so we shared many of the same students.  Currently I am teaching at MCC each fall semester in addition to working with student interns who are majoring in English at Oakland University.  

I am an avid reader (historical nonfiction and fiction are my favorite); I am a novice knitter; and, I love biking and walking.

I have three children and two grandchildren (13 year old, identical twin boys).  My grandchildren live close by and have spent every Friday night at my house since they were two weeks old so they are very much a part of my life.  This April, my husband of almost 49 years passed away.  He had not been in the best of health, but his passing was unexpected.  My husband and I had planned to shop for a condo this summer and my son was to buy our house. I recently found the perfect condo near by and will be moving into it when we return to France.

In college I took two years of French and loved it.  At that time I was fluent enough to read a novel in French.  But alas, I didn't use it and I lost my ability to think and speak it.  There is still much French I can understand, and many French phrases still run through my brain sounding wonderfully French; however, when I try to speak one of those phrases---well, let's just say it no longer sounds French.

I have traveled to Poland and to Italy.  In 2006, I went to France with Marge and a group of Ford II students.  It was a marvelous and memorable trip.  So this will be my second (and hopefully not my last!) trip to France. 

Je m'appelle Irene. Germany is my native country. As a child we lived near Strasbourg, France.

I moved to USA in 1965 and married my husband who has since passed away. We raised two daughters who are now both living in Atlanta, GA. They have given us two wonderful grandsons, 9 and 12 years old.

My passion is traveling and I still love it. I have been in France many times, mainly in the south and twice in Paris. 

Learning to speak French is my lifelong dream. I am still working at it and look forward to our trip to Paris.