When Jeff Koterba began learning French in 2019, the last thing he imagined doing was founding a weekly group for those either wanting to learn or to practice French, or in some cases, to speak their native language. 

Jeff’s French-learning journey included taking classes through Alliance Française Omaha, and downloading apps such as French Today. More on French today in a moment. He also hired a tutor. Indeed, it was his tutor, Charlie Whistesides, of StreetFrench.org, who first encouraged Jeff to launch a conversation group in Omaha.

Charlie’s reasoning was that it’s essential for French learners at all levels to practice speaking the language. To get the mouth moving and to activate the muscle memory. And for Jeff, all these steps were part of his process to create as much of an immersion experience he could in the middle of America.

And so, in the spring of 2019, Café et Conversation-Omaha was launched. At the start, C&C held two meetings per week. Often, with just two or three members in attendance. 

The first “logo” for C&C

One of the first regular establishments that welcomed C&C was Blue Line Coffee in Omaha’s Dundee neighborhood. As it happened, the owner at the time, Chris McClellan, was also an avid francophone who had, at one time, studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. Indeed, it was at Blue Line that Chris often hosted C&C events that featured French new wave films, followed by discussions in French. 

An early meetup at Blue Line Coffee

Other early meetup locations including Joslyn Art Museum and would eventually expand to other coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and wineries from Council Bluffs to West Omaha and to Lincoln.

During the pandemic, as so many other groups were forced to do, we held meetings over Zoom. Soon, however, we realized that attempting to hold organic conversations over Zoom was nearly impossible. We quickly pivoted to utilizing the Duolingo French podcast’s transcriptions. Members would listen to a particular podcast in advance, and then during the call, each member would take turn reading a section, which would then bring up various pronunciation and grammar points for discussion. 

We also held live events with French speakers in France, including private concerts.

A live event from Paris featuring Charlie of StreetFrench.org

Of course, we did what we could, and when we could, to meet in person, finding creative solutions—such as going for a hike at Hitchcock Nature Center in Crescent, Iowa.

Hiking at Hitchcock

Those early meetings can’t be mentioned without the name, Claude Nachun, who saw us through, especially when things got tough during the early days of the pandemic. Claude was born in a village outside of Paris but had moved to Omaha in the 1970s. When meeting in person, he was always kind and helpful. Essentially epitomizing what C&C stood for then, and stands for now: kindness, community, and friendship. 

During those dark times when we were forced to go online over Zoom, it was Claude’s gentle and smiling face in the corner of the screen that would always reassure us all that everything was going to be okay. 

If you were lucky to know Claude, you knew what a treasure he was. If you made an error when speaking French, he was so gentle in his approach, you hardly realized you’d been corrected. 

Oh, and how he loved talking about finding a good deal on Brie at grocery stores like Aldi!

Sadly, Claude left us all too soon. 

Claude, a caricature of Claude, and Jeff

But this group will forever hold dear the memory of this gentle human. We were changed for the better thanks to Claude. And hopefully, our French improved a little along the way, too, thanks to him. 

Back to French Today. Jeff found the website to be an invaluable resource for all things grammar, pronunciation, and cultural context. Plus, he so enjoyed using the app series À Mois Paris, he reached out to Camille and Olivier, who together run French Today from the beautiful coast of Brittany. He now partners with them helping to create artwork and cartoons for their website and for the app. He’s even done a mini-immersion with Camille and Olivier.

Side note, if you ever have a chance to do an immersion with them, make sure that Olivier’s recipe for Beef Bourguignon is on the menu. To this day, it’s still downloaded more than Julia Child’s version of the same dish.

Along the way, we’ve held special events that have including painting, cooking, game night, and singing. From back to basic events for beginners to events in French only. And everything in between.

C&C Karaoke Night

Now, five years later, this group has grown from one member to well over 400 on Facebook, with plans to continue growing. Not only in the Omaha area, but beyond. All too often we hear requests for meetups from Kearney to Sioux City to Des Moines. And while we don’t currently hold meetings in those locations, we certainly hope to soon. 

Team C&C with Charlie from Street French during our 5th Anniversary celebration. L to R: Dennis, Charlie, Alicia, Kristi, Gene, Jeff

And so, to celebrate, in May 2024 we rebranded from Café et Conversation – Omaha to Café et Conversation Midwest. 

To those who have been here from the start—we appreciate you. And for those who are joining us now, welcome! We’re glad you’re here. 

Now, let’s switch to speaking in French…