Member of the Month Catherine Lefaivre-Shah

This month we meet Catherine, the founder of Anglofun, based in Orvault. Catherine assists companies in their cross-cultural communication strategies with English speaking countries and makes learning English fun!

What is your greatest achievement?
I think it is probably having managed to feel at home with a very different cultural group of people (my Indian in-laws) and being accepted as one of theirs.

What makes you get out of bed in the morning?
My alarm clock literally drags me out of bed. I always find it difficult to wake up, so I have placed the alarm quite far from my bed, which means that I have to move out of bed when the alarm goes off.
Once I am up, I look forward to the day ahead, a new adventure, and it starts with a quiet and nice breakfast. I love that moment of the day!
Then I can get down to serious things: working home on communication projects, conducting a training course at clients’, making new contacts, having lunch with friends when possible and spending the evening with the family.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you to date?
What I have learnt on different occasions is that time is a great ally. Things or situations which appeared impossible at a certain point in life become, with time, feasible, within reach.
Also, as time goes by, I truly believe that there is a great beauty in the simplest things.

What/Who is the most important thing in your life?
Family represents my biggest asset in life. Nothing else compares with that.

If your apartment was on fire, what would you rescue apart from your loved ones?
and the cat… I guess it would be the photo albums, because that is something that cannot be replaced, the memories of a family, sometimes several generations.

What is your favourite French expression? Why?
Being French, this is a funny one!
A French expression?.. There are tons of weird ones but I like the “… de derrière les fagots” one. If you say that you’ve got “une bonne bouteille de derrière les fagots” that means you have taken out a very very special bottle of wine.
What if I choose an English expression? I’ve always liked to say “everything is hunky-dory”, a very English expression. Beyond the fact that it makes you feel good and happy, I just like the sound of it!
 
What do you like most about living in France?
As a French person having lived abroad, I feel that we are lucky to have lots of simple moments of pleasure like going to the market to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, sharing a nice meal and also to be able to enjoy outdoor activities so easily. In short, quality of life! And being in the provinces means one has more time to take from the humanity around.

What has been your most memorable day in France?
I was born and raised here and I have been back for quite a few years, so I have many memorable moments here, some very personal. But there is one which happened not too long ago when family members, relatives and friends from all over the world gathered in Nantes. A multicultural and emotional event…

What is your favourite shop in Nantes?
I very much like going to those old bookshops like Durance or Coiffard. I could spend hours in there!

How do you relax in Nantes?
I love going to the cinema, taking long walks, cycling (when the weather is nice), and also hitting the ball once in while.

Where do you like eating in Nantes?
There is one place which over the years never fails to please us: Mont Liban (near place Royale). Always a sunny and friendly break! I also like the concept of Tabl’o Gourmand (cours des 50 Otages). For more formal occasions, I think that Atlantide remains one of the best tables in Nantes.

What made you join the KN network?
Meeting Sue made me want to be part of KN. I will always treasure the idea of bringing people together, especially people from different horizons with one common language.