FWC welcomes members to participate in a variety of interest groups. If you want more information, please email FWC.InterestSections@umich.edu and your name will be forwarded to the section leader(s). Direct contact information for section leaders also is available in the FWC directory.

Friends From Around the World: We are members from all over the world who get together monthly from September to May for an activity and to socialize. We share our American and international traditions with one another. If you are new to town, we will help you get acclimated to the University and Ann Arbor. Section dues are $10 per person per year. Leaders:  Karen Stern and Cibele Barbosa-Cesnik.

Languages

Conversational French: This section provides an opportunity to practice French speaking, reading, and writing skills with an instructor. Classes have been based on reading assignments and a weekly open-ended question to be answered by individual oral responses. Members will be finding a new instructor for 2025-26, which may affect format, cost ($10-$20 per session), and other logistics. The class expects to continue meeting frequent Friday mornings at University Commons.  Merci! Leader: Jeanne Lewellen.

Beginning Spanish: Our group meets weekly on Tuesdays 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. over Zoom, October through May. We learn vocabulary, pronunciation, conversation, and structure of sentences. Our purchase of News in Slow Spanish, an on-line resource, is required; this provides weekly news articles to our computers. Lidia Kaku is a Spanish-speaking native and the class teacher. Tuition is $20 per person per lesson. New members are welcome. Come join us! Leader: Lidia Kaku.

Advanced Beginning/Intermediate Spanish: Our group has enjoyed many years of learning Spanish with our native Spanish-speaking instructor, Lidia Kaku. We meet over Zoom from September through May on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. to socialize, and from 11:00 to 12:00 p.m. for a lesson.  We enjoy Spanish conversation as well as reading and writing in Spanish. Your purchase of News in Slow Spanish, a weekly online learning tool is necessary.  We will be reading once a month from Spanish Short Stories I, Parallel Text. Tuition is $20 per person per lesson. Please join our fun and social group. Leader: Diane Conde.

Advanced Spanish Conversation
We meet on Zoom every Wednesday from 1:00 to 2:30 from September through April. For about the first 45 minutes we converse extemporaneously, then we read aloud from a section from our current novel. Our teacher is a native of El Salvador and she helps us with our pronunciation and usage. We would love to welcome new members. It is not necessary to be fluent in Spanish. Tuition is $20 per person per class, paid at the beginning of each semester. Leader: Sandy Anderson.

Food & Wine

Global Gourmet: We enjoy cooking and eating new and exotic dishes, as well as socializing around the dinner table. International-themed dinner parties may include spouses or partners. The dinners usually are on the 3rd Saturday evening from September to May or June, and we meet in members’ homes and anywhere from 8 to 18 people might attend. Section members volunteer to create the dinner theme, plan a menu and find recipes. Hosting duties are shared across the membership. Members attending a dinner prepare specific dishes and meal cost is shared among attendees. Leader: Ruth Jones-Pfingst.

International Cooking: This group enjoys planning and executing meals based on various international cuisines. It is open to singles and couples. The heart of our section is the opportunity to socialize with people from all parts of our community while enjoying gourmet meals. We meet six times a year, three times meeting in small groups (8 to 12 people) in members’ homes on Saturday or Sunday evenings in fall, winter and spring. Members are assigned a dish to prepare and bring to the hosting member’s home. The cost is shared by attendees. The whole group meets for potlucks in September (a tailgate), December (a holiday party) and May (a picnic). Annual dues of $12.50/person or $25/couple defray expenses for our whole-group functions. Leader: Bonnie Ion.

Wine Tasting: The group meets to taste and learn about wines two or three times a year in members’ homes at 5:30 p.m. on a Sunday. At each meeting, six wines are selected around a theme or geographical area. Attendees bring a plate of hors d’oeuvres to share. Each member is welcome to bring a guest. Costs of the evening are divided among those present and are usually between $10-$12. Dates of tasting are announced by email to those on this interest section’s mailing list. Leaders: Karen Stern and Donna Wicker.

Updated 10/6/2025