0:01

Bonjour dear listeners, France

0:03

is home to some of the greatest

0:05

museums, theaters, and opera houses in the

0:07

world. And there's lots of

0:09

public support for the arts, because they're such a

0:11

vital part of French culture. So

0:14

for this special season of

0:16

the Duolingo French podcast, we're

0:18

going to revisit some of our

0:21

favorite episodes featuring singers, dancers, and

0:23

actors, even a French

0:25

clown. We've all taken

0:28

the stage to pursue and share their

0:30

creative passions. Today

0:32

we'll hear an episode from February

0:34

2021 featuring Simone Ereau. At

0:39

an early age, Simone discovered that her

0:41

voice, with its warm and

0:43

mellow tone, had the

0:45

power to soothe others. But

0:49

she never dreamed that her

0:51

voice would accompany millions of

0:53

people traveling by train across

0:55

France. Keep

0:57

listening to find out how it all happened, and

1:00

stay tuned until the end for an

1:02

update from Simone herself. Now

1:05

onto the episode. Hi

1:07

everybody, I'm Martina Castro, the executive

1:09

producer for the Duolingo Podcasts, and

1:12

for this episode I'll be filling in for

1:14

our host, Gofane Boutuboule. Coming

1:19

up near Paris in the

1:21

early 1960s, 13-year-old Simone Ereau

1:24

was a self-conscious girl filled

1:26

with teenage angst. She

1:28

went to an all-girls school, and she wasn't

1:31

a very good student. She

1:33

thought she had little to contribute. I'm

1:36

not afraid to be alone. And

1:40

I'm not afraid to be alone.

2:01

One day in class, Simone had to

2:03

recite a poem she had learned by

2:05

heart in front of all of her

2:07

classmates and her very

2:10

strict, very demanding French teacher.

2:12

She was nervous. And

2:30

she said that the teacher would be able to speak in

2:32

the same language as her class. The

2:35

teacher spoke and the

2:37

professor heard her

2:39

voice and she was happy

2:42

with the silence. As

2:45

she spoke, Simone felt a hush

2:47

settle over the room. By

2:49

the time she finished, she could hear

2:51

a pin drop. Finally,

2:54

the teacher spoke up. My

2:57

professor said, this is

3:00

a miracle. I don't

3:03

want to be like Simone. I don't

3:06

want to be confused. The

3:10

compliment of the prof

3:13

is very important. Simone

3:18

told her parents she wanted to

3:20

be a theatre actor. Un pomédienne.

3:24

They responded with the same advice

3:26

every French parent gives their child. First,

3:30

pass your beak, the

3:32

big exam that's required to graduate French

3:34

high school. My

3:37

parents were happy. Pass your beak.

3:43

I want to be a theatre teacher. I

3:47

want to be a theatre teacher.

3:51

I want to be a theatre leader of

3:53

the Canadian community. Simone

3:56

doubted the gift of her voice and again,

3:59

she was very happy. Nord The power

4:01

had to move people. Who

4:03

she did not realize was that

4:06

lies and her voice. Would

4:08

eventually take her places. She had never

4:10

dreamed as. And that she'd

4:12

grow up to become one of the

4:15

most allotted voices in all of France.

4:18

I'll set. Isn't that

4:20

it as a sequel? Cells are more.

4:23

Send the says it does. Does

4:26

it take to publish?

4:28

This is presumed. Beyond

4:33

a new and welcome to the Duolingo.

4:36

Friends Podcast I Martina Castro.

4:39

Every episode we bring you fascinating.

4:41

True Stories to have you improve

4:43

your friends listening and a new

4:46

perspective on the world. The storyteller

4:48

will be using intermediate teens and

4:50

I'll be tuning in for context

4:52

inning this if. You mustn't thing. You

4:55

can always get back and listen again. We

4:58

also offer full transcript applied

5:00

past that duolingo com. When.

5:09

Semen finished high school. She didn't

5:11

pursue her dream of acting, instead

5:13

she took a look at the

5:15

world and to sea salt. Small

5:17

of as the spring of Nineteen,

5:19

Sixty Eight and France like much

5:22

of the world was going through

5:24

massive student led uprisings. the keen

5:26

to be known as nice as

5:28

on Sweets. May Sixty Eight.

5:32

Don't know much about it.

5:34

Seem on lots of these

5:37

old university students from afar.

5:41

Elicited zeal. Dismissed for

5:43

some seats. Naprosyn is.

5:48

Nice as it. sure. Is

5:51

as a book Woodsy. Is

5:55

it will? This is it's a deal presence.

5:57

Is he so. The

5:59

zipper. Doesn't this is

6:01

a semi was see and to decent.

6:04

Could. See.

6:06

Mine was intimidated by the

6:08

students. She. Saw on a

6:10

smarter and more daring than she'd ever

6:13

b. C. Convinced herself. but

6:15

she wasn't cut out for college. So.

6:17

Instead, she enrolled in secretary school,

6:19

a common path for women of

6:22

her generation. In class, she joined

6:24

rows of girls who were typing

6:26

on typewriters. Happy and machine

6:28

that atheists illegal this subsidizing

6:31

our it that don't is

6:33

thought to the putting. Had

6:35

this I got such as

6:37

I. Will not

6:39

for next act that be hella

6:42

mess in A T S R

6:44

and is Yohei not only. Is

6:48

he of it to see? Don't wanna tear

6:50

Who? Pulled on. See

6:53

mine Was surprised to do well in

6:55

secretary. School. So well she

6:58

earned a coveted internship and

7:00

stars. The

7:03

T is the prism

7:05

please. Cell phone was.

7:08

A boon for. Is

7:10

it this essay been in as.

7:13

An hour visit though. Billie

7:16

Guy Less Madden the Loony

7:18

Yes, that is us. An

7:20

authentic Hogan. And. Stars,

7:23

Us and and national did I had

7:25

you Dollars says you have a whole

7:27

his small the thing is. For

7:30

her internship see mine would be

7:32

a secretary and training at the

7:34

brand new Public Radio headquarters in

7:36

Para la maison de not ideal.

7:40

She was thrilled! Men:

7:43

That see this doesn't need

7:45

the top business. Is it

7:47

a It possesses? More

7:50

appointees. Who is a Cz?

7:52

does also go on T

7:55

Mobile. Phone. Number

7:57

than it is it. Do.

8:00

Why I'm from

8:02

the Disks Cities

8:04

obsessional. Semen

8:07

was assigned to be an

8:09

intern secretary at the Youth

8:11

Radio department the settles east

8:13

sense to the only nineteen

8:15

a barely anyone in the

8:17

department. with over thirty still

8:19

around her college educated colleagues

8:22

Semen suddenly self self conscious

8:24

again. Or something.

8:26

Since then to make a lead do

8:28

so the my list as it did

8:30

I leave as in is a

8:32

city. Mall is

8:35

it is. That said, there's. A

8:38

zippo third to the Moon

8:40

Cinema at the Roses. Semen.

8:44

Expected to be assigned menial tasks

8:46

at the department was so small

8:49

and scrappy that reporters and editors

8:51

constantly needed extra help. someone to

8:53

call up a source to verify

8:55

info or to an extra bit

8:58

of research. Even some writing and

9:00

semen was more than happy to

9:02

oblige. Seat of

9:05

please don't provide the sit

9:07

sit there z the do

9:09

as is also visited. Me

9:12

says it is sad to say to

9:15

them lock. I love

9:17

and assigned to Moscow's

9:19

Obama proposes to continue

9:21

the other you for

9:23

the season. Soon

9:25

as a bad book on

9:27

p. Name

9:30

visited. Moco thought.

9:34

Soon. Semen was assigned

9:37

to do live reports.

9:39

Ah, directs. The.

9:41

Station needed her to cover a

9:43

youth rally celebrating Sanko German friendship

9:45

to go to the rally. Interview

9:47

was super to sit and write

9:49

a short segments and call it

9:51

in Live from a Sounders The

9:53

Nicotine Telephonic. I'm.

9:55

A girl that it is.

9:59

Is it day? As Simon

10:02

waited for the

10:05

signal that she was on the air,

10:07

the young people she had

10:10

interviewed began

10:28

to cluster around the phone booth, cheering

10:31

her on. She

10:33

held her breath. In

10:35

the morning, I heard the voice

10:55

on the air, so she had

10:57

no idea how she sounded.

11:15

But people who did hear her told

11:17

her she sounded great. They said

11:20

she had a natural radio voice. Soon,

11:23

two producers she had worked with approached

11:25

her. How would she

11:27

like to be? Un animatrice radio, a

11:30

radio host. De producte

11:32

harmonie, on va

11:35

bientôt organizé une audition pour

11:38

trouvée de nouvelle en

11:40

animatrice sur la station

11:42

de radio, FIP. C'est

11:45

tous vous, que pouis pas

11:47

fait l'audition? drawing

11:50

the Simone

12:00

figured it was a long shot, but

12:02

she decided to give the audition a

12:05

try. Simone

12:32

wrote a ten-line review of a play she

12:34

had seen in Paris, and she

12:36

read the lines the way the producers directed. She

12:39

tried to smile and make her voice

12:42

as warm and smooth as possible. But

12:45

still, she was nervous. There

12:47

were so many other applicants. She

13:00

was very nervous. I never

13:03

thought she would be able to complete

13:05

her own life. One

13:09

day, and then, two days, I

13:11

was very happy.

13:17

One day, she said, it was

13:19

a great time. Simone

13:23

answered the door. It was

13:25

a telegram. I

13:28

was very happy. It

13:32

was a telegram. I

13:34

was very happy. Can

13:38

you accept it? Can

13:42

you accept it? Application

13:44

accepted. Simone had gotten the

13:47

job. She was going to

13:49

be a radio host. I

13:52

created a job. I

13:54

sat there, part of the salon of

13:56

my parents. I was

13:58

very happy. I was very grateful. But

14:01

I didn't want to be here. It was a very good time

14:03

to work with you. I

14:06

was very happy. I

14:09

was very happy. Simon

14:14

was walking on air. At 22, she

14:16

had her first real job. Her

14:20

life was changing in other ways too. She was

14:23

about to get married, and she planned

14:25

to start a family. She

14:28

knew she wouldn't be a comedian, performing

14:30

on stage, but she

14:32

felt happy behind a microphone, a microbe.

14:35

She felt she had life figured out. It's

14:38

the debut of a new movie. I

14:41

was a fan of it, and I'm

14:44

very grateful. More

14:48

than I did with a microbe,

14:50

I was very happy. And

14:58

yet, only four years later, Simon

15:00

was a divorced single mom. Her

15:03

salary at FEAP was barely enough to

15:06

sustain herself and her son. For

15:09

the first time, I

15:11

realized that this

15:13

is very important for me.

15:17

I had a lot of

15:19

responsibility. I

15:22

didn't know how to do it.

15:29

Simon wasn't a well-known radio host. The

15:31

work at FEAP was pretty anonymous. No

15:33

one said the name of the hosts on the air. And

15:36

her shows were live, so she never even heard

15:38

her own voice on the radio. She

15:41

didn't mind. She loved her job. But

15:43

as a single mom, she needed extra income.

15:46

So she looked for additional work. I

15:49

was able to continue to work

15:51

with her. But

15:54

I was able to do more

15:56

than I could. Hello?

16:00

I was asked to do a

16:02

video for the film, the

16:05

documentary, and the

16:07

publicity. Right around

16:09

that time, a phone dispatcher made a

16:12

mistake that would change

16:14

Simone's life. Jacques

16:16

Vanniers, a French civil

16:18

servant working for La

16:21

Essen-C'est, France's state-run railway

16:23

company, picked up the phone

16:25

one day and asked to be connected to

16:27

one of France's national radio stations. Instead,

16:30

the dispatcher connected him to feet. This

16:32

is the entrance

16:35

to La Essen-C'est, a organization

16:38

for the new

16:41

person to be connected to

16:48

the new person in the regard,

16:52

and the first time he met him,

16:54

he was the first to be connected to

16:59

feet. Soon, every radio host

17:01

at feet knew that La

17:03

Essen-C'est was looking for two

17:05

new voices, the people

17:07

who record announcements for all of

17:10

France's train stations. Please

17:12

stand clear of the closing doors,

17:15

and please step away from the

17:17

platform edge. All

17:19

of these people were present at

17:21

the same time. With

17:24

their work, I could not

17:26

be able to do this. I

17:29

was the first to be

17:31

connected to the new person. That's

17:34

how, in 1981, 31-year-old Simone

17:36

showed up at Essen-C'est headquarters

17:39

in an industrial zone just

17:41

outside Paris. It

17:43

was an unusual place for a recording session,

17:46

but she made it through the audition, and she

17:49

got the gig. Soon,

17:51

she started the recordings. Les enregistrement.

17:56

Deux foi parins, en fous

17:58

et et les enregistrements. Madame

18:32

Monsieur, prodigare de la femme

18:35

de porte. Twice

18:38

a year, for many, many

18:40

years, Simon locked herself

18:42

in the SNS recording booth.

18:45

She'd stay in there for hours recording

18:48

different train numbers and cities

18:50

of departures and arrivals. It

18:53

was a strange job. The long

18:56

recording sessions were grueling

18:58

and repetitive. Yet

19:00

somehow she enjoyed them. As

19:28

Simon recorded the announcements, she found

19:30

herself imagining the travelers who would

19:32

be listening to them. She

19:35

imagined the hurried businessmen,

19:38

the cheerful vacation-goers, and

19:40

the groups of kids headed to camp. I

19:44

was always in the mood for a

19:46

day. I was

19:48

always in the mood for a day.

19:53

With my voice, I wet

19:56

my face so that I could not

19:58

polish myself by my smile... When

20:00

she took the train, Simon would hear her voice

20:02

on the speakers. It

20:10

felt funny to her. Sometimes

20:13

she'd smile a bit self-consciously,

20:15

and occasionally she'd even mouth

20:17

the words under her breath.

20:20

The passengers around her were oblivious.

20:25

The passengers didn't feel

20:28

any attention, and they

20:30

couldn't feel the sound of the sound.

20:34

But, in the end, the

20:36

guard said, I'm going to

20:39

have to pray for

20:41

you, a cigarette. France

20:44

had recently enacted a law banning

20:46

smoking in public places, which included

20:49

inside a train station. As

20:51

Simon observed the man nearby starting to

20:53

light up a cigarette, she

20:55

considered saying something. Then

20:57

her own voice came out of the

21:00

loudspeakers. In

21:21

that moment, Simon

21:23

realized that passengers did

21:26

in fact pay attention to her

21:29

announcements. Soon

21:39

after, Simon was featured in an

21:41

issue of the SNCS magazine, and

21:44

something unexpected began to happen. People

21:46

started recognizing her and

21:49

thanking her. But,

21:51

in the end, it's

21:53

very simple to work

21:56

with the guard and the guard. and

22:01

sincere, a

22:03

shack floor with a diva's cell, I've

22:05

been pretty nervous. Simon

22:08

had a great working relationship with Jacques

22:10

Panez, the man whose accidental phone call

22:12

to Fipre had landed her the gig

22:15

at the Assen-Cerf. Over

22:17

the years, his department brought Simon to

22:19

pay visits to teams of conductors and

22:21

rail workers, Les Cheminals, all

22:24

around France. Would

22:27

you like to talk in music difference

22:31

like my special Number selling? And

22:33

i'd like to ask you, what are your poleutes?

22:37

I tell you, the controller doesn't

22:39

have much power in my!!

22:43

And the noise is terrible. It's something

22:47

extraordinary. There's

22:50

something a little different because

22:52

the software is... ...in

22:55

which you can use positive.

22:58

On some occasions, Le Chef de Gare,

23:01

the station masters, would

23:03

ask Simon to read an announcement in

23:05

their region's local dialect. Like

23:07

in the city of Lille, where she once read

23:09

an announcement in the northern French

23:11

dialect known as Schtie. Madame

23:14

Monsieur, vaudevons t'assion qui hookler. Elle

23:16

s'égévée qui j'ai en espareignor va

23:19

retre agar, gwate point. Et

23:21

je vous rapel que je a de

23:23

rédéresir de français. There was something about

23:25

Simon's voice that reassured people, made

23:28

them feel welcome and safe on their

23:30

travels. Friends and railroad

23:32

workers even asked her to

23:34

make special private announcements for retirement

23:36

parties and weddings. Her

23:38

voice had the power to bring joy. Je

23:42

en travais vraiment unique. Je

23:44

pouvoir j'ai, dans tout le

23:47

français et ron

23:49

compre, pez l'enduchen. C'est

23:52

tous jour avre plais vieur.

23:54

Avon, je ne t'épare tous

23:57

jour sur d'autre. My.

24:01

Name is so.

24:04

Much cycle cells. Need.

24:06

To know. More. Was see. Is.

24:09

Equal cel some more. As

24:12

the years went by and turned

24:14

into decades, Siemens Voice. Remained

24:16

a touchstone for trained travelers

24:18

throughout France. To came

24:20

to realize that maybe she and her

24:23

voice did in fact belong in the

24:25

world of acting as used to dream

24:27

about as a girl. In.

24:29

His own, the desert pursue all.

24:32

Goes. As is in the Belle of

24:34

What. It's in, isn't it

24:36

so tomboy? I

24:38

love salon Now I'm from the

24:40

need less you halls cousin as

24:43

it does. Cause. It did.

24:45

prison. It

24:47

is why at age sixty, Simone

24:49

decided to leave her long time

24:51

job at Seats to pursue a

24:53

lifelong. Dream performing on

24:55

stage. She found it

24:57

her own theatre company called Me

25:00

of Auto More. Reading. A

25:02

different way. I can

25:04

lead the a demand and his

25:06

act than yours. Is a

25:09

t my cooper need to be at.

25:12

A Subway Ilia

25:14

Obama. Offset

25:16

soon as he is a

25:19

little. has the leopard's it

25:21

to Sinmun the the Prism

25:23

booties. Visited the pool in

25:25

this city. Fc

25:33

man could meet her younger

25:35

self today. She knows exactly.

25:37

What she'd say. Uncle

25:41

lives in Semen Visual.

25:43

D C D C the

25:45

devil through school cell phone

25:47

then let. People

25:50

say in the did backed

25:52

up babbel the say we

25:54

don't a source may. See

25:56

the Alamo. Ls.

25:58

I'm always and. If

26:08

you happen to travel by train

26:10

in France, be sure to pay attention

26:12

to the announcements at the station. You'll

26:15

hear Siemens, Brazil. Loses system

26:17

then. And

26:20

Sissy first shared her story with us.

26:22

And Twenty Twenty One. Simone has expanded

26:24

her creative work. She shared

26:26

some of her favorite recent projects with

26:28

us in a message on What's app,

26:30

so you'll notice she sounds a bit

26:32

different from her original broadcast or decision.

26:36

The T le decision. The

26:38

city deserved it. Is. the

26:40

cooking z o was just

26:43

say photos and says. Do

26:45

you see if. Is. You see,

26:48

Season in New linked to.

26:50

Do is fix that.

26:53

The new movies that I move

26:55

was does a long silences a.

26:59

More diverse. That

27:01

presentation was for the nonprofit theater

27:03

companies seem on runs. It's called

27:06

Leo or Time Off. And

27:08

it brings classic French stories to

27:10

life too. Dramatic readings and semen

27:13

has also tried her hand at

27:15

writing or lake City. Is.

27:18

A day I look city

27:20

is a disease of them.

27:22

Didn't. Learn a new desserts

27:24

and there's a teaching me.

27:27

See how cool. To.

27:30

News Asm. Is

27:32

this death of his early

27:34

to subject of that sisters.

27:37

And yet to. A

27:39

he's seen on. It's so nice to hear

27:42

from you and the best of luck at

27:44

all your projects! This story

27:46

was produced and adapted by Adam the

27:48

Media's Loretta Gallia. It. We

27:51

love to know what you thought it is.

27:53

Episode: You can write us an email at

27:56

podcast at duolingo.com and call and leave us

27:58

a voice mail or audio message. on

28:00

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28:02

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28:07

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28:10

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app in the world. Duolingo

28:35

believes in making education free, fun, and

28:38

available to everyone. To join, download

28:40

the app today or find out more

28:42

at duolingo.com. The

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Duolingo French podcast is produced by

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Duolingo and Aronde Media. Our

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managing editor is David Arandete.

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Our senior editor is Laura

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Isensee. This season was

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produced by Lorena Galliot and included

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stories by Abigail Murda, Sarah

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Elsass, Adélie Beauchemin-Ponty, Camille

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Lindbaum, Estelle Njanjo, and

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Lorena Galliot. Natasha

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Ruc edited the original stories.

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Audio editors and sound designers

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were Martine Chaussard, David De

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Luca, and Samia Bouzid. Our

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mixing and mastering engineers were Luis

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Gil, David De Luca, and Laurent

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Affel. Roman Frontini

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is our production manager and Nicolas

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Sosa is our production coordinator. Martina

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Castro is our executive producer and

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I'm your host, Gauthame Poutoubelle. À la

29:36

prochaine!