Le Dorothy café - Paris
Paris’s Le Dorothy cafe is different from the other CWs I’ve seen. Their space is more of just a place where folks can come and hang out and get a free cup of coffee or tea and socialize or just hang out. (They serve a few other drinks too for the small price of a Euro or two, including beer and wine after 5!)
On any given day you might walk in and find folks playing scrabble or monopoly, strumming a guitar, practicing their English, doing work on their computers, smoking cigarettes, or tending the tomato plants in their back garden.
It isn’t a house of hospitality in the same way that many folks think of when they consider the CW. There aren’t homeless folks living there. They don’t run a soup kitchen. It's really just a place where folks can come and be.
During my visit I met visitors new and old. There was one couple who had lived in the neighborhood for years and while, like many French folks, they enjoy hanging out at a cafe, the neighborhood is gentrifying and it's more affordable to come over to Le Dorothy.
One day I was there, a woman had just had trouble with the bus and when she was forced to walk down a road she doesn’t usually traverse saw the Dorothy Cafe sign out front and entered out of curiosity. She happened to show up right as their first ever song sing-along group was starting up. She talked about how great her soul felt after joining in on familiar tunes, some in English and others in French. (As a regular CW song leader, it was fun for me to hear the unfamiliar but clearly beloved French songs they all knew almost by heart!)
While Le Dorothy doesn’t really offer “services” at their place, outside groups come by and use their place as a regular hub. The Thursday I was there was the busiest day I saw since there was an opportunity to get vouchers for food and clothing and other needs from one such group.
They host a variety of other events too. From speakers to music and dance performances to women’s circles to ceramic sales. I had a great time sitting in on their English language group! The topic to direct conversation that day was "tipping" and everyone was interested to hear about US topping culture.
You can check out their Facebook page to see all the awesome stuff they have going on.
Comments
Post a Comment