Dear Friends, 
Building on the success of the Lafayette Fellowship’s launch last year and following a successful Summer Leadership Program with our inaugural cohort, I am delighted to announce that applications for the 2027–2028 Lafayette Fellowship are now open. They will remain open through December 1, 2026. 
This program offers a unique opportunity to join the next generation of young leaders committed to strengthening the transatlantic relationship. The Lafayette Fellowship funds one year of master's-level study in France for up to 30 outstanding American students.  
Open to both Francophone and non-Francophone candidates, the program partners with leading French universities and grandes écoles across STEM, the humanities, the social sciences, and the arts, with degree programs offered in French or entirely in English. 
In addition to their academic studies, Fellows participate in the French-American Leadership Program, which provides an immersive introduction to French and European innovation, culture, and public policy, alongside mentorship opportunities. 
Last summer, our inaugural Fellows traveled to Paris, Avignon, Arles, and Marseille for the opening chapter of the program. Through masterclasses with leading figures, visits to major institutions, and unique cultural experiences, they discovered France from multiple perspectives while building a strong community of their own. Their journey will continue throughout the year, with additional sessions in Strasbourg and the Paris region. You can learn more about the inaugural cohort's Summer Leadership Program here. [ https://villa-albertine.org/va/lafayette/inside-the-2026-lafayette-fellows-leadership-program/ ]
As our inaugural Fellows now begin their academic year in France, we look forward to identifying our next cohort of Lafayette Fellows.  
Learn more about our upcoming informational webinars and additional program updates on the Lafayette Fellowship website.  [ https://lafayette.villa-albertine.org/ ]
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Florence Botello at lafayettefellowship@villa-albertine.org. 
Warm regards, 
Mohamed Bouabdallah
Cultural Counselor and Director of Villa Albertine
Founder of the Lafayette Fellowship 
French Embassy in the United States 

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October 31st Halloween, Oct 31st to Nov 1st is Samhain, mid september equinox to december solstice
The time of final main harvest before the winter. look at this dog, the ghost:) https://0512-97.tumblr.com/post/631277935457878016
 Story 1
https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-halloween-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=957
Story 2
https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/entry/261-halloween-art-or-text-craft-parade-good-news-blog/?do=findComment&comment=958
 
STORY 1
 

This was the party I planned for months to attend. You have to realize, this woman is so sexy, and is a star trek addict.  So, I usually am weak in the knees when I am around her. But she talked about the Halloween Party of the year the second day we met, three month ago. I love Mr. Spock too, but I will be blunt. I never saw a Vulcan as sexy as her.  
 
So, here I am. I am prepared to the party. I am dressed as a red shirt, willing to die tonight. I gave her a text and she said she was at the porch with friends. At the stairwell, I glanced at a Cheetara, not really complete; in truth she was more like Fairuza Balk, and I had an issue looking away from her cute face.  
 
It didn’t help me that she had a healthiness around her heart. As a gentleman, I smiled and she spoke to me. She said: “hi, my name is Mikaela, will you tell me about your world?”  
I replied, placing out my tricorder: “I come from earth in this collection of planets called the federation. But I arrived to this planet on a ship called the Enterprise” 
“Do you want me to escort you around my planet?” 
“why not, let’s try up there” 
We walked up the stairs and guided through the collectives of various people. At the top of the stars, we saw a guardian. 
 
I spoke in shock to my guide: “who is this, the tricorder says she is full of diakente energy” 
The guardian twirls and said: “I am Sailor Andromeda, can I be of assistance" 
I reply: "I have a guide from this world, escorting me around. I am trying to get to the porch, see what the mountains are like” 
Sailor Andromeda replied: “I will help, follow me” 
So, we three went to the porch. And I saw my chocolate Vulcan, kissing a male Vulcan. It occurred to me, I never asked her about her private life. I assumed because she never said. I tried to usher my party away but she saw me, and waved. So, I used my tricorder and ventured to her party. I must admit, the greetings didn’t help me. And, I recall little of the Vulcan I wanted’s smile or the smiles of the two other guys that joined us, one to embrace Sailor Andromeda, or the other to embrace my original guide. We ate food, under the moon. We moved our clocks back. And at the end, I hugged all three beautiful women. And went home alone. But I remember the night well because I saw my new neighbor for the first time. And, she happened to want someone to watch her star trek collection. 
Thank you for reading, if you want to read more of my work read below
Poetry or More
https://www.kobo.com/ebook/poetry-or-more-1
Bookbub
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49
AALBC
https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/
 
STORY 2
 
It is the night when the season is between the equinox in September and the solstice in December. The woods are dark or cool. The spirits of indigenous warriors are allowed under the Hunters Moon to inhabit the crows. The march of the pumpkins always arrives through night mid-September equinox or December solstice; they are filled with spirits of children killed before born by the hand of fate. But, in this rare night, the crows found assistance in the crows.
Usually, pumpkins have to travel far in the night to get their inner souls released. Most humans these days don't allow pumpkins to be housed for souls, cutting shapes that the spirits can naturally induce. But the spirits in the crows under the Hunters Moons know. And they choose pumpkins to free their spirits; they choose based on how courageous a pumpkin is. One of the pumpkins selected was the first to reach the top of the hill, any hop forward and it will slide down.
It tried to help the crows break it free by glowing as much as possible. Eventually, it became free and then absent the pumpkin shell, became a light in the sky. Like all others who became free, it lifted high enough to be seen as a star in the sky by anyone on the ground. And, per fate, a young witch noted the spirit in the sky, like a star.
She flew up into the sky and met the spirit and asked it, in an ancient tongue: "young spirit, I lost my ability to have children in an accident but I will love to be your mom, if we work together, I can help you get a body"
  The spirit reply: "Thank you, I didn't expect to be gathered by a human. I have been on the march for hundreds of years, since Wounded Knee"
  The witch opened her mouth and the spirit came inside. She slowly descended on her broom with a brightness, and went into her home for a cup of coffee. After a bath in herbal salts, she leaves her home, and sits on the grasses outside her home with a cup of coffee. Butterflies flied about her solar brightness in the evening, a new mother with a child honored by the warriors.
The End
Thank you for reading, if you want to read more of my work read below Poetry or More https://www.kobo.com/ebook/poetry-or-more-1 Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/richard-murray-16885e64-6c28-459e-bf5f-45c7d458ce49 AALBC https://aalbc.com/tc/blogs/blog/29-richard-murray-hearth/
 

Event details