The language lab. AKA "la torture". We listened to prerecorded phrases, and then had to repeat the phrase but change the verb tense, pronoun, etc. Our teacher would correct our pronounciation as she recorded our responses. It was a mind workout! Check out the French keyboard. Note: the lab did NOT make it to my top 10 highlights!

Top Ten Highlights of Language School

10) Arrival night, the sun had just set, the mountains were pink and the Christmas lights were on.
9) Wednesday evening meals with all the singles. We took turns cooking for each other.
8) Shopping at the Thursday open-air market. Lots of fresh produce, cheese, and live animals. (One of the three I never bought, can you guess which one?)
7) Going to the movie theatre, watching foreign films (from Senegal, Ethiopia, Israel) with French subtitles. And watching films in class, including Les Miserables.
6) The music festival (Summer solstice). Spent the whole evening wandering around Conflans and Albertville listening to everything from church choirs, flamenco music, traditional French music, belly dancing and a Pink Floyd cover band.
5) Hike in Annecy in early spring when the flowers were just starting to bud. Hike near Beaufort, dipping our feet in a mountain stream.
4) Church. I loved having communion every Sunday. No matter in what language or where, it is always a declaration of the risen Lord.
3) Studying, reading, etc on our terrace with a 360 degree view of Alps.
2) Getting to read French books (at a grade 3 level), read my Bible in French and sing in French.
1) The amazing friends that I’ve met here. Saying goodbye is always hard.

My French books and binder. Well, not quite. I had already handed in my conjugation book and grammar exercise books. So I stuck in the Paris and France travel books. : )

Losing English; Gaining French

Wow. I’m finished my French course. Reality has not sunk in yet. We’re done exams, and “graduation” is in a few days. I can’t believe I’ve been here for 6 months! And now with only a few days left in Albertville, I’m running around trying to do/see everything that I thought I’d have lots of time for. Including saying goodbye to some dear friends. : (

My time here has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. Lots of unexpected turns, nausea and wondering if this ride would ever end (and wondering why I got on it in the first place!). I’ve felt exhausted and exhilarated all in the same day. Learning another language has taken a lot more effort, brain power and time than I imagined. But it’s been worth it and a great experience.

Now I just need to “get out there” and start using all that is floating around in my head. It will be a different experience living outside this safe Anglophone environment. I won’t have fellow English speakers to chat with. I won’t have a teacher to correct my mistakes (and prevent me from embarrassing myself in public.)

It’s amazing the amount that I’ve learnt in these 6 months, but I still have so much more to learn. I’ve heard that it takes about 5 years to become fluent in another language. So I guess, we’ll see if I’m quoting Shakespeare in French in 2010.

But I’m pleased to announce that my English grammar, spelling and vocabulary are falling apart. Just last night, I had to take a few minutes to figure out where the adjective “more” would go in the sentence “I need one more cup”. I seriously couldn’t figure it out and had to ask someone to help me as I kept saying the sentence out loud and moving the adjective around. “I need more one cup? No. I need cup one more? No. A cup one more I need? No…” Yep. Good thing my computer has a spell checker. Although I might need to buy an ENGLISH dictionary soon.

The man of my dreams!

Fun With French Part 1

One of the things I’ve really enjoyed as I study French, is learning idioms or expressions and how they literally translate into English. Here are few of my favourites:
1) Viande a pneus: (driving expression) literally: “meat for tires” meaning a ‘pedestrian’.
2) Poulet: literally “chicken” A common word for ‘cop’ (but don’t use it around them!)
3) Ce n’est pas tes oignons. : literally « That’s not your onions » meaning ‘mind your own business’
4) Mince! Flûte!: literally “Thin! Flute!” meaning ‘Darn! Shucks!’
5) Tomber dans les pommes: literally “To fall into the potatoes” meaning ‘to faint’
6) Il fait froid comme un canard!: literally « It’s cold like a duck !” meaning ‘It’s really cold!’
7) J’y perdes mon Latin.: literally « I lost my Latin ! » meaning “I’m confused!”
8) Casser mes pieds: literally “to break my feet” meaning ‘get on my nerves’.
9) Arriver comme un cheveu dans la soupe: literally “to arrive like a hair in the soup” meaning a unwelcome or bad timed entry/arrival
10) Tirer le linge: literally “to tear the linen” meaning ‘to fart’

Bike race in Albertville, with Lance Armstrong

bizarre!

      C'est Bizarre!

    "C'est bizarre" is the English equivalent of "That's weird".  It's quite a common phrase and I've found myself saying/thinking it a lot since my arrival in France.  For instance, c'est bizarre that no grocery store gives you bags, you either have to purchase them or bring your own.  By now it's a habit to bring my own and pack my own groceries, but it did take a while to get used to it.  I think it's a good idea for the environment.  Everyone here has their own bags or baskets that they take to the stores or market with them. 

    Pay toilets: you have to pay 50 centimes or up to one Euro to use the bathroom in most public places (parks, train stations, etc).  So always travel with change!  I did get to see a self-cleaning toilet in Switzerland, complete with a revolving seat.  Wow! 

    Pay roads: if you want to travel on the autoroutes you must pay the road tolls, which can get pretty expensive.  The tolls vary, but a short trip between 2 nearby cities could cost you about 20 Euro.  But the speed limit is 130 km/hour and the road is in better condition than the national routes.  The national routes are more scenic, but it will take you much longer to get anywhere because they pass through every small town and village along the way.  So for me it's a nice change from the Trans-Canada Highway running through Alberta and Saskatchewan (yawn!). 

    Meal times are quite different here, normally the French grab something light for breakfast before going to work or school--maybe a croissant and coffee.  The lunch hour is usually 11:30 to 1:30 and if you live close enough to your home, you can enjoy the 2 hour lunch break.  If not, people usually take just an hour and then take the extra hour in order to leave around 4:30 pm for the day.  So all the stores and banks are closed during 11:30 to 2:00 but they are open later, usually until 7:30 pm.  Which is about the time that the French start preparing supper, in order to eat together at 8 or 9:00 pm.  Lunch is usually the bigger meal and supper is something simpler and lighter. 

    The school week gives students Wednesdays off in exchange for half a day on Saturday.  It's a nice way to get a break during the week but I still don't appreciate missing my Saturday morning sleep in! 

    The French get 6 weeks of vacation time per year and only work 35 hours per week (full-time).  The country practically shuts down in August because everyone takes vacation then. 

   

    And in conclusion, c'est bizarre that I can't think of any other things I find bizarre...must mean that I'm getting used to this place!  C'est bizarre!