Superbowl? What....

This time last year and this time for many many many years before I would be cooking, cleaning and getting the beverages cold for one of my favorite days - the Superbowl. This Sunday has always had a nice warm fuzzy place in my heart. A day you can get together with friends, family, eat, drink, laugh at commercials or groan at how awful they are, and yell at the tv. Yet as so many things have been this year - this Superbowl Sunday - just won't be the same. Actually to be totally honest I didn't even realize it was Superbowl until I was reminded while talking to my mom on the phone the other day. So on this lovely Parisian Sunday I am catching up on True Blood and practicing my passé compose and imparfait tenses of Francais, while remaining in my comfiest clothes ever. Yes that's right french homework on a Sunday afternoon, maybe surprising but.... Somedays this language thing ALMOST makes sense and I have found some good motivation to really start speaking French. Go - ha wow realized I don't even know who is playing the big game today- so go whichever team you want!!!! And please feel free to pass along the best YouTube clips of the commercials this way.

Coin Coin or Quack Quack

I think I have mentioned previously that the lunch conversation here always manage to revolve around really interesting and usually non-work related topics. Not that we don't like talking about work but I have found that at lunch here people actually take a rest from the day to day and give themselves a true break. Recently the following topic has come up multiple times with multiple people and so I feel it's time to share the research I have done on this. I know this has been a burning question for many of you but it's true French animals make different sounds then US animals. Ok maybe it isn't a burning question and well actually it probably seems silly and I am sure you are scratching your head thinking, "What on earth and how does this topic even come up once, never mind multiple times?!?! " So I will tell you....even though I am studying and practicing incredibly hard to learn the language occasionally words will pop up I don't know and I will need a translation. In the case of a menu translation sometimes it is just easier to imitate what sound or action the animal made (before it became my potential entree). Or in my Mom's case (love you Mom) it's an easier way to describe the dish you want for dinner (even though we now know French ducks say Coin and not Quack...) So I have compiled a list to compare the sounds that French and US animals make. I though this would take me forever but you would be surprised by the amount of info you can find by googling animal noises!! 


 You may find it interesting to know that bee’s are the only bug/animal that won’t need to take lessons to communicate with their relatives overseas.  

French Lesson (Leçon de français)

Had my first French lesson yesterday. Holy exhausting. I knew when I started this would be one of the most challenging parts of being here. It is also one of the parts I am most looking forward too. Being able to say I am bi-lingual or can at least sort of speak another language when I leave here will just be such an accomplishment for me. Not to mention how much easier it will make my day to day life for the time being!! This may seem dorky but I actually daydream about going to the outdoor market and asking for fresh fruit and vegetables or going to the butcher and getting one of those delectable smelling roasted chickens..... but until I can at least semi speak and semi understand those treats have to wait. Gives me something to look forward too though - have any of you noticed how much my life here revolves around food?? Ok just checking!! Back to French lessons. I will be meeting with  my teacher, one on one, twice a week, for three hours a week and then going forward maybe more if we can fit it in. I have about 150 hours worth of lessons to use this year, I plan on using as many of those hours as possible. So my first lesson went well, I think that is a good way to put it. I laughed a lot, mostly because in my head I sound very, very, very silly. It is unbelieveably awkward to say words in a completley unfamilar way. We covered the basics - numbers,where I live, my name, what languages I speak, how old I am - I actually told her the wrong age, said I am older than I really am, that is  how flustered I was. Hahahaha. Oh well. Once we covered my basics which we repeated back and forth MANY times she asked about my brothers and sisters and to describe where they live and where they work etc etc. What she didn't know is that I have six of them. Talk about a long and painfully tough exercise for me (probably her too). Let's put it this way by the time the first hour and a half was finished I needed a piece of chocolate, a glass of vin (wine - see I learned something) and a NAP. My brain honestly hurt.

I think the key to success here will be to stay motivated and practice. Which I think I can handle - so do me a favor and keep reminding me how badly I really want to learn this beautiful language.

Now I am sure you are dying for a sample:
Je m'appelle Heather
Je parle anglais
Je travaille chez Alstom Universite
Je suis une femme
Je suis (une- I think - the feminine/masculine stuff is a whole new story) coodiantrice evenements mondial
J' habitat en Paris dans le six-septieme
J'aime la pizza!!

Happy Translating : )