SA meets her first clown, gets face paint, and a duck balloon which she requested from the clown, in French, I might add!
SA rides the horsey at the park after getting her face painted.
D and SA on the carousel
It's 75 degrees farenheit and I am so thankful! Even though I look like Jabba the Hut and it took me a couple of hours to find anything that fit this morning, the weather is very bearable this summer, so I am counting my blessings. My sister in St. Louis is burning up in her air conditioned apartment with her 3 kids and no lights on. She has gotten so bored that she has taken to blogging about my life in France. :) Check out her entry called "Ma Soeur" at http://prettyfunnyforagirl.blogspot.com/ . It got D and I laughing so much the other night that I thought a response to her remarks might be appropriate.
First, she wonders why people insert French words into English conversation or why they use a French pronunciation for a French word. I guess I can only speak for myself and the insertion of French words in my conversation and my blog. It happens as I write and think that I often think things in French. I suppose that this is not too surprising since I live in France. Sometimes when D and I are talking in English, I use French words to express what I mean, because we are in a French context, and the French words seem to most adequately express the meaning that I want to convey. Then there are words for which there is not a good English equivalent. For example, "pain au chocolat". This is a French pastry that is like a croissant with really dark chocolate inside. So "bread and chocolate" or "chocolate bread" don't work for me. The correct name for this pastry is "pain au chocolat", so I refer to it as that. Then there is the question of pronunciation. Well, quite simply, words are pronounced most correctly in their language of origin. It is true that some words are adopted into other languages, like "croissant" into English for instance. However, it is a French word, so in order to pronounce it most correctly, I use the French pronunciation. I remember my French teacher in Greenville saying that she hated it that when she tried to order a croissant in an American cafe using the French pronunciation, people didn't understand her. I didn't understand her frustration at the time (before we moved to France) and I totally understood how someone in an American cafe would not understand the French pronunciation, "kwason". Now, however, I COMPLETELY understand her frustration and concur that words should be pronounced and understood in their language of origin. If you are going to use a French word in English, I think that you should know how it is pronounced in French, and if the French are going to use an English word, they should know how it is pronounced in English!
I most often run into this problem at McDonalds which really makes me mad as it is an American restaurant and the menu is still in English (for the most part). Here is me with my big pregnant belly and my very fiesty and energetic toddler trying to order a meal that I order about once a week (sad but true). I have learned the intricacies of eating at McDonalds in France which in and of themselves are very annoying. I have to specifically ask for extra napkins (or I only get 2- usually there are no napkin dispensers that are "servez- vous") and I have to ask for "cinq (5) sachets de ketchup" or I only get 2. When we first got here, I tried "beaucoup de ketchup" and they gave me 3 packets! Same story with the napkins!I suppose that they are less wasteful here in France, which is a good thig, but I do not like the fact that I have to make an extra effort in order to eat comfortably, i.e. have enough ketchup and have enough napkins to wipe our hands and mouths. So, anyway, they have happy meals here, and this is what we order for SA. Since the menu items are in English, and since English is my native language, it seems bizarre to me to have to use a French pronunciation for these menu items. Recently, I went to McDonalds and ordered her a "happy meal" using the English pronunciation for "happy meal" and the girl looked at me like I was from Mars, took a step back, then acted like she had to really concentrate on what I was saying and asked me to repeat what I wanted. She responded to me in the same way throughout my conversation with her even though I spoke French to her the entire time. This is what really burns me up- I have been here studying her language for 2 years and yes, I do have an American accent, but the least she could do is treat me with respect. And as for the English words on the menu, in my opinion, she has no excuse not to recognize them when they are pronounced in English. It is after all an American company that she is working for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND, it is my understanding that all French students are required to study English! One of D's favorite stories to tell about me is about when we first got here and how proud I was that I could order successfully at the McDonald's drive thru window. So, one day we drove up and I ordered, but I ordered my "chicken sandwich" using the English pronunciation. Of course the girl had no idea what I wanted until, prompted by my husband, I repeated, "cheeken sand-weech" which went over with no questions asked!
So I think my sister also mentioned in her blog the lethal "courant d'air" that the French are so afraid of. I really couldn't believe that my French teacher told me not to bring my fan to class as we did have a few really hot days and the classroom had kind of a greeenhouse effect (and of course, no air-conditioning). There I was with about a dozen other people of different nationalities- Brazilian, Russian, Danish, Mongolian, German, and French. I am not sure, but from sensory observation, I came to the conclusion that most of those cultures do not have a big market for deodorant. As you can imagine, that made for a challenging learning environment in the heat. :)
It is just hilarious to D and I as we are so enjoying this pleasant summer weather to see people with jackets and sweaters on even in the afternoon. Yesterday we took SA to ride the merry go round that has been here since the "fete de l'ail" (that's the garlic festival) this weekend. Yes, it is kind of hilarious that our town is known for it's delicious garlic! Anyway, they had a merry go round there, but it was very crowded this weekend. So crowded that SA was only able to ride the "bull" and the "pig". We tried to get her on one of the really cute, white rabbits, but they were always taken. Yesterday, we realized that the merry go round is still in town, so we took her for another ride. This time she got to ride the cute white rabbit with the pink saddle! While I was enjoying the pleasant breeze and watching D and SA ride, an older lady with a sweater came and sat down beside me. She could only take the wretched "courant d'air" for a few seconds before she moved her chair up right next to the cashier's booth (in order to block the breeze). We smiled at each other and she made a remark about the "courant d'air". I smiled and later D and I had a laugh about it as we enjoyed dinner in our "jardin" with a pleasant breeze. (Don't you think that "jardin" sounds so much nicer than "yard"?) Sorry, Abby, guess you'll just have to get used to my Frenglish. :)
...complete with an arrangement of my French countryside favorites- sunflowers (we have fields of these in bloom throughout the summer around our house- it's gorgeous- reminds me of Monet's paintings) and a lavender flower- I'll be making a dried flower wreath with these! Watch out Williams-Sonoma!
