1. The light switches and the door bells in the corridors look the same. How many people's doorbells did I accidentally ring?
2. The dorm is like the French bureaucratic system--super confusing and with lots of dead ends. One of the other stagiares and I couldn't find where the third one was rooming so we randomly started walking around calling out her name...
3. We bought a bottle of Rose to celebrate our arrival/first day of the internship. Got the corkscrew stuck in it. Rang eight doorbells before we could convince one of our neighbors to open it.
4. Needed to throw out the trash and didn't know where it was. After searching the maze of a building we gave up. Threw the trash out into the bathroom basket of the guest bathroom in the lobby. Probably seriously confused the guy walking past the bathroom when the three of us came out of it wearing Euromed shirts, carrying a trashcan, and laughing nonstop.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
La France : Part Deux--The Journey Back.
I'm finally back in France! But it's a completely different feeling. For one, I haven't been to Paris yet (and yes, it is killing me), secondly, I've had a complicated two days of travel followed by two days of intense work and am thus exhausted, and thirdly, I really haven't seen the outside of a airplane, train, my apartment, or the university where I work. Briefly--our flight to Chicago went smoothly, but then we were delayed for two hours so we didn't land in Charles de Gaulle until 11am instead of 9am; waited in a long line, finally bought tickets, got on the train (it turned out to be the wrong one--ours was supposed to be 30 min later--and we as we just barely made it onto that earlier train, we accidentally sat in 1st class and couldn't switch--luckily the controleur never checked our tickets) and the train stopped half way through the tracks. Explanation? Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see the train has stopped in the middle of the tracks. Please do not try to exit. It is broken and will be delayed an hour. Typical French. Anyway, got to Marseille finally. Thought we were being picked up and what do you know, there was a misunderstanding. Took the metro complete with several classes of children yelling and adding to the incredible heat; took the bus; finally got a hold of the woman who had our keys--and problem number a million and three. Our dorm was at the top of a hill. Had to carry all our crazy baggage up only to reach the apartment and realize I didn't bring sheets and they certainly had no intention of providing them. Ah, well, at least I know I'm definitely back in France, right?
Thursday, October 21, 2010
How to speak like a Parisian.
Ohh la la – not oooh la la (best said with a look of scandalous surprise)
Ah, bon? Ah bon… – depending on the tone of voice it could mean anything from “oh, really?” to “ahh, I see…”
En fait – literally translated to “in fact” this interjection is used in every other sentence.
Eh…ben…et voilà! – don’t know how to finish that phrase? Trail off with French onomatopoeia of
“eh’s, ben’s” and other such nonsensical “um”-like replacements. Just don’t forget to end with “voilà”
and make certain that the person you’re speaking with is where that’s the end of your thought. It’s like saying “well, there you have it!”
Écoute – “listen” chap, I’m going to start my every conversation with “listen”.
Vachement – probably equivalent to the American use for “very” or “really” – a rare French form of exaggeration, this word is used as a form of emphasis in oral language only.
Bétise – this can refer to anything from a baby throwing food around to teenagers using “gros-mos” (aka swear words). Generally refers to doing or saying something stupid.
Connories – a bit like bêtise, this word carries a more “funny..?” connotation – more like practical jokes than silly mistakes…? Hmm…hard to describe the difference. Shenanigans. That’s it.
Trucs – “things” or perhaps “stuff”. This word makes its appearance quite often.
Grave-bien – “grave” actually means grave as in “that injury isn’t grave, is it?” But apparently, the youngins have adopted as of late to serve as an alternative to “hyper”.
Sympa – sympa is used all the time and although it’s a shortened form of “sympathique” meaning
“nice”, it’s used to mean anything from nice to good to awesome. Mainly used in phrases such as “that concert/party/etc. was sympa!”
Bah…si, si! – si is a more forceful way of saying “oui” in French, and the only reason I mention it is because the French always have this exasperated look on their faces when they have to emphasize
something with “si” – I mean come on, didn’t you know that? “Si, si, c’est ça!”
Ouais – instead of “oui” they say ouais often enough – like our “yeah” – also inconveniently not noted in elementary French grammar books.
J’suis – Technically, je suis, meaning “I am” this phrase gets pushed together to sound like “shuis”.
En fait – literally translated to “in fact” this interjection is used in every other sentence.
Eh…ben…et voilà! – don’t know how to finish that phrase? Trail off with French onomatopoeia of
“eh’s, ben’s” and other such nonsensical “um”-like replacements. Just don’t forget to end with “voilà”
and make certain that the person you’re speaking with is where that’s the end of your thought. It’s like saying “well, there you have it!”
Écoute – “listen” chap, I’m going to start my every conversation with “listen”.
Vachement – probably equivalent to the American use for “very” or “really” – a rare French form of exaggeration, this word is used as a form of emphasis in oral language only.
Bétise – this can refer to anything from a baby throwing food around to teenagers using “gros-mos” (aka swear words). Generally refers to doing or saying something stupid.
Connories – a bit like bêtise, this word carries a more “funny..?” connotation – more like practical jokes than silly mistakes…? Hmm…hard to describe the difference. Shenanigans. That’s it.
Trucs – “things” or perhaps “stuff”. This word makes its appearance quite often.
Grave-bien – “grave” actually means grave as in “that injury isn’t grave, is it?” But apparently, the youngins have adopted as of late to serve as an alternative to “hyper”.
Sympa – sympa is used all the time and although it’s a shortened form of “sympathique” meaning
“nice”, it’s used to mean anything from nice to good to awesome. Mainly used in phrases such as “that concert/party/etc. was sympa!”
Bah…si, si! – si is a more forceful way of saying “oui” in French, and the only reason I mention it is because the French always have this exasperated look on their faces when they have to emphasize
something with “si” – I mean come on, didn’t you know that? “Si, si, c’est ça!”
Ouais – instead of “oui” they say ouais often enough – like our “yeah” – also inconveniently not noted in elementary French grammar books.
J’suis – Technically, je suis, meaning “I am” this phrase gets pushed together to sound like “shuis”.
The first time I heard this, I was blown away. This is also left out of French grammar guides.
Degolas- slang for “degutant” aka disgusting. Even the sound of that word connotes its ickyness.
Moche – slang for ugly. Used to express dislike. Also in every other sentence.
Marron – technically this translates as the color “brown” which is apparently funny given that this word is used in the exact same way as moche, however, it means “funny”.
Chier – a slang and a bit of a vulgar term expressing deep anger. But literally translates "to shit." (ex. ca me fait chier)
N’importe quoi – “Oh, that’s n’importe quoi” – roughly translated as “bullshit” this term gets thrown around, used anywhere from expressing an opinion on fashion to talking about a strike.
Nulle – literally meaning “nothing” this term is a bit like “n’importe quoi” in that it seems to serve nearly the same purpose and is equally untranslatable. If you say, “ah, bah c’est nulle!” you mean something like “oh that’s so stupid/dumb, etc.”
Drop the “ne” of “ne…pas” – “ne…pas” form the negative in French – the no, not type deal. And apparently, saying things like “j’suis” and dropping the “ne” in oral speech makes you sound more fluent, or just silly if you don’t know what you’re doing.
“On” in place of “nous” – nous is the plural form of “we” and “on” is a bit more like “one” however, in oral context you never say “we are going” as “nous allons” rather you say “on y va.”
Petit this, petit that…Petit, obviously meaning small, is added to everything. It’s almost like saying “cute” – or rather the way I use “cute” – for anything and everything.
Resto – an abbreviation from “restaurant”, it’s much “cooler” to say “on va a la resto”
Expo – in place of exposition which means “exhibition"
Degolas- slang for “degutant” aka disgusting. Even the sound of that word connotes its ickyness.
Moche – slang for ugly. Used to express dislike. Also in every other sentence.
Marron – technically this translates as the color “brown” which is apparently funny given that this word is used in the exact same way as moche, however, it means “funny”.
Chier – a slang and a bit of a vulgar term expressing deep anger. But literally translates "to shit." (ex. ca me fait chier)
N’importe quoi – “Oh, that’s n’importe quoi” – roughly translated as “bullshit” this term gets thrown around, used anywhere from expressing an opinion on fashion to talking about a strike.
Nulle – literally meaning “nothing” this term is a bit like “n’importe quoi” in that it seems to serve nearly the same purpose and is equally untranslatable. If you say, “ah, bah c’est nulle!” you mean something like “oh that’s so stupid/dumb, etc.”
Drop the “ne” of “ne…pas” – “ne…pas” form the negative in French – the no, not type deal. And apparently, saying things like “j’suis” and dropping the “ne” in oral speech makes you sound more fluent, or just silly if you don’t know what you’re doing.
“On” in place of “nous” – nous is the plural form of “we” and “on” is a bit more like “one” however, in oral context you never say “we are going” as “nous allons” rather you say “on y va.”
Petit this, petit that…Petit, obviously meaning small, is added to everything. It’s almost like saying “cute” – or rather the way I use “cute” – for anything and everything.
Resto – an abbreviation from “restaurant”, it’s much “cooler” to say “on va a la resto”
Expo – in place of exposition which means “exhibition"
MacDoh – the French translation of Mickee Dee’s.
Sarko – aka Sarcozy, the French president – clearly the French are fond of abbreviations.
Paris Insolite
Notice the toilet theme? That French sign says "defense from hanging posters/adds and urinating"
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
interrupter.
So, technically I'm no longer in France. In fact, I've been back in the States starting July 8th...feels to be about a week ago, but probably closer to two. However, I still have a lot to say regarding France, well, really Paris that of course I meant to blog about earlier and of course, I haven't. Typical me. Basically the next posts will be lacking in the authenticity that living in Paris and writing about it has given the previous ones, however, I figured while said thoughts are still buzzing about within my brain, it'd be good to write them down.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Amour, Délice, Orgue
Amour, Délice, Orgue: these three words showcase French grammar at its best. One rule comes with ten exceptions. These are the only three words in the French language that are masculine in the singular form and feminine in the plural.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)