Browsing the local Fnac for some Xmas gift ideas last week, I was struck by how the French feel the need to elaborate on American TV show titles. Some examples:
24 is called "24 Heures Chrono"
House is called "Docteur House"
Lost is called "Lost: Les Disparus"
Alas, the need to elaborate on the title is not limited to TV shows, as a few minutes of browsing on the DVD aisles revealed:
Brokeback Mountain is "Les Secrets de Brokeback Mountain"
The Crucible is "La Chasse aux Sorcieres" (the Witch Hunt)
Flatliners is "L'Experience Interdite" (Forbidden Experiment)
Curiously, Trainspotting was left to be Trainspotting. So not sure if the title changes are purely due to untranslatable idioms or undecipherable (to the French) symbolisms or what.
Of course, there is also the pressing need to change titles altogether. Examples are plentiful in the DVD aisles:
G-Force became "Mission G"
Terms of Endearment became "Tendres Passions" (not sure if that was an appropriate change)
Kiss the Girls became "The Collectionneur"
Steel Magnolia became "Potins de Femmes"
Mean Girls became "Lolita Malgre Moi"
My all time favorite is how the French translated the movie title "Home Alone" (yes, the one featuring Macaulay Caulkin - where is he these days??) - the title here for that is:
"Maman, J'ai Rate l'Avion!"
Literal translation: "Mom, I missed the plane!"
Don't you love it!?
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
French Spaces
When we were a long-distance couple, I used to find PeeWee's emails exceedingly cute. No capital letters whatsoever and quirky placements of spaces that left me with the impression that he was totally unaccustomed to typing. For example, he would write:
i had great fun hanging out with my friends ,you know them ,at bars tonight. we were so drunk ! you remember jean ?
It was all I could do to suppress all urges to print out the emails and whip out my red pen for correcting his use of spaces around punctuations. I often had the same urge when I got emails from French friends, who, similarly, seemed not to be schooled in this topic.
So imagine the astonishment I felt when Hana came home with a corrected test - she had been tested on writing on keyboards. Her teacher stressed in red that there must be a space before a question mark. I told Hana that this must be wrong. Her standard response to me when I say that these days is "google it, maman"
So I did, and this is what I found.
"Pour les points d'interrogation, d'exclamation et le point-virgule [typographie européenne] : une espace avant et une espace après." - meaning, for question marks, exclamation points and semi-colons, a space before and a space after.
Whoa! Whaddayaknow!? But why???? Do other languagues have different punctuation/space rules too? I know the Spanish put an inverted question mark before the questioning sentence; the French also use commas instead periods for decimals. However I had no idea about the use of spaces; all this time I was attributing that to carelessness or sloppiness. I've been corrected once again!
i had great fun hanging out with my friends ,you know them ,at bars tonight. we were so drunk ! you remember jean ?
It was all I could do to suppress all urges to print out the emails and whip out my red pen for correcting his use of spaces around punctuations. I often had the same urge when I got emails from French friends, who, similarly, seemed not to be schooled in this topic.
So imagine the astonishment I felt when Hana came home with a corrected test - she had been tested on writing on keyboards. Her teacher stressed in red that there must be a space before a question mark. I told Hana that this must be wrong. Her standard response to me when I say that these days is "google it, maman"
So I did, and this is what I found.
"Pour les points d'interrogation, d'exclamation et le point-virgule [typographie européenne] : une espace avant et une espace après." - meaning, for question marks, exclamation points and semi-colons, a space before and a space after.
Whoa! Whaddayaknow!? But why???? Do other languagues have different punctuation/space rules too? I know the Spanish put an inverted question mark before the questioning sentence; the French also use commas instead periods for decimals. However I had no idea about the use of spaces; all this time I was attributing that to carelessness or sloppiness. I've been corrected once again!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Where the Bad Weather Reigns
Anyone wondering why on earth we are thinking of up and moving yet again, take a look:
It's the ever unchanging weather forecast for Rennes.
If it's a sport in England for the English to complain good-naturedly about the bad weather, Bretons are downright stoic and even proud of their awful weather. "It's not raining, it's just a little drizzle" they would be saying, in face of rain that I would characterize as "cats and dogs". "It's so that we can better appreciate the sunny days", they would be saying during an extended dreary spell. Many of our friends have bought summer homes in North Brittany - folly of all follies in my opinion.
So here we are, contemplating sunnier warmer climes...
It's the ever unchanging weather forecast for Rennes.
If it's a sport in England for the English to complain good-naturedly about the bad weather, Bretons are downright stoic and even proud of their awful weather. "It's not raining, it's just a little drizzle" they would be saying, in face of rain that I would characterize as "cats and dogs". "It's so that we can better appreciate the sunny days", they would be saying during an extended dreary spell. Many of our friends have bought summer homes in North Brittany - folly of all follies in my opinion.
So here we are, contemplating sunnier warmer climes...
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
French Fillers
Fillers, as in, you know, ah, what people say when, uh, they don't really know where, like, they want to go with what they want to say, you know? Or, like, they need, well, more time to gather their thoughts?
Of course the French have their own fillers and they drive me CRAZY sometimes.
Hana has gotten into saying "eh bah" quite a bit, quite often. So if I ask her, "what did you learn in Science today?", she would start with, "Eh bah, we learned, bah, stuff like bones and the, eh bah, the reproductive systems" (yes, as a side, she is at that stage of learning already. Sigh)
She now seems not to be able to speak in French without the aid of "eh bahs". Whenever I tell her, "pls repeat without the eh bahs", her eyes start rolling and I know any day now she will start to ignore me when I say that. Thankfully she doesn't carry this into English. She doesn't actually use any fillers in English - maybe because much of the English she hears comes from scripted TV shows?
That said, Hana does not YET use another French filler that I personally find annoying, if only because I think I would never say it because it doesn't sound right coming from me, a foreigner. And that is "quoi" - that people add at the end of an affirmative or declarative sentence. For example, "c'est completement dingue, qoui" - "it's totally crazy or what" (I guess). Or "Je suis rentre vers 13 heures, quoi" - "I got home around 1pm, right?" - People add "quoi" at the end of sentences so often and this confused me first. I kinda felt like they were challenging me to dispute them, "quoi" being "what", as in "what, do you not believe what I'm saying?" or other similarly hostile end to a sentence.
I'll know I am speaking French like a native when I feel comfortable using these fillers myself!
Of course the French have their own fillers and they drive me CRAZY sometimes.
Hana has gotten into saying "eh bah" quite a bit, quite often. So if I ask her, "what did you learn in Science today?", she would start with, "Eh bah, we learned, bah, stuff like bones and the, eh bah, the reproductive systems" (yes, as a side, she is at that stage of learning already. Sigh)
She now seems not to be able to speak in French without the aid of "eh bahs". Whenever I tell her, "pls repeat without the eh bahs", her eyes start rolling and I know any day now she will start to ignore me when I say that. Thankfully she doesn't carry this into English. She doesn't actually use any fillers in English - maybe because much of the English she hears comes from scripted TV shows?
That said, Hana does not YET use another French filler that I personally find annoying, if only because I think I would never say it because it doesn't sound right coming from me, a foreigner. And that is "quoi" - that people add at the end of an affirmative or declarative sentence. For example, "c'est completement dingue, qoui" - "it's totally crazy or what" (I guess). Or "Je suis rentre vers 13 heures, quoi" - "I got home around 1pm, right?" - People add "quoi" at the end of sentences so often and this confused me first. I kinda felt like they were challenging me to dispute them, "quoi" being "what", as in "what, do you not believe what I'm saying?" or other similarly hostile end to a sentence.
I'll know I am speaking French like a native when I feel comfortable using these fillers myself!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Saint Martin/ Sint Maarten: Impressions
I had written about our trip but I decided not to post it because it just went on and on about what we did and ultimately I did not find it very interesting. I will, though, tell you about things that stayed with me as we ponder our possible future there.
1. The island comes across as a dump in a lot of areas. I'm really surprised at this. I know all Caribbean islands have the tourist areas and the local, much poorer areas, but St Maarten seemed even more out there, and even more so than how I found the island five years ago. We saw this on both the French and Dutch sides, but it can be a toss-up which one is dumpier. The Dumpiest of all, the Mullet Bay area on the Dutch side, is a disgrace. If someone ever put pics of that area in a travel magazine, it would def serve as a wake-up call to the Dutch Antillean government.
2. The French and the Dutch sides are completely different. Even though there are no "borders", you can immediately tell the difference, in the landscape and the road conditions. French roads are, for the most part, unbelievably smooth - a welcome relief to the car from all the potholes on the Dutch side. There have been no over-building on the French side, so it is more rustic and charming, I found. Marigot (the French capital) is still busy and appears disorganized, but not on the same scale as Philipsburg (the Dutch capital).
3. The Dutch side is American for all intents and purposes. Some areas are gaudy, loud, neony, like mini Las Vegas. The positive is that you can use the dollar and find most familiar things in the supermarket - this should not be discounted for me, I found it very exciting to be looking at Nilla Wafers and Dr Pepper cans in the shelves!
4. The illegal immigration population is apparently HUGE. From Haiti, Domican Republic, Jamaica, etc. Locals believe that this is responsible for a lot of the rising crime levels. It's a shame for an island that relies so heavily on tourism.
5. The Sunset Beach Bar & Grill was still a lot of fun! A definite must-do - it sounds cheesy but it really is impressive to watch the planes land and funny to watch the people struggle as they try to withstand the jetstreams of the departing planes. The constant chatter of the watch tower radio adds to the ambience. See pic below - taken by PeeWee:
6. The best pina colada of the week was at Taloulah Mango's in Philipsburg!
1. The island comes across as a dump in a lot of areas. I'm really surprised at this. I know all Caribbean islands have the tourist areas and the local, much poorer areas, but St Maarten seemed even more out there, and even more so than how I found the island five years ago. We saw this on both the French and Dutch sides, but it can be a toss-up which one is dumpier. The Dumpiest of all, the Mullet Bay area on the Dutch side, is a disgrace. If someone ever put pics of that area in a travel magazine, it would def serve as a wake-up call to the Dutch Antillean government.
2. The French and the Dutch sides are completely different. Even though there are no "borders", you can immediately tell the difference, in the landscape and the road conditions. French roads are, for the most part, unbelievably smooth - a welcome relief to the car from all the potholes on the Dutch side. There have been no over-building on the French side, so it is more rustic and charming, I found. Marigot (the French capital) is still busy and appears disorganized, but not on the same scale as Philipsburg (the Dutch capital).
3. The Dutch side is American for all intents and purposes. Some areas are gaudy, loud, neony, like mini Las Vegas. The positive is that you can use the dollar and find most familiar things in the supermarket - this should not be discounted for me, I found it very exciting to be looking at Nilla Wafers and Dr Pepper cans in the shelves!
4. The illegal immigration population is apparently HUGE. From Haiti, Domican Republic, Jamaica, etc. Locals believe that this is responsible for a lot of the rising crime levels. It's a shame for an island that relies so heavily on tourism.
5. The Sunset Beach Bar & Grill was still a lot of fun! A definite must-do - it sounds cheesy but it really is impressive to watch the planes land and funny to watch the people struggle as they try to withstand the jetstreams of the departing planes. The constant chatter of the watch tower radio adds to the ambience. See pic below - taken by PeeWee:
6. The best pina colada of the week was at Taloulah Mango's in Philipsburg!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Miss Remiss
I've been neglecting writing for a month... I read somewhere something that befits me perfectly: "I don't do much and it takes me all day"
Of course, that is not entirely true because I have been busy busy and busy. Sick, coughing kids; preparing for the trip to NY/ St Maarten; the trip itself and the messy aftermath.
Where to begin?
The trip back stateside was fun, as always, but too short (as always!). The girls had a great time, of course, and were happy to be able to celebrate Halloween there again. It did rain on Halloween and that dampened everyone's enthusiasm somewhat, but overall it was fun. After taking advantage of other people's tax money in Summit, NJ (the town and the Y there puts on a Halloween shindig every year) we tried a new area for trick-or-treating and the deco on the houses and the lawns were fantastic. Some pics:
One other reason for our visit this year: my grandma celebrated her 100th birthday on November 1st - I think she looks better than she did last year. Good to know that we have good genes (PeeWee's grandma lived to 96!)
Will post notes from St Maarten separately.
Back to the grind of "not much"!
Of course, that is not entirely true because I have been busy busy and busy. Sick, coughing kids; preparing for the trip to NY/ St Maarten; the trip itself and the messy aftermath.
Where to begin?
The trip back stateside was fun, as always, but too short (as always!). The girls had a great time, of course, and were happy to be able to celebrate Halloween there again. It did rain on Halloween and that dampened everyone's enthusiasm somewhat, but overall it was fun. After taking advantage of other people's tax money in Summit, NJ (the town and the Y there puts on a Halloween shindig every year) we tried a new area for trick-or-treating and the deco on the houses and the lawns were fantastic. Some pics:
One other reason for our visit this year: my grandma celebrated her 100th birthday on November 1st - I think she looks better than she did last year. Good to know that we have good genes (PeeWee's grandma lived to 96!)
Will post notes from St Maarten separately.
Back to the grind of "not much"!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Hana's So-Called-Life
Found this in Hana's English class notebook - they are learning to make timelines and the assignment in class was to create one marking the major events in their lives thus far (click to enlarge):
That Atlantis trip sure must have been sweet!
That Atlantis trip sure must have been sweet!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Gourmande
There are some English words for which there are absolutely no equivalents in French. One I've tried and tried to find the translation for is the word "wedgie" - a quick fun English word describing the back part of one's underwear being pinched between one's butt cheeks. Alas, there is no French word to describe this notion, which amazes me. You know how the Eskimos have like thousands of words for snow? Well, if you extend that rationale and see that the word "wedgie" does not exist in French, well, does that mean the French have never ever experienced this rather annoying but temporary (though sometimes recurring) and ultimately harmless situation?
Likewise, there are some French words for which there are no direct equivalents in English. "Gourmande" is one. You can say that Manolee is "gourmande" because she loves to eat. When you see someone taking third and fourth helpings of dessert, for example, that person would sheepishly look at you and say, "eh, je suis gourmande, eh?". You hear parents say, not altogether disapprovingly, "ma fille est plutot gourmande". Gourmande is not greedy - I thought it was, but it's not, because the English word "greedy" has a slight (or more than slight) negative connotation. Gourmande, as far as I can tell, does not have a negative connotation. A touch of apologetic tinge, perhaps, but it is not bad or rude to call somebody gourmande. You can call food items gourmande as well, if it's elaborately prepared and/or presented - which is why I had to chuckle when I found this on a restaurant menu the other day (see the second item):
Likewise, there are some French words for which there are no direct equivalents in English. "Gourmande" is one. You can say that Manolee is "gourmande" because she loves to eat. When you see someone taking third and fourth helpings of dessert, for example, that person would sheepishly look at you and say, "eh, je suis gourmande, eh?". You hear parents say, not altogether disapprovingly, "ma fille est plutot gourmande". Gourmande is not greedy - I thought it was, but it's not, because the English word "greedy" has a slight (or more than slight) negative connotation. Gourmande, as far as I can tell, does not have a negative connotation. A touch of apologetic tinge, perhaps, but it is not bad or rude to call somebody gourmande. You can call food items gourmande as well, if it's elaborately prepared and/or presented - which is why I had to chuckle when I found this on a restaurant menu the other day (see the second item):
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Progress?
I find myself going utterly frantic just walking the girls to school. The girls have a tendency (do all kids?) to look straight ahead or to look up at the sky - hence my frequent and urgent warnings "watch out!", "aaargh, look out!", "watch your foot! Your right foot! Your... oh crap"
Because, yes, it is crap, threatening to envelope our shoes every 18 steps or so. I rant about this so often but it just seems to get worse and worse. The other Sunday, there was a street "braderie" (a neighborhood yard sale) - and in the middle of the day, someone saw it fit to let his dog take a crap right in the middle of the busy pedestrian-thronged street. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. Off in the discrete corner? Why bother? My dog wants to poop now!
So I was mildly surprised to see the following boxes pop up - one by the Lycee Emile Zola, and the other at the Parc Thabor:
Alas, my surprise and pleasure at seeing this was somewhat tempered when I realized that the boxes carried no bags whatsoever. Hmmm. Enthusiastic dog-owners emptied the boxes at first sight? City officials did not bother filling it with bags (the "why-bother, nobody-will-comply" mentality)??
Progress, it may be, albeit at a snail's pace!
Because, yes, it is crap, threatening to envelope our shoes every 18 steps or so. I rant about this so often but it just seems to get worse and worse. The other Sunday, there was a street "braderie" (a neighborhood yard sale) - and in the middle of the day, someone saw it fit to let his dog take a crap right in the middle of the busy pedestrian-thronged street. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. Off in the discrete corner? Why bother? My dog wants to poop now!
So I was mildly surprised to see the following boxes pop up - one by the Lycee Emile Zola, and the other at the Parc Thabor:
Alas, my surprise and pleasure at seeing this was somewhat tempered when I realized that the boxes carried no bags whatsoever. Hmmm. Enthusiastic dog-owners emptied the boxes at first sight? City officials did not bother filling it with bags (the "why-bother, nobody-will-comply" mentality)??
Progress, it may be, albeit at a snail's pace!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Stupid French Grammar Rule: Part I
I rant about this quite often and it made me think that it may be entirely possible to create a blog devoted to this topic. So many rules and then... so many exceptions - with no rhyme or reason.
Part I of this series then:
Plurals of Nouns ending in -au, -eau, -eu
This is what Hana's textbook says:
Nouns that end in -au, -eau, and -eu take an "x" in plural forms.
Examples:
le rideau/les rideaux
le bateau/les bateaux
un cheveu/des cheveux
Exceptions:
The words pneu, bleu and landau take an "s" in plural.
In fact, there are four additional words that take an "s" instead of an "x", but they are not exactly everyday words. These are sarrau, unau, lieu (a type of fish; watch out, if you are talking about Lieu as in a place, it still takes an "x" in plural!), and emeu.
No explanations on why these 7 words forgo the rule and end in an "s" instead. If there are only 7 words, why not just make it easy for everyone and just make them take an "x" instead of an "s"?? Wouldn't that be simpler and easier for everybody? What does the Academie Francaise do exactly, could they not issue a mandate on this matter?
In the meantime, Hana will just have to remember which ones are the exceptions. The French language sure is quite taxing on one's memory!
Part I of this series then:
Plurals of Nouns ending in -au, -eau, -eu
This is what Hana's textbook says:
Nouns that end in -au, -eau, and -eu take an "x" in plural forms.
Examples:
le rideau/les rideaux
le bateau/les bateaux
un cheveu/des cheveux
Exceptions:
The words pneu, bleu and landau take an "s" in plural.
In fact, there are four additional words that take an "s" instead of an "x", but they are not exactly everyday words. These are sarrau, unau, lieu (a type of fish; watch out, if you are talking about Lieu as in a place, it still takes an "x" in plural!), and emeu.
No explanations on why these 7 words forgo the rule and end in an "s" instead. If there are only 7 words, why not just make it easy for everyone and just make them take an "x" instead of an "s"?? Wouldn't that be simpler and easier for everybody? What does the Academie Francaise do exactly, could they not issue a mandate on this matter?
In the meantime, Hana will just have to remember which ones are the exceptions. The French language sure is quite taxing on one's memory!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Random information I gleamed from the US media this week
> An average American buys 1 piece of clothing every 5-1/2 days (NY Times, September 6th)
> A boil is like a giant zit that, when popped, oozes out stinky pus (Youtube - currently making the rounds on the web, of two girls popping one on a friend(!)'s shoulder)
> You get tenured into the NYC education system after only three years of teaching - with only 3 percent failing to be tenured (the New Yorker, August 31st)
> Little Italy is now locally coined "Little Chitaly" - makes perfect sense to me! (the New York Mag)
> A boil is like a giant zit that, when popped, oozes out stinky pus (Youtube - currently making the rounds on the web, of two girls popping one on a friend(!)'s shoulder)
> You get tenured into the NYC education system after only three years of teaching - with only 3 percent failing to be tenured (the New Yorker, August 31st)
> Little Italy is now locally coined "Little Chitaly" - makes perfect sense to me! (the New York Mag)
Back to School!
School is a good thing. Kids at school is a godsend.
Even though Hana was whining that she didn't want the vacation to end (and Manolee echoes everything Hana whines about), the night before the first day of school they were both pretty excited. Then in the morning Hana set her brand-new alarm clock to 7am, about 45 minutes before she really needs to (since we live across the street from school) - and they were off:
Already I am learning a ton of new things with Hanaya. For example, last year we (or more specifically, I) struggled with writing numbers out in French, because of the senseless rule about not making eighties and hundreds and thousands plural if the number does not end in those specific numbers (it is hard to even explain because it is so senseless - so 80 would be quatre-vingtS, but 82 would be quatre-vingt-deux without an "s" at the end of "vingt". I am sure I ranted about this in some previous post). The first night of school, I learned along with Hanaya that when it comes to millions, you always add an "s" at the end, no matter where that falls in a number. Textbooks do not apologize for this random paradoxical rule that refutes all the other "exceptions". Sigh... of more sighs to come this school year!
Even though Hana was whining that she didn't want the vacation to end (and Manolee echoes everything Hana whines about), the night before the first day of school they were both pretty excited. Then in the morning Hana set her brand-new alarm clock to 7am, about 45 minutes before she really needs to (since we live across the street from school) - and they were off:
Already I am learning a ton of new things with Hanaya. For example, last year we (or more specifically, I) struggled with writing numbers out in French, because of the senseless rule about not making eighties and hundreds and thousands plural if the number does not end in those specific numbers (it is hard to even explain because it is so senseless - so 80 would be quatre-vingtS, but 82 would be quatre-vingt-deux without an "s" at the end of "vingt". I am sure I ranted about this in some previous post). The first night of school, I learned along with Hanaya that when it comes to millions, you always add an "s" at the end, no matter where that falls in a number. Textbooks do not apologize for this random paradoxical rule that refutes all the other "exceptions". Sigh... of more sighs to come this school year!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Back in Rennes...
Coming back is much easier when it is not raining. Also making the return easier are the Easy Macs and the Swedish Fish (running low on the latter already now!) - the Bendaroos made the trip, the unbreakable pitcher did not. Neither did the Nesquick Strawberry milk powder (though I think that is a good thing).
Meanwhile, these are the signs I am greeted with every which way I turn:
The French are STILL on vacation. The August holidays are no cliches, people really take them. I guess in Paris it is less so, because it is more tourism-focused, but here in Rennes, lots of stores close for the entire month. I still don't get it. How do they all manage to pay 12 months' rent on 11 months' income??
Meanwhile, these are the signs I am greeted with every which way I turn:
The French are STILL on vacation. The August holidays are no cliches, people really take them. I guess in Paris it is less so, because it is more tourism-focused, but here in Rennes, lots of stores close for the entire month. I still don't get it. How do they all manage to pay 12 months' rent on 11 months' income??
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Sad to leave NYC...
You can see why...
...
Seriously, my pack-and-panic routine has officially started as we go back to France Monday night. I did not buy that much this trip, but already my two big suitcases are full and I have lots of stuff left to go, hence the panic. For all the traveling I have done, I am an extremely poor packer. I can do ok for myself, but for the kids? I brought outfits and shoes for all possible permutations of weather and activities, and then some (however I neglected to do the same for the actual plane ride over, ending up with Manolee underwear-less for the last three hours of the flight following an unfortunate seating accident on the plane toilet). Aargh. Re-packing and re-thinking what I REALLY must bring back starts tomorrow morning (do I really need to bring back the unbreakable plastic pitcher I grabbed on sale at Target? The Bendaroos the kids begged me to buy? Can the kids survive without Pop Tarts and Easy Macs until the next trip?)...
...
Seriously, my pack-and-panic routine has officially started as we go back to France Monday night. I did not buy that much this trip, but already my two big suitcases are full and I have lots of stuff left to go, hence the panic. For all the traveling I have done, I am an extremely poor packer. I can do ok for myself, but for the kids? I brought outfits and shoes for all possible permutations of weather and activities, and then some (however I neglected to do the same for the actual plane ride over, ending up with Manolee underwear-less for the last three hours of the flight following an unfortunate seating accident on the plane toilet). Aargh. Re-packing and re-thinking what I REALLY must bring back starts tomorrow morning (do I really need to bring back the unbreakable plastic pitcher I grabbed on sale at Target? The Bendaroos the kids begged me to buy? Can the kids survive without Pop Tarts and Easy Macs until the next trip?)...
Saturday, August 8, 2009
To Flush or Not to Flush
Overheard the other night, Hana shouting at her cousin Leah: "Don't flush the toilet"
Leah: "What?"
Hana: "Don't flush the toilet!"
L: "Why?"
H:"If you are just going to pee, don't flush because I'm going right after you"
I didn't see Leah's face directly but I could just picture it getting a bit scrunched up, wondering why her French cousin would ask NOT TO FLUSH the toilet, thereby overtly breaking a sacred, always-abiding groundrule of a US household - to ALWAYS flush the toilet!
I have personally always trained my kids to always flush the toilet. To do otherwise would be - well, so French! You see, one of the horrors of French living that I faced early on is that they do not always flush the toilet. And they are proud of it. When I first faced the murky waters one morning, PeeWee told me that he didn't want to wake me up during the night. I told him rather flippantly that I wake up ANYWAY if he gets up to go to the toilet, so the flushing sound would be the least of my nuisances. He learned his lesson (he used to be so easily trainable!) and has now adopted the American way of flushing every time.
Now, after this episode with PeeWee, I assumed that it was a one-time thing with him and him only. Boy was I in for a surprise when his parents paid us a visit. I woke up to find, yes, murky waters again. I of course immediately confronted PeeWee. He sheepishly replied that his parents didn't want to wake us. I told him in no uncertain terms that to be awakened in the middle of the night by the flushing is music to my ears compared to waking up to find a non-clean toilet in the morning. I'm not sure what he relayed back to his parents, but I think something got lost in translation because this was a recurring theme during their many visits.
When I spent some time at PeeWee's parents' house, I woke up in the morning to find the toilet - well, used - and I laid out a big sigh, resigning myself to these quirks of the Merlet side of the family.
Then I was in for a shock. We had a friend of PeeWee's come visit and lo and behold, the same thing happened. I knew the guy pretty well so I asked him to explain himself and he said, "I didn't want to wake you up". A second visitor, a female this time, did the same thing and offered up the same explanation. I was at a loss. When I visited my good friend M in Paris, she said her (French) husband never flushes at night either. Then recently, I was talking with a mom friend at drop-off, and she said she had to rush home because she had to wait for the plumber and it's a real shame that her toilet decided to break down in the morning because it is already full from all the night time output.
HELLO?
Are you as stunned as I was? Do you find yourself asking -how can an entire population of a developed country be programmed to never flush the toilet in the night time? Was there like a national civic campaign urging people not to flush after, say, 9pm? Did they spin it as an economical energy conservation effort? Or just a common Gallic courtesy effort?
I wonder what the French say of us - "I couldn't believe it when I was awaken at 1am by Rae flushing her toilet! Can you believe it?" Us - wasteful, disrespecting Americans, flushing just like that, so nonchalantly, so carelessly - the nerve!
Now the fact that Hana was exhibiting that Frenchness is a bit of a mystery to me. I always ask her to flush the toilet, but clearly someone has told her it's okay for a toilet to receive two (or more?? gasp!) different outputs before flushing. I wonder if that someone is PeeWee, asserting his Frenchness on the sly. Hmmmm,...
Leah: "What?"
Hana: "Don't flush the toilet!"
L: "Why?"
H:"If you are just going to pee, don't flush because I'm going right after you"
I didn't see Leah's face directly but I could just picture it getting a bit scrunched up, wondering why her French cousin would ask NOT TO FLUSH the toilet, thereby overtly breaking a sacred, always-abiding groundrule of a US household - to ALWAYS flush the toilet!
I have personally always trained my kids to always flush the toilet. To do otherwise would be - well, so French! You see, one of the horrors of French living that I faced early on is that they do not always flush the toilet. And they are proud of it. When I first faced the murky waters one morning, PeeWee told me that he didn't want to wake me up during the night. I told him rather flippantly that I wake up ANYWAY if he gets up to go to the toilet, so the flushing sound would be the least of my nuisances. He learned his lesson (he used to be so easily trainable!) and has now adopted the American way of flushing every time.
Now, after this episode with PeeWee, I assumed that it was a one-time thing with him and him only. Boy was I in for a surprise when his parents paid us a visit. I woke up to find, yes, murky waters again. I of course immediately confronted PeeWee. He sheepishly replied that his parents didn't want to wake us. I told him in no uncertain terms that to be awakened in the middle of the night by the flushing is music to my ears compared to waking up to find a non-clean toilet in the morning. I'm not sure what he relayed back to his parents, but I think something got lost in translation because this was a recurring theme during their many visits.
When I spent some time at PeeWee's parents' house, I woke up in the morning to find the toilet - well, used - and I laid out a big sigh, resigning myself to these quirks of the Merlet side of the family.
Then I was in for a shock. We had a friend of PeeWee's come visit and lo and behold, the same thing happened. I knew the guy pretty well so I asked him to explain himself and he said, "I didn't want to wake you up". A second visitor, a female this time, did the same thing and offered up the same explanation. I was at a loss. When I visited my good friend M in Paris, she said her (French) husband never flushes at night either. Then recently, I was talking with a mom friend at drop-off, and she said she had to rush home because she had to wait for the plumber and it's a real shame that her toilet decided to break down in the morning because it is already full from all the night time output.
HELLO?
Are you as stunned as I was? Do you find yourself asking -how can an entire population of a developed country be programmed to never flush the toilet in the night time? Was there like a national civic campaign urging people not to flush after, say, 9pm? Did they spin it as an economical energy conservation effort? Or just a common Gallic courtesy effort?
I wonder what the French say of us - "I couldn't believe it when I was awaken at 1am by Rae flushing her toilet! Can you believe it?" Us - wasteful, disrespecting Americans, flushing just like that, so nonchalantly, so carelessly - the nerve!
Now the fact that Hana was exhibiting that Frenchness is a bit of a mystery to me. I always ask her to flush the toilet, but clearly someone has told her it's okay for a toilet to receive two (or more?? gasp!) different outputs before flushing. I wonder if that someone is PeeWee, asserting his Frenchness on the sly. Hmmmm,...
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The Land of $3 Ben & Jerry's
The US is indeed the land of plenty - and cheap! When there was news that a woman was crushed to death at Wal-Marts by people rushing to score $29 DVD players, my first thought was not, OMG how tragic that she was killed, but OMG how can that cost only $29?
Anyway, it is such a pleasant experience to visit a supermarket in the US. Things that are considered luxury items in France are downright bargains - the other day at the local Waldbaums, I saw pints of Ben & Jerry ice cream being offered at 2 for $6. In France one measly pint goes for at least 5.95 euros. And the choice of flavors are utterly staggering here - and at that price, one can afford to try them all! In France, we count ourselves lucky if we find more than two flavors at any one store.
The girls had a great day running through the giant Toys R Us in Times Square (they still love the ferris wheel) and the Nintendo Store, where an interactive Mario kept the kids entertained for a good while. The Candyland King was a hit too - see below:
No wonder Hana calls NY the greatest country in the world!!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
French (baby) butts
Slow month for posting... Been in the US for the last two weeks and have not had time to post anything. The month of July is a big blur - the end of school, weekend trip to Paris to meet up with friends, getting ready for the Big Trip - then getting here, going almost straight to NJ to my friend M's house where the girls had been signed up for camp for the last two weeks... am back at my parents' house in Queens and am just exhausted beyond belief. Feeding and washing up the girls tonight seemed such an endeavor!!
Anyway, the girls were at camp that was run at this fancy club in NJ and one of the things that I noticed was the ubiquitous signs asking, no, demanding that members ensure that infants and toddlers wear swim diapers AND plastic diaper pants on top. This is, according to the signs, for the health, hygiene and safety of all club members, and clearly directed unprepared members to the club store for purchasing the required items. Looking around the resort-looking outdoor pool, the American toddlers playing around all seemed to have huge butts, with their wet swim diapers and the plastic pants barely covering them.
Such a contrast to the pools in France - I have yet to be in one which demands that kids wear swim diapers. The result: very svelte French baby butts in the pool - but god knows what goes on in the pool!!! And I know all those kids cannot be toilet-trained!
On that disturbing note, I take leave now and will be back when I am feeling less lethargic and more rested!
Anyway, the girls were at camp that was run at this fancy club in NJ and one of the things that I noticed was the ubiquitous signs asking, no, demanding that members ensure that infants and toddlers wear swim diapers AND plastic diaper pants on top. This is, according to the signs, for the health, hygiene and safety of all club members, and clearly directed unprepared members to the club store for purchasing the required items. Looking around the resort-looking outdoor pool, the American toddlers playing around all seemed to have huge butts, with their wet swim diapers and the plastic pants barely covering them.
Such a contrast to the pools in France - I have yet to be in one which demands that kids wear swim diapers. The result: very svelte French baby butts in the pool - but god knows what goes on in the pool!!! And I know all those kids cannot be toilet-trained!
On that disturbing note, I take leave now and will be back when I am feeling less lethargic and more rested!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
French Cursing (otherwise known as Big Words)
One skill I have not yet developed in French is the ability to curse. Ability to curse someone out, to be precise. Now, I don't usually curse people out in English either, but when I have strong adverse feelings I like to be able to express them, if only under my breath or behind someone's back. When I curse in French, I think I just sound ridiculous. 'Tis a pity, because I have had lots of missed opportunities, especially with people who do not curb their dogs or act like they are doing you a huge favor when in fact they are just performing a job that they are paid for. I practice, but it's not easy because the French have a particular way of cursing.
I do love it when the French curse. I love it because they just don't seem to be satisfied with just one swear word. Americans or the English can be very expressive with just one word, usually the F-word or the S- word. The French however usually string a few of them together when they are pissed off, which is new to me - so PeeWee, for example, would say something like "putain fait chier bordel de merde c'est pas vrai!" - which is actually like 4 curse words strung together, accentuated by the final "c'est pas vrai" ("it's not true")
What really is amusing to me is that the French actually say that last part a lot. I would say something like, "Manolee woke up again at 4 in the morning" and they would say to me "c'est pas vrai". Or I would say something like "the teachers are going on strike again Tuesday" and they would say "c'est pas vrai". And I always have this urge to say, why are you saying it's not true? It's true! It's absolutely true! Why would I lie? Or when I hear someone absolutely devastated, for example, because they have misplaced their wallet, and they say "c'est pas vrai!" - I just want to say to them "face it, sista, it's true! Shit happens!"
The kids call curse words "les gros mots" - direct translation: "Big Words". You would hear a mom in the playground admonishing her kid "do not say those big words" - but to me, "big words" sound like those multi-syllable SAT words that a kid should be congratulated for using in everyday context. So when Hana came home one day and said, oh so-and-so said a big word and was sent to the principal - my reaction to her was: "c'est pas vrai!"
I do love it when the French curse. I love it because they just don't seem to be satisfied with just one swear word. Americans or the English can be very expressive with just one word, usually the F-word or the S- word. The French however usually string a few of them together when they are pissed off, which is new to me - so PeeWee, for example, would say something like "putain fait chier bordel de merde c'est pas vrai!" - which is actually like 4 curse words strung together, accentuated by the final "c'est pas vrai" ("it's not true")
What really is amusing to me is that the French actually say that last part a lot. I would say something like, "Manolee woke up again at 4 in the morning" and they would say to me "c'est pas vrai". Or I would say something like "the teachers are going on strike again Tuesday" and they would say "c'est pas vrai". And I always have this urge to say, why are you saying it's not true? It's true! It's absolutely true! Why would I lie? Or when I hear someone absolutely devastated, for example, because they have misplaced their wallet, and they say "c'est pas vrai!" - I just want to say to them "face it, sista, it's true! Shit happens!"
The kids call curse words "les gros mots" - direct translation: "Big Words". You would hear a mom in the playground admonishing her kid "do not say those big words" - but to me, "big words" sound like those multi-syllable SAT words that a kid should be congratulated for using in everyday context. So when Hana came home one day and said, oh so-and-so said a big word and was sent to the principal - my reaction to her was: "c'est pas vrai!"
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Beware the .... Herisson...
For a couple of weeks now I've developed this utterly strong dependency on something called les Herissons. "Herisson" is French for hedgehogs - and the version I'm hopelessly hooked on is the candy version - more specifically, a piece of half-moon shaped marshmallow topped with rice puffs and a sliver of caramel, all of it enveloped in milk chocolate. It's not anything fancy, they come in a bag of maybe 12 for 2 euros 50 centimes.
Ah but they are very addicting. I've been watching my sugar quite successfully ever since my two encounters with gestational diabetes, but all that has gone out the window the day I discovered the Herissons. I bought it because Hana wanted it. I started having one after dinner - one little piece, so I even felt pretty guilt-free. Then I began to double my pleasure by having two after dinner. Then two after lunch too. After a couple of days I found myself jittery thinking that I need to make a Herisson run and now it's pretty much become my standard after-meal treat. Hana does not even eat it anymore (all the more for me!). I found myself worrying the other day that I should have to bring several packs of these to NY this summer (though I would risk them all melting) because I am not sure if there is an equivalent candy stateside!
I do go in and out of phases with food, so I hope this is just a passing fancy. I do remember the days in high school when I had to had a Skor bar everyday (they are so good that my sister was caught shoplifting it at the tender age of 7). Then my freshman year in college for about two months I remember getting a Snickers bar every night before catching the Simpsons - yes, every night. While I was working at Booz Allen, I had hummus for dinner for about 7 weeks straight. So for the sake of my blood sugar level, I hope this is just in passing - else I will have to go cold-turkey one of these days!
Yum!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Les Fetes des Parents
June this year hosted both Mother's AND Father's Day in France. Usually Mother's Day falls on the last Sunday of May (see previous post) but since this year Pentecost fell on that same Sunday, Mother's Day was placed on the first Sunday of June. Father's Day was on the third Sunday of June, just as in the US (whoa! For once!)
French children make crafts for both moms and dads at school, and they also always learn a poem by heart, to be recited to the beaming parents back at home (not sure they do this in the US? Hana did not in her nursery days in Forest Hills, nor in England). This starts at the pre-pre-pre-K level (age 3). It was quite amazing to hear Manolee recite a poem last year and I was no less amazed this year. As gifts, I received a cardboard frame with a picture of me (as drawn by Manolee) and a felt necklace from Hanaya.
What I loved also was a series of essays that Hana had to write in her English class - she had to answer a question and illustrate her answer. Here is one example (you can click to enlarge):
I had a lovely Mother's Day weekend in that I did not cook at all - it was quite a treat not to worry about the next meal. Granted, the Sunday dinner was at McDonald's (which was packed, by the way) but it was nice nonetheless. PeeWee also surprised me with quite a lovely gift! Maybe he's been reading my rants here...?
For Father's Day, Hana had made a nifty man-bracelet and Manolee had decorated a clay pot.
Lovely to see the girls so proud of their handiwork! Thank you, my babies!
French children make crafts for both moms and dads at school, and they also always learn a poem by heart, to be recited to the beaming parents back at home (not sure they do this in the US? Hana did not in her nursery days in Forest Hills, nor in England). This starts at the pre-pre-pre-K level (age 3). It was quite amazing to hear Manolee recite a poem last year and I was no less amazed this year. As gifts, I received a cardboard frame with a picture of me (as drawn by Manolee) and a felt necklace from Hanaya.
What I loved also was a series of essays that Hana had to write in her English class - she had to answer a question and illustrate her answer. Here is one example (you can click to enlarge):
I had a lovely Mother's Day weekend in that I did not cook at all - it was quite a treat not to worry about the next meal. Granted, the Sunday dinner was at McDonald's (which was packed, by the way) but it was nice nonetheless. PeeWee also surprised me with quite a lovely gift! Maybe he's been reading my rants here...?
For Father's Day, Hana had made a nifty man-bracelet and Manolee had decorated a clay pot.
Lovely to see the girls so proud of their handiwork! Thank you, my babies!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The Day We Had Fun with Food Coloring (otherwise known as Hanaya's birthday)
Aren't those frosting colors magnificent?
PeeWee and I discovered food coloring. I wanted to make colored frosting for some cupcakes that I was baking for Hana's birthday party and I had PeeWee help me mix the butter and sugar, since my wrist is still shot and I don't use an electric mixer (nothing philosophical about that, by the way - I just don't own one and haven't got around to buying one). Well, once PeeWee saw what I intended to do with food coloring, it got all v serious. So serious in fact that when guests started showing up we didn't even bother greeting the parents - we just stayed in the kitchen concocting different colors! PeeWee even managed what we coined a "tutti frutti" color - a beautiful swirl of bubble gum pink in a sea of lavender.
The party was quite hectic - we had way too many girls in the house. We have quite a large apartment, but once the throng spread out, it was hard to get everyone in the same room at the same time for games, for crafts, for cake, etc. It was also hard not to marvel at how much girls scream - for virtually every single thing. At times it was positively deafening to hear the girls ohh, aah, nooooo, and oh-la-la at maximum volume every few seconds.
It was fun though - the girls played Human Bingo, Ape-Man-Girl (a variation of rock-paper-scissors), Line-up (a game supposedly played in silence - but yes, here again the girls proved infinitely capable of making much noise without actual words), and decorated a wooden wall hanging thingy with glitter stickers and markers.
I don't have a picture of the birthday girl by herself (with so many girls around, an impossibility for a solo portrait) and I am wary of posting pics of other people's kids here, so I cropped this one picture as best as I can:
Happy Birthday Baby!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sequential Logic
Having lived in France for some time now, I've come to expect the illogical in many things. However, due to my OCD issues, I find things still very hard to accept.
One of these things is the department numbers. No, not like Macys or Bloomingdale phone numbers. No, not like, the customer service department numbers. I mean the French "departements" - which are the different areas, sort of like the states in the US. It always gnawed at me how there does not appear to be any logic in how they are numbered. Now, I don't know why it bothered me so, because if you think about it, there are no seemingly logical rationale on how the state zip codes are numbered in the US (New York starting with a "1", New Jersey with a "0", California with a "9", etc). But I've focused on the department numbers here for some time, I think because you see them everywhere on cars (all license plates carry the first two department numbers) and I've been asking any willing counterpart (there are few and far in between, btw) the logic.
For example, the zip code for the department I live in starts with a "35". The zip code for Paris starts with "75". The department right north of us is a "50". The department right below us is a "49". I really thought the French had lost it with the numbering. See map below (click twice to enlarge)
Then we had some friends visit a couple of weeks ago. We were looking at the girls' collection of fridge magnets, some of which are to put together a map of France using department pieces. I laid out my usual schpiel about the illogical way the departments are numbered. And lo and behold, my friend had an answer! They are numbered alphabetically! Wow! Who would have thunk?
So the department of Ain is 01, Aisne is 02, Alliers is 03... so and so on, logically, sequentially and alphabetically! I was blown away. I see now that I have underestimated the French. Well I still think it would be more logical to number them geographically, but then I would be nitpicking, wouldn't I?
So there you have it - one of my first instances understanding the French system - and I partially approve.
One of these things is the department numbers. No, not like Macys or Bloomingdale phone numbers. No, not like, the customer service department numbers. I mean the French "departements" - which are the different areas, sort of like the states in the US. It always gnawed at me how there does not appear to be any logic in how they are numbered. Now, I don't know why it bothered me so, because if you think about it, there are no seemingly logical rationale on how the state zip codes are numbered in the US (New York starting with a "1", New Jersey with a "0", California with a "9", etc). But I've focused on the department numbers here for some time, I think because you see them everywhere on cars (all license plates carry the first two department numbers) and I've been asking any willing counterpart (there are few and far in between, btw) the logic.
For example, the zip code for the department I live in starts with a "35". The zip code for Paris starts with "75". The department right north of us is a "50". The department right below us is a "49". I really thought the French had lost it with the numbering. See map below (click twice to enlarge)
Then we had some friends visit a couple of weeks ago. We were looking at the girls' collection of fridge magnets, some of which are to put together a map of France using department pieces. I laid out my usual schpiel about the illogical way the departments are numbered. And lo and behold, my friend had an answer! They are numbered alphabetically! Wow! Who would have thunk?
So the department of Ain is 01, Aisne is 02, Alliers is 03... so and so on, logically, sequentially and alphabetically! I was blown away. I see now that I have underestimated the French. Well I still think it would be more logical to number them geographically, but then I would be nitpicking, wouldn't I?
So there you have it - one of my first instances understanding the French system - and I partially approve.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
May in France
May has got to be a French person's favorite month of the year. It is chock full of holidays and the French make a lot of bridges - a direct translation of "faire des ponts" - prolonging days off by taking an extra day right before or after a weekend. It's different from the US practice of taking a Monday off if a holiday happens to fall on a weekend day. In France, they do that too, but they also figure out a way to take an extra day off when the holiday falls on a weekday - get it?
Take May 1st, for example, which was Fete du Travail - Labor Day. It fell on a Friday this year, so there were unfortunately no bridges to be had (since it leads straight into a weekend). However, last year it fell on a Thursday so the French took the Thursday AND the Friday off to make a bridge to the weekend. This practice is all kosher here - all government offices and schools closed that Friday.
May 8th, the Victory Day - again it fell on a Friday this year so no bridges, but again last year people took Thursday and Friday off.
Before you start to feel bad for the French for not getting a heck a lot of bridges this year, the 21st was the catholic holiday of Ascension - and yes! It fell on a Thursday. There we were, taking that Thursday and bridging that Friday to make a long weekend.
To finish off the month there was Pentecost, another catholic holiday, on the 31st. Falling on a Sunday, the French took this past Monday off.
We the Merlets were able to take advantage of those two long weekends.
The first bridging weekend we first went down to the Golf of Morbihan, where a cousin of my MIL lives with a dog. The girls absolutely loved this dog. I loved it somewhat less. After a morning of the girls clambering all over the dog, we were able to extract the girls from the house with a bunch of false promises and visited Carnac - a coastal town southwest of Brittany that is more awe-inspiring than most, in that you find thousands of stone structures. I know I am getting all the terminologies wrong here (dolmens? mehnirs?) , but there are several fields full of these large stones lined up - stretching for what seems like miles. Some are not that big and not that imposing, although we did visit a fallen megalith that once stood 20 meters tall (66 feet for you Americans). I am not awed by much, but I did find this place kinda magical. The kids found it a bit less magical, however, and wanted to know every 15 minutes when we would go back to see the dog.
Later that weekend our good friends the Delacotes paid us a visit from London. It is always so good to catch up with old friends and we all had a great time - we even had a grown-up only night, leaving the 4 girls with a babysitter - luxurious! We spent an afternoon in St Malo - see pic below, how the Merlet girls are concentrating on the desserts and the Delacote girls are fascinated by the shoes:
The second bridging weekend we spent two glorious sunny days on the beaches of St Malo. As always, PeeWee started a sand castle that took all of 4 hours to build - the girls get all excited for the first 15 minutes, helping him diligently, then promptly lose interest. But PeeWee always perseveres, even with blisters on his hands, and a bunch of other people's kids always turn up to help him for about 10 minutes at a time. When the castle is done, of course, it is time to head back. I just sit back and read my book and shake my head.
All in all, a lovely month of May!
Take May 1st, for example, which was Fete du Travail - Labor Day. It fell on a Friday this year, so there were unfortunately no bridges to be had (since it leads straight into a weekend). However, last year it fell on a Thursday so the French took the Thursday AND the Friday off to make a bridge to the weekend. This practice is all kosher here - all government offices and schools closed that Friday.
May 8th, the Victory Day - again it fell on a Friday this year so no bridges, but again last year people took Thursday and Friday off.
Before you start to feel bad for the French for not getting a heck a lot of bridges this year, the 21st was the catholic holiday of Ascension - and yes! It fell on a Thursday. There we were, taking that Thursday and bridging that Friday to make a long weekend.
To finish off the month there was Pentecost, another catholic holiday, on the 31st. Falling on a Sunday, the French took this past Monday off.
We the Merlets were able to take advantage of those two long weekends.
The first bridging weekend we first went down to the Golf of Morbihan, where a cousin of my MIL lives with a dog. The girls absolutely loved this dog. I loved it somewhat less. After a morning of the girls clambering all over the dog, we were able to extract the girls from the house with a bunch of false promises and visited Carnac - a coastal town southwest of Brittany that is more awe-inspiring than most, in that you find thousands of stone structures. I know I am getting all the terminologies wrong here (dolmens? mehnirs?) , but there are several fields full of these large stones lined up - stretching for what seems like miles. Some are not that big and not that imposing, although we did visit a fallen megalith that once stood 20 meters tall (66 feet for you Americans). I am not awed by much, but I did find this place kinda magical. The kids found it a bit less magical, however, and wanted to know every 15 minutes when we would go back to see the dog.
Later that weekend our good friends the Delacotes paid us a visit from London. It is always so good to catch up with old friends and we all had a great time - we even had a grown-up only night, leaving the 4 girls with a babysitter - luxurious! We spent an afternoon in St Malo - see pic below, how the Merlet girls are concentrating on the desserts and the Delacote girls are fascinated by the shoes:
The second bridging weekend we spent two glorious sunny days on the beaches of St Malo. As always, PeeWee started a sand castle that took all of 4 hours to build - the girls get all excited for the first 15 minutes, helping him diligently, then promptly lose interest. But PeeWee always perseveres, even with blisters on his hands, and a bunch of other people's kids always turn up to help him for about 10 minutes at a time. When the castle is done, of course, it is time to head back. I just sit back and read my book and shake my head.
All in all, a lovely month of May!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
French Quirks: Media Spines
Media Spines? What the heck are those, you may ask. I'm talking about the part of books and DVDs, etc, that you see when they are lined up in shelves. Why is this blog-worthy?
Because the French do it differently! Now, I know I often let off steam when I find things that are different from the things in the US, things that I am used to. Whether these differences are unique to the French, I cannot say. I do, however, harbor some suspicions that the French decided on certain things because they HAVE to assert their very Frenchness on things.
So back to media spines. Why do they have to be different? Take a look (you can double click on the images if you have trouble seeing what I am talking about).
Books:
DVDs:
See how the American (and English, for that matter) titles are lined up, with the words top-down? The French titles are decidedly the other way, the words going bottom-up.
I am rather OCD about orderliness and this is one of the sources of my pet peeves, that the shelves do not look like they have been arranged properly. Anybody know why the French do it this way, pls let me know. Do the French have a different visual orientation? I need to understand in order to rid myself of this particular angst.
Because the French do it differently! Now, I know I often let off steam when I find things that are different from the things in the US, things that I am used to. Whether these differences are unique to the French, I cannot say. I do, however, harbor some suspicions that the French decided on certain things because they HAVE to assert their very Frenchness on things.
So back to media spines. Why do they have to be different? Take a look (you can double click on the images if you have trouble seeing what I am talking about).
Books:
DVDs:
See how the American (and English, for that matter) titles are lined up, with the words top-down? The French titles are decidedly the other way, the words going bottom-up.
I am rather OCD about orderliness and this is one of the sources of my pet peeves, that the shelves do not look like they have been arranged properly. Anybody know why the French do it this way, pls let me know. Do the French have a different visual orientation? I need to understand in order to rid myself of this particular angst.
Friday, May 22, 2009
French Quirks: Breakfast
I can't even remember when it was that I first came to PeeWee's parents house to sleep. PeeWee had his own place when I had met him, and I had only been to his parents' for Sunday meals. So whenever it was that I actually had to sleep there, I was a bit apprehensive of what may happen - and I wanted to be on best behavior, of course.
The morning after I arrived there, I got to the kitchen feeling a bit timid, not sure how breakfast conversations would go. PeeWee's first breakfast at my parents' house had gone something like this.
Rae's father: "So .. you eat French Toast?"
PeeWee: "Uh... no... not usually"
<< awkward silence >>
Rae's father: "So... you eat... French Fries?"
PeeWee: "Yes! Yes, I do"
<< awkward silence >>
So you see why I was so apprehensive about my first breakfast with them, especially since my French back then was much worse than PeeWee's English.
Well, his mom and dad greeted me with three kisses on the cheeks and asked me if I wanted some "tartine". I answered in the affirmative. She then handed me a piece of baguette.
I waited, my hand with the baguette suspended in the air, waiting for a plate to place the baguette on. When it did not materialize, I wondered whether it would be rude if I got up and fetched a plate for myself. I decided that that could indeed be construed as rude behavior, and I just continued to hold the baguette. When his mom and dad both sat down and proceeded to butter their bits of baguette right there on the table, with no plate to hold the baguette on, I thought - hmm? Is this how they do it? PeeWee then walked in, took a chunk of a baguette and started buttering it right then and there, with no signs that it bothered him in the slightest not having a plate.
As for coffee - well, I got handed a big bowl, I mean like a bowl big enough to hold two servings of corn flakes. I thought that was a bit weird too, but saw that they all had a bowl just like mine, so it was not an effort to single me out or anything sinister like that.
It's been a while since that first morning, and since then I've had the occasion to have breakfast with lots of French people in their homes. And the no-plate policy and the huge bowls of coffee in the morning are just, well, a very French way to have breakfast. Not even for the crumbliest croissants do plates make an entrance. And the big bowls are found to be very convenient to dunk bread in - and believe me, everyone dunks bread in their coffee. And breakfast is what Americans call "continental" - bread (usually a baguette), butter, jam and coffee. Never any hot food like eggs or bacon or pancakes or French toast even!
And they think the Japanese are weird for eating rice for breakfast!
The morning after I arrived there, I got to the kitchen feeling a bit timid, not sure how breakfast conversations would go. PeeWee's first breakfast at my parents' house had gone something like this.
Rae's father: "So .. you eat French Toast?"
PeeWee: "Uh... no... not usually"
<< awkward silence >>
Rae's father: "So... you eat... French Fries?"
PeeWee: "Yes! Yes, I do"
<< awkward silence >>
So you see why I was so apprehensive about my first breakfast with them, especially since my French back then was much worse than PeeWee's English.
Well, his mom and dad greeted me with three kisses on the cheeks and asked me if I wanted some "tartine". I answered in the affirmative. She then handed me a piece of baguette.
I waited, my hand with the baguette suspended in the air, waiting for a plate to place the baguette on. When it did not materialize, I wondered whether it would be rude if I got up and fetched a plate for myself. I decided that that could indeed be construed as rude behavior, and I just continued to hold the baguette. When his mom and dad both sat down and proceeded to butter their bits of baguette right there on the table, with no plate to hold the baguette on, I thought - hmm? Is this how they do it? PeeWee then walked in, took a chunk of a baguette and started buttering it right then and there, with no signs that it bothered him in the slightest not having a plate.
As for coffee - well, I got handed a big bowl, I mean like a bowl big enough to hold two servings of corn flakes. I thought that was a bit weird too, but saw that they all had a bowl just like mine, so it was not an effort to single me out or anything sinister like that.
It's been a while since that first morning, and since then I've had the occasion to have breakfast with lots of French people in their homes. And the no-plate policy and the huge bowls of coffee in the morning are just, well, a very French way to have breakfast. Not even for the crumbliest croissants do plates make an entrance. And the big bowls are found to be very convenient to dunk bread in - and believe me, everyone dunks bread in their coffee. And breakfast is what Americans call "continental" - bread (usually a baguette), butter, jam and coffee. Never any hot food like eggs or bacon or pancakes or French toast even!
And they think the Japanese are weird for eating rice for breakfast!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
My Quotable Kids
Ever on the lookout for a get-rich-quick scheme, I was dumbfounded when I found a book that all moms like me would want. It's actually not even a book. It's more like a blank notebook. However, the cover says "My Quotable Kid" and every blank page features bubbles for recording cute things that your progeny has sprouted out, with smaller bubbles around the page for recording who, when, where and at what age.
What a great idea for a mom or a mom-to-be? Why didn't I think of that? As it is, I have been recording my girls' funny sayings in a dispersed and somewhat disorganized fashion, and I immediately took to this idea. I had my sister buy it for me while I was in Seattle.
And while I am recording them on this little genius of a book, I thought I may share some of the gems here - so here is one of my favorites:
Where: Restaurant in London
When: May 2007
Dessert arrived for the girls - scoops of ice cream. Manolee positively squeals in delight.
PeeWee: (leaning over) "yummm"
Manolee: (snatches the cup away from his face): "no daddy, I no share with you"
PW: (burying his face in his hands) "boo hoo.." (pretends to cry)
M: (after looking around the table, assessing the situation) "Daddy, daddy, daddy"
PW: (looks up hopefully): "yes?"
M: (all sweet smiles) "Hanaya will share with you"
What a great idea for a mom or a mom-to-be? Why didn't I think of that? As it is, I have been recording my girls' funny sayings in a dispersed and somewhat disorganized fashion, and I immediately took to this idea. I had my sister buy it for me while I was in Seattle.
And while I am recording them on this little genius of a book, I thought I may share some of the gems here - so here is one of my favorites:
Where: Restaurant in London
When: May 2007
Dessert arrived for the girls - scoops of ice cream. Manolee positively squeals in delight.
PeeWee: (leaning over) "yummm"
Manolee: (snatches the cup away from his face): "no daddy, I no share with you"
PW: (burying his face in his hands) "boo hoo.." (pretends to cry)
M: (after looking around the table, assessing the situation) "Daddy, daddy, daddy"
PW: (looks up hopefully): "yes?"
M: (all sweet smiles) "Hanaya will share with you"
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
A Slice of the Morning Chez Merlet
This morning while I was testing Hana on multiplications and Manolee was reading through a cookbook on cupcakes (ever my girl, that Manolee), PeeWee jumped into the room growling, wearing a shower cap, a bath towel cape and a mad expression on his face. Manolee saw him in the corner of her eyes, did a double take, then took him in fully for a minute, and then went right back to her cupcake book, saying to me "mama, you have to make this one with the hearts".
Hana was the only one who was polite enough to chuckle (albeit weakly) for PeeWee. I just shook my head.
Ever notice old men who have only had girls in the family? They all got this somewhat defeated look about them, no? I think PeeWee is getting there.
Hana was the only one who was polite enough to chuckle (albeit weakly) for PeeWee. I just shook my head.
Ever notice old men who have only had girls in the family? They all got this somewhat defeated look about them, no? I think PeeWee is getting there.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Mother's Day (for 1/2 the World, notably NOT the French)
Tomorrow is Mother's Day in the US. The second Sunday of May, as tradition calls it. In France however, tomorrow is any other Sunday - the French, of course, cannot simply follow the US example (who officialized Mother's Day first, as it was) - no, it has to show its Gallic difference - and Mother's Day in France is .... the LAST Sunday of May. EXCEPT (and there is always an exception in France) if that last Sunday in May is Pentecost, in which the catholic holiday trumps and Mother's Day moves back a week - so this year the French will hold Mother's Day on June 7.
If I seem well versed on this topic, it is because I had to actually google when Mother's Day falls this year. Unlike in the US, where you start to see Mother's Day cards and posters before Easter, stores here are very muted (notice I said they "hold" Mother's Day, not "celebrate") - I spotted not one card for Mother's Day today (and we were looking at cards at 3 different stores for Hanaya, who absolutely had to have postcards depicting cats and dogs TODAY) - which is just amazing. The French always say days like Mother's Day and Valentine's Day are just too commercial in the US - and I guess they are right. However, I see nothing wrong with commercialism, especially when it is to my benefit. Being a now-stay-at-home mother of two, I wouldn't mind some recognition, you know?
Anyway I am once again dumbfounded that the French could not simply take the second Sunday of May to be Mother's Day. Didn't the Japanese? The Chinese? The Germans as well! OK so I know the British have a different day too, which was just a big pain as well because I had to always remember to buy a Mother's Day card in March (otherwise none would be around anymore when it was time to actually send it on to my mom in the US).
Of course, the fact that Mother's Day is a commemorative day without a fixed date, whether the second or the last Sunday, gives all the excuses PeeWee needs to not acknowledge either of the days. If I call him on that, he gives another one of his well-used lines: "the French do not do that".
On that note, happy mom's day to all out there in the US (and about 3 dozen other countries around the world)! I shall wish the same on my French counterparts in another few weeks!
If I seem well versed on this topic, it is because I had to actually google when Mother's Day falls this year. Unlike in the US, where you start to see Mother's Day cards and posters before Easter, stores here are very muted (notice I said they "hold" Mother's Day, not "celebrate") - I spotted not one card for Mother's Day today (and we were looking at cards at 3 different stores for Hanaya, who absolutely had to have postcards depicting cats and dogs TODAY) - which is just amazing. The French always say days like Mother's Day and Valentine's Day are just too commercial in the US - and I guess they are right. However, I see nothing wrong with commercialism, especially when it is to my benefit. Being a now-stay-at-home mother of two, I wouldn't mind some recognition, you know?
Anyway I am once again dumbfounded that the French could not simply take the second Sunday of May to be Mother's Day. Didn't the Japanese? The Chinese? The Germans as well! OK so I know the British have a different day too, which was just a big pain as well because I had to always remember to buy a Mother's Day card in March (otherwise none would be around anymore when it was time to actually send it on to my mom in the US).
Of course, the fact that Mother's Day is a commemorative day without a fixed date, whether the second or the last Sunday, gives all the excuses PeeWee needs to not acknowledge either of the days. If I call him on that, he gives another one of his well-used lines: "the French do not do that".
On that note, happy mom's day to all out there in the US (and about 3 dozen other countries around the world)! I shall wish the same on my French counterparts in another few weeks!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Stateside views
Got back from 10+ days in the States, most of it in Seattle where my baby sister is on maternity leave with her baby girl. It was nice being in the States on my own for a change (though I missed my girls terribly from day 1) - and it left me loads of time to contemplate life in the US and how things have changed or not so changed over the years.
One thing that caught my eye right away was on a restaurant menu. I'm used to asterisks next to menu items denoting things like, spicy, vegetarian, peanut-based, etc. But this time I noticed that every single asterisk referred to a dour sentence at the bottom, saying "Raw or undercooked food ingredients may cause food-borne illnesses".
Huh. At first I thought it was that particular restaurant being overly cautious. But there the sentence was, at every single restaurant that we went to. I guess it is a state-mandated disclaimer and the restaurants just want to cover their a**es. I do think this is somewhat over the top, though it does not come close to my favorite disclaimer of all times: "This shinguard does not protect the parts of the body that it does not cover". God bless America.
The other thing that was interesting was all this talk about the swine flu, which was just hitting its hysterics peak. But what interested me the most was that every day less and less people on TV were saying "swine" flu and were switching to "H1N1" flu - because of all the lobbying from the pork industry. The anchormen and women also said over and over, "Eating pork does not cause the flu". I found it funny that they thought it necessary to remind Americans of this fact repeatedly - but then again, 6 out of 10 Americans still do not believe in evolution, so I suppose it cannot hurt to be badgering the fact.
Anyway, back home now and back to life as we know it...
One thing that caught my eye right away was on a restaurant menu. I'm used to asterisks next to menu items denoting things like, spicy, vegetarian, peanut-based, etc. But this time I noticed that every single asterisk referred to a dour sentence at the bottom, saying "Raw or undercooked food ingredients may cause food-borne illnesses".
Huh. At first I thought it was that particular restaurant being overly cautious. But there the sentence was, at every single restaurant that we went to. I guess it is a state-mandated disclaimer and the restaurants just want to cover their a**es. I do think this is somewhat over the top, though it does not come close to my favorite disclaimer of all times: "This shinguard does not protect the parts of the body that it does not cover". God bless America.
The other thing that was interesting was all this talk about the swine flu, which was just hitting its hysterics peak. But what interested me the most was that every day less and less people on TV were saying "swine" flu and were switching to "H1N1" flu - because of all the lobbying from the pork industry. The anchormen and women also said over and over, "Eating pork does not cause the flu". I found it funny that they thought it necessary to remind Americans of this fact repeatedly - but then again, 6 out of 10 Americans still do not believe in evolution, so I suppose it cannot hurt to be badgering the fact.
Anyway, back home now and back to life as we know it...
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
London Calling
Took the girls to London for 6 days - visiting old friends and old haunts, and it honestly left me wondering why I was in such a hurry to leave the place both times I lived there (1995-1999, and again from 2004-2007). In hindsight, I think for both stints it was the fact that I was working at a job that I did not enjoy - funny that both times it was PeeWee who rescued me out of London - the first time to go to La Reunion for a year, and the second time to move to Rennes.
The girls had a blast. Manolee has no real memory of London other than what she sees in pictures, but she was able to appreciate the double decker buses and the Princess Diana Playground in Kensington Gardens (on the one day that it did not rain during our stay). Twice we enjoyed lovely Thai food at the best pub in London, Churchill Arms, where we were welcomed with hugs and kisses (it helped that we used to go there at least once a week when we lived there) and I introduced the girls to Indian food (Hana loved it, Manolee hated it). Hana got to catch up with a number of her friends and even got to go back to the Lycee where her 1st grade teacher recognized her right away and was very happy to see her.
I was getting grumpy towards the 4th day because I had done nothing for myself, just chauffering the kids around from one place to the next. Then our good friend K (in whose place we were squatting btw) took me and Manolee to Westfield, supposedly the biggest shopping mall in Europe - and my mood lifted considerably. The mall itself is very American and very well done - and best of all, Manolee behaved impeccably, letting me try on shoes and browse for nearly one whole hour.
Now we are back in Rennes, back in rain...!!
The girls had a blast. Manolee has no real memory of London other than what she sees in pictures, but she was able to appreciate the double decker buses and the Princess Diana Playground in Kensington Gardens (on the one day that it did not rain during our stay). Twice we enjoyed lovely Thai food at the best pub in London, Churchill Arms, where we were welcomed with hugs and kisses (it helped that we used to go there at least once a week when we lived there) and I introduced the girls to Indian food (Hana loved it, Manolee hated it). Hana got to catch up with a number of her friends and even got to go back to the Lycee where her 1st grade teacher recognized her right away and was very happy to see her.
I was getting grumpy towards the 4th day because I had done nothing for myself, just chauffering the kids around from one place to the next. Then our good friend K (in whose place we were squatting btw) took me and Manolee to Westfield, supposedly the biggest shopping mall in Europe - and my mood lifted considerably. The mall itself is very American and very well done - and best of all, Manolee behaved impeccably, letting me try on shoes and browse for nearly one whole hour.
Now we are back in Rennes, back in rain...!!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
White Hair Takes Root
While putting toothpaste on Manolee's toothbrush this morning, I glimpsed at my reflection and immediately strands of white hair came into view. I hollered at PeeWee to come extract the most visible ones.
Manolee stopped brushing her teeth and says in a very serious tone, "ma, I told you to try to not get white hair". Manolee just recently got this notion of mortality and aging (as did Hanaya at the same age, just over 4) and it's been bothering her that I am gonna be a grandma "soon". So here she is, telling me to try not to get white hair - as if she thinks the inevitable aging process can just be willed away.
Meanwhile PeeWee is not a guy to stop at just one white hair. He is just a bit OCD on these matters and he kept on grabbing another hair, then another, then another. So I tell him to stop so that I can help Manolee wash up. Manolee repeats to me, "ma, why you have so much white hair? I told you to try not to get white hair". I reply absentmindedly, "But I'm trying!" - then she really delivers the killer, with an air of authority - "By doing what? How are you trying?"
Sigh. Being yelled at by a 4 year old for not aging gracefully is not how I wanted to start my day...
Manolee stopped brushing her teeth and says in a very serious tone, "ma, I told you to try to not get white hair". Manolee just recently got this notion of mortality and aging (as did Hanaya at the same age, just over 4) and it's been bothering her that I am gonna be a grandma "soon". So here she is, telling me to try not to get white hair - as if she thinks the inevitable aging process can just be willed away.
Meanwhile PeeWee is not a guy to stop at just one white hair. He is just a bit OCD on these matters and he kept on grabbing another hair, then another, then another. So I tell him to stop so that I can help Manolee wash up. Manolee repeats to me, "ma, why you have so much white hair? I told you to try not to get white hair". I reply absentmindedly, "But I'm trying!" - then she really delivers the killer, with an air of authority - "By doing what? How are you trying?"
Sigh. Being yelled at by a 4 year old for not aging gracefully is not how I wanted to start my day...
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April Fish Again!
The Daily Candy this morning had an entry about a baby rental agency that just kicked off in London - for 89 pounds an hour, aspiring parents-to-be's can rent a baby, with insurance and a full diaper bag. I let out a small WTF - then realized - it's April Fool's Day!
And the reason why it did not take me a long time to figure out the joke above (I mean, it's not that inconceivable after all, a baby-rental enterprise) was that I was up till 11pm last night making fish pancakes for this morning - see below:
As I posted this time last year, it's April Fish Day in France. Manolee got a kick out of running around putting up a fish cut-out on my back, on PeeWee's back and Hanaya's back. She is too young to realize that you are supposed to do this without telling the person you are about to pin it on, and she keeps on saying, hee! look at your back! look behind you! hee! Then she insists that we pin the fish on her - the unequivocal and innocent joy in her voice just makes my day.
Happy April, people!
And the reason why it did not take me a long time to figure out the joke above (I mean, it's not that inconceivable after all, a baby-rental enterprise) was that I was up till 11pm last night making fish pancakes for this morning - see below:
As I posted this time last year, it's April Fish Day in France. Manolee got a kick out of running around putting up a fish cut-out on my back, on PeeWee's back and Hanaya's back. She is too young to realize that you are supposed to do this without telling the person you are about to pin it on, and she keeps on saying, hee! look at your back! look behind you! hee! Then she insists that we pin the fish on her - the unequivocal and innocent joy in her voice just makes my day.
Happy April, people!
Friday, March 27, 2009
The French Frown
I'm a McDonalds girl. Always have been. Never been a big fan of Burger King or Wendys, neither of which exists in France anyway (Burger King on Champs Elysee died a while ago). However, this week we ventured out to try Quick, a French fast food joint - it was Hana's idea because she heard from other kids in school that they offer a more mature happy meal with more mature freebies for bigger kids (Hana btw stopped getting Happy Meals at McDonalds long ago - she can down a full adult-sized burger now).
Where was I - oh but this posting is not about the merits of fast food or comparison between fast food chains, though that could have been interesting enough. Rather, I experienced something that has routinely annoyed me since my arrival in France so I need to rant.
So I get up to the cashier and start ordering. I am not familiar with their menu and they only have them up on the overhead board, so I am straining my eyes and making decisions and dealing with Manolee clinging to my leg all at the same time. As I order, the cashier is looking ahead and starts furrowing her eyebrows and making very strained frowns and leans forward. All those combined facial expressions and head movements suggests to me that she is trying to convey that she is attempting really very hard to understand what I am saying. Now this just really gets me pissed off.
Because I've seen that face before. Fairly often. French people make that same serious frowned face when I speak sometimes. Sometimes it's an apologetic "oh I'm trying and trying but I just cannot make out what you are saying" frown. Sometimes it's a downright hostile "what the f*ck is this woman going on about" frown.
I guess what pissed me off especially at Quick was that I was saying American words like CHEESEBURGER, but I was trying to say it like a French person, because if I say CHEESEBURGER like a bona-fide American, they would not understand that either! So isn't it strangely ironic that I, an American, am trying to say a quintessential American word like CHEESEBURGER with a French accent and failing at it so miserably that the cashier is frowning and straining to understand me? Do you see why I was getting all pissed off?
Thank you.
PS The more mature freebie in the Quick Happy Meal was 5 free downloads of MP3s, which did indeed please my more mature Hanaya. Oh and my kids were proven to be McDonalds girls too - they didn't like the food much at Quick.
Where was I - oh but this posting is not about the merits of fast food or comparison between fast food chains, though that could have been interesting enough. Rather, I experienced something that has routinely annoyed me since my arrival in France so I need to rant.
So I get up to the cashier and start ordering. I am not familiar with their menu and they only have them up on the overhead board, so I am straining my eyes and making decisions and dealing with Manolee clinging to my leg all at the same time. As I order, the cashier is looking ahead and starts furrowing her eyebrows and making very strained frowns and leans forward. All those combined facial expressions and head movements suggests to me that she is trying to convey that she is attempting really very hard to understand what I am saying. Now this just really gets me pissed off.
Because I've seen that face before. Fairly often. French people make that same serious frowned face when I speak sometimes. Sometimes it's an apologetic "oh I'm trying and trying but I just cannot make out what you are saying" frown. Sometimes it's a downright hostile "what the f*ck is this woman going on about" frown.
I guess what pissed me off especially at Quick was that I was saying American words like CHEESEBURGER, but I was trying to say it like a French person, because if I say CHEESEBURGER like a bona-fide American, they would not understand that either! So isn't it strangely ironic that I, an American, am trying to say a quintessential American word like CHEESEBURGER with a French accent and failing at it so miserably that the cashier is frowning and straining to understand me? Do you see why I was getting all pissed off?
Thank you.
PS The more mature freebie in the Quick Happy Meal was 5 free downloads of MP3s, which did indeed please my more mature Hanaya. Oh and my kids were proven to be McDonalds girls too - they didn't like the food much at Quick.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Rare Rare Rare
What you are about to see is so rare that I found myself gasping at the very sight of it:
Full five days of sunshine in the forecast!!
Me thinks Spring is just around the corner... Here's to hoping for a sunny one!
Full five days of sunshine in the forecast!!
Me thinks Spring is just around the corner... Here's to hoping for a sunny one!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Fate Brings me to Pom Poms
Funny thing, this thing about fate.
If someone told me even 4 years ago that they would find me at 11pm making cheerleading pom poms, I would have laughed that person out the door. If someone told me back then that I would be a full-time mom, with lists-making as an important hobby, and that I would spend many hours cooking, baking and (gasp!) ironing - I would have tried my damnest to commit that person to a mental institution.
Yet the turn of events have somehow brought me here...making pom poms... for a Carnival dress-up parade at school tomorrow. I'm not even sure how serious these parades are, but Hana has no costume that she likes anymore (princesses are so baby-ish, Daphne from Scooby Doo is too embarrassing, ditto for Batgirl) - so after many nights of deliberation we settled on a cheerleader outfit. Of course we have no such thing around, so we scrambled and found a tennis outfit that may do. But pom poms are a must to complete the outfit, so here they are, made with much maternal love, out of tissue paper:
Manolee, who has decided to dress up as a ballerina (no surprises there) also had to have pom poms, of course, so I made two extra ones.
Yes, funny, the thing about fate. Who would have thought?
If someone told me even 4 years ago that they would find me at 11pm making cheerleading pom poms, I would have laughed that person out the door. If someone told me back then that I would be a full-time mom, with lists-making as an important hobby, and that I would spend many hours cooking, baking and (gasp!) ironing - I would have tried my damnest to commit that person to a mental institution.
Yet the turn of events have somehow brought me here...making pom poms... for a Carnival dress-up parade at school tomorrow. I'm not even sure how serious these parades are, but Hana has no costume that she likes anymore (princesses are so baby-ish, Daphne from Scooby Doo is too embarrassing, ditto for Batgirl) - so after many nights of deliberation we settled on a cheerleader outfit. Of course we have no such thing around, so we scrambled and found a tennis outfit that may do. But pom poms are a must to complete the outfit, so here they are, made with much maternal love, out of tissue paper:
Manolee, who has decided to dress up as a ballerina (no surprises there) also had to have pom poms, of course, so I made two extra ones.
Yes, funny, the thing about fate. Who would have thought?
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
French Numbers
File this under the French Generally Trying to Confound Foreigners.
Any student learning French is bound to discover that counting is no easy feat in French. One to ten are relatively simple, if somewhat hard to pronounce ("deux" always gets me personally). Eleven to twenty can be hard, but pretty much mirrors English, so I am ok there.
But get up there to 69 and thereafter lies trouble.
70 in French, literally translated, is sixty-ten. Yes, soixante-dix.
71 is sixty-eleven. 72, sixty-twelve. And so on and so on.
But that is not it.
80 then is NOT sixty-twenty. Oh no. That wouldn't make any sense. 80 becomes quartre-vingts, translated four-twenties.
Wait, that is not all! 90, following this bizarre, unnecessarily complicated, lunatic system, is four-twenty-ten (quatre-vingt-dix).
WFT, right?
I've been learning French for over 10 years now and I got myself used to this somewhat. It does still take a while for me to write the numbers when someone is, for example, telling me their phone number - if they say for example, sixty, I start writing a 6, and then they add eleven or twelve or whatever, and I then start to be befuddled and madly cross out the 6 and start installing a 7 - crazy, I tell you!
OK but there is more.
Hanaya is in 3rd grade and earlier this school year was learning to write out numbers in letters. I saw in her notebook that 80 is written "quatre-vingts" in plural, with the "s" at the end, but any number beyond that loses that "s", so 82 becomes "quatre-vingt-deux" and not "quatre-vingts-deux". I told Hana that this is totally wrong, to always make it a plural after 80.
She came home the next day and almost cried saying that she got all her numbers wrong on a quiz because she put all the "s"s after "quatre-vingts". I was stunned at the incompetency of her teacher - how could this be? Lo and behold, when I confronted PeeWee with the indignity of it all, he calmly informed me that, no, in fact after 80 the twenties become singular and there is no "s" at the end of "vingt". Why, I screamed at him. Why? He then went on to inform me that the same goes for 100, apparently. So 200 is "deux-cents" with an "s" at the end of "cent". But make 201 and it becomes singular, "deux-cent-et-un" (I'm not sure if I am doing that correctly, with all the hyphens and the "et" thrown in - but you get the idea). Same goes for 1000.
Wow, I was stunned all over again. It got me wondering if there is such a thing as "No Child Left Behind" in France. How can you possibly make that make sense to a child? And if it does not make sense, do you then just go on to accept it? What kind of non-assertive, rote-driven, conforming children are we raising here? Quite a big issue, wouldn't you say? Apparently the Belgians and the Canadians and the Swiss all did sort of rebel and they have separate words for 70, 80, 90 - good for them. Of course, the French turn up their noses at their inferior grasp of the French language, but I much prefer the straightforward way of counting myself.
There you have it. The convoluted system of French numbers. All I can do is sigh... and hope that I write the numbers correctly whenever I write out a check.
PS After the above episode, Hana is reluctant to do her homework with me. If I appear not to really know the answer, she then instructs me to "google it, maman". She's now discovered, at the tender age of 8, that I can be wrong, very wrong, and that she knows more than me in some (many?) areas. Sigh...
Any student learning French is bound to discover that counting is no easy feat in French. One to ten are relatively simple, if somewhat hard to pronounce ("deux" always gets me personally). Eleven to twenty can be hard, but pretty much mirrors English, so I am ok there.
But get up there to 69 and thereafter lies trouble.
70 in French, literally translated, is sixty-ten. Yes, soixante-dix.
71 is sixty-eleven. 72, sixty-twelve. And so on and so on.
But that is not it.
80 then is NOT sixty-twenty. Oh no. That wouldn't make any sense. 80 becomes quartre-vingts, translated four-twenties.
Wait, that is not all! 90, following this bizarre, unnecessarily complicated, lunatic system, is four-twenty-ten (quatre-vingt-dix).
WFT, right?
I've been learning French for over 10 years now and I got myself used to this somewhat. It does still take a while for me to write the numbers when someone is, for example, telling me their phone number - if they say for example, sixty, I start writing a 6, and then they add eleven or twelve or whatever, and I then start to be befuddled and madly cross out the 6 and start installing a 7 - crazy, I tell you!
OK but there is more.
Hanaya is in 3rd grade and earlier this school year was learning to write out numbers in letters. I saw in her notebook that 80 is written "quatre-vingts" in plural, with the "s" at the end, but any number beyond that loses that "s", so 82 becomes "quatre-vingt-deux" and not "quatre-vingts-deux". I told Hana that this is totally wrong, to always make it a plural after 80.
She came home the next day and almost cried saying that she got all her numbers wrong on a quiz because she put all the "s"s after "quatre-vingts". I was stunned at the incompetency of her teacher - how could this be? Lo and behold, when I confronted PeeWee with the indignity of it all, he calmly informed me that, no, in fact after 80 the twenties become singular and there is no "s" at the end of "vingt". Why, I screamed at him. Why? He then went on to inform me that the same goes for 100, apparently. So 200 is "deux-cents" with an "s" at the end of "cent". But make 201 and it becomes singular, "deux-cent-et-un" (I'm not sure if I am doing that correctly, with all the hyphens and the "et" thrown in - but you get the idea). Same goes for 1000.
Wow, I was stunned all over again. It got me wondering if there is such a thing as "No Child Left Behind" in France. How can you possibly make that make sense to a child? And if it does not make sense, do you then just go on to accept it? What kind of non-assertive, rote-driven, conforming children are we raising here? Quite a big issue, wouldn't you say? Apparently the Belgians and the Canadians and the Swiss all did sort of rebel and they have separate words for 70, 80, 90 - good for them. Of course, the French turn up their noses at their inferior grasp of the French language, but I much prefer the straightforward way of counting myself.
There you have it. The convoluted system of French numbers. All I can do is sigh... and hope that I write the numbers correctly whenever I write out a check.
PS After the above episode, Hana is reluctant to do her homework with me. If I appear not to really know the answer, she then instructs me to "google it, maman". She's now discovered, at the tender age of 8, that I can be wrong, very wrong, and that she knows more than me in some (many?) areas. Sigh...
Friday, March 13, 2009
Me in the Eyes of My Kids
Tagged for this on Facebook - usually I don't do these but this one sounded fun. Though I conducted the interviews separately, it is telling how similar the answers are from Hana (H) and Mano (M):
1. What is something mom always says to you? H: "did you wash your hands?" M: "Good night"
2. What makes mom happy? H: "when I am nice with my sister" M: "Be nice with my big sister"
3. What makes mom sad? H: "When Manolee cries without stopping" M: "When I make a face at my big sister"
4 What does your mom do to make you laugh? H: "Tickles me" M: "Says Boo"
5. What did your mom like to do when she was a child? H: "Do silly things, like not wearing her glasses in class" M: "ride her scooter"
6. How old is your mom? H: "37" M: "18"
7. How tall is your mom? H: "199cm" M: "like this"
8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV? H: "cooking shows" M: "News"
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? H: "cleans up" M: "clean up"
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? H: "Baking" M: "Cooking very well"
11. What is your mom really good at? H: "Baking" M:"doing the cake"
12. What is your mom not very good at? H: "Opening hot things" M:"Opening things with sauce in them"
13. What did your mom do for her job? H: "Work at American Express" M: "Work at a hotel"
14. What is your mom's favorite food? H: "Ddukbokki" M:" pasta"
15. What makes you proud of your mom? H: "That she does not yell that much" M: "you buy something for me"
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? H: "Velma" M: "Tinkerbell"
17. What do you and your mom do together? H: "Shopping" M: "go take a walk"
18. How are you and your mom the same? H: "We both have the same thoughts" M: "we have the same t-shirt, but yours is bigger"
19. How are you and your mom different? H: "you like to clean up and I don't" M: "you have earrings"
20. How do you know your mom loves you? "H: "because she hugs me" M: "because I always do drawing for her"
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? H: "He's nice" M: "I don't know why"
22: What does your mom like the least about your dad? H: "He plays video games so much and when he comes late and he eats in front of the computer and he always plays dofus and one day in the shower he left me all by myself and then went to play dofus on the computer" M: "when he lifts me up by my feet"
23. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? H: "Belasie (asian supermarket)" M: "to the restaurant"
1. What is something mom always says to you? H: "did you wash your hands?" M: "Good night"
2. What makes mom happy? H: "when I am nice with my sister" M: "Be nice with my big sister"
3. What makes mom sad? H: "When Manolee cries without stopping" M: "When I make a face at my big sister"
4 What does your mom do to make you laugh? H: "Tickles me" M: "Says Boo"
5. What did your mom like to do when she was a child? H: "Do silly things, like not wearing her glasses in class" M: "ride her scooter"
6. How old is your mom? H: "37" M: "18"
7. How tall is your mom? H: "199cm" M: "like this"
8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV? H: "cooking shows" M: "News"
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? H: "cleans up" M: "clean up"
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? H: "Baking" M: "Cooking very well"
11. What is your mom really good at? H: "Baking" M:"doing the cake"
12. What is your mom not very good at? H: "Opening hot things" M:"Opening things with sauce in them"
13. What did your mom do for her job? H: "Work at American Express" M: "Work at a hotel"
14. What is your mom's favorite food? H: "Ddukbokki" M:" pasta"
15. What makes you proud of your mom? H: "That she does not yell that much" M: "you buy something for me"
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? H: "Velma" M: "Tinkerbell"
17. What do you and your mom do together? H: "Shopping" M: "go take a walk"
18. How are you and your mom the same? H: "We both have the same thoughts" M: "we have the same t-shirt, but yours is bigger"
19. How are you and your mom different? H: "you like to clean up and I don't" M: "you have earrings"
20. How do you know your mom loves you? "H: "because she hugs me" M: "because I always do drawing for her"
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? H: "He's nice" M: "I don't know why"
22: What does your mom like the least about your dad? H: "He plays video games so much and when he comes late and he eats in front of the computer and he always plays dofus and one day in the shower he left me all by myself and then went to play dofus on the computer" M: "when he lifts me up by my feet"
23. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? H: "Belasie (asian supermarket)" M: "to the restaurant"
Sunday, March 8, 2009
One World? When?
I just tried watching Season 4 of Grey's Anatomy on my laptop in my bedroom - thought it would be a nice way to wind down before going to bed. Much to my chagrin, an error message popped up on the screen, telling me that the region code for the DVD does not match the region code for the computer. Did I wish to change the region code? But hold on, it helpfully told me, you can only do this one more time.
Can't tell you how disappointed I am. I am tired enough that I don't want to go out to the living room to watch the dang thing. This different coding for DVDs is just plain annoying - and why did they put such restrictions in the first place? Having lived abroad for so long now, this is not the only example of such differences stumping me and annoying the heck out of me.
Example 2: Paper sizes
Why do papers have to be different sizes? In the US the norm is the letter size. In Europe, the norm is the A4 - slightly narrower, slightly longer. WHY?? It's not like the difference between the letter size and the legal size. It's a tiny teeny difference. I've also noticed that the US letter papers tend to be a bit darker and yellower than the A4 papers I buy in France. Can someone explain this to me?
Example 3: Plugs/voltage/outlets
Why oh why do we need different voltage? Can we ever envisage a time when we can travel without adapters? Not only adapters, some appliances also need 'transformers'. I blew up an electronic globe that Hana got as a gift (sorry, C and J!) because I neglected to use this transforming add-on. Why do appliances need to be transformed and adapted in the first place?
Example 4: Sheet sizes
Twins, Tall Twins, Full, Queen and King. Nice and Simple (though I did just see a size called Cal. King on Target Online today that puzzled me - hmmm, I must do a better job keeping up with such things). No such simplicity, at least in France. Why couldn't they just adapt it to, say, Jumeaux, Plein, Reine and Roi?? No can do. They go with "1-person" and "2-people", which in and of itself would be fine, but no, there is more. The sizes of the sheets are different. That I could probably live with too, if it was only that I have to deal with. But nooooo. The comforter cover sizes are different. The ones I have bought here are either too big for my US queen comforter so that the down gets lost in there, or they are simply too small so that the blanket does not quite fit inside. Simply maddening, is what this is.
Example 5: Game cartridges/discs
Similar to the DVD example above, our US-bought Wii only plays US-bought Wii games. Hello??? I suppose they don't want people buying cheap games from the US to play elsewhere, but then this brings me to the age-old question, why must everything (and it is, virtually everything) be so much cheaper in the US? OK that topic is tangential to this post so I shall fume about that some other time.
Example 6: Daylight Savings Day
This may not neatly fit in with the other examples, but an example nonetheless of senseless differences - today the US turned the clock forward to Spring time. We in Europe do not do this for another 3 weeks. Not sure which party is being stubborn, but oh can we just stop this nonsense?
I know there are many more examples but I am tired and losing steam. But before I close out, I must mention the metric system. Now that I am quite the baker, I've been stumped by US recipes calling for cups vs. French recipes calling for grams way too many times, not to mention oven temperatures in Farenheit versus Celsius. Also read somewhere that the US is one of only three countries not using the metric system (the other two are Burma and Liberia!).
So clearly we are no where near this one world utopia. Certain regional differences I can tolerate and attribute to important historical reference points or cultural quirks. But the examples of the differences above are just simply annoying and unnecessary! Agree?
Can't tell you how disappointed I am. I am tired enough that I don't want to go out to the living room to watch the dang thing. This different coding for DVDs is just plain annoying - and why did they put such restrictions in the first place? Having lived abroad for so long now, this is not the only example of such differences stumping me and annoying the heck out of me.
Example 2: Paper sizes
Why do papers have to be different sizes? In the US the norm is the letter size. In Europe, the norm is the A4 - slightly narrower, slightly longer. WHY?? It's not like the difference between the letter size and the legal size. It's a tiny teeny difference. I've also noticed that the US letter papers tend to be a bit darker and yellower than the A4 papers I buy in France. Can someone explain this to me?
Example 3: Plugs/voltage/outlets
Why oh why do we need different voltage? Can we ever envisage a time when we can travel without adapters? Not only adapters, some appliances also need 'transformers'. I blew up an electronic globe that Hana got as a gift (sorry, C and J!) because I neglected to use this transforming add-on. Why do appliances need to be transformed and adapted in the first place?
Example 4: Sheet sizes
Twins, Tall Twins, Full, Queen and King. Nice and Simple (though I did just see a size called Cal. King on Target Online today that puzzled me - hmmm, I must do a better job keeping up with such things). No such simplicity, at least in France. Why couldn't they just adapt it to, say, Jumeaux, Plein, Reine and Roi?? No can do. They go with "1-person" and "2-people", which in and of itself would be fine, but no, there is more. The sizes of the sheets are different. That I could probably live with too, if it was only that I have to deal with. But nooooo. The comforter cover sizes are different. The ones I have bought here are either too big for my US queen comforter so that the down gets lost in there, or they are simply too small so that the blanket does not quite fit inside. Simply maddening, is what this is.
Example 5: Game cartridges/discs
Similar to the DVD example above, our US-bought Wii only plays US-bought Wii games. Hello??? I suppose they don't want people buying cheap games from the US to play elsewhere, but then this brings me to the age-old question, why must everything (and it is, virtually everything) be so much cheaper in the US? OK that topic is tangential to this post so I shall fume about that some other time.
Example 6: Daylight Savings Day
This may not neatly fit in with the other examples, but an example nonetheless of senseless differences - today the US turned the clock forward to Spring time. We in Europe do not do this for another 3 weeks. Not sure which party is being stubborn, but oh can we just stop this nonsense?
I know there are many more examples but I am tired and losing steam. But before I close out, I must mention the metric system. Now that I am quite the baker, I've been stumped by US recipes calling for cups vs. French recipes calling for grams way too many times, not to mention oven temperatures in Farenheit versus Celsius. Also read somewhere that the US is one of only three countries not using the metric system (the other two are Burma and Liberia!).
So clearly we are no where near this one world utopia. Certain regional differences I can tolerate and attribute to important historical reference points or cultural quirks. But the examples of the differences above are just simply annoying and unnecessary! Agree?
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Party Party!
That's right, two parties in one day!
First came Manolee's birthday party - though her birthday was in early February, I scheduled it to the end of the month so that I could .... throw PeeWee a surprise party right after! Since his birthday is March 1st, having the two parties together in one day seemed to make sense, especially not to give anything away to PeeWee in planning his surprise.
Manolee had invited 9 kids and it was 100% turnout. I baked up a bunch - more to prepare for the evening's surprise party, but still, if there is one thing I learned from throwing kids' parties so far is that very little is consumed during the party EXCEPT candies - the fraises tagadas are the first to go, followed by the Dragibus and gummy bears.
Then at 6pm the moms started arriving to pick up the kids and I sent PeeWee out to his friend J's house, under the pretense that he needed help in putting up a shelf. PeeWee is always game to help out a friend in need, so he went off without questioning. Then it was a mad rush to get the house ready for the next party - getting the wine/champagne bottles out of the washing machine, laying out platters previously prepared and hidden in the cupboards, making sangria, putting stuff in the oven. I had asked two friends and my MIL to bring some quiches and desserts, and I wish I had taken a picture of the actual buffet platter, because it was enough to feed 100, easy. My MIL, who I thought was making me one quiche, came with 4 enormous ones, each the size of a 27-inch plasma TV screen.
His friends started arriving on time, which was a surprise to me, but I guess people do take surprise parties seriously. It was all I could to to stop laughing because it was all coming together after a month or so of planning it all. Then a phone call from J saying that they were on their way, and after about 10 minutes, the birthday boy arrived. The following picture should say it all:
I had tears in my eyes when he actually came in and realized what had happened. 25 or so of his best friends in one room (100% turnout!) - I think he was actually quite surprised and shocked even. Hanaya told me later that she had tears in her eyes too - she had been great by the way, keeping this secret for over a month (we had not said anything to Manolee, who is too young to keep a secret, so she was in for a bit of a shock too when after her party, she realized that another party was being prepared for someone else!)
Then we packed off the kids with my MIL and the party got under way. It really was a lot of fun, and it went on for much longer than I expected - since most people had babysitters back at home, I thought they would stay only till about midnight or so, but we ended up dancing and partying until 3:30am! What fun! And what a way to start PeeWee's 40th year! Hee!
Friday, February 27, 2009
The Disney Magic... in Rainstorm
A quick recap of our trip to Disneyland Paris in early February... yes, the trip that PeeWee booked without my consent, because really, who wants to go to Disney in northern Europe in the middle of winter?
Well, turns out lots of people do, lots of people like us who paid a lot of money and are determined to have fun despite the awful weather. And the weather was indeed awful the first two days - the picture above is taken at breakfast, when we could not even go into the park because it was closed (due to heavy wind). That did not stop the kids from chasing every character they spotted, hounding them for pictures and autographs, and when the park did open up, from lining up for up to 1-1/2 hour for the popular rides. We also had a great heated pool at the hotel, which was a welcome relief after a day of freezing one's butt off outside.
Manolee stayed mainly in Fantasyland, enjoying Peter Pan, Dumbo, and the merry-go-rounds. Hanaya was disappointed that she was short 2 cm to go on Space Mountain, but she braved the ones that she could do, like the Aerosmith Rock n Roll (her favorite), the Tower of Terror, the Thunder Mountain, and the Pirates of the Caribbeans.
The characters' French names threw me off quite a bit though. Well, Mickey is Mickey (pronounced Mickay) and Minnie is Minnie, but Eyeore is Bourriquet, Goofy is Dingo (pronounced Dango), Chip n Dale are Tic et Toc, Scrooge McDuck is Picsou.
The third day was actually sunny, albeit freezing cold. Look how happy the kids look:
I have to admit, even though I am the biggest cynic I know, I think the Disney Magic is still out there, even in midst of a rain/windstorm, even in freezing northern Europe!
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