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!"
Sunday, June 28, 2009
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!
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