There are many times when I am standing in line at the store where a person near me will start speaking to me. Before I can get out the words, “Je parle Anglais” (I speak English), They have placed me in what seems to be, a full blown conversation. The person will continue to speak, give me advice, and talk about the happenings of what is going on; without me saying a single word. I like to think I have perfected the act of being an expressionist. I have come to react to what they are saying based upon the tone of their voice and movements while they speak. I will smile when they seem to be speaking of something pleasant. I will look to where they point. I will shake my head in disapproval if they seem to be upset about something. And my favorite one to do, is to laugh when they laugh. At the end of our interaction together I will say Au revoir, Bonne Journee, or some other departure axiom – to be able to leave, without them knowing, I was 100% clueless to the conversation we just held. I may have an idea what they were talking about- but I have no idea what was being said.
I am working on a solution to this problem. I have a fantastic French Tutor, name Catherine. Catherine is a much more legitimate tutor than the previous tutor I found on Craig’s list prior to moving to France. I once blogged about Soleil when I first started lessons with him, however, eventually it became apparent, that I needed to stop taking lessons with him. I think it was when his wife got a restraining order against him. Maybe.
This sketchy tutor became even more of a mystery after I arrived to Paris. I was having dinner with my friend Alex and told her about my tutor named Soleil (meaning Sun in English). She told me this name had to be fake because, “no one would ever name their child ‘The Sun’ it’s unheard of. It would be like naming them ‘Cupcake,’ you just don’t do that.” After hearing Alex’s opinion of Soleil I went back to my e-mails with Soleil and realized his last name was Parler. Parler in French means to speak. I am now convinced I do not know the real name of my first French tutor. but I do know that when his name is translated means : “Sun To Speak”- maybe it’s an analogy or something.
For those who will never let me live down the experience with “The Speaking Sun” I would like you to know how wonderful Catherine is. To start with, rather than meeting at the Wal-greens parking lot, Catherine has an adorable classroom where we meet. In my class there are two other students. Gwyn- who also works with me, and another lady named Cher who is from Singapore. We meet on Mondays and Fridays for two hours, and are sent away with several hours of homework to keep us occupied throughout the week. When we arrive to class Cathrine always has tea or coffee waiting for us, and this morning Cher brought in some delicious puff pastries called: Chouquettes. It was my first time having a Chouquette but it will not be the last! These Chouquettes are quite amazing.
The cute classroom Catherine has set up, in bottom of her home.
In order from Left to Right: Gwyn, Catherine, Cher.
The Delicious Chouquettes! Yum!Until I am fluent, be assured I have the essential sayings for survival stored in my head. There are a few French lines that I have remembered quiet well and strangely easier than others. First and most importantly, my restaurant French is really good. I can order food! Classic I know. But it really is a survival tool, I can practice my greetings, and numbers, and all sorts of valuable skills all the while enjoying a café au lait. And second is a phrase that I have learned from my, “French Phrase a day” calendar my friend Cynthia gave me for Christmas. This phrase is, “Embrassez-Moi” meaning “Kiss me!” Whenever I joke about this in French class Catherine gives me a lecture of how I must be careful who I say these things to, “because French men will take it all too seriously.“ Only for me to reply, “Then I am finally learning to speak the right language.”
2 comments:
ahhh hahahaha I can't stop laughing at the fact that your french tutor from Craigslist actually had the nerve to make up his name and try to teach french to people. That is freaking HILARIOUS!!!!!!
I'm glad you found a tutor that you like and does not require restraining orders. When I lived in Italy, I remember learning to speak Italian and it was actually easy when I was there, but now, I can't remember a thing. I guess my brain is too full of accounting trivia. Also, can you please put more pictures of cheese plates on your blog?
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