French Expressions

"Thou shalt not insult yours truly if thou wishes to recieve respect from yours truly!" Doesn't have much of a ring to it, does it? While overly-formal vintage French does sound beautiful, it's not always the best way to communicate. And while during study abroad my goal is to learn correct French, it's also my goal to learn slang! But what is slang? Well, slang is made up of many things; vocabulary and cultural references such as expressions and phrases. Of the two categories, cultural references are the hardest to master. While vocabulary comes with day to day life, cultural references are concepts and expressions that one has to live with to understand. So, today I will be sharing with you some of my favorite French expressions!

• Trop se mêle: Literally translated to "too much mixes", this expression doesn't really make any sense at all unless it's been explained to you! Basically, trop se mêle is a name that you call someone who sticks their nose into the business of others. For example, if you just got back your BAC grades (very private information) and your friend pesters you to find out your grade, you would say "Trop se mêle! Laisses-moi tranquile..."
• Occupes-toi de tes fesses: Basically the same as trop se mêle, occupe-toi de tes fesses translates to "Mind your buttocks" It's basically the French version of "mind your own beeswax!" However, be careful with this phrase because it includes the word fesses (buttocks) and though this is the socially correct word for butt, some people do find it offensive.
• Entre chien et loup: "Between dog and wolf" This is referring to the twilight time of night when the outline of the horizon is so similar to the sky's shade of black that you can't be sure where the horizon ends and the sky begins. The connection to the dog-wolf relationship is pretty obvious (if you put a dog next to a wolf, especially at sunset, how can you possibly tell the difference?)
• Grasse matintée: "Fat morning" This phrase is used to describe a lazy morning when you sleep in until 11am... or maybe noon... or maybe 3pm...
• Pleurer comme une madeleine: "To cry like a baby" however, instead of baby, it's "To cry like Mary Magdalene". Interesting bible reference!

• Ne pas faire un tour à vide: "Don't do that for nothing!" This phrase is used to keep people from making useless journeys (or doing useless jobs). For example, a tour à vide that I constantly make is going to the closet to get the broom, then after sweeping returning to the closet for the dustpan.  In this way, I have made 3 trips to the closet rather than one.
• Attacher un fil à la patte: "A string on their paw" This expression is used to describe someone who is, in english terms, "whipped". If someone is in a relationship and their partner always tells them what to do or not do, then the whipper has "a attaché un fil à sa patte" of the whipped party. Despite the negative connotations of this phrase, I do respect it more than "whipped" because unlike "whipped" this phrase is very gender neutral
• Excité comme un pou: Literally, "Excited as a flea" You know how fleas are always hopping around? Well, if you're excited, you're probably bouncing around as well!
• Lancer des fleurs: Literally translated "Throwing flowers", but the human translation is "To shower with compliments"
• Se lever bon pied bon oeil: "To get up with good feet and good eyes", the French version of "Bright eyed and bushy tailed"
• Pique nique douille c'est toi l'andouille: "Blah, blah, blah. You are the numbskull" the French version of "eenie meenie miney mo... and you are NOT it" Note that "pique nique douille" is just jibber-jabber, like eenie meenie. As for the word andouille, this is actually the name for a sausage but...
• Tu es un andouille: "You are a numbskull" an andouille may be a name for a butcher's product, but in this context it means a troublemaker, class clown or numbskull.

These phrases only make up a miniscule fraction of French cultural expressions, but nevertheless, I thought you might enjoy them!

Mt. St. Michel

As you may have picked up on, Easter weekend was a party! In addition to festive family visits, finger-licking foods and a cruise to Concale, we also participated in perhaps the best activity of all: a tour of the famous Mt. St. Michel! As an island with a centuries old (former) convent and an equally enthralling city surrounding it, there is no question as to why this destination is ranked the second most popular tourist site in the world (right after the Eiffel Tower of course... Darn it! These French really have a monopoly on the super-awesome-romantic-delicously-catered-tourist-destinations don't they?)

 

Tucked in a corner of the maze of stairs which surround the convent, we found a popular wishing well (Which is, contrary to popular belief, NOT indeed a well but actually an open turret). The bottom was filled with coins - Jean-Yves even spotted a 2 euro coin! I sure hope that wish came true...

At lunch, we all stopped for a quick picnic in the convent's gardens! What was super awesome was that our desert consisted of Jiffy Bars that my mom had baked and sent me by express mail as an Easter treat! I just found it really cool that we were chomping on some Madison-baked treats - over 4,000 miles away!

After our brief tour of the city (and chapel) we finally took off towards the main attraction: mud-slucking!! What? You don't know what mud-slucking is? That may be because mud-slucking is not yet recognized as an official sport. Orrr that may be because mud-slucking is not a word... But let's not get caught up in the details!

'Mud-slucking' as I have so graciously dubbed this activity, is the act of treking (okay, sludging) in sinking mud! Mt. St. Michel is surrounded by bay but, with the immense difference of water-depth between high-tide and low-tide, the island is surrounded by mud half of the time. Interestingly enough (nope, not surprising at all) tourists are inexplicable drawn to this sticky situation! Actually, the attraction is pretty explicable, the mud is fun and squishy and gross! And this, my friends, is quite an industry! I'm not kidding, there are at least half a dozen guides trained to give tours in the muddy muck! And that's just what we did - a muddy muck mud-slucking tour!

Remember how I said the sand was sinking-sand? Well, it was more like quick-sand in some parts! At one point, our guide sunk almost as deep as his somache! Luckily, he was fully trained in the arts of quick-sand escape and quickly (haha, see what I did there?) dislodged himself.

Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail...

You may be a tad surprised to hear that, in addition to a differing language and taste palate, France holds another cultural difference: holiday celebration! A few weeks ago, fun-fiesta-time struck again! While I have experienced Valentines day in France (don't get you're hopes up - this holiday is viewed in an even more cynical light than it is in the US, thus my queue of francophone suitors was a tad stunted), Easter turned out to be the big eyeopener on holiday celebration divergence.

As all things do, this holiday involves food! I'll spare you the delicious details, but let's just go ahead and say that eggs don't even take a part in the feast! Boiled asperagus and flan - as pictured below - generally steal the show, but only with theguest appearance of HOG'S HEAD. Yep. You heard me - I tried hog's head!! To be honest, I was moderately horrified upon staring down the un-taxidermied beast after a full meal (the delicacy is generally served as an after dinner palate cleanser), but upon inspection, I have found myself to be a tentative fan of this atypical dish!

For the holiday celebration, Jean-Yves sisters and niece came for the weekend (From the left: my host-cousin Leonie, host aunt Marie-Claude and host aunty Isabelle)

In addition to the contrast of menus, France does have one other prominent difference from the US where Easter is concerened: it's Easter bunny. In fact, I shouldn't even call it an Easter Bunny, because, while the USA glorifies a fluffy rodent as the harbringer of chocolate goodies, in France, it is a churchbell who delivers the loot!

I would comment on the impracticality of this myth (mythical flying bells with consciousness detatched from their chapels delivering chocolate eggs) but hey, is an imortal rabbit (who doesn't eat all the food in his possession) any more believable? But hey, to each culture it's own fantasy! I hope you all have had a lovely Easter filled with family, chocolate and (depending on personal preference) bunnies or bells!

Random Fun Stuff!

I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks... 

Haha, as if! If you don't know me, I am a professional at guilting myself...

A more realistic example of my face right now is as follows:

I'm sorry! I swear it was an accident... But all the same, I feel quite guilty about taking such a long unjustified break! But like I've said before, if I take a long time to post, that just means I have been having an amazing time - which I have! Actually, I have about 4 posts saved up from the last two weeks, and will be posting them shortly. As I am now on a two week spring vacation (oh, yeah!), I now have more than enough time to catch up blog-wise. Of course, being the master procrastinater that I am, it may take a day or two for me to catch up. In the meantime, here are some fun updates!

• I recently learned how to make my own gallette! Turns out, it's pretty easy... You just heat up a gallette in a pan, add ham, an egg, salt and pepper, cheese, and tomatoes! All the same, I'm pretty darn proud of my cooking skills
• I finally wore my black and maroon turleneck shoulder cut out croptop! Yes, I know it has been haunting you to know that such a staple item of clothing was being neglected... Fear no more! It actually went FABULOUSLY with my new high waisted black skirt... Interesting, I know ;)

Stay tuned the next few days or so for a flood of updates!

Gargantuanly Good (okay, average) Grades

I just got my report card. Yep, that's right. Guess who's not failing a single class?! Me! Guess who has above the class average in every class except Spanish? Me! Butterflies and fireworks are mingling in my stomach, and it's not a bad experience. I'm especially overjoyed because one of my biggest fears about study abroad was not understanding the courses and earning poor grades. While the classes are difficult, they are managable and my teachers help me so much! I'm sorry to go on, but I'm proud - I was worried that I would fail a class (eek! Thank goodness that's not happening!), I didn't even consider it would be possible to keep up! I thought "Oh, I'll try my absolute best, but I can't get my hopes too far up..." But, making the class average?!? I'm ecstatic. Obviously, my curriculum is a tad different than the other students (especially in Spanish), but that doesn't dampen my mood a bit!

Here's my report card:

Heh-heh, a little closer...

And closer still.... Now you can see my grades!

Now, before you start freaking out about the fact that the class averages are around 10/20 or 12/20, let me explain. The French grading system is very different than that of the USA. Percentages are not used, thus a 16/20 is not an 80%, just 16/20. Also, tests are graded a more harshly, thus making it more difficult to earn above a 15/20. To give you some context, here are some grades and their "meaning" to students:

10/20: "le moitié" or "the half"does not translate to a 50% as it does in the US. Though it is not a stellar grade, it is acceptable and most students are content (if a bit dissapointed) by this grade. Most exchange students are very excited to earn le moitié because it shows that the teacher is grading you like the rest of the class, and that you are passing.

15/20: A good grade. If you get a 15 on a test, this usually means that you studied hard. In my class, a 15 is also given out to students who are naturally smart, but don't try very hard. Professors are generally hesitent to give anything above a 15 to these students because, though their work shows comprehension, it is often careless.

17/20: Very impressive grade. Only extremey good students (or very impressive tests) get above a 16, so a 17 is a gold star.

20/20: WOW. I was once told that a 20/20 was impossible. In fact, I have only seen this grade twice, though only in special cases. The first time I ever saw a 20/20 was when my genius friend Pierre-Antoine did a stellar job on his Chemistry test. The second time I saw a 20/20 was on my second English test (remember how, after my first embarassing English test, I vowed to impress my teacher? Well, mission accomplished!)

So, yes, this Report Card brought me much joy!

Bonding and Shopping and Transport, Oh My!

So, you could say I had an amazing week...

Wednesday my dear Finnish friend Alisa came over to my house and we partook in some delicious candy gorging! We also visited a nearby second hand store Emaüs, an inspirational organisation that takes in homeless youth and gives them the opportunity to refurbish old furniture and resell donated goods as a job! Their store has everything from vintage sewing machines to clothing to tea cups to vintage books and vinyl records. I fell in love immediately with the book and record collection, as did Alisa. We spent nearly an hour browsing through the goods, and though I haven't yet located the perfect french vinyl, I guarantee that sometime soon I will find myself posting about "the record of my dreams!" What made the day even more magical was this: while at the cash register, the woman in front of us heard our accented French and asked us what nationality we were. We responded with American and Finnish, and she was immediately interested. Turns out she's bilingual (in English, which Alisa also speaks fluently) and we had a great conversation about the best books to read in a foreign language! When we were about to pay however, she refused to let us pay, taking our book-bill and paying it herself! We strongly objected, but the goodwill of others sometimes is overpowering and we ended up with a few beautiful books - curtosy of our fellow bilingual! Needless to say, we raved about our dear bilingual friend for the rest of the day.

Friday kept my good-week-streak going as my dearest chum Morgane and I partook in an awesome sleepover! With horror movies ("The Others" to be exact), homemade caramel popcorn and typical sleepover conversations ("Who do you liiiiiiike?" "What do you want to do when you grow up?" "Oh my goodness, I can't believe they're still going out...") the snooze-party was a blast! What really had me on cloud nine was the fact that we had a regular sleepover! Yes, I know. "A regular sleepover? Why is that special?" Because it was in French! I was talking like a (nearly normal) French sleepover guest! I was easily particiapating in normal, gossipy, teenage conversation! With a real friend! Yes, I know that sounded sad, "real friend", but although I have friends at school (don't want to brag, but, *ahem* I have like, 4 good friends, and like 5 other awesome acquaintances... NBD *brushes off shoulders*) sometimes as an exchange student I question whether my friends are actual, close friends or just nice people who engage the exchange sudent! This solidified my feeling of real connection with my friends!

Saturday Morgane and I hit the town! After a morning filled with peanut butter (Morgane's mom heard that I have been pining for the underappreciated treat and purchased some for breakfast! The sweetie-pie!), we went to an gargantuan rummage sale where we spent nearly two hours rifling through beautiful clothing! I personally found a ravishing blue kimono (Which is heaven sent because right before I left for France I ripped my yellow kimono. No joke.), a high class pink button up, a tan leather skirt, khakis, white jeans, and metallic grey pants. All for just 5 euros. Ahhhh yeah!

Then, we took off for Rennes! The last two times there, I have visited the center of Rennes, but yesterday we stopped by some different locations. First, we loitered (well, shopped) in the Alma mall which, I must admit, has basically all the stores that the center does! It was beyond class, especially with the free perfume samples... They smelled so good we wanted to keep the paper under our noses all day!

For lunch, I got a little taste of home! I have been painfully missing Madison Bagels, so when we stumbled upon a Bruegger's Bagels in the mall, well, it was destiny.

One store was filled with so many sweets that we were compelled to purchase a chocolate rabbit and devour it in 10 minutes!

The stores were beyond chic, but two boutiques really caught my attention: Pinkie and Eram. Pinkie has always been a favorite of mine, ever since my first French purchase there (a black high-waisted skirt) I have found that it carries beautiful clothing for reasonable prices. Erom was a new store for me. Specialising in classy shoes, it was bound to be a hit, and not surprisingly, I fell head over heels after only two minutes in the store.

I AM IN LOVE WITH THESE SHOES. I have been searching for exactly this shoe for over two months now: black chelcea booties with square heel. Unfortunately for me, they have real wooden heels and are therefore 100 euros. Yep. That's not happening.

*tears of first-world-upper-middle-class-white-girl-study-abroad-problems cascade down face*

I love my problems...

For our last foray of the day, we took the metro down into yet another part of Rennes - the hip section! We ogled for nearly an hour in the high fashion (yet somehow reasonably priced) mall called "Les Trois Soleils" which is known for its ridiculously cheap handbags and shoes. With it's fabulous stores and delicious smelling Chinese Restaurant, this mall is already calling my name... I shall make a huge effort to return soon!

Finally, it was time to go home. To get back to Hédé, the transport savvy Morgane found us a bus that took us right to my town and, if you don't know me, I was exceptionally impressed by her ability to locate and catch a bus that took us to our desired location by our desired time. If I had been put in charge of transport (even in my home town) I guarantee you that we would be lost, late and hungry in no time! Well, maybe not hungry... I'm pretty strong in the locating-food-fast category.

Dinan

"Didn't you already post about the city Dinard?" HA! You've been caught! This, my friends, is in fact a different city, with a very similar name: Dinan. Believe me, it's death when I try to distinguish the two names in order to tell my friends which city I just visited, and which city I visited a month ago... Last weekend Odile and Jean-Yves took me to this beautiful midieval city and I must say that I was starstruck. Dinard is basically the stereotype of "Vintage France". Littered with boulangeries, crêperies and patisseries, the ancient mideival town is full of stuff to eat, see and traverse. About 95% of the shop owners are artists of some kind; glass and metal sculptors, jewelry artisans, painters, doll makers... The list goes on and on! As we were walking through the battlements (yes, that's right, battlements) with delectableKouign-Amanns in hand, I felt like I was in a black and white movie, with the exception that this beautiful spring day lit everything up with color. Here are a few photos (that do the city absolutely no justice at all) that I took that day!

The canal that runs alongside Hédé reaches all the way to Dinan!

This must be the hilliest city in France! I swear, every street was uphill!

Not to worry, we merely toned our thighs like nobody's business.

As per usual, there was a magnificent church in the center of the city,

however it was closed for the day and we were unable to tour the inside.

Don't even ask, I have no idea!

We finally made it to the top of the seemingly neverending hill that is Dinan, and boy was it worth the work! Looking out over the castle wall you can see the whole city and more!

"Remparts" are the walls that surround the city to protect its ancient inhabitants.

From here we could see the Port de Dinan! (It's the little bridge to the left)

The remparts that surround the inner city are a joy to traverse!

I personally really enjoyed the rooftop gardens that were sprinkled around the city!

Just one of the (probably hundreds) art studios that populate Dinan!

This little queen was quite the espionage...

Boats are available to the average tourist, and are extremely fun to watch, but not ride! We decided against a boat ride due to the unpleasant wind.

And that is just a little slice of the life that makes Dinan so delicious! The ancient castle walls and shops, the constant artsy-atmosphere, the flaky French pastries... I was in seventh heaven!