Please excuse the funny french idiom....which translates to "to tell salads" but means to make something up/to tell tales..I have begun my french lessons and I'm just so excited I want to do my homework everyday!
I have the most wonderful instructor - Cecile - who grew up in Paris and came to Canada 8 years ago. She has a beautiful accent, I could listen to her all day. She's a wealth of information, so patient with us, great at explaining our mistakes and how to correct them and loves to let us get off on tangents in class. I enjoy 3 hours every Tuesday morning with Cecile, Elizabeth, Margot, Cate and myself. Elizabeth is a Canada Post employee and just a bit older than myself, Margot and Cate are retired Canadian Government employees and already have extensive french training. It's lovely to be able to spend 3 hours immersed in a language with little need to switch to English to get our point across or have a conversation. Another fun part is that Cecile is so french we sometimes have to tell her the english equivalent of words or ideas.
Yesterday was May 1 which is May Day/Labour Day in Europe. A very important day for unions and workers to celebrate. they mark the day similar to north america in that they get the day off, but they go further and have demonstrations and public gatherings as well as give out "les muguets" which we determined was lily of the valley yesterday in class.
Yesterday we spent a good hour discussing French politics, nationality laws and listening to radio and tv presentations on the subject. I'm amazed by how much I do understand. I'm hoping the spoken language will come with practice. I find the 3 hours fly by and I wish i could spend all day there. Oh the luxury of spending a full day in language lessons....one day french, the next italian. I would truly be in HEAVEN if i could manage that!!
My mother left this morning. The whole house was sad. But nothing like myself. It's very difficult to be far from my family. I do not like being disconnected and missing many a family gathering. If they lived even a 3-5 hour drive away I could be there more regularly to connect and help. My poor mother and aunts are really having a tough go right now and I feel awful that I can't be there to support and lend a much needed hand. I know they don't complain but that doesn't mean they aren't sad or overburdened! Perhaps I need to advocate for more visits to Ontario? Something to think about.
I must get back to my idioms as I've volunteered to be the 1st to present 1 to the class. I think i shall choose "occupe-toi de tes oignons" - mind your own business. (literally, take care of your onions.)...it seems to have originated in the early 20th Century when women, trying to claim some independence, started growing their own gardens and taking produce to market to sell. Men would say "occupe-toi de tes oignons" when they felt women were infringing on affairs they had no business in. :)
I also promise to get back to pictures shortly. The last few weeks have been so crazy I've had little time to pickup the camera or download images.
No comments:
Post a Comment