tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215955692011-09-07T13:25:23.359+02:00le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.comBlogger1091100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-58721425366702852402011-07-31T15:57:00.006+02:002011-07-31T16:20:30.868+02:00

Also known as "amuse gueule" and normally never seen on a menu- it's a great way to start a French meal. An amuse bouche is a complimentary tasty tidbit from the chef that precedes the first course. For me it's always a pleasant surprise that leaves me and my appetite grateful but anticipating the meal with greater impatience. Mangeons!The amuse bouche (pictured above) is a frothy melon creation

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-74450987979374649042011-05-21T19:22:00.009+02:002011-05-21T19:41:29.928+02:00

I picked up this film accidentally and almost put it back on the racks after I read that it was a musical. For all my love of Nouvelle Vague, the director Jacques Demy unfortunately did not ring a bell. Fortunately, I decided to borrow the movie from my local library and watched it. The film started with a beautiful shot of the seaside town of Cherbourg (now known as Cherbourg-Octeville),

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-20313394746740543072011-05-12T03:08:00.000+02:002011-05-13T22:30:29.272+02:00

A good French meal is a feast for the eyes and a discriminating palate. I've gotten into the habit of taking photographs of my French meals as a nice remembrance of what I ate and where I've been. With every French meal I have I strive to learn more about French cuisine and the art of photography.This weekend there's a chance to learn about Food Photography from a professional: photojournalist

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-27160730398575447752011-05-03T15:11:00.005+02:002011-05-04T14:39:40.167+02:00

As I make my way through my "recommencer" alphabet - I'm lingering on "E": In this case Eric Rohmer of cinematic Nouvelle Vague fame and été of sun & fun fame. The prizewinning film Le rayon vert, or Summer as it's known in the United States was released in 1986 as part of the series "Comedies et Proverbs" directed by Rohmer. If you aren't a fan of either Eric Rohmer or Nouvelle Vague then I

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-47174621777729189782011-04-05T11:04:00.007+02:002011-04-05T11:40:43.501+02:00

Anu Garg starts his "A Word a Day" e-mail with this quote from Stephen King and then goes on to give the definition of the now English word "soubrette" which was borrowed from the French. It has one meaning in French, a maid, but two additional uses in English: a flirtatious young woman or a soprano in a supporting role in a comic opera. He is devoting this week to featuring five words used in

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-81586094848413612972010-12-09T18:27:00.005+01:002010-12-09T18:34:33.688+01:00

Last day of this week's Photo Friday Theme: Chill. Stepping out for a few quick errands today and "brrrr" - the weather in my corner of the world is in line with the theme.I'm racing to get the photos (three in one) posted but wait- chill! Or rather du calme!gauche Chill in the air, on the trees, on the rooftops... A Taninges, France en fevrier 2009. Photo p_ff. droite "Chillin under the gun" In

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-80631102387936481782010-11-28T00:58:00.004+01:002010-11-28T01:06:56.660+01:00

Another French film and hâllo again to Sandra Bonnaire. I'm not obsessed with Sandra Bonnaire but I think someone at my local library might be. In fact, I'd seen this DVD with Sandra Bonnaire on a bicycle with a warm smile many times before. I would consider watching the movie but in the end, I had always passed it up because of the lighthouse pictured in the background. It seemed to me that it

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-82727970555687570442010-10-31T13:56:00.007+01:002010-10-31T14:09:07.917+01:00

As I've failed at attaining and improving French grammar through osmosis, I've decided to accept the inevitability of learning French grammar. So I'm back to doing some self-study and homework "by the book". This week started out with a bit of grammar ("de") and I've delved a little deeper. What I've come up with is that uses and rules of "de" and "des" feel very innumerable to me at the moment

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-25157312208990506482010-10-25T19:00:00.004+02:002010-10-25T19:11:25.664+02:00

My learning French is supposed to be fun so I avoided grammar as much as I could. I thought I could absorb the rules and intuitively construct sentences correctly through weekly conversations with my French teacher, listening to some podcasts, watching videos and movies and reading. What I've learned in the past twelve weeks though is that there is only so much I can learn without learning

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-12646058303074965092010-10-21T23:41:00.005+02:002010-10-21T23:52:48.995+02:00

That KK and Petit Foufou happen to have children featured in this week's "Warped" theme of Photofriday.com is totally coincidental. KK chose her picture without seeing mine- and indeed, I took my picture earlier today without seeing hers. Medieval Day Care - Octobre 2004 - Cathar Region, Languedoc (Queribus castle ruin inserted into the background) kk: Image portrays why my decision not to be a

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-2965905189173952972010-10-10T00:08:00.008+02:002010-10-10T12:52:48.583+02:00

Burgundy is a place, a wine and a color. For this week's Photofriday assignment, kk and I both go for bordeaux instead of the the place or wine: La Bourgogne and le bourgogne, respectively. gauche - Pink to Burgundy Dans un bureau de poste quelque part en le Lot, un département de la région Midi-Pyrénées. Mai, 2009 p_ff droite - Mother and Child Molded plastic chairs as seen in a shop

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-25750087188212543442010-09-25T18:07:00.005+02:002010-09-25T18:19:45.690+02:00

Qu'est-ce qu'un chef-d'oeuvre? Well that's the question upon which the inaugural exhibition of the recently opened Centre Pompidou-Metz is trying to answer. There's a lot to see: over 700 works of art are on display. I was pleased encounter some of my favorites art objects, discover work I wasn't familiar with from favorite artists as well as see something totally new to me. It is an

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-24218043589195196832010-09-20T16:34:00.008+02:002010-09-20T17:11:56.637+02:00

C est pour (partie une): Claude Chabrol, cérémonie et chocolatWhat a mouthful. Where to start?If it's about the nouvelle vague then Chabrol. If you're hard-core about your devotion to French New Wave cinema, then you know that Paris-born director Claude Chabrol's film Le beau Serge (1958) is credited with starting the movement. I was totally unaware of that before today. My introduction to

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-31694490681493910792010-09-16T01:50:00.006+02:002010-10-10T00:24:56.459+02:00

Before this week's photofriday.com theme changes- the photo duo strikes again. Metz, Septembre 2010 p_ff: Yes, I snoozed through the official start of daybreak at 7:07 am last Sunday in France. I must admit, je n'ai jamais été une personne matinale. Still, morning person or not, I managed to catch some traces of daybreak: a vestige of warm sunrise colors in the clouds, the empty streets, the "

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-16019683250884355932010-09-10T23:50:00.004+02:002010-09-11T00:11:16.259+02:00

B est pour Boudu sauvé des eauxAt first I was going to just write about the film Boudu starring Gerard Depardieu that was released in 2005. Until I found out that it was actually a remake. And not even the first. In fact, in 1986, Nick Nolte starred in American director Paul Mazursky's version: Down and Out in Beverly Hills. I tracked down the original and the director is no less than the son of

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-27373439012180485882010-09-04T17:10:00.007+02:002010-09-04T17:40:41.914+02:00

B is for Belle de Jour I'd heard of this movie many years before I watched it just a few days ago. I didn't know much about it except that it was French, starred Catherine Deneuve and was about a housewife turned prostitute. On my previous visits to the local library I had decided against renting it out even though it was directed by famous and critically acclaimed Spanish filmmaker Luis

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-7683293220103166322010-08-30T15:44:00.007+02:002010-10-10T00:24:56.459+02:00

For this week's photo duet - en fait, for all future photo duets: a photo taken/chosen by theme that relates to a Francophone country. Haut: Punaise arlequin à Rocamadour, France. Mai 2009. A striped shield bug basking in the sun of Rocamadour. Rocamadour was a popular destination for medieval pilgrims, more recently it's been reported to attract more than 1 million visitors a year. It's

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-85974129780079259982010-08-24T23:01:00.020+02:002010-10-10T00:24:56.460+02:00

La Rue est le theme de cette semaine sur Photo Friday and it's the theme of my photo duet with "KK" with one other criteria: our photo must be related to France. We dug into our archive and selected our photos independently et voilá:gauche- a street in Saint Paul de Vence, June 2008 An exceptionally empty street in Saint Paul de Vence where painters like Marc Chagall and writers like Jacques

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-45218725646759287372010-08-17T23:01:00.007+02:002010-08-24T23:54:44.472+02:00

The theme of recommencer continues... A is for ailleurs/elsewhere"Mon père continue à conduire en regardant droit devant lui, ma mère est déjà ailleurs." The mot of note from this week's French lesson is ailleurs and is from a children's book that I'm reading peu à peu with my French teacher. When I've finished the book, I'll divulge the the title, author and illustrator. A is for

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-82012396440337859932010-08-06T19:04:00.008+02:002011-05-03T15:19:32.448+02:00

I did take a break from French lessons, but as evidenced by the past posts- not from chocolat. I'm back now and restarting my efforts to go beyond the level of debutante and reach intermédiare: j'ai recommencé à prendre des leçons de français et à regarder des films en français. I'm back to weekly lessons albeit sans devoirs. I'd love to view French movies in lieu of the weekly homework so I

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-5206787568322999442010-05-03T14:24:00.009+02:002010-05-03T14:44:24.124+02:00

My fellow francophiles, it does look like I'm gaining more knowledge about chocolates made by companies located in French-speaking countries more than the French language itself. Admittedly my tongue has been more busy with chocolate than French conjugations. On my most recent trip to New York to visit my favorite nephew – fellow francophile and chocolate lover – we both could not resist

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-81991189034350314862009-12-23T20:37:00.008+01:002010-01-29T12:54:52.683+01:00

November- you wonder what happened to me? I was on vacation, but getting my fill of French. So there I am in Tokyo and it seems to me that every pâtisserie is French- or at least has a French name: Bon Dessert, St. Germain, La Pêche-Blanc... There are ALOT of pâtisseries that also double as a café. On the other hand when I walk into cafés and ask for the menu- it's not uncommon to see the

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-14438133121812330942009-10-29T17:54:00.009+01:002009-10-29T18:09:57.190+01:00

Always on the look out for tasty chocolate even when I should actually be looking out for Balkavas or Kataefi. I am in Greece after all. In Athens, against the backdrop of the Acropolis, I spot a chocolaterie: Leonidas. Aha, I thought, time to check out Greek chocolate. I'm in the middle of picking out an assortment to fill a little golden box when I notice "Fresh Belgian Chocolates" written

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-18400598268587833652009-10-10T21:24:00.015+02:002009-12-23T20:37:42.793+01:00

J'aime le chocolat mais je ne suis pas hanté par lui. Still, in almost every article or the one book (see how cursory my knowledge is) I've read about chocolate the French chocolatier Michel Cluizel is mentioned as producing one of the best chocolates in the world.Today, my tastebuds know why: Grand Noir, 85% cocoa.I didn't go to Paris to get the chocolate. I got it in Frankfurt at:Bitter &

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-84686090198827877452009-08-25T12:31:00.009+02:002009-08-26T13:53:10.075+02:00

In the late 1980's there was an anti-drug television and poster campaign that was all over America: This is Your Brain on Drugs. Vous rappelez-vous? It involves an egg and a frying pan. A man shows us an egg and says "This is your brain". He shows us the frying pan and says "This is drugs". He cracks open the egg and drops it into the very hot frying pan and says "This is your brain on drugs.

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-27688742463337818052009-08-12T19:03:00.006+02:002009-08-25T13:56:36.306+02:00

Rie Rasmussen stars in French director Luc Besson's film Angel-A. You might look at her and be impressed by her beauty (yes, she's modelled) or her height- especially in this film since it seems to be in a starring role itself. You might be impressed by her acting.The movie is shot in black and white in Paris. It's very poetic and funny. It's also shot in French.Rie Rasmussen was sent an English

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-56866132117164024862009-07-25T22:11:00.008+02:002009-07-26T16:56:11.743+02:00

While I rave online about the French food I've tasted during my trips to France I can't muster up any enthusiasm to cook French food at home. It all seems so dauntingly complicated.Then I happened onto the movie trailer for Julie & Julia starring Meryl Streep. It's about a girl named Julie who takes on French cooking: 524 recipes in 365 days with Julia Child as her guide. I checked out Julia

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-80706193037290640642009-07-10T16:57:00.002+02:002009-07-10T17:03:58.151+02:00

I must admit that when it comes to French cuisine I am woefully uninformed. While others might pore over guides about what and where to eat I am happy to get coincidental recommendations or risk just going into restaurants to learn about French food."Let's eat" is my strategy. Sometimes without knowing exactly what- as thumbing through my little Berlitz phrase book and dictionary from 1993

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-34366395258713330682009-06-29T19:32:00.006+02:002009-06-29T19:49:58.618+02:00

Almost everyday of our week in the Lot, We drove by the small town of Gramat. A painted commercial sign from long ago on the side of an old stone building catches our eye although it is almost obscured by a leafy tree in front.Charmed by the coquettish eyes of the moon and the moustache of and the beautiful, soft watercolor effect of age on the painted sign we stop on a sunny day to take pictures

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-72544409629516342432009-06-12T21:15:00.004+02:002009-06-12T21:31:28.623+02:00

My first visit to France this year was also my first French immersion course ever. For one week my gracious host guided me through joie de vivre in the French Alps. She corrected my French, answered my questions, explained cultural traditions and prepared our meals.One of the very first things I learned was to come back to the table to finish my meal. The first three days I was getting up after

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-9450555688699462892009-02-12T14:11:00.007+01:002009-02-13T18:36:40.673+01:00

How time flies! Especially now because I have two calendars to keep track, or lose track. En fait, ces calendriers ne servent pas à mesurer le temps. These two calendars are to help me improve my French. Deux calendriers ? Yes, this year I decided to compare the one for adults to the one for children. I couldn't decide if one would be too hard, the other too easy. When in doubt, get both. My

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-41092835845468598432009-01-13T17:41:00.004+01:002009-01-13T17:48:25.171+01:00

You might think that - 13 days into the new year - it would be too late to wish anyone a happy new year much less send a card. Not so in France. You have til the end of January to send out your wishes.This new year's you have the chance of keeping last year's resolution of sending out those new year's greetings- and in French, no less:Meilleurs voeux pour l'année 2009 Best wishes for (the year)

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-63588164506117573452008-12-25T09:02:00.005+01:002008-12-25T09:28:04.408+01:00

France anywhere, everywhere or what to buy a Francophile wherever you are for wherever they are... for New Year's.Here's a selection of four of my favorite "French" things in no particular order:Paris dans un sac Pick up "Paris in a bag" from the japanese store Muji. These cute wooden blocks lets you set up your own mini Paris.La tour eiffel emporte-pièce Add a parisian flair to this year's

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-52601903529751704682008-12-07T03:54:00.008+01:002010-10-10T00:24:56.460+02:00

Au Revoir au Maroc-a guest post from Karen KindlerThe short line to the outbound Moroccan passport control booth stalled as I arrived. An official pointed a balding German with raised voice and arms to the outside of the security barrier. Case closed. Go. The tourist went. "Was ist los?" What's up? I asked the couple in front of me.No immigration form.Immigration form?! You need one leaving

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-15315343317982905002008-11-09T08:27:00.008+01:002009-02-14T19:06:10.569+01:00

Il y a beaucoup de règles de grammaire en français.Il y a beaucoup d'utilisations de "de" aussi.I haven't yet mastered the many rules for the usage of "de". I'd been actually forgetting to use it at all in some situations: during my weekly lesson last week, for example.Before last week I'd have said or written "Il y a beaucoup règles" or "Il y a beaucoup utilisations" to indicate that there are

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-8177325888509106002008-10-16T02:45:00.007+02:002010-08-09T00:42:52.766+02:00

Back to the library to rent out some French DVDs (though for the time being I've abandoned choosing alphabetically at my local library).En moment, je suis à New York. In the past weeks that I've been in la grande pomme I've heard a lot of French. En fait, du moment je suis arrivée. In the airport, while waiting in line for a ride to my final destination in the city, a Swiss woman is in front of

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-85798395980709184432008-09-06T20:38:00.002+02:002008-09-06T20:46:59.469+02:00

This week I reached my milestone 100th lesson in French.Cent jours des leçons du français avec mes professeurs patients et encouragers: Céline A, Stephanie, Jan, Esteban, Céline F, Virginie et bientôt Audrey!Soixante treize posts sur ma blog et innombrables lecteurs et nombreux sympathisants.Merci à tous!Bien sûr, il y a plus à venir car l'apprendre ne termine jamais... and there remains much to

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-81870032780139248612008-08-15T17:30:00.007+02:002010-08-30T15:55:44.248+02:00

Photo Friday's challenge this week is: Self-portrait. That's under A - as in autoportrait - in my French vocabulary list.Autoportrait meaning that you draw, or since it it's a photo challenge, that you take a photo of yourself. Not the autoportrait where the robot draws you. J'ai choisi d'aller au photomaton. Oh- not the one in the streets or in the corner of some supermarket. The one on the Mac

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-25757768868796786892008-08-02T19:35:00.004+02:002008-12-09T23:04:13.062+01:00

French soaps are renowned, lovely to use and make great presents.So I'm always on the lookout for French soap wherever I go. A recent trip to Hamburg drew me once again to the Perle Shop (they carry some cute French products). So when I saw the colorful box with the big blue RIVALE written on it I thought "bonjour" and snapped it up!Turns out Claus Porto was saying "bom dia" to me. The Grapefruit

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-2309608663107958662008-07-14T21:28:00.004+02:002008-12-09T23:04:13.201+01:00

In an effort to overcome my laziness and practice conjugating French verbs I revisited the verb2verbe website. This website quizzes you on over 4000 French verbs.After doing a few of the conjugation quizzes I decided that yes I'd like to do a "random test"and learn 10 new verbs by translating them from French to English. My laziness picked the least number of questions (20) and the present tense

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-9722730591323447902008-06-01T14:37:00.010+02:002008-12-09T23:04:13.810+01:00

No translations needed for "Outlet" and the rest of the fashion shopping vocabulary falls into place:Oh, comme j'aimerais tellement être à Paris demain! Wherever you are expand your vocabulary and maybe your closet. Check out the les petites eshop for robes de soir, jupes and more: www.eshop.lespetites.frMore info in French and English about les petites at their website: www.lespetites.fr Oh

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-81466815066632332172008-05-11T14:50:00.005+02:002008-12-09T23:04:14.067+01:00

Killing time in French doesn't have anything to do with murder.My weekly French lesson usually start outs with or ends up with questions about the past. In the beginning it was an easy oui or non answer to the equally easy question: Tu as passé un bon week-end ? Now that I've had more than 80 lessons the questions are essay and I do essayer my best!Qu'est-ce que tu as fait la semaine dernière ?I

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-34396412104826416362008-04-14T21:38:00.004+02:002008-12-09T23:04:14.293+01:00

Je suis de retour, never having really abandoned my French learning but skipping out on a month of blog posting. What can I say? "Hi, again" for starters. En français it's a matter of "greetings reloaded" using the "re" at the beginning to get rid of the the "again" at the end: resalut, rebonjour, et rebonsoir. And apropos "Encore" - this is really Janet Jackson singing in French! French lyrics

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-85282110194615055612008-02-21T12:43:00.002+01:002008-12-09T23:04:14.474+01:00

My weekly French lesson is being thwarted by Skype audio dropping out. I let my fingers do the talking and tap, tap, taper a message suggesting to my teacher that we could continue silently like mimes: "on pourrait être comme les mimes".Gesturing a conversation though wasn't possible because I don't have a videocam. We would have to continue to type- be typists instead of mimes. Knowing that "

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-19366105239134533002008-01-14T13:22:00.000+01:002008-12-09T23:04:14.612+01:00

"Quand, je me sens pas bon...," I started to say. My French teacher burst out with a good-natured laugh and proceeded to explain the difference between using bon and bien with the verb sentir. Thankfully, she realized I was mistaken when I had said, "When, I don't smell good..."I knew that bon and bien both mean essentially the same thing: good. Sentir, I know from when I am feeling sick: je

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-89309660581272950072007-12-05T19:29:00.000+01:002008-12-09T23:04:14.789+01:00

One of the English language's greatest bards, Shakespeare, once wrote (Act II, Scene II, Romeo and Juliet):What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.And indeed, the poetry of the French language is not lost in the English translations. Oddly enough, the English translations not only attracted me to the culture, the cities and the French way of life but

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-76745985984867126932007-11-18T15:20:00.006+01:002008-06-01T15:26:15.603+02:00

It's been a waiting game for the last few weeks. Faithful readers have been waiting for a blog post. I'd been waiting to go on vacation (Afrique du Sud!) and admittedly procrastinating posting. Gasp!I wanted to wait until my African Safari was over to surprise you all with pictures of lions, leopards, herds of elephants- OH MY! I did see the "big five" and more and have the pictures to prove it

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-10927054481648065002007-10-17T18:15:00.000+02:002008-12-09T23:04:14.910+01:00

What's new? Well to follow the old saying, "pas de nouvelles, bonne nouvelle", you'd have to assume good news since I haven't posted for more than a month. In any case - j'étais trés occupée.Part of what's keeping me busy is what's helping me keep sane when I am too busy: beaucoup de chocolat! I might be slipping with mes devoirs de français but I'm still enriching my French vocabulaire and

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-29407906472812013042007-09-11T22:21:00.000+02:002008-12-09T23:04:15.053+01:00

Ma maman est en Amèrique, elle a rencontré Buffalo Bill. Yes, my mother is in America but she's got no interest in Buffalo Bill. This is a band dessinée about somebody else's mother: the author's. It's a story about a part of Jean Regnaud's childhood wonderfully illustrated by Émile Bravo. I was browsing the Children's section of Payot Libraire with my adorable, book-loving, seven-year old

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-78002185285745199792007-08-28T14:02:00.002+02:002009-08-26T14:02:51.544+02:00

Phénomène internet - t'y es !Thanks to Tower of Confusion for putting me on his blogroll which means I've been tagged with a meme. So without further ado- the facts about 8 Facts and then my facts à français*les règles We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.People who are tagged need to write in their own blog about

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-86178589398642713962007-08-08T13:40:00.000+02:002008-12-09T23:04:15.475+01:00

Monsieur Parfait, one of my French teachers, asks me if I'm already familiar with the comparatifs et superlatifs. A simple oui from moi (to avoid a grammar reminder) and we get right down to a few practice sentences.He asks me to say "his leg is less long than mine". Sa jambe est moins longue que la mienne. Obviously Mr. Parfait thinks that detailed sentence is also much more of a challenge than

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-28269399126852692362007-07-26T15:40:00.000+02:002008-12-09T23:04:15.652+01:00

I need some eggs so I drop by the neighborhood whole food store. I spy some potatoes and rocket greens and grab those as well. I'm at the checkout, located next to the cheese counter. I can't help but look. And what do I see? Since I'm in Germany: deutscher Käse.But at the edge, almost hiding, were it not blushing so to speak, was L'amour rouge d'Antoine. How can I, a French student in earnest,

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-66392781378547918632007-07-06T13:16:00.000+02:002008-12-09T23:04:15.828+01:00

A refresher lesson about the pronouns qui and que in relative clauses has me trying for the proverbial French cigar. I want to hear those French congratulatory words: tu as fait un tabac.I try. Close, but no cigar. After a few more botched practice sentences for qui and que I want to at least be able to say "close, but no cigar" in French. Turns out that if you can't get it right- the French

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-9762200474080805612007-06-27T18:04:00.000+02:002008-12-09T23:04:15.980+01:00

Je suis un "tita"! Well that's what the parents are calling me. The baby, if it were French, would maybe manage to get out tata or tatie. Which is part of le langage enfantin.Mon neveu a quatre mois and so we aren't really communicating in any language much less French. He makes sounds, drools and toothlessy gnaws on my finger.So what does my first nephew, an American, have to do with my French?

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-65267773965304940982007-05-31T18:34:00.000+02:002008-12-09T23:04:16.128+01:00

Save the cheerleader. Save the world. Sauve mon français!I must break my silence and confess: I've been in another French rut. Vacation didn't need to strike this time in order for my mind to wander away and abandon my well-intentioned but short-lived daily sentence project. Il n'y a plus de phrases quotidiennes.The routine I established has gone a bit awry. I'm getting in my weekly practice of

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-16506074103340224312007-04-12T12:07:00.004+02:002008-12-09T23:04:16.288+01:00

Ma or Mon for the possesive of excuse?Dictionary tells me that excuse is feminine.From what I've learned and logic tells me: ma excuse.Sounds right to me.But I haven't the exceptional French ear. Those ears can't bear to hear something so obviously ugly that it defies the grammar rules, rightly.Mon excuse is right.How to train my ear to spot the ugly exceptions? Well try spottin' the English from

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-19718899180146931492007-04-04T17:19:00.000+02:002008-12-09T23:04:16.500+01:00

I'm not sure which is easier: letting go of an old habit or acquiring a new one. In the ideal world I would be replacing a bad habit with a good one.Five days have gone by since I've started my daily French sentence project. The effort, or not (day 3), have so far replaced the effort I usually put into my homework. Luckily, my efforts (no matter how little) have paid off so far. I find myself

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-32919298827335842892007-03-29T18:41:00.000+02:002008-12-09T23:04:16.614+01:00

For the past few weeks, well- two days shy of the whole month of March, I've been saying je me sens malade and doing little else in French. It's been a case of mal à la gorge, mal de tête et tousser.Je me sens mal and I didn't want to make myself feel worse by just writing about learning French and not actually doing it. While I'm not at the crossroads of Choosing between Language Learning and

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-18195512445507240872007-02-22T19:23:00.001+01:002010-09-04T18:06:18.496+02:00

A perfect intro to award-winning French director Claude Lelouch, the streets of Paris and the petit_foufou road to learning français: C'était un rendez-vous.Let Lelouch take you on a non-stop 8-minute drive through 1976 Paris and then decide if you want to take a seat on the couch and spend more than an hour on him and his movies.You can also, as I did, find it a metaphor for your learning style.

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-70585923637534103362007-02-14T13:39:00.000+01:002008-12-09T23:04:16.701+01:00

To write a good love letter, you ought to begin without knowing what you mean to say, and to finish without knowing what you have written.Jean-Jacques RousseauRousseau, the famous French philospher and writer, might also be describing how I've been doing my French homework. Leafing through past assignments, vocabulary I once knew escapes me now. I'm left wondering at what my French self has

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-90881834130882564222007-01-29T10:22:00.000+01:002008-12-09T23:04:16.863+01:00

When you walk into my house you'll have to look hard to figure out that I'm learning French at home. The French section in my library is très petite: one hand-me-down French/German dictionary, a few old magazines snagged from past Air France flights, three exercise books on grammar and four books (three of which are children's books- merci à Alexandra, Peter et monsieur_foufou!). Voilà tout.On

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1168450331807461242007-01-10T17:54:00.000+01:002007-04-04T18:02:22.845+02:00

Out with the old, in with the new. Optimism and good intentions equal new year's resolutions. Adieu to the speechless débutante of 2006 and bonjour to niveau intermédiaire and beyond in 2007.Sometimes though, optimism and good intentions are nowhere to be found. Maybe regret instead is damning resolutions and screaming for a time machine to fix things in the past so today or tomorrow can be

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1167769171156456132007-01-02T21:11:00.000+01:002010-08-30T15:55:44.249+02:00

Le Theme de cette semaine sur Photo Friday est "Best of 2006". The picture I've picked probably does not speak the same proverbial thousand words, especially French, to everyone so I'm going to just list some words (not a thousand and not all French!) that meant something to the Francophile in me in 2006. Learn French at HomeStéphanie et CélineC'est intéressant That's interesting, It's

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1166197307269685012006-12-15T16:23:00.000+01:002006-12-17T21:56:06.843+01:00

Un mot. Je le vois. Je le lis dans ma tête. Je le dis. A haute voix.Trouble is, it's still not sounding très français. Soupir...Say what you see. It's not easy unless you've already broken all the codes of pronunciation.Normally the ultimate suggestion for learning vocabulary in languages that have gendered nouns is to learn the gender of the nouns with the nouns. A rose is not just a rose but LA

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1164823818593664432006-11-29T18:51:00.000+01:002006-11-29T19:37:25.423+01:00

In Canada it's c'est ça que j'm while in France it's c'est tout ce que j'aime. But actually I'm not professing love for McDonalds or its hamburgers. The "Big Mac" that has my heart is a Macintosh Powerbook G4.For a few hours a week my Mac turns into French Learning Central. And what makes learning on a Mac even more fun? Applications! Or rather what Philippe Galmel programs and calls

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1164218804215995502006-11-22T18:57:00.000+01:002006-11-23T12:10:06.566+01:00

I find mastering the conjugation of verbs one of the most daunting tasks... ever. In the past I learned the conjugated verb forms by rote or my version of "muscle memory": writing out the forms over and over and over...Tactics relying on mindless repetition led to boredom but earnestly trying to understand and apply the principles of conjugation just left me with a mal de tête and anxiety: so

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1163447303570552392006-11-13T20:37:00.000+01:002006-11-16T19:19:59.506+01:00

Well, to me it's not even "How Much Do You Love Me?" but "Wie Sehr Liebst Du Mich?" as I saw this French film in Germany.I had never heard of this movie and had no expectations other than being entertained by a film à la Française. At the Cineplex, I briefly saw a poster with Monica Bellucci in profile looking pensive and alluring: she's turned her gaze to something outside of the poster, her

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1162932676364498892006-11-07T20:58:00.000+01:002006-11-13T18:27:20.246+01:00

Lately, I have been struggling with trying to correctly decipher what I hear.Les Français sur mon CD disent The French on my CD are saying :Il a des sous. He has some coins / money.Il l'a vue. He has seen her / He saw her.Il s'est tu. He shut up (past tense).Et j'entends And I hear :Il a déçu... He disappointed....Il avoue. He is confessing / confesses.Il sait tout. He knows everything.Test

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1161794707398245572006-10-25T18:30:00.000+02:002006-10-27T18:44:28.336+02:00

I've become used to tagging words feminine with that "extra e":Il est américain. Elle est américaine. He/She is american.Il est grand. Elle est grande. He/She is tall.Il est brun. Elle est brune. He/She is brown-haired.L'exception: he and I are both jeune et mince (among other exceptionalqualities). No changes there - one "e", included for both.So it "made sense" to me that in the passé

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1161354375385667582006-10-20T16:17:00.000+02:002006-12-06T18:16:12.976+01:00

I confess! When it comes to French grammar, I'm basically guessing. It's my way of building up intuition. Thinking grammar through is just not my forte. I just want to "know" what to say, say it and have it be right. I'd rather not torture my brain through analysis until minutes or hours later I can reason my way into a sentence that should be perfect... only to stumble into the l'exception

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1160422381819908902006-10-09T20:55:00.000+02:002006-10-21T01:02:46.250+02:00

After my short holiday from learning French mutated into an extended strike - how fitting is it that my first lesson upon return is about l'imparfait?The imperfect is not only the lapsed débutante de français, moi - but the French past tense that wants you to know there's a another reason to learn the nous and vous verb forms in the present tense.I hadn't been bothering to completely conjugate

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1159463019966306072006-09-28T18:45:00.000+02:002006-10-03T17:22:36.460+02:00

The French usually take their vacation in August. My mind instinctively took a vacation, too - happily following my body to Glasgow, Chicago, Jakarta and Ubud - leaving behind French grammar and homework.But while the French returned from their holidays in September my mind turned to another French pastime and decided to follow suit: it went on strike. It decided to continue to indulge in

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1157509520721162612006-09-06T04:07:00.000+02:002006-10-04T20:02:45.420+02:00

To English speakers it's known as the Hippocampus. No, I'm not talking about seahorses or hippos.Does it sound Greek to you? Guess what, it IS! The hippocampus does take its name from the Greek: hippo = horse, kampos = sea monster.Okay- but what's so intéressant about this "monster"? Well, this monster is in our brain. It's the part that's responsible for memory. It can be ton meilleur ami or

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1156545767168523002006-08-25T23:56:00.000+02:002006-11-13T16:37:39.713+01:00

What does it take to make your day... Français?I'm not in France or a French-speaking country so I cannot easily absorb French through ma vie au quotidien. The French that's available to me is limited. There's one channel on la télé that leaves me saying "huh?" after the first five minutes. Weekly rentals at my local library of les disques vidéos has me currently at letter "F". That translates to

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1155422455269212782006-08-13T00:22:00.000+02:002006-08-21T09:40:28.320+02:00

Le theme de cette semaine le site d'IllustrationFriday est "play". Of course the interpretation of the word "play" is left open to the imagination. Je choisis de jouer!Prêt à jouer? Ready to play?les jeux informatiques français French computer gamesjeu de société board gamesjeu de mots word gamesmots-croisés, bourreau et les mots cachéscrossword puzzles, hangman and word searchécoutez et

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1154732055294613142006-08-05T00:37:00.000+02:002006-08-07T12:35:16.780+02:00

Quelle est la différence?He's kind and so is she. To the French: il est gentil et elle est gentille.They are both beautiful and happy. In France: Il est beau et heureux et elle est belle et heureuse. She's quite patient - but he?elle, americaine: tu es impatiente! il, française: impatient (masc.), impatiente (fem.), l'impatienceelle: you have the impatience of a woman then!il - he smiles and

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1154037747601751782006-07-28T00:00:00.000+02:002007-09-11T22:34:26.216+02:00

Losing your HeadIt was yesterday in 1793 that Maximilien de Robespierre, became the head of the Committee of Public Safety, which led to the Reign of Terror in France. Robespierre headed the committee that was to behead more than 2000 people by guillotine. One year later- he would lose his own head as well.It was on this day, a month ago in Nice that I saw the exhibition Perdre la tête currently

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1153321608912591642006-07-19T16:39:00.000+02:002006-07-21T18:07:34.616+02:00

Doukipudonktan?If you can say that three times fast with your best Frech accent and you understand what you are saying then you may be ready for writer Raymond Queneau. Doukipudonktan is the first word of Queneau's 1959 book Zazie dans le métro.Still struggling to pronounce D'où qu'ils puent donc tant? - then perhaps you'd rather hear it than attempt to read it aloud. A year after the book's

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1152553526622006322006-07-10T19:37:00.000+02:002006-07-14T14:18:59.823+02:00

In French, being ok is when "it goes": ça va.Not only can you say ça va to indicate your well-being but you can also say the movie was ok, the food was ok, the plane trip was ok... basically everything has the potential to be ok, if not "interesting".In the present you can answer ça va to both questions : Comment allez vous? How are you? Comment est le livre? How is the book?In the past you

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1151591871027634522006-06-29T16:23:00.000+02:002006-06-30T09:01:00.973+02:00

Please, pretty please ... with sugar on top? For my trip to Ville de Nice I was briefed that s'il vous plaît or je voudrais wasn't going to cut it. It wasn't, literally, "nice" - or rather niçois, enough.In order to get my salade niçoise with a smile, I'd have to go beyond demanding: Je voudrais une salade niçoise. to politely asking for:Puis-je avoir une salade niçoise? Est-ce que je peux

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1150464205582692942006-06-16T15:13:00.000+02:002006-06-16T16:41:27.680+02:00

La frénésie de la coupe du monde de footballHere is my very own World Cup Soccer Frenzy, "en français" via les liens:A partir d'aujourd'hui jusqu'àu samedi 22 juin Today until Saturday, June 22You can bid on France's golden football on auction at eBay.fr http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=17932and since the first of this month you can support Reporters without Bordersby also buying the

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1149874595901344262006-06-09T19:26:00.001+02:002008-08-02T20:14:01.356+02:00

When I think of having a French drink- it's usually champagne that comes to mind. But when my thirst hits me in Manufactum, a store that's still in love with the quality goods of the good old days, I'm not picky. Luckily, I don't have to settle for less than the queen of lemonades.My first glance at the bottles had me erroneously reading rien instead of reine mistaking the queen for the "Nothing

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1148926155129009282006-05-29T20:06:00.000+02:002006-06-17T03:00:41.733+02:00

Listen, learn, laugh (and read)Ouh là! The vocabulary I've been learning lately IS coming in handy.Not exactly talking about working the words in a French conversation but understanding them and the words that surround them. I'm grasping sentences! I know Eddie isn't talking about a "smile" under the table. I can laugh when the French laugh. Bien sûr, it helps that half the stand-up is in

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1148061268064153182006-05-19T19:45:00.000+02:002006-05-19T21:23:54.570+02:00

You'd think that if you've heard one cat "meow"- you've heard them all. But a French cat goes "miaou"."Here kitty kitty" or even "ici minou minou" is not going to get a French cat near you. You have to say "bi biss".But saying "viens ici, mon minou" might get your sweetheart near you. Or not.un chat/une chatte = a cat (m/f)le minou = the cat, kitty cat, pussycat (m+f); can be used as a term of

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1147548571777030432006-05-13T21:17:00.000+02:002006-06-09T19:40:20.246+02:00

La question du jour had me thinking about creepy, crawly, slimy snakes and insects. Berk!I shuddered at the thought and looked over the answers that were already there. The first answer perplexed me. Les souris? Huh? I read it out loud to myself. Hmmm... sounds familiar. Oh yeah, smile. Wait. What?! Smile? She's afraid of a smile? I read the second answer. Someone else is afraid of this animal?!

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1146846604644752132006-05-05T18:30:00.000+02:002006-05-21T00:54:24.486+02:00

Today, there are a lot of muchachos and muchachas celebrating GeneralIgnacio Zaragoza's underdog victory over French invaders at the Battle ofPuebla in Mexico in 1862. A stampede of cattle was even set off as partof the effort to stop and literally crush the invasion.Today, Cinco de Mayo is also widely celebrated in the United States where it seems to be doubly as festive than in Mexico. And

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1146580332886111702006-05-02T16:15:00.000+02:002006-05-03T17:59:05.943+02:00

sous les mersThere's a lot going on under the sea. It's not just for fish or divers. If you are a science fiction enthusiast and a lover of extraordinary voyages then it's for you, too.Sous-marin, the Nautilus of Jules Verne's imagination covers 20,000 leagues or 60,000 nautical miles of Captain Nemo's adventures. Sur terre, countless readers of all ages around the world are discovering this

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1146089819205388692006-04-26T23:48:00.000+02:002006-05-02T17:31:30.226+02:00

Jamais-- at first glance and because I'm still scraping myself off the Autobahn of Tohu-Bohu-- seems to me short for for j'aimais or j'aimerais. However, far from loving, jamais means never.How quickly never turns into love, anyway!In the morning I am telling my friend, "je n'achèterai jamais deux paires de la même chaussure" (pre-French days, so actually I was saying "I would never buy two

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1145641621618723312006-04-21T19:21:00.000+02:002006-04-22T00:18:03.473+02:00

Memory GameThere's no neutral territory for nouns in French- it's either his or hers: "his" un homme a man un chat a cat un sandwich a sandwich "hers" une femme a woman une chatte a cat une salade a saladAnd, no surprise, there are rules for determining the gender: his endings: -ment, -phone, -scope, -teur, -age her endings: -tion / -sion, -té, -ure, -ette, -ence /-anceand

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1145373646291829572006-04-18T17:05:00.000+02:002006-04-19T21:24:09.706+02:00

Est-ce un poisson d'avril? Non, ce n'en est pas un. Est-ce une soupe de poissons? Non, pas tout à fait.Est-ce qu'on nourrit les poissons? Oui, mais ils n'ont pas l'estomac rempli.All this talk of fish- makes a vegetarian hungry, doesn't it? And once they've had their fill of fish (or the fish of breadcrumbs)... what would they say?Of the many translations of full it would be easy to go with "full

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1145021497578938302006-04-14T15:09:00.000+02:002006-04-14T15:36:56.146+02:00

Before I attempt to string words together into complete sentences that lead to meaningful conversation with French speakers I've been practicing using the words and phrases I've learned in the right context. Sometimes, even during conversations in English.A selection of my frequently used words and phrases thus far:coucou hibonjour tout le monde hi everybodybien sûr of coursepas de probléme

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1144424237187846442006-04-07T17:14:00.000+02:002006-05-03T19:18:51.603+02:00

In June, 2000 I was running around the Typo Media conference in Germany carrying a palm-sized Boorum memo book. Notable only because I finally found a notebook I could carry everywhere. I was tired of the novelty of getting different notebooks everytime I needed one and never really being satisfied: Too big. Too small. Cheap paper. Over-designed. Admittedly, the Boorum memo book was very

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1144179274988998982006-04-04T21:21:00.000+02:002006-04-14T15:34:44.536+02:00

Quoi?! "Zhe parhrlay fransay", I would say to myself trying to build up some confidence. Je parle français, tu parles, il, elle, on parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils elles parlent, I would write (practice makes perfect).I would go on French vacations and recite faithfully from my Berlitz phrase book: "parhrlay voo ahnggleh?" Of course no one French ever heard me say "zhe parhrlay fransay"

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1143836099097590882006-03-31T22:03:00.000+02:002006-04-02T19:59:29.143+02:00

Tomorrow, if you are in France, and you aren't careful– you might find a cardboard fish on your back: poisson d'avril! If you aren't thinking it of yourself: Que je suis bête! someone else is and laughing. The origin of April Fools' Day is not clear with many cultures indulging in and enjoying making fools of their compatriotes since ancient Rome and the festival of Hilaria (known today as

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1143486569760622292006-03-27T21:08:00.000+02:002006-03-27T21:27:23.320+02:00

How smart the French are!Whether you mean daylight saving time or summer time they both translate to heure d'été. Even though we in the European Union have already lost our precious hour yesterday (those in the USA hang onto theirs until the first Sunday of April) we have gained the right to start planning our summer vacation today! What a great way to start a Monday, oui?More of the savant

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1142976985660337562006-03-21T22:25:00.000+01:002006-03-22T13:36:21.166+01:00

"As-tu pété?" and really a French speaker isn't asking if your name is Pete."Oui, je péte" and no your not telling them, yes you are.English has been so strongly shaped by French that it's estimated that English speakers who have never studied French already know 15,000 words! Although the American Association of Teachers of French insist that "French is Not a ‘Foreign' Language!", all of you

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1142618641822720262006-03-17T18:39:00.000+01:002006-03-22T13:34:06.820+01:00

Merci mon Dieu, c'est vendredi! It's Friday, thank your God. If you are like me, you hop out of bed tossing aside the warm covers hugging instead the possibilities of a fleeting weekend. Thank God it's Friday! It's the incantation that brings the work week to a close before your feet even hit the floor. If you are like me. Merci mon Dieu, c'est vendredi. Merci mon Dieu, c'est vendredi

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1142289799540028852006-03-13T23:35:00.000+01:002006-03-27T02:17:07.386+02:00

Game of SkillDo you know what the following means?1 - Taille tôt, taille tard, taille toujours en mars2 - Sème tes pois à la saint-Patrice, tu en auras tout ton caprice3 - Quand mars se déguise en été, avril prend ses habits fourrésMore importantly, can you translate it into English? If you answered yes and aren't a French citizen or French is not your mother tongue then you've definitely got

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1141991479791605092006-03-10T12:40:00.000+01:002006-03-22T13:30:46.886+01:00

Sweet DreamsNot long ago, I awoke from a dream completely astounded. I was speaking French. Fluent French gibberish. This must be how my teachers sometimes hear me mangling French: charabia, charabia, charabia!Does this dream mean anything? Do I need to do more French homework? Will I never make it past grammaire progressive niveau débutant to grammaire progressive intermédiaire? M'aider dream

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21595569.post-1141666511784955912006-03-06T18:21:00.000+01:002006-03-22T13:29:54.180+01:00

Illustration Friday's theme this week is "insecte". Mon amie, Damsel Fly, has obliged me by supplying her drawing of a special pollinator. It's no ordinary mouche and should not be confused with it's relative, le moustique (known to stephi as "flying moustaches").Why you should love this fly:1- Midges have no ability to bite and do not carry any human diseases.2- Midges are superlative: la plus

le petit foufouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13005940972927406902noreply@blogger.com3