So was it a job offer or was he just hitting on me?
Apparently my French accent is really hard to place, now. I've spent four months (halfway point in this job, huzzah or boo!) here in Normandy, so my accent is slowly kind of normalizing into a Norman-ish French. However, I still use Québecois or old-fashioned words on occasion (even things like "auto" for "voiture" ("car") and such). My pronunciation dips into Québecois sometimes, especially on "e" sounds, definitely on my "è", like when I say "j'ai du misère à faire..." ("I have trouble doing...").
And, as I think I've mentioned before, when I am tired/stressed/drunk, my Québecois accent comes out more. I can also switch into it at will, or at least imitate it enough to amuse my French colleagues.
But overall, most French people now, upon meeting me, just can't place my accent, which is pretty cool! It makes me interesting. They're fascinated to hear that, well, I'm Canadian, but an anglophone. I have just enough Québecois undertones in my pronunciation to think I sound "cute" - they don't consider the full-one Québecois accent an "intelligent" accent (like the anglophone perception of, say, Texas accents), but they see it as kind of provincial and folksy. Most French people don't expect my accent from Canadians, though. Apparently the only anglophones from North America who can speak French (according to the French of Europe) are people from Montreal... and their accents are completely different from mine. Go figure.
Anyway, I had a long day today at school, and then I had a tutoring session, then an absolutely lovely meal at a fondue restaurant to celebrate the birthday of one of my friends who is also an English language assistant. I ate way too much, but enjoyed myself immensely.
When I was taking the metro home, the man across from me started to chat with me. Apparently he works for the metro system here and in Marseille, and he noticed that I had "un petit accent", and we talked about it because I was a little bit tipsy. He has several colleagues who work in English/French translation, and apparently they could use someone like me? He gave me his business card (which looks legit) and scribbled his cell number on it. Do you think it was a serious job offer or was he just hitting on me?
(Still a bit tipsy while writing this. I will correct my grammar and such or possibly delete this post entirely when I wake up in the morning.)
Edit: Also, one of my students came up to me after class this morning and gave me a homemade crèpe wrapped in cling wrap. Aww, thanks for the free food and for thinking of me. :)
And, as I think I've mentioned before, when I am tired/stressed/drunk, my Québecois accent comes out more. I can also switch into it at will, or at least imitate it enough to amuse my French colleagues.
But overall, most French people now, upon meeting me, just can't place my accent, which is pretty cool! It makes me interesting. They're fascinated to hear that, well, I'm Canadian, but an anglophone. I have just enough Québecois undertones in my pronunciation to think I sound "cute" - they don't consider the full-one Québecois accent an "intelligent" accent (like the anglophone perception of, say, Texas accents), but they see it as kind of provincial and folksy. Most French people don't expect my accent from Canadians, though. Apparently the only anglophones from North America who can speak French (according to the French of Europe) are people from Montreal... and their accents are completely different from mine. Go figure.
Anyway, I had a long day today at school, and then I had a tutoring session, then an absolutely lovely meal at a fondue restaurant to celebrate the birthday of one of my friends who is also an English language assistant. I ate way too much, but enjoyed myself immensely.
When I was taking the metro home, the man across from me started to chat with me. Apparently he works for the metro system here and in Marseille, and he noticed that I had "un petit accent", and we talked about it because I was a little bit tipsy. He has several colleagues who work in English/French translation, and apparently they could use someone like me? He gave me his business card (which looks legit) and scribbled his cell number on it. Do you think it was a serious job offer or was he just hitting on me?
(Still a bit tipsy while writing this. I will correct my grammar and such or possibly delete this post entirely when I wake up in the morning.)
Edit: Also, one of my students came up to me after class this morning and gave me a homemade crèpe wrapped in cling wrap. Aww, thanks for the free food and for thinking of me. :)