(no subject)
Marked occasion today! my first dry run using my french skills, unprompted, with real french people! It was pretty awesome.
I was helping the lady count out her change and since I heard them speaking french my brain automatically switched. I told her 'c'est trente-cinq ici' and she agreed, then did a double take. So working in the market is pretty much the shit.
I told them that I had never been to france but that "j'ai etudié le francais depuis sept ans," which I'm not sure is entirely correct, but that's the way it's been in my brain for a while now and I haven't bothered to fix it. As I bade them bon soir (bonne soirée, they called?) the husband told me that my french was very very good. I thanked him and smiled to myself for a good ten minutes.
So proud of myself. I guess I actually do speak french.
It was good not to have to worry about nationality - they obviously knew and expected me to be American, so i didn't have to worry about snobby french people thinking poorly of Americans. Had I been in france I probably would have told someone I was from Vancouver. Canada is so much cooler with france, I think.
I guess all those lessons have been useful, then. Gosh, to think I actually applied something I learned in school! Anf languages are awesome - linguistics are right for me, I have decided. But aside from that, working in the market is very cool. I also helped people from belgium and from germany today. I will be less afraid to speak french, next time. It was just very obvious that these people were not very fluent in english and I wanted to set them at ease.
Market food places include the Greek stand, the russian food, the korean bbq, the thai place, the italian noodle place, the chicken place, the chili place, the crepe place, the teriyaki and bubble tea place, the bakery, the asian superkarmet, the burrito place, the gelato place, the chowder place, the deli, the pan-african place, the falafel place, the uncounted cafés, and the cajun place. I have so far eaten at two of them. The rest are currently out of my budget. This is all within a block of my store, and doesn't include the fresh fruit, vegetable, cheese, meats, fish flowers, honey, nuts, pasta stands of the market. IT'S SO FUCKING COOL. I just wish I got done with work before the market closed so I could explore.
My coworkers are pretty cool also. We're mostly girls, two guys, and Alec. He doesn't count. He should get his shit together though, he's so incredibly clueless and socially inept, I dunno how he still has a job. He's nice enough, though, so I don't mind.
Tim and I both work full time, though. It's tough to stay close, but we are managing. He pretty much lives here, and we are house sitting right now for my parents so we feel like a married couple and it's strange. I love the guy, though. eight months on wednesday. he has his foibles, as do I, but I can't imagine being more perfectly matched with anyone.
love love love. Summer is so full of life and I love it.
I was helping the lady count out her change and since I heard them speaking french my brain automatically switched. I told her 'c'est trente-cinq ici' and she agreed, then did a double take. So working in the market is pretty much the shit.
I told them that I had never been to france but that "j'ai etudié le francais depuis sept ans," which I'm not sure is entirely correct, but that's the way it's been in my brain for a while now and I haven't bothered to fix it. As I bade them bon soir (bonne soirée, they called?) the husband told me that my french was very very good. I thanked him and smiled to myself for a good ten minutes.
So proud of myself. I guess I actually do speak french.
It was good not to have to worry about nationality - they obviously knew and expected me to be American, so i didn't have to worry about snobby french people thinking poorly of Americans. Had I been in france I probably would have told someone I was from Vancouver. Canada is so much cooler with france, I think.
I guess all those lessons have been useful, then. Gosh, to think I actually applied something I learned in school! Anf languages are awesome - linguistics are right for me, I have decided. But aside from that, working in the market is very cool. I also helped people from belgium and from germany today. I will be less afraid to speak french, next time. It was just very obvious that these people were not very fluent in english and I wanted to set them at ease.
Market food places include the Greek stand, the russian food, the korean bbq, the thai place, the italian noodle place, the chicken place, the chili place, the crepe place, the teriyaki and bubble tea place, the bakery, the asian superkarmet, the burrito place, the gelato place, the chowder place, the deli, the pan-african place, the falafel place, the uncounted cafés, and the cajun place. I have so far eaten at two of them. The rest are currently out of my budget. This is all within a block of my store, and doesn't include the fresh fruit, vegetable, cheese, meats, fish flowers, honey, nuts, pasta stands of the market. IT'S SO FUCKING COOL. I just wish I got done with work before the market closed so I could explore.
My coworkers are pretty cool also. We're mostly girls, two guys, and Alec. He doesn't count. He should get his shit together though, he's so incredibly clueless and socially inept, I dunno how he still has a job. He's nice enough, though, so I don't mind.
Tim and I both work full time, though. It's tough to stay close, but we are managing. He pretty much lives here, and we are house sitting right now for my parents so we feel like a married couple and it's strange. I love the guy, though. eight months on wednesday. he has his foibles, as do I, but I can't imagine being more perfectly matched with anyone.
love love love. Summer is so full of life and I love it.