If you’ve read my blog a while, you know I have a terrible time with the French language. I have a lot going against me – working from my home 10 hours a day never using my French; having a hearing disorder that makes comprehension virtually impossible; having no affordable French classes nearby; and trying to learn a language at age 53 when my memory is half what it used to be. I’ve given up ever really speaking it proficiently and have set my goals to a basic conversational level with the ability to understand at least generally what is being said 50% of the time. Most of the time I feel quite depressed about the situation and very frustrated, so when this video was released and circulated around the France expat community, I laughed until I cried. It was comic relief for me to see that others have some of the same problems and deal with it in some of the same ways. If you’ve ever struggled with learning a foreign language, you’ll love this video.
April 17th, 2012 at 1:24 am
[...] thanks for an amusing spot to American in France blogTweet If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed! No related [...]
April 17th, 2012 at 1:35 am
Its a great clip isn’t it?! I think we are on the same wavelength with this one – I must tell you though that I have added difficulties here in the north of France – they speak ch’ti! Its a local patois and there are different words for many things – horse in French = cheval, in ch’ti = bidet – really its true! We’re finding it difficult to keep up with learning French and learning ch’ti but it keeps us on our toes and laughing and I put together a quick guide for anyone else who comes to the north and would like to know how to fake ch’ti! http://www.thegoodlifefrance.com/thegoodlifefrance-com-quick-guide-to-patois/
April 21st, 2012 at 4:26 am
This post is the absolute best for me, I needed this laugh. I have family in France and they are wanting me to visit soon. So, I have been trying to pick up the language, which for me really should be no problem because I served as a language specialist in the US Navy. Well, now that I am over 40 and my language skills obviously are not what they used to be, you would think my training would have stuck, NOPE!! I am pretty much probably gonna have to do what the gal in the video is doing, as my memory is obviously half what it used to be. Ahhhhhh….mon dieu!!
April 21st, 2012 at 5:45 am
Welcome to my hell. There’s room enough for both of us! Good luck with the French. Cynthia