Anecdotes

Here I am again folks, writing to you all the way from Paris but I have been a bad blogger. It’s been a couple of weeks since I last visited J’adore Paris and I apologize but I fear that I am running out of things to say here. Perhaps next week, I’ll have more interesting stories after my trip to Amsterdam. Still, there is plenty happening in Paris that I could write about, of course and I don’t know if it will be interesting or not but I’ll give it a try anyway. (By the way, those of you who have heard about the riots should know that Paris, although it has been somewhat affected in the southern areas, is still safe and I am still safe. All is well.)

Anecdote 1 Donc uuuhh…
A week ago in French class, our instructor invited one of her colleagues to talk to us so we could practice speaking with someone new. The woman is Japanese and she teaches Japanese in a French school, I think. She was fun and interesting to talk with and she pointed out a difference between the way French people speak French and the way other people speak French. When Americans speak French we generally say, “Uummm” in between thoughts as we do in English or we just don’t make any sound when we have a loss for words. The French always have a sort of background hum behind their speech. There is almost always constant sound and their “uumm” is more rounded like “uuuuuuuhh;” it’s very heavy on the “u” like in the empty-headed “duuuh" sound but without the “d.” Ours is a lighter sound. (When I get back ask me about it and I’ll demonstrate.) So now, all of us Americans turned Frenchies walk around Paris trying to sound authentic, making the “uuuuh” sound instead of the “uummm” sound and one of our favorite phrases is “Donc, uuuuh” (donc means thus or therefore) and we say it all the time but rarely ever in context. It has become apart of the growing vocabulary of our Franglish. It is amazing to me how easy it’s becoming for me to interject a French word into an English sentence, whether I am talking or writing. I can’t tell you how many times in the last 15 minutes alone that I have wanted to type “je pense” for “I think” or “mais” for “but.” This habit works here when I’m speaking to fellow French language students but when I get home, je pense, uuuuuhh, I’m going to have to do a lot of translating.

Anecdote 2 Natural Young Coconut Water
Here in the wonderful city of Paris, I have taken the opportunity to sample a variety of different Asian cuisines. I have never had so many different types of Asian foods in my life! I think I can safely say that every week I’m eating someone else’s Asian food. Whether it’s Chinese, Japanese or Vietnamese, none of it is French and I don’t know how I feel about that yet. I’m not complaining though, its genuinely good food. Tonight, I returned with two friends to a Vietnamese restaurant for Pho, (pronounced “fuh”) an amazing beef based rice noodle soup that really warms you, heart and soul. Dinner was a success but as we were heading to the bus, we passed an Asian market and decided to stop. On the way out, I bought “Natural Young Coconut Water” as per the recommendation of one of my friends. I am generally willing to try different foods and drinks, so I approached this coconut water with an open mind. Unfortunately, it was awful. I personally do not think that one should have to chew when drinking out of a can. I don’t know what I was expecting but what I got was not it. The drink tasted kind of like V8 or something with a vegetable base, particularly carrots but then again my taste buds are strange. I think that Pho, which has cinnamon in its broth, tastes kind of like the milk left over from Cinnamon Toast Crunch but in a good way. So don’t take my word for it; check out the Argyle stop in Chicago and try some Pho or perhaps even some “Natural Young Coconut Water;” maybe your experience will be better than mine.

Anecdote 3 All Roads Lead to Monoprix
In my last entry, I mentioned our class trip to Barbizon, which was cut short, so a couple of weeks ago, a group of us decided to return to the town of Fontainebleau (the place in which Barbizon is located) to view the chateau there and perhaps take a hike through the forest. I traveled with five other students, some of whom were visiting Paris from a Spanish program in Grenada. We traveled by train to Fontainebleau, which is small and adorable like the Parisian countryside usually is but more urban, like Paris, with shops and bakeries, etc. In the beginning of our excursion, I separated from the group with my friend and we toured the grounds around the chateau, taking pictures like mad—which, I must say, we do quite well and quite often. After that, we toured the chateau—very nice—then we just walked around Fontainebleau for hours upon hours. While traversing the small town, we noticed a Monoprix, which is a large chain of stores in Paris that resemble something like our “super” stores. Monoprix sells clothes, house wares, etc. and also has a full-sized grocery store on the upper level. So, we walked all over Fontainebleau, saw the sights, walked through a cemetery, got a little lost—you know the drill. After the cemetery, we returned to the center of town and decided to pick another random direction to explore. Before long, we saw Monoprix again, so we picked another random road to follow; a bit later, Monoprix again. Finally, we decided to go in and buy something. Can you blame us? It was always there, just staring us in the face with its bright red letters, begging us to come inside and buy something, anything (even a 1.5L bottle of Fanta Light). In the end, we concluded that the franchise has a monopoly over that poor little town and uses its location as a marketing ploy so that regardless of where you go in Fontainebleau, all roads lead to Monoprix.


Now, the fun starts.
In my boredom, this chilly Sunday night, I have come up with what will hopefully be a fun way to increase reader commentary. Unfortunately, my previous attempt was unsuccessful but I am resilient and refuse to give up without a fight. Donc, uuuuuhh, I have presented these three anecdotes to you, my readers, so that you may select your favorite one. There are no criteria whatsoever; judge them any way you would like. All I ask is that you submit your vote via the comment link located just below this entry. Write as little or as much as you would like, leave your name and then publish your comment. I’ll give updates on the votes and then in a week or two, I’ll post the final results. If this seems completely pointless to you, you’re right, it is pointless but who says you can’t have fun doing something absolutely meaningless? Besides, it means something to me when readers comment; it’s encouraging and it makes me eager to write again because I know someone is reading. So, let’s get this party started! Vote early and vote often!