I'm going to start off by saying tonight falls under my list of top 10 best nights in my life! Nothing spectacular happened, but it was just one of those nights when everything seemed to be going right and was carefree and totally fun.
It started out with me waiting in the main center square in the dark, getting hit on by a man missing two teeth. I'm probably going to take what he said with a grain of salt, but it was definitely the most vulgar attempt I've received over here -- and trust me, there have been a few. The translation is as follows: "I just wanted to tell you that you're fucking charming." Ok, not so bad, but interesting nonetheless...
Anyways Ludo finally showed up, I'm guessing he's of Italian origins but has lived in Lyon his whole life with his parents, and took me somewhere to chat. He wants to brush up on his English because he's going to an international master's school in Newcastle, England to study renewable energy in the field of solar power. Yikes, I can barely say that in English and it's my native language.
Anyways, he took me to his favorite bar in Antibes and paid for my coffee -- weak, I know I should have gotten something more exciting but it was cold! We talked for a good hour, mostly in French because he grew very tired of speaking in English. However, I was starting to struggle with thinking in French the entire time, but it came out to be a neat mix.
Then he looks at his watch and asks if I want to go to his friend's house, where there'd be a party that's kind of like a barbecue, but not. I think the word he was looking for was a "potluck." But it happened to be the neatest grouping of people I've ever been around.
Thrown in this tiny two-room flat overlooking the entire Cape of Antibes -- breathtaking views -- were over 10 French citizens, the homeowner's brother and his Spanish fiancée, a Bulgarian friend from the international master's program, and someone's Greek cousin who was neither big, nor fat. Oh yeah and me, "la petite Transatlantique," as they liked to call me, aka the sole non-EU member. Each person brought something exceptionally tasty and that means I officially abandoned my diet for the weekend. I'll have to dive back in headfirst tomorrow...
Anyways, no more stalling. Here's what I ate:
Quiche Lorraine, French bread and sausage, provençal olives, pasta and ratatouille -- like the movie, someone explained to me in English. Yes I know what ratatouille is. Jessica Sanborn, if you're reading this start laughing hysterically right now, because the next item on my plate was a taste of MOUSSAKA (which is basically eggplant with lamb and cheese on top) and boy was it delicious, Greek salad with feta cheese, tarte tatin -- it's probably the closest thing the French have to apple pie -- bottles of wine and cider, and finally Chinese pastries with a soy-coconut nougat filling.
I don't know where I put all that food, but dang it was good.
Then we spent the next three hours talking, joking and playing a type of taboo-charades game. So not only do I struggle through the language -- though I wasn't alone in this international gathering -- but I don't know French pop culture, so I basically could only answer two questions that were catered towards me and my knowledge of American personalities.
As for the speaking part, Ludo said his goal was to get me to speak French the entire time. And I did! I also was quite proud because I understood close to everything being said.... not including the 30 minutes in the middle of the meal when I realized four drinks was too much and calmed down for a bit. I was told by many of the guys there that I had traces of an accent, but not an American one. Oh and "not to generalize," (that's always a good start to a sentence) but they said I was the best French-speaking American they'd ever met, because "Americans are lazy when it comes to languages." Big plus for my confidence! However, I think they were just being nice, because I think my accent and speaking capacities are still subpar. Though, I was told on multiple occasions NOT to ever lose my American accent, because that's all part of my charm. Again, that's the eighth time someone's called me charming over here! What is it with you Frenchies??
But the most exciting part was speaking -- in French -- with a very attractive French boy who studied abroad in Texas about Californian politics and beer pong. Yes in that order. We even held a mini demonstration of cider pong for those not in the know. Talk about strange; I never thought I'd be playingbeer cider pong in France.
Well the night certainly went well, seeing as how I ate that much and didn't pay a cent. I was invited to come back again and Ludo told me to call him soon so we could go out to have some one-on-one time and sortir again. I think it's just to practice speaking, but I still haven't quite figured out his intentions.
But I'm not complaining!!
It started out with me waiting in the main center square in the dark, getting hit on by a man missing two teeth. I'm probably going to take what he said with a grain of salt, but it was definitely the most vulgar attempt I've received over here -- and trust me, there have been a few. The translation is as follows: "I just wanted to tell you that you're fucking charming." Ok, not so bad, but interesting nonetheless...
Anyways Ludo finally showed up, I'm guessing he's of Italian origins but has lived in Lyon his whole life with his parents, and took me somewhere to chat. He wants to brush up on his English because he's going to an international master's school in Newcastle, England to study renewable energy in the field of solar power. Yikes, I can barely say that in English and it's my native language.
Anyways, he took me to his favorite bar in Antibes and paid for my coffee -- weak, I know I should have gotten something more exciting but it was cold! We talked for a good hour, mostly in French because he grew very tired of speaking in English. However, I was starting to struggle with thinking in French the entire time, but it came out to be a neat mix.
Then he looks at his watch and asks if I want to go to his friend's house, where there'd be a party that's kind of like a barbecue, but not. I think the word he was looking for was a "potluck." But it happened to be the neatest grouping of people I've ever been around.
Thrown in this tiny two-room flat overlooking the entire Cape of Antibes -- breathtaking views -- were over 10 French citizens, the homeowner's brother and his Spanish fiancée, a Bulgarian friend from the international master's program, and someone's Greek cousin who was neither big, nor fat. Oh yeah and me, "la petite Transatlantique," as they liked to call me, aka the sole non-EU member. Each person brought something exceptionally tasty and that means I officially abandoned my diet for the weekend. I'll have to dive back in headfirst tomorrow...
Anyways, no more stalling. Here's what I ate:
Quiche Lorraine, French bread and sausage, provençal olives, pasta and ratatouille -- like the movie, someone explained to me in English. Yes I know what ratatouille is. Jessica Sanborn, if you're reading this start laughing hysterically right now, because the next item on my plate was a taste of MOUSSAKA (which is basically eggplant with lamb and cheese on top) and boy was it delicious, Greek salad with feta cheese, tarte tatin -- it's probably the closest thing the French have to apple pie -- bottles of wine and cider, and finally Chinese pastries with a soy-coconut nougat filling.
I don't know where I put all that food, but dang it was good.
Then we spent the next three hours talking, joking and playing a type of taboo-charades game. So not only do I struggle through the language -- though I wasn't alone in this international gathering -- but I don't know French pop culture, so I basically could only answer two questions that were catered towards me and my knowledge of American personalities.
As for the speaking part, Ludo said his goal was to get me to speak French the entire time. And I did! I also was quite proud because I understood close to everything being said.... not including the 30 minutes in the middle of the meal when I realized four drinks was too much and calmed down for a bit. I was told by many of the guys there that I had traces of an accent, but not an American one. Oh and "not to generalize," (that's always a good start to a sentence) but they said I was the best French-speaking American they'd ever met, because "Americans are lazy when it comes to languages." Big plus for my confidence! However, I think they were just being nice, because I think my accent and speaking capacities are still subpar. Though, I was told on multiple occasions NOT to ever lose my American accent, because that's all part of my charm. Again, that's the eighth time someone's called me charming over here! What is it with you Frenchies??
But the most exciting part was speaking -- in French -- with a very attractive French boy who studied abroad in Texas about Californian politics and beer pong. Yes in that order. We even held a mini demonstration of cider pong for those not in the know. Talk about strange; I never thought I'd be playing
Well the night certainly went well, seeing as how I ate that much and didn't pay a cent. I was invited to come back again and Ludo told me to call him soon so we could go out to have some one-on-one time and sortir again. I think it's just to practice speaking, but I still haven't quite figured out his intentions.
But I'm not complaining!!
1 comment:
lookit you, becoming all french and local. i'm jealous of all this DELICIOUS home cooked french food you're getting.
they had a "beer pong" night at my school (granted, it is an american university, so it wasn't a totally foreign concept), but it was lame...no red cups+short tables=fake beer pong. i didnt bother going to this poseur event.
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