Archive for June, 2019
La Canicule Everywhere But La Bretagne – Heatwave In France Posted by John Bauer on Jun 28, 2019
Il fait chaud (it’s hot) in Paris. Sweating through my morning commute and dealing with the lack of air conditioning throughout the city has made this a rather difficult time. La canicule (the intense heat, heatwave) is incredibly famous in France. Every year once warm weather moves a few degrees too high, everyone starts to…
French Culture – Current(ish) Events Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jun 25, 2019
As you know, I had the great privilege of studying in France au lycée (in high school). I also enjoyed returning during my junior year (3rd year) à l’université (in college*). Reading a recent New York Times article, I learned that that was just one thing I shared with the late Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Une…
Forced To Pull Your Hair – French Expression For Poor Explanations Posted by John Bauer on Jun 21, 2019
The hardest part about taking care of les cheveux (your hair) in French is not le shampooing (shampoo). At least, that’s not the only French lesson hiding in your hair! It always surprises me how often people use une expression (an expression, an idiom) without realizing how it’s nearly impossible to understand what it means…
French Music – Christophe Willem Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jun 18, 2019
Christophe Willem exploded onto the French pop scene in 2006 when he won the French singing competition Nouvelle Star (the French version of American Idol / Pop Idol). Since then he’s become one of my favorite singers, though his songs (and particularly his videos) aren’t always well suited for a blog. I recently came across…
How’s It Waxing? – Silly French Slang Posted by John Bauer on Jun 13, 2019
Words can unintentional sound funny when switching between le français et l’anglais (French and English). Les faux amis (false friends) like raisin juice are fun on their own, but when a perfectly normal word in one language sounds like a more cheeky word in the other, the effect is greatly amplified. I recently learned un…
What’s new in Old Quebec Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jun 11, 2019
As I’ve shared before, I’m a big fan of la ville de Québec. Most of my experiences though have revolved around the Old City. And while I still adore (adore … it’s a cognate!) the Chateau Frontenac, le Petit Champlain, and la Place Royale, on a recent trip to the city for a family event…
Singing Along To A Familiar Song – Beyoncé’s Halo In French Posted by John Bauer on Jun 6, 2019
La musique (music) is always a great way to keep studying when you’re tired of looking at les conjugaisons (conjugations) and le vocabulaire (vocabulary). Finding a fun chanson (song) that you sing along to outside of the classroom turns boring practice into a new hobby. Les chanteurs français (French singers) are incredibly famous with songs…