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Survival Guide for Vegetarians in France Posted by Hichem on Feb 25, 2012
Yes, it’s no secret, France can be un vrai paradis for all the meat-lovers of the world: Beef, chicken, lamb, pork—not to mention, of course, les cuisses de grenouille (frog legs) and escargot! But… how about les végétariens living out there? Vegetarians, fear not! Below is a list of words to help you navigate a French menu or food label. Things you want: Végétarien: Vegetarian Végétalien: Vegan Le soja: Soy Le tofu: Tofu…
Top 50 Funniest French Names (The Letter A!) Posted by Hichem on Feb 24, 2012
Salut! Did you know that when you are a kid in France, you learn to play a little funny game called “Monsieur et Madame” (“Mr. and Mrs.“) This is pretty much how it goes: – You ask someone: “Monsieur et Madame <some name> ont un fils/une fille, comment s’appelle-t-il/s’appelle-t-elle? “ Meaning: “Mr. and Mrs. <some name> have a…
The Right French Spelling is *Ça va*—Not “Sa va”! Posted by Hichem on Feb 17, 2012
Hey! Salut les amis! Ça va bien…? Tell me, what is the difference in French between “ça“, “çà“, and “sa“? Today’s post will talk about that avec les détails: Whether or not you’ve been fully diagnosed with a desperately incurable case of “coulrophobie” (that -please, try not to laugh- is the serious medical term that describes…
Back to the Roots: A French-Algerian Rhapsody Posted by Hichem on Feb 16, 2012
How long does it take to go on a roadtrip from Paris all the way to Algeria? Probably beaucoup trop longtemps (way too long)! But Hamdoullah (meaning “Thank God” in Arabic, as French-Algerians would say), the cool Uncle, aka “Tonton du Bled”, has fully packed his Peugeot 504 car with plenty of cadeaux (presents) which he bought from…
Jacques Brel: “Quand on a que l’amour” (When We Have Nothing But Love) Posted by Hichem on Feb 9, 2012
This French song never gets old. It got all the reasons to be “newsworthy” today. Like being madly full of hope, in face of all the other reasons that make you feel like baisser les bras (giving up)… There will always going to be songs like these, in the words of people, in the songs…
French Numbers: Learn to Count from 1 to 1000 Posted by Hichem on Nov 1, 2011
Un, deux, trois, c’est parti (one, two, three, here we go)! So… you want to learn how to count in French like a pro? Well, look no further mes amis, because the Transparent French Blog will show you how to do it—en un tour de main (in a flash)! The key to learning how to…
Compter les moutons pour s’endormir (Counting sheep to fall asleep) Posted by Hichem on Oct 27, 2011
What is your favorite astuce (trick) when you’re having a hard time falling asleep? Aside from the radical solutions, such as resorting to sleeping pills, or -when desperate times call for desperate measures- forcing yourself to watch back-to-back episodes of “somniferous” shows like “Jersey Shore” (try better “Jersey Sore”, or even “Jersey Snore”…), some people…