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Is That A Cafe Or A Bar? – Cafes In France Posted by John Bauer on Jul 13, 2016
Every day is a learning experience here in France. Something as simple as closing the blinds or going to the store can catch you off guard. Even saying un café, s’il vous plaît can be confusing when you see what you ordered! Something that confused me is what les Français (French people) mean when they…
Summer Games Done Quick – French Restream! Posted by John Bauer on Jul 6, 2016
Summer has been here for a few weeks, and that means la fête de la musique and la canicule are here as well, but there is another summer tradition happening this week that can help you practice French: Summer Games Done Quick! Summer Games Done Quick or SGDQ is un événement de charité (a charity…
Is The Future Of The EU French? Posted by John Bauer on Jun 29, 2016
The recent Brexit vote in the UK has left many people wondering about the future of the EU. One aspect in particular has been questioned: the role of l’anglais (English) now that the UK is no longer a member, and the role of the other langues de travail (working languages), French and German. The role…
Is That Covered By Your Insurance In France? Posted by John Bauer on Jun 22, 2016
France is famous for l’amour et le vin (love and wine), and its culture that extends throughout the la francophonie. Cependant (however), France is also known for la bureaucratie et la paperasse (bureaucracy and paperwork). All countries have an element of la bureaucratie that can be extra difficult when you’re un étranger (a foreigner) and…
Two Front Doors! – Special French Addresses Posted by John Bauer on Jun 15, 2016
Using La Poste and knowing what your adresse is solves most of your mail related problems in France. There is however another aspect of French addresses that I did not understand for a very long time. Sometimes une adresse has a number followed by the word bis. I didn’t know what the bis meant until…
La Poste – Sending Snail Mail In France Posted by John Bauer on Jun 8, 2016
Before I had trouble figuring out how to send un mail, I had trouble figuring out how to send le courrier (the mail). La Poste (the French postal service) isn’t very different from other postal services around the world, but it is somewhat unique in that it is also une banque et un opérateur de…
What’s On The Agenda? – Time Management In French Posted by John Bauer on Jun 1, 2016
I received un mail (an email) the other day with a simple message: La prochaine réunion sera chez moi à 17h. Est-ce que vous êtes disponible ? The next meeting will be at my place at 5 o’clock. Are you available? After making sure that 17h is 5 PM and not 7 PM, I wrote…