Given my love for France and all things French, it\u2019s not unusual for my weeks to be filled with a variety of French things. But this week I had the added bonus of being surprised in delightful ways by more French than usual.<\/p>\n
Ma semaine surprise a commenc\u00e9 mardi <\/strong>(My week of surprises started Tuesday)<\/em>. I recently started a new job** <\/em>in a city not far from my home and walking to lunch mardi<\/strong> I was thrilled to discover une librairie fran\u00e7aise<\/strong> (a French bookshop<\/em>) just around the corner from mon bureau<\/strong> (my office<\/em>). \u00a0La Librairie Populaire <\/strong>(The people\u2019s bookshop<\/em>) sells des livres, des BD, des CD, et des films fran\u00e7ais et qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois<\/strong> (books, comics, CDs, and films from France and Quebec<\/em>). Je n\u2019ai achet\u00e9 qu\u2019un disque de C\u00e9line Dion cette fois-ci <\/strong>(I only bought a compact disc by Celine Dion this time<\/em>), but I know I\u2019ll be making frequent visits . . . Not only are there many livres <\/strong>to discover, but the shop owner is a charming man who let me practice my French on him!<\/p>\n Jeudi les surprises ont continu\u00e9es. <\/strong>(Thursday the surprises continued.) <\/em>I know you don’t all live near me (or near a French librarie<\/strong>) so this surprise will be more useful for you.\u00a0<\/strong>While searching for a truly crazy cat video<\/a> (check it out, it will surely blow your mind as it blew mine!) I came across an amazing new (to me at least) Youtube channel<\/a>. L\u2019institut National Audiovisuel, <\/strong><\/a>a public cultural enterprise responsible for the protection and exploitation of France\u2019s audiovisual heritage, has posted over 200 videoss of classic French content that you can use to practice your listening skills . . . or you can wait for me to share them with you one by one as I rediscover my favorites!<\/p>\n And finally, my happiest surprise of the week, dimanche matin au rayon des fruits et l\u00e9gumes du supermarch\u00e9 du coin <\/strong>(Sunday morning in the produce section of my local grocery store<\/em>) I ran into mon ancienne prof*** de fran\u00e7ais, Mme**** Wheeler<\/strong> (my old French teacher, Mrs. Wheeler<\/em>). La deniere fois que l\u2019on s\u2019est vu <\/strong>(The last time we saw each other<\/em>) I was volunteering in her class and it was so lovely to reconnect . . . and to have a wonderful conversation en fran\u00e7ais<\/strong> right there among les fruits et l\u00e9gumes! Mme Wheeler m’a racont\u00e9 une bien bonne histoire<\/strong> (Mrs. Wheeler told me a funny story<\/em>) that I hope she won’t mind me sharing. A former student of hers (not me!) once told her after a trip to Qu\u00e9bec that he had had “la meilleure putain de sa vie”\u00a0<\/strong>. . . he of course meant that he had had “the best<\/em> poutine<\/a>\u00a0of his life” !!!****<\/em><\/p>\n In the coming weeks look for updates on my on-going discoveries at my new favorite book store and my new favorite Youtube channel!<\/p>\n * My very French week<\/p>\n ** \u2018job\u2019 <\/em>is often heard in both France and Canada. The \u201creal\u201d French word for \u2018a job\u2019 is \u2018un emploie\u2019<\/em> but you\u2019ll also hear it referred to as \u2018un boulot\u2019 <\/em>as in the famous French expression \u2018m\u00e9tro, boulot, dodo<\/a>\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n *** \u2018prof\u2019 (<\/em>short for \u2018professeur\u2019<\/em>) can be masculine or feminine depending on the context.<\/em><\/p>\n **** I’ll let you search on line for ‘putain<\/em>‘ . . . It’s a word with many, many meanings, but also one that isn’t usually used in polite company!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Given my love for France and all things French, it\u2019s not unusual for my weeks to be filled with a variety of French things. But this week I had the added bonus of being surprised in delightful ways by more French than usual. Ma semaine surprise a commenc\u00e9 mardi (My week of surprises started Tuesday)…<\/p>\n