Something funny for your weekend: Faking French

Whew, I can’t believe it’s already Friday. We’ve settled nicely into our new flat and I am falling in love with our neighborhood. It feels so much more authentically “Parisian” – with cafés, boulangeries, bi-weekly marchés and plenty of fascinating people watching. The Ile St. Louis is sublime and we loved our three months living on the banks of the Seine, but there is something about being in a neighborhood that isn’t such a huge tourist destination that is refreshing and invigorating. To do any sort of grocery shopping we can choose to go to our local FranPrix if we’re in a hurry. If I have time, I like popping into the six or seven little stores required to get my milk, cheese, chicken, bread, vegetables and other various sundries. One really refreshing thing is that the merchants here aren’t always catering to tourists and this allows me to practice my French. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to try to speak French and always be answered in English. So far that hasn’t happened here!

Anyway, I’ll take some pictures of the area and post them soon but for now here’s a little video on How to Fake French. I’ve been known to use almost all these strategies – with the exception of number four. Strategy number two is very effective – I definitely know how to make non-committal noises while smiling or nodding my head – when you find yourself cornered in a store by an elderly Frenchwoman who feels it’s her responsibility to let you know her thoughts on what you’re purchasing. Anyway, when little brown pen posted this video, I got a laugh out of it and thought I’d share.