On to Thanksgiving for a moment. It is a holiday that is relatively difficult for the French to understand and relatively hard for an American to explain [e.g. "It's not a religious holiday," I say; response: "Then whom are you thanking?" Good question!]. Added to that is their inability to pronounce Thanksgiving: it ends up something like Sahnsgeeveen. Since "saint" is pronounced (something like) "sahn," and saints' days are celebrated here (think of Toussaint--All Saints' Day), le Pacha asked which saint's day it was--Gavin, perhaps? So la belle-famille is coming to Nice to celebrate Saint Gavin with me by eating a turkey. I'm sure we will all enjoy it very much. Jube even bought a "spice bread" scented candle to make the apartment smell like America.
We also headed out to Cap 3000 yesterday. Cap 3000 is a shopping center on the outskirts of Nice. We bought a gift for the wedding, and I found my belt! Here is a sneak preview:
I know you can't see either the belt in its full glory or the dress, but it gives you an idea of my outfit. (Add in the earrings and a pair of black slouchy boots and you have the whole picture!) When I bought the belt, I spoke to the saleswoman in French (of course!), and Jube talked to me in English the whole time, making fun of me "pretending to be French." He said the words "French" and "American" so much that as we were leaving, the saleswoman asked if I were French. I was forced to answer negatively, which cracked Jube up for the rest of the night. "Even if you don't have an accent, I manage to give you away!"
5 comments:
Do you seriously not have an accent in French?? If so, I bow down to you....I'm not nearly as bad as the "typical" American, but I'm pretty sure that 20 yrs from now I'll still be identifiable as une étrangère.
We had the same "I'll get in touch with my suppliers" line last year...our turkey ended up costing 35 frickin' euros! That's why this year, I think we're just gonna go with 2 small chickens from Carrefour. Are you making the entire meal (ie. pumpking pie, stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc)? I'm having T-day for 12 chez moi next Friday night....can't wait, it's one of my fav dinners of the year!
I have an accent when I say certain words--e.g. grenouille, potiron--but not "American." I also learned from his southern family, so I have a very heavy southern French accent, which really throws off French people--they don't think that a foreigner would have a southern accent. I mean, can you imagine a French person with a Southern American accent? As for the turkey... I'm making the turkey, stuffing, veggies, and la belle-mere is making the pumpkin pie (since she has the food processor). I can't wait!
One of Fab's friends is a chef, and went to work for a year in a tiny town in northern England, and when he came back, he had the strongest English accent I've ever heard in my life, especially since it was combined with a French one. I could barely understand him, but it was funny to hear things like "bloody hell" or "wanker" coming out of his mouth!
And a French pumpkin pie??? You'll have to let us know how it tastes!
I'm Robyn's friend and I have to tell you that I find your blog to be incredibly fascinating! I just discovered it and stayed up last night reading so many of your entries!! I want to move to France!
Your belt is adorable! And so is your dress! I told my mother that we will have to be shopping after Christmas for something to wear to the wedding.
Have I mentioned the vast excitement?
- N
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