Fact: there were women gladiators in Rome

Buongiorno!  Marisa, Priya, and I just got back from our trip to Rome... and we are exhausted!  So much walking around, but also so much sitting and drinking wine.  We were there for about 4.5 days, which is about the right amount of time to hit all of the major attractions but still have enough time to sit and eat/drink at outdoor cafes.  Hopefully I will post about it later, but right now, here is the highlight of our trip... a gladiator fight in the Colosseum.

Super Mega Chouette!

There is really no equivalent to the word "awesome" in French, so I am usually at a loss when trying to describe awesome things.  In America, old French teachers will tell you that "chouette" (which actually means owl), means "cool" in French.  In reality, it's an outdated term for cool, and very few people use it.  But they do use the word "super," especially as a adjective qualifier.  And even better than super is "hyper"... ie I am hyper-excited that Marisa and Priya are here!

Marisa and Priya jumping for joy(in front of the Louvre) because they are super-happy to be in Paris

Found (humor) in translation

A stop sign in France is quite typical: red octagon with the word "STOP" written in the middle.  But when I remembered learning the French word for "stop" was "arrêt," I asked le french boyfriend why the sign said stop, which lead to this conversation:

Me - Why do you use english words on your road signs?

LFB - French people also say "stop" to mean "stop"

Me - But that is English... why don't you use "arrêt?"

LFB - Why do you guys use "rendez-vous?"

Me - ...Touché, sir.

Although he didn't understand my last phrase since they apparently don't use that word that way.

One of the things I find entertaining as an English-speaking person in a French-speaking country is seeing the different translations between the two languages.  Also when English words have been integrated into the French language, such as "parking," "weekend," "email," etc.  Although, officially, "email" and "weekend" are unacceptable (in French administration).

Translations of movie titles and books are still a mystery to me.  I am currently reading Harry Potter in French... except in the book, 'arry goes to Poudlard (Hogwarts) and uses a magical baguette (wand).  I've had discussions about this to many people, including this google reader post and comments between myself and American friends on the subject of translating American movies.

Sharon S - I think Gueule means more like the mouth of an animal. A really rude way to tell someone to shut up is to tell them to close their GUEULE.

Nicholas Y- Here's what they're calling it elsewhere. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1411697/releaseinfo#akas

Looking at Google Translate, gueule does translate to mouth or muzzle. I'm currently wasting time investigating the origin of that idiom.

Katie P - In England, my housemate coined the term "gruel" as a verb to describe the action of being hung over. "Oh man, I was really grueling this morning."  

Me - yes! when I first saw those posters, I thought that the same actors made another (similar-looking) movie... like how Wes Anderson movies always use the same actors. What I don't understand is why do they translate the title to another english title instead of a french equivalent? It was the same with No Strings Attached, in France it was called Sex Friends. I wanted to actually blog about this... but then I got hungry and forgot about it.

Me - Oh... and while "gueule" on it's on means mouth, "gueule de bois" means wooden head. Gueule can sometimes be used to describe the whole face... as in, so's your gueule

 

Sharon S - A direct translation doesn't always convey the same meaning. Amelie was was titled "les fabuleux destin d'amelie poulain" in France, but in French that roles off the tongue and sounds whimsical while "the fabulous destiny of amelie poulain" just isn't as great. 

My favorite translation was "I, Robot" to "Yo, Robot" in Mexico. I really hope that in Germany it was "Ich, Robot" which is what I imagine I'd say if a robot snuck up on me.

Nicholas Y - The best one is the Brazilian title, "Se Beber, Não Case", which apparently translates roughly to "If You Drink, Don't Get Married". That's my kind of movie.

Me - But they translate from english to english! Translating "the hangover" to "a very bad trip" in France is like translating "les fabuleux destin d'amelie poulain" to "la belle vie" or "sacre bleu!" in English. I always wondered who decided these translations!

Me - a french person told me that most french people don't know the english word "hangover"... and if the movie was entitled "la gueule de bois", then they would think its about a bunch of podunk french guys from a small village getting wasted, whereas "a very bad trip" indicates that it is about obnoxious americans getting drunk with hilarious consequences

Sharon S - Haha, perfect! And an american would think "les fabuleux destin d'amelie poulain" would be a boring foreign film while "sacre bleu!" sounds....whimsical?  

Katie P - Haha, Sex Friends.

The kitten and puppy are S.D.F. bis

It turns out that Priya and Greg (see previous post) aren't only to persuade cat/dog lovers to part with some of their money, but also so that the police (also called le poulet... or chicken... by the French) can't chase them away.  By law, the police would have to first call animal control... and that is just too much work.

Speaking of Priya... I am super excited because Priya and Marisa (my classmates from Berkeley) are coming to visit in 2 days!  Next weekend, we will visit Rome together... so let me know if anyone has suggestions!

The kitten and puppy are S.D.F.

Knowing myself, I will probably not post very regularly.  So while I still have momentum... I thought I would put up this picture, that made me immediately think of Priya and Greg:

This was taken in front of Opera Garnier, and shows a very typical street beggar.  The sign he has written has some more of the Parisian shorthand.  S.V.P. is short for "s'il vous plait", meaning "please".  S.D.F. is short for "sans domicile fixe", meaning "homeless".  And "Merci-Bocu" is short for "merci beaucoup", meaning "thank you very much"... although I've only seen this homeless person use "bocu".  The bundled up puppy and kitten (which I will name Priya and Greg, respectively) gains sympathy from us fellow animal lovers (be it cat or dog lovers).  In fact, beggars often use animals or children to try to gain sympathy.  Often times, these are quite harmless.
 
There are, however, some common scams in Paris to be aware of, including children asking you if you speak english to try to engage you in conversation to take your money, children claiming they can't talk or hear with a petition for you to sign to give them money, and guys trying to tie strings on your finger but won't let the string go until you give them money.  And of course, the typical housing scams, which is separate topic.  You learn quickly here not to fall for the cute eyes of the children or Greg or Priya, and not to give your finger to strangers.

On y va!*

I guess my 6th month in Paris is as good of a time as any to start writing about my experience…  In this time, my knowledge of the French language has not progressed much, however, my knowledge of the French culture has increased infinitely.

I am often asked if there is anything in America that I really miss (like processed food or football).  To paraphrase my friend, Mike Zboray, who recently came to visit from Berkeley, "It's a bunch of things that are just slightly different… like the way the toilet flushes just a little bit differently from the way it does in America."  Although I am sure when he actually said it, he worded it more elegantly and with a lot more fig newtons in his mouth.  But it is quite true… it is not knowing what is the equivalent of "Target" to find random household items or these brands of lotions and detergents I've never heard of before…

Of course the biggest slight difference between living in Paris and living in America is that here, they speak French.  Understanding the fast-talking Parisian slang is a special talent in itself.  Parisians speak by shortening everything they can, and then saying it as fast as they can without moving their lips.  Tu as faim? becomes T'as faim? (Are you hungry?).  Je ne sais pas becomes Che-pas (I don't know).

But I am not always surrounded by undecipherable french speak.  I am slowly gathering words and phrases.  My absolute favorite french phrase is ça marche, which means "that works" ... and it works in many different ways.  For example(s):


French person: Let's meet at the cafe at 8pm.
Me: Ça marche

French person 2: I changed the pump on your equipment, is it okay now?
Me: Ça marche

Me: Can I say: "J'aimerai que je sache parler le français"?
French teacher: Ça ne marche pas**

I've been told that I am still in my honeymoon phase with Paris, and I need to wait for a couple more months before the rudeness of the waiters, and the smells of the public transport, and the massive amounts of dog poop on the side of the road get to me.  But for the time being, I think I am transitioning quite nicely into Paris culture.  In fact, during my recent trip to America… I was slightly annoyed (and suspicious) at the waiter for being too accommodating (eg he poured me a glass of water).

Me on top of the Arc de Triomphe... apparently ignoring the Eiffel Tower.

I had started this list a while back to track my transformation into a Parisian…

1. Ride the metro/bus/train (check!)
2. Get a French cell phone (check!)
3. Get a French email address (check!)
4. Eat a baguette (check check check check!!!)
5. Kisses on the cheeks as a greeting (check!)
6. Get a french bank (check!)
7. Get public transportation card-Navigo (check!)
8. Changing my current town to “Paris, France” on Facebook. Right now it will only let me pick Paris, Texas (check... finally!)
9. Get lost (check times infinity)
10. Get a French ID (check!)
11. Get my Card Vitale
12. Have a conversation in french
13. Mastering the french keyboard (AZERTY instead of QWERTY)
14. Taste wine from every region (Suggested by Marisa)
15. Get a French accent (Suggested by Marisa)
16. Go on strike (Suggested by Zboray)
17. curse in french at an american trying to talk to you in english first before french (Suggested by Prinda)
18. Eat all of the 56 protected French cheeses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_French_cheeses).  (Suggested by Megan)
19. Snowboard in French Alps (Suggested by Alper)

I am almost there!!!


*On y va means "let's go!" or "here we go!"
** putting a "ne… pas" around a verb negates the meaning