Fier de Moi

(Proud of me)

Daniel travaille (is working) in Denver for a couple of semaines (weeks) designing sound for a college’s musical.  And currently je suis (I am) in route to visit him for a few jours (days).  Well most likely I will be there in son petit appartement de crack den (his little crack den apartment) by the time I have internet to check mon français et (my french and) upload this.  So why the trip all the way out to Denver when I have plenty of work?  Because j'ai voulu (I wanted) to.   Daniel et je (and I) have been very much dans l'amour avec (in love with) Colorado, more specifically Boulder, since trios et demi d'années ( three and a half years) ago when we spent our first married été (summer) working for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.  Have you ever been someplace and looked at yourself and how vous étiez (you were) living your life and thought "this is the person je veux être (I want to be)"? That is how nous (we) feel about Boulder.   Which certainly explains pour quoi (why) we returned the deux following étés (summers).   Cet été (this summer) we spent in Conecticut and while a bon été (good summer) je still missed going  out to Colorado.  Daniel worked this gig last année (year) while I envied from home, busy avec le travail (with work).  When the job came up again this year and je was only working deux par á semaine (two days a week) je n'étais pas (I was not) to be left at home again. 

So fier de moi (proud of me), j’ai (I had) a very reasonable vol ce matin (flight this morning)  at 10:20, mais très (but a very) unreasonable quatre heures (four hour) lay over in Atlanta.  Luckily my gate was on the opposite end of the aéroport (airport) which killed dix minutes (ten minutes) only trios heures et cinquante minutes (three house and fifty minutes) to go.  Mon (my) gate was graveyard vide (empty), probably having quelque chose (something) to do with the fact there was un peu de temps avant la vol (a little time before the flight) in fact that whole part of the concourse was dead.  Je decided to take advantage of this vast privacy et quite, and Rosetta Stoned.  If this does not sound dedicated to you, vous n'avez pas (you have not) Rosetta Stoned.

The full premise of this program is it gives you everything, see the picture pour pomme (for apple), while you see le mot pour pomme (the word for apple), while the program dits le mot pour pomme (says the word for apple) et ensuite vous dites le mot de pomme (and then you say the word for apple).  The program then buzzes you si vous dites (if you say) it wrong, et ensuite vous dites de nouveau. (and then you say it again).  So to practice Rosetta Stone vous avez (you have) to be some place you don’t mind les gens (people) hearing you butchering a language over et (and) over again.  The box set come with a dandy headset, which les miens se sont cassés il ya des mois (mine broke months ago), to at least cut down on the noise coming from your ordinateur (computer).  One can not always trouvez un (find a place) that embraces this much noise.  Je ne sais pas (I don’t know) what je sound like quand je suis (when I am) practicing, mais de mon mari (but from my husband's) chuckling and occasional shouting the proper procounciation from une salle différente (a different room) at me, I have figured out this is not something je veux (I want) to put strangers through. 

So je suis fier de moi ( I am proud of me) for finding time to practice français dans  l'aéroport (French in the airport).  While traped in my center sear on le tour plat de quatre heures (the four hour plane ride ) je even typed up this blog entry.

*Sadly it took me trois jours (three days) to get enough internet to post this.

Tonight’s Picture:

Les montagnes que j'ai manquées.

Pervious Picture:

The cafe where I write my blog.

Horizons en expansion

Expanding Horizons

Je (I) continue to roll right along with my Rosetta Stoning, most recently les continents et d'océans (the continents and the oceans) j'ai (I have) tried to expand my exposure to français especially parlé (spoken).  I figure si je ne peux pas comprendre ce que les gens disent á moi ( if I can not understand what people are saying to me) all le lit, éscriter, et parler (reading, writing, and speaking) skills are not going to do me any good.  Je picked up several "Learn Français dans la Voiture" (Learn French in the Car) around the start of last semester, which was tres (very) handy as un de mes travaux (one of my jobs) required un de deux heures (two hour) drive trois fois par semaine (three times a week).  One of the tape sets was acctually fairly useful for learning français dans la voiture (french in the car) the other one was not as effective for learning nouvelles choses (new things).  But my orngial idea was to help enforce my current vocabularity so I could recgonized les mots (the words) when they were not in the same sentences I had heard cents de périodes (hundreds of times before) in Rosetta Stone.

Unfortunatly not a lot of french stations on la radio (same word in french) around here, so back to more creative ways of hearing french.  I optined for another Disney movie dubbed in français while l'anglais (the english) subtitled roll au bas (as the bottom).  J étais triste (I was sad) to realize mon nouvelle (my new) favorite Disney movie " La Princesse et la Grenouille" ("The Princess and the Frog) did not have a french audio option. Ills (they) set it in New Orleans, which I believe still has a tres fort (very strong) french influence, what sense does that make?  I find when other movies disappoint me, I can always reach for mon vieux (my old) faithful stand by "Robin de Bois"  (Robin Hood, literally translated Robin of Woods).

Mon favorite movie since before je can remember has always been there for me, et y a maintenant il pour moi en français (and now it is there for me in french).  Though je aways seem a bit confused how un lion can be oncle à un renard (uncle to a fox), mais qui suis moi (but who am I) to question animaux de danse de chant (singing dancing animals).  This went a bit better than trying to watch "Up", my advice to you for watching a movie in foreign language for la première fois que (the first time) pick one you have had memorized since vous aviez cinq ans (you were five).  It will save you a lot of time of trying to understand the language and know what is going on in the plot.  Et écoute (And listening) to "Oo de Lally" in a french accent is pretty amusing.   Soon to see what other movies we have with french options.

Ended up watching "La Princesse et La Grenouille" later anyway, what can je dis, je suis (I say, I am) a sucker for a mains (hand) drawn princes movies.

Tonight's Picture:

Le café où j'écris mon blog.

Pervious Picture:

This kitchen will not make crossants.