 |
| luckily our French is up to translating signs like this |
Settling
back into life in Caunes is excellent, but not without its frustrations.
Mark has
found he is speaking less French here than he does in Yorkshire, where he has a
lesson every week and attends 2 informal language cafes. Apart from asking for things
on menus, and the occasional need for a discussion in a brico shop….we have only
socialised with English speaking friends.
We went to a
delightful birthday celebration for an Irish American friend who lives in the
village. None of the guests were French, although there was a fair mix of
nationalities…..but the language spoken by everyone there was English.
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| Erin's birthday celebration, held in her beautiful walled garden |
We attended
the open day of a fabulous local garden, where advice on growing plants in the
garrigue was available. The garden was stunning, and the English language tour
was given by…..the English owner of the garden, who has lived in the village
since the mid 90s, developing a fabulous
garden and nursery.
 |
| Jill Pound explaining to the English speaking crowd, as she took us around la Petite Pepiniere in Caunes. |
So….we’re
watching some French TV, listening to French radio and reading the local paper
every day. Mark has plans to start a language café in the local bar,
encouraging people like us, who would like to improve their French, to meet,
not in a class, but in an informal situation, where we can feel comfortable enough to make
mistakes.
Mark also
intends to enter French golf competitions as well as playing with his English speaking
group, so he will get a chance to practice some conversation.
I don’t know what I am going to do. When I was here on my own last year, I felt emboldened to make more effort. I seemed to bump into more neighbours than I have so far this trip. Now I feel a little isolated, and perhaps a little less confident than I did last year. Mark is raring to go, and wants to practice his French which he has spent so much time on improving during the last few months. So….this may become a theme for my blogging for a while…..how to feel more of a part of this lovely French place, and not just some English woman who lives on the edge of the village for a few weeks at a time
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| the beautiful garden sculptures we bought at La petite Pepiniere |
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| the English woman who would like to speak more French |
Hi Janice,
ReplyDeleteI really empathise wit you.
We have made many friends although nearly all are English speaking. Our aim is to meet more french people and activities such as the ones you describe are really useful.
Another problem we come up against is that a lot of the activities which take place are never held during holiday periods - which is the only time we can be in France, at the moment.
However I have a cunning plan which might come to fruition - next April....
Oooooh, I am intrigued to know more about your cunning plan, and look forward to hearing more as next April gets closer. Caunes does have a lot of things organised in the summer...concerts and meals at the abbey, and I went to quite a few things last summer....so I must get back into that. Jx
DeleteIt's a difficult one, and I sympathise. When my husband is here, I hardly ever try to converse with the neighbours because I feel inhibited by my poor language skills. However, when he is away and it's just me, I have to make the effort, and feel a little more confident. It gets better with time I think, and French is soooo much easier than Turkish I can assure you!
ReplyDeleteYes, I don't fancy my chances of managing in Turkey ! I just need to make a bit more effort, and I will...honestly. Jx
DeleteWould the mairie have a list of local interest clubs? Or if not see what's reported in the local rag...there might be something there to interest you.
ReplyDeleteIt can be a bit difficult once you're involved in the expat world...locals may tend to class you as someone who doesn't want to integrate, to get to know them and their world and clubs are a way of really getting to meet people and have time to talk rather than making chance encounters at events.
I did am dram which I'd never done in my life before - and made so many friends there - not to spak of improving my French - and helped out at the Maison pour Tous with the youngsters - which improved my French slang!
It's more difficult for you as you are not there all the time, but there must be some structure into which you could fit.
Thanks Helen. I don't think I'm brave enough for am dram...but had thought about finding a local singing group. I had also always intended to get involved in some voluntary work, at the retirement home here in the village....but I am certainly not fit enough for that at the moment. I am on the lookout for opportunities though, so I suppose that is the first step. Jx
DeletePerhaps you could start following & leaving comments on some French language blergs - sorry, blogs?
ReplyDeleteThat would be an interesting thing to do....of course, so far all the blogs I follow written by people in France....are English. Thanks for the idea. J.
DeleteI found watching a film in French that I already knew quite well in English helped me improve. Most dvds have the option to change the language or at least the subtitles.
ReplyDeleteThis is something we have done in England...and can do here of course. Going to see Gatsby in French was good fun...and I suspect helped the French, just didn't involve us talking with anyone French, which is what I really want to do. Jx
DeleteI too know exactly what you mean, Janice, though surely if you post that wonderful photo of you, with some suitable translation, you will have folk flocking to the door to be friends!!
ReplyDeleteLike Mark's plan, I hold Spanish conversation classes for a dedicated group of expats in the area who know they will never learn through formal Spanish classes - but who do want to try. We have great fun and I provide them with lots of Cesar's and his mother's colourful phrases. I have also sneakily been teaching them English grammar and how to avoid trying to translat English sentences into Spanish - it doesn't work!
During my first year here, I did a Reiki course and that was excellent for helping me learn and speak Spanish - and wonderfully relaxing and liberating in general! Look for something a little alternative if the French are into that.
I also go shopping a lot and chat to shop owners - I can pass an hour or so quite easily just buying some bread and tomatoes, but then, the Andalucians are great gossipers and quite happy to have a queue of people in their shop whilst they carry on their conversation regardless.
Nilly's is a good idea too.
Axxx
..Looking back at this, I meant that trying to translate English to Spanish doesn't work, not the teaching them to avoid it! That bit is really beginning to work for them, I'm glad to say!
DeleteAxxx
Mark has really enjoyed his language café experiences in England. He heads off to sainsburys coffee shop in Halifax on a Wednesday morning to meet up with various people at all different levels of expertise...and comes home with all sorts of stories...sometimes about people's houses in France, but sometimes all sorts of personal stuff. I have always thought that my French would improve through osmosis...it gets me by ok at the moment, but it hasn't developed much at all. I think its more about being part of the local community rather than just wanting my French to improve....and the problem there is that this year I will not have the long 5 month stay here that I did last year. I'm here for 7 weeks this time, then back in England for 2 weeks ( hospital trips and Jess's graduation), then back here for 3 weeks....and then hopefully back for September and October ( when I am sort of hoping a trip to see you can be organised !) I guess I just need to shake myself and make more effort...it's just that shaking myself is a bit tiring at the moment ! I love the thought of you with your ex pat group....those colourful phrases will I am sure be very useful to them. Jxxxx
DeleteYour garden sculptures are gorgeous - Jealous! and you look very pretty and summery in your blue skirt and cardi. Have fun with French xxx
ReplyDeleteI'm trying Patricia ! Thanks for your comments... I love the bird sculptures. The swifts and swallows have just arrived in the area, so we are getting to see loads of the real thing at the moment.....swooping in front of our house....just gorgeous. J.
DeleteOh, how I would love that garden tour - in any language, Janice. I'm sure it takes time to settle into another language. I see you mentioned singing, which always seems like the perfect way to learn a language and meet people. Remember, you are still recovering. I'm sure this will seem easier as time goes on.
ReplyDeleteI did think of you as we went around the garden. Jill said things like...these grasses are great because they make such a lovely noise in the wind....and these are fabulous as they flower from June to October and don't need watering.....all sorts of lovely, useful, laymens terminology ( actually the latin names did flow off her tongue as if latin was her native language, never mind about English or French ) It was a delightful morning, and I am going to go to a propogation class that she runs, so I can move some of my gorgeous plants around the garden a little more easily than just digging up well established plants. I do need to remember I am still recovering....sometimes ( just sometimes ) I forget...which is wonderful. Jx
ReplyDeleteI had no idea there would be such a big expat community there. Nice in many ways too I expect. How do the locals react to part time residents?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if you will be in France when we're in Hebden.... Aug 10-17? I'm so looking forward to it!
No Jill...we will be back in England from 6th August... spending some time in the north east 8th -12th...but back before you leave. I t would be lovely to meet up.
ReplyDeleteThe locals have all been incredibly welcoming. Last year when we first moved in, we invited all our neighbours round, and the French neighbours were lovely and made us feel very welcome. This year, I feel a bit more like a visitor... 7 weeks this time might seem like a long time, but last year I was here for 5 months. We'll see, I'm sure I will find ways to get to know more people and integrate a little more. J
PS hope your knee is better...sounds horrible jx
DeleteOh good! We will be in touch nearer the time :) Thinking of buying a place in Hebden and would appreciate your advice on the logistics of living in 2 countries.
DeleteA 5 month stretch must have been ideal, quite life changing.
Knee much better thank you!
Hi Janice. Have finally been able to catch up on your blog. Well .. you have been busy. Your grandchildren are cuties and I can see you have every reason to be proud of them. I do like your beautiful garden, wilderness and all. It looks so natural and the sculptures ... wow! So nice to see you looking so well too. Hugs Sue
ReplyDeleteI do love our garden. It is good that we can leave some of it to be wild...I don't know how we'd cope otherwise. At the moment, I am waiting for the wild spring flowers to die back before clearing some pathways through some of the jungle ! I'm feeling good, but get incredibly tired very easily, so am trying to take things reasonably easily...easier said than done with the grandchildren around. I hope things are plodding along well for you and Petal. Jx
ReplyDeleteHi Janice...you look absolutely very pretty in your dress and so summery.
ReplyDeleteLovely garden and beautiful garden sculptures and that cake sure looks yummy.So nice to have friendly neighbours around you.
I'm also sorry I didn't learn French and I'm Canadian where French is the second language...but I'm from the English side and in those days you didn't learn French.....but I do speak Ukrainian and Russian fluently and married to a Turk I now know Turkish.
Take care and you look fabulous and enjoy your time in France.
I am always so impressed by people who achieve fluency in other languages. I did actually have quite a decent and reasonably complicated discussion with a man in a brico store yesterday. I don't need to impress people with my grasp of the inticacies of language...I just like it when people understand what I am trying to say, and I understand them. I now feel I can hold expert conversations with people about wardrobe doors! Jx
DeleteI can so well identify with what you write here, Janice, as it's true for most of the second-homers and even a lot of the full-time English-speaking residents I've come across in our bit of Normandy. It's so easy to get sucked into an enjoyable round of English-language social activities, but as Helen so pertinently says, you then risk getting identified in French minds as just another expat and it does nothing for your French.
ReplyDeleteLike Gaynor we're usually there over the summer when all the clubs have their long summer break, so I rely on a lot of chatting in shops and making a point of having a conversation wherever possible with both our immediate French neighbours and other French residents in our little commune (population just over 200) when I meet them.
Apart from that it's French newspapers and French talk radio for me (we don't have TV) both of which help, but still aren't conversations. It's a tricky one, not helped this year by your still not fully recovered state of health. I'm sure it will get easier as your energy levels rise.
I think that is the main difference this year P. I am not as energetic as last year, and putting effort into activities of any kind is not as easy. Tonight I went to a gallery opening, and saw a few people that I met last year, and the gathering was very multicultural...so that was good. Mark spent a while speaking in French with the artist whose work was being presented....and he felt good about that. We'll get there....there's a vide grenier in the village tomorrow, so we'll see all our neighbours there I think. It could be a good opportunity for conversations. Jx
ReplyDeleteThis is a problem I readily sympathise with. When we moved to SW France in 1997, there weren't that many British people here. We had a reasonably good social life with French people (although it was mostly with retired professionals; the local farmers were friendly but just not used to socialising like that). Now, a lot more Brits have moved in and it's possible to spend most of your time not actually speaking any French or seeing any French people.
ReplyDeleteA good way to get over this - as I think someone else mentioned - is to get actively involved in local associations. This is what we have done and it brings you into contact with French people far more frequently. However, it's not easy if you don't live here all the time - and, of course, you have had your own issues to deal with up till now. For the time being, I would focus on relaxing in the lovely place you obviously live in. The rest will follow...