Giddy Mode: Day 51

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Day 51

This morning I am preparing for my frech lesson and this subject is really agonizing. I'm starting to realize now why Roger's dad has been telling me that this is the language of diplomats.

First of all, intonation is everything. Without the increases and decreases in tone, you might as well not even try saying the right words.

Secondly, there are 3 ways of phrasing every question: formally, the standard method, and informally. Not to mention the everlasting debate between using tu (you familiar) and vous (you formal). Instead of just calling someone Mr. Smith, for example, there is a whole different "vous" conjugation for a verb when speaking to someone on a more respectful level. Even though this formality exists in the Spanish language, you can get by without knowing it because it is not used in all the latin countries.

My friend lent me a book called Talk to the Snail written by an Englishman who dedicates ten chapters to the strange behaviors of the french. Although, Lyon is a little more laid back that I've been told Paris is, I've grown accustomed to the difference, or lack of, customer service here in France. Hopefully, by the end of the book, I will have learned some tricks of the trade on how to survive here.

Speaking of books, I've just finished The Road. Really great read. It's one of those that you can't put down because of its dark and mysterious tone. I recommend it to anyone and guarantee you will see the world as a different place after reading it.

I also have my first photo project due this evening. Premier assignment is to include two of the ten themes in a picture: Crescendo and Variant. It's a lot more difficult than it seems especially when I'm using a standard Nikon digital camera but I think that I might be able to use some of the photos from last weekend's trip to the park and museum.