I have been going to the village hall to make flowers pretty much every Tuesday afternoon since January. There are a core of elderly ladies who chat and I sit and listen mostly with the occasional comment. I can now understand what they are talking about but lose their opinions which is very frustrating.
Yesterday I went up to hear what they had to say about La Felibree and whether they thought it had gone off well. Most of the discussion was about the tremendous heat. Quite a few of the ladies (or their husbands) had been unable to go because it was so hot and they couldn't manage the walking around which was a shame. They had all been to admire the flowers. The town does look beautiful and apparently they are to be left all summer. Dear Maurice arrived and was greeted warmly. The main effect on him has been to make his back much worse so there was much discussion of the treatment he was signed up for and where it was and who else had had it. He did look like he was hurting poor man. This led to more discussion of health - always a popular topic - especially stairs and how many and how difficult they were. And also dementia. One of the ladies was recounting her lapses of memory and the more she said, the more people found it difficult to say that 'that was normal we all do that'.
They also discussed the case with Dominique Strauss-Kahn with great energy but I couldn't decide whether they were on his side and she was a prostitute or on the woman's side and he was a bastard.
There was also a long discussion about Prince Albert of Monaco's marriage. Marie had brought a magazine with pictures of the wedding. But again I didn't get whether they thought he was a good guy or a playboy (or both).
As I left, I was walking along thinking that I was never going to get this and then the other half of my head arguing that of course I would and how much better I understood than before, when there was a call behind me.
Rose was following and she said that she hadn't realised that I had left and that she had wanted to catch me to invite me to come and visit her one afternoon. Made sure I knew where she lived and that afternoons were best.
Bless her. At last. But now I have to do it.........................
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Just do it, Rosie. You'll make yourself understood and have a lovely time and your French will get a bit more practice. Little by little is my motto where French is concerned.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with the language though I manage to usually make myself understood. When they fire back answers I loose it totally!! I am lucky with all our locals as they have learnt that they must talk very slowly, and sometimes they need to repeat several times :-) Diane
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit like plunging into the water....I'm at that stage with my Spanish.
ReplyDeleteI met a woman at the airport when travelling to the U.K. and she telephoned me when I returned...I find the telephone difficult even in English, so I was struggling, but we've agreed to meet up and that will be a lot easier, the physical presence gives a lot more clues!
Perpetua - little by little definitely
ReplyDeleteFFL - my locals talk slowly for half a sentence if requested and then go back to as fast as they started
Fly - Him Outdoors relies heavily on the physical presence - and the occasional understood clue. He is going to land himself in such deep trouble one of these days with what he nods and smiles at :-)
Hi Rosie,
ReplyDeleteJust a quick note to draw your attention to my latest post "The 7 Links Project" and warn you that I've nominated you as one of my list of 5 bloggers to link in with the project. I do hope you don't mind and that you find it as enjoyable as I have done.
I saw that on Ayak's and was mightily relieved that she hadn't picked me!!!
ReplyDeleteOh dear, does that mean you'd rather I hadn't chosen you, Rosie? I can pick someone else if you like, but I'm sure you'd do it really well.
ReplyDelete