More Than a Toe...

Well, it has been more than a *year* since I dipped my toe in the "French" water (now known by me as "l'eau"). In that time, I've been collecting books and movies set in France - I have even read a few of the books, and have seen some of the movies :-|

The biggest step however, is that I am taking French language classes at the Alliance Francaise! I just finished a Level One intensive class - it was 4 days per week, 4 hrs per day, for 4 weeks. Whew! The great news is that I passed!!!! I was worried about this - the classes are in Costa Rica, where I now live, and so any explanations that couldn't be done in French were done in Spanish. My Spanish is sufficient for living here, but not always up to snuff for understanding "concepts" - especially French concepts. Luckily, the professors also knew English, and when I got into jams, I could clarify (fortunately this only happened a couple of times). Perhaps the funniest situation (but frustrating) was when a fellow classmate noticed my confusion, and explained something in Spanish - I couldn't say "yes, I understand, but how do you say it in French?" (well, I could have, but I only understood what he was doing after the fact).

Learning my second "foreign" language is opening my eyes about how I learn. All my training and schooling up until now has been focused more on knowing how to figure out something, and knowing where to find the information needed to do that. Memorization has been *very* low on the "importance" scale. Well, guess what! Now I need to memorize - a *lot!* I've also come to realize that a lot of my personal enjoyment of books and movies comes from seeing nuances - I like to (almost need to) know every word that was said in a movie, and often re-read passages in books. I like to think about alternate meanings for sentences, and look for subtleties. That can be a *huge* drawback for learning a new language! At least in the beginning stages - it may be that it will help later, but for now, I need to consciously stop that hamster on its wheel in my brain.

One thing I am curious about, and expect to see - how much Spanish will I temporarily lose as I learn French? There were so many funny things that I couldn't remember in English when I was intensively studying Spanish - like my brain couldn't think of "baking something" - it was suddenly "ovening something." Well, I start my level 2 French class this week - but only 2 days per week, for 2 hrs per day. So, vamos a ver...

France - a Toe in the Water

I've dipped my toe in the water - no more than that as yet. I'm investigating slow travel in France! As Rolf Potts so wisely states in his book "Vagabonding," the experience really starts long before your actual trip. All the research into a new place gets you primed and ready to really get to know it once you actually go. So, even though France is more than a year away for us, I'm finding out about it!

What does a toe in the water get you?

Books:
- Le Divorce, by Diane Johnson - a novel set in current-day France (Paris), centered on two American sisters. One is visiting her sister who is married to a Frenchman, but going through a divorce. It is a bit irritating as a novel, but interesting in what it reveals about the differences between American and French cultures, outlooks, and daily living.
- A Year in Provence, by Peter Mayle - a journal that reads like a novel, about Peter and his wife moving into and renovating a country house in Provence. Very enjoyable, even if you don't want to know all about how to get things done in France. It illustrates how the couple adapts to their surroundings.
- A Year in the Merde, by Stephen Clarke - a novel that reads like a journal, about a young British man living in Paris. It covers all sorts of useful items - to find an apartment, first get a girlfriend, then move in... It also incorporates a healthy amount of corruption, how to get around said corruption, strikes by *every* group (seemingly one each month), and (of course) some interesting cultural differences.
- Cultural Misunderstandings, the French-American Experience, by Raymonde Carroll - an anthropological study of some of the cultural differences between French and Americans. Explains topics such as telephone use, family, parenting, dating, and friendships. Very readable *and* interesting.

Websites:
- French embassy for visa (up to 90 days) and residency (longer stays) information
- Forums for advice from people who have visited or live there
- Residency groups for advice and concrete help from those who have made a life there (most of these also have forums): The Languedoc Page, Americans in Toulouse, Americans in France,
- French language immersion schools
- CIA world fact book for statistics on population, religions, etc.
- Transitions Abroad for expatriate resources

Computer programs:
- Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary, an excellent resource! You install it on your computer, then look up translations, verb conjugations, and standard letters / communiques. You can hear a word or phrase, in French, by clicking on it - slick!
- Google Translate - not something you install, but you can enter a URL from a French-language website, and Google will translate it into English. It isn't perfect, but you can definitely figure out the information.

Half Moon Bay - a Day at the Beach

October is *the* month to visit the beaches in Northern California! We spent a great couple of hours strolling along the low-tide sand, sitting and watching the waves, listening to the birds...



The weather was great - not a cloud in sight, crisp breezes, not even any evening fog (the beaches here usually get only a couple of fog-free hours in the summers)!



We saw a couple of surfers, a few beachcombers, and some campers; all in all, not much of a crowd.



To get here: from Hwy 101 or 280, take Hwy 92 West till it dead-ends at Hwy 1 in Half Moon Bay (the town). Turn left, then right on Kelly till you get to the beach. It is a state beach, so there is a charge of $7 for day use. If you drive up and down the coast on the same day, you can visit numerous other beaches on the same "ticket." Day-use ends at sunset.