Passé Simple

J'ai horreur du passé simple.  Translation: I absolutely hate the simple past.

The simple past, or passé simple, is a verb tense in French used mainly for literature or extremely formal  speech.  When I was learning the basics of French in high school, my professeur told us that we didn't really need to learn it because it wasn't used in everyday speech.  Little did she know that I would go on to live in France and want to maybe, sorta, kinda read a book in French someday.

Marianne knows I've tried, but I just cannot get through an entire book in French because of the stupid, stupid, stupid passé simple.  It sounds NOTHING like the French I know and I just can't get into a story when I'm constantly trying to remember that this or that verb is actually an action in the past.  

My Very Parisian Friend has given me books to try - itty bitty books by Jean-Philippe Toussaint, that should be easy to get through, but nope. nada. can't do it. Passé simple.

I'd like to improve my French, especially with all of the English that is spoken in the Cannes Cannes household upon Copain's request, but this whole not being able to read a full novel in French situation has really put on damper on my goals.

However, ever since last week, I think there's as glimmer of hope for me....

I was killing time on Grands Boulevards, poking around the Virgin Mega Store waiting for friends to show up to a theatre performance, (yes, I saw How to Become Parisian in One Hour for the fifth time), when I happened upon a familiar author...

I felt a wave of happy wash over me and all of my childhood reading came flooding back - Matilda, The Witches, Boy, Esio Trot, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Twits, The BFG...and of course, James and the Giant Peach. And here is was, in French - James et la grosse pêche.

I had to have the book! What better way to get over my issue with passé simple, than to read one of my childhood favorites? I knew the story, so I would only need to focus on the language. For the first time in a long time, I was excited to go to bed and cuddle up with a book. 

So far I'm on page 36 - a vast improvement compared to my other failed attempts to read a book in French. I love Roald Dahl! And while the passé simple is still not making this book challenge easy for me, reliving a moment of my own past makes it much more simple :-)

Bringing Up Bébé

Recently, while reading A Cup of Jo (great blog - check it out), I came across a post about Pamela Druckerman's book, "Bringing Up Bébé."  It was the first time I'd heard about it, and as a fan of all things French (and all things baby), I not only read the post, but also the comments that went along with it.  

To bring you up to speed, Druckerman, an American expat married to a British expat raised in Holland, embarks on motherhood in France and decides to raise her three children in Paris.  As she struggles through parenting, she observes that the French have a different (better?) way of doing things and decides to investigate. 

My initial reaction after reading the Cup of Jo post was that these parenting techniques were not French, they were simply good parenting.  Then I wanted to know just how long Druckerman had lived in France before coming to her conclusions.  I've been here almost 8 years and the French still confuse me- what were her stats? Was she really an authority on French parenting? After reading this critique in the New York times, in all honesty, I didn't even want to support Druckerman by purchasing her book. But I had to - I wanted to see what the fuss was all about.  Amazon.fr helped me with that, and I was soon the owner of my very own hard-copy of "Bringing Up Bébé."

Maybe it's because I'm also an American in Paris - an expat making a life in France, maybe it's because I'm almost 30 and have babies on the brain, or maybe it's because Druckerman is just a really funny writer, but I loved "Bringing Up Bébé." Though she investigates like a reporter, siting her references and  interviewing experts in the field of child-rearing in France and the US, I didn't really mind that many of the "French parenting techniques" she speaks of were sometimes just simple observations she made in the park or learned more about by speaking with the French mothers she meets at the crèche (daycare center for babies).

She talks about the challenges of finding a spot at the crèche in France, the meaning of caca-boudin - a French "bad word" for five-year-olds, and the many differences between French and American parenting.  A lover of franglais myself, I appreciated that her chapters are perfect translations of French parenting expressions, making sense only to those of us to speak both languages. In other words, when I read the book, I wasn't judging whether or not her claims were supported by enough documentation (such as Meadows, the New York Times reviewer), I just enjoyed reading about her observations as an American raising her kids in France,  learning how to navigate being a parent in a system that is so unlike the one we were raised in - it's something that I may be doing at some point later down the road. 

Druckerman describes how strange/funny/wonderful it is to raise bilingual children whose first reaction when opening a Christmas gift is, "oh la la!" This is something I wonder about as well - how will I feel having children who lean more towards French than English, who grow up eating chocolate bars in baguettes - a typical French gouter! (snack) - and who play in Parisian parks instead of the soccer fields of suburbia? 

I couldn't help but love the book more when Druckerman quotes from Katie Allison Granju, contributor to Babble.com and respected writer of mamapundit, another one of my favorite blogs. She talks about helicopter-parenting, a phenomenon I am all too familiar with, and brings to light the over-the-top, super-human parenting that goes on in the US.  I should know, my mom was what the French call, une maman-taxi - a taxi-mom - shuttling me to dance, my sister to soccer and my brother to football practice, every.single.day. The French don't do this and there may be a good reason why - they don't let being a parent completely take over their lives. (I love my mom for shuttling me around, but I know it was completely and utterly exhausting for her - I'm not sure that I could do it and remain sane). 

It's not without a little cynicism that Druckerman presents all of these techniques and ideas - coming both sides of the Atlantic. Her endearing self-deprecation makes me appreciate her writing even more.  I may even love the fact that she and her family live on the east side of Paris, that she goes into detail about her fears of giving birth in a French hospital and explains the techniques of French health-care-covered perineal reeducation. She may or may not also admit that her entire family uses the French word "prout" instead of "fart," now that they are a little Franco-American brood (am I the only one who still thinks that bathroom humor is funny?) She's relatable, witty, making it work abroad (bravo!), and I'm frankly a little bummed out that I've already finished the book.

photo from Cup of Jo

American Fridays with Gertrude and Alice

Oh la la, I did it again - I had an American Friday at Starbucks.  Only this time, I got all intellectual and stuff.  I blame the new lunettes.

It was a rainy day in Paris yesterday - the perfect kind of day for a hot mug of something and a good book...

Despite my best efforts at reading an actual book, I was over this one before I even finished my latte (in a for-here mug I must point out! - so eco, that Cannes Cannes).  Gertrude Stein tries to make the book read how Alice B. Toklas actually spoke.  I just have to say right here and now, I could never have been friends with Alice! The woman can't finish a thought to save her life. 

I contemplated leaving the book in Starbucks, but then didn't want a good samaritan to come running after me with "the book I forgot".  As I walked around Les Halles later that day, I couldn't help but look around for spots to "donate" my book.  Then I thought that might be considered littering and thought better of it...

The book is now with me here in my mini-appartement taking up precious space, which in all honesty, makes me even more irritated at Gertrude. Not only did I have to lug a book I'll never read around Les Halles, but now Ms Stein's writing is using up part of my 28.85 meters squared.  Merde. 

I Love " My Life in France" (and I love my life in France :-)

Remember the adventure with books that I began this summer thanks to Amy and Neither Here Nor There? (and my Moomala who bought the books bien sur!)

Well, I finished one of them!  My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme (don't you love how French his name is?!) was hard to get into at first.  I couldn't quite accept Julia's "voice" or her writing style.  It also kind of bothered me that while it was started before her death, it was published afterwards by her husband's, grandnephew, Alex Prud'homme. I felt like it was choppy and I couldn't quite follow where she was going in each chapter. Was this Alex's voice or Julia's?

Despite the rocky beginning I eventually fell in love with Julia.  I looked forward to going to bed so that I could read, I neglected by blogs (just as I suspected) and I felt a cosmic connection to Madame Child and her love for France, her "spiritual homeland", as she called it. Comme je la comprends....


I loved that she was from California (comme moi!), that she loved to eat (comme moi!) and that she could complain about France and sing its praises all at the same time (oui, moi aussi).  I never knew my grandmothers and I can only imagine that Julia would have made an amazing one for me...

She laughs about all her mal-entendus with the Frenchies, her fight to pass her diplôme at Le Cordon Bleu and her dedication to the creation of her now famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Her relationship with Paul Child is nothing less than incredibly special and somewhat quirky - what other couple sends Valentines with a photo of themselves in the bathtub?!

I was fulfilled when I finished the book but also triste that there wasn't more to read.  I've started a few books since then but nothing has pulled me in quite as quickly or completely as My Life in France.


Alors, merci Julia - j'ai adoré! et comme tu dis, toujours bon appetit!

My Moomala snapped this pic while I was reading by the pool back home in California.

A special merci to Neither Here Nor There for a great reading suggestion!

My Life in France, in Books

My Moomala was checking out my blog comments and decided to surprise me with Neither Here Nor There's suggestion of My Life in France by Julia Child.

I'm only on page 15, but I'm already excited to dive into this book! Boeuf bourguignon, France, an insanely tall woman (six-foot-two!) who worked for the CIA before it was called the CIA prepared to cook with the big guys at Le Cordon Bleu? What's not to love?

I'm also surprised that Julia was already 36 when she first arrived in France...somehow I love her even more for that.

Julia, photographed by her husband in Paris, 1948. Courtesy of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University.

What other woman would hold this ginormous fish and pose for a photo in her 1960's frock??

While unsuccessfully shopping for Julia's book on my own at Target, I also found this one that sounds up my alley:

At first I was skeptical, but the author actually lives in France so I feel I can trust her to correctly represent La France, French food and perhaps even a love story based there...on verra!

I know, I know, you're shocked to see me reading all of these actual books, I'm shocked too. To top off my big ol' book list is one final title that started as a blog. Amy of Lemon and Raspberry posted the link to my facebook page in case I didn't know about it already. Well, Moomala to the rescue once again (she's either very intuitive OR a very good facebook stalker)! I found the book sitting on my bed last night :-) Merci Maman! (and merci to Amy for the link!!)

Stuff Parisians Like by Olivier Magny

I haven't started it yet but something tells me it is going to be hilarious. Also, as opposed to the other books which were written by Americaines, this one was written by a full-blooded Frenchie. I'll keep you posted once I've reached la fin.

Hopefully this time I'll be able to balance all this actual book reading with my beloved blogs...on croise les doigts.

French Women Don't Get Fat - AKA, I read a book!

Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, Messieurs, Mesdames, I am proud to announce that after one year of not so much as getting through the first chapter of a book, I have finished my very first one!

Title: French Women Don't Get Fat

Author: Mireille Guiliano

Pages: 266

Reading time: approximately 1.5 weeks (I think)

One of our clients had left this book upon departure and I picked it up, recognizing the title.  It was a national bestseller at one point a few years ago and I figured it would be interesting to read it as an American whose eating habits have changed after almost 7 years (!!) of living in France.

The author was born in France, learned about eating from her Maman and family doctor, Dr. Miracle (as she calls him in the book) and then eventually moved to America where she is now CEO for the champagne company Veuve Clicquot.  She splits her time between Paris and New York with her American husband.  I was interested in what she had to say seeing as how she was a bi-cultural, bilingual person, with an in-depth experience in both countries I love.

I was pleased to find that I wasn't too far off from already following Mme Guilano's advice. For starters, as I type this, Copain is at our daily marché picking out our fresh fruits and veggies for the week. Mme Guiliano is a BIG advocate for the marché and for spending time choosing your foods for just the next couple of days (none of those two-week shopping sprees at Costco that go on in the good ol' USA).

Where some of the book is a little over the top, or as my Frenchie friends would say un peu too much, I still appreciated the overall message: no diets, no crazy running on a treadmill, no foods that are off-limits. Just moderation, full food enjoyment (finding your vrai plaisir- true pleasure) and full awareness during the choosing, preparation and eating of food.  It was like the yogi's guide to eating - Frenchie style. 

I also fully agreed with her analysis of the American food industry (the woman has been living in the states for a long time, so she's allowed to make comments like this :-) Basically she states that America has done a great job of packaging and marketing processed foods to make them seem healthy.  Unfortunately, Americans completely buy into the low-cal, pre-packaged servings when they could just as easily grab a handful of almonds, a plain yogurt or a fresh piece of fruit.  They could fully enjoy a piece of really good dark chocolate instead of eating a whole bunch of calorie-packed just so-so chocolate.

Mme Guiliano also talks about sitting down to eat instead of eating on the go, compensating the day after a day of indulgences, drinking more water and seeing day to day activities as additional exercise - les petites choses (little things) that can add up to a lot of burned calories.  

She advises against the "American impulse to save a step"saying: We French are not as fiendish about finding shortcuts as Americans are. Perhaps it is why we are no longer a great power, but the trade-off is that we are not fat. (She's funny too!) In life we believe the journey is the destination. If you're not that philosophical, remember it simply: Time saved equals calories not burned. 

After reading her book, every time I get off the metro and I have to choose between the escalator and the stairs, I've been trying to choose the stairs. It's une petite chose, as she says, but it does count as a little bit of exercise.  In that same vein, Guiliano emphasizes that the most fulfilling bites of anything are the first 2 or 3. I've been considering that when I feel like I should finish my dessert because I paid for it, even when I'm feeling full.

It's easier for me to walk more (I walk home from work everyday), drink more water (I grab a glass every time I go to the restroom at work), and really enjoy my food (we sit down to eat lunch amongst colleagues for about a half an hour everyday). But if I was living in the states I think I would find this much more difficult. Would I walk to the supermarket? Would I sit down to eat? I would be interested to hear from an American who has read this book - could you apply this advice to your daily life?

Now that I have successfully read a book (Bravo FCC!), I need to find a new one! I did feel like I neglected my blogs at bit during that time, but it was nice to put the Iphone down and truly enjoy a real book. Une petite chose that that was a vrai plaisir.

My vrai plaisir: baguette from Huré, fresh tomatoes, chevre cheese and pesto!

Merci Mireille

La Vingt-Sixième Liste

List 26: Books I'd like to read this year...

I think I may have already divulged this little tidbit (embarrassing tidbit I might add) : I have not read a full book since Copain left for the states back in July 2010.

I've spent a lot of time wondering how a book-lover like myself could go so long without so much as getting through the first chapter of a book, but somehow I have managed to do just that. I even have a Moom who sends me books from the states that she thinks I'll like and even then, I just can't swing it! Well, my friends, I have a theory and the theory is this:

I blame the blogs.

I read WAY too many blogs.  I always want to know what happens next - and so, my morning and nightly rituals involve going through my blog roll and catching up with (mostly) people who I don't even know!

I don't really get it either.

There's nothing I want more than to be so enthralled with a book that all I want to do is get home, jump into bed and read a new chapter - or better yet, read the entire thing in one sitting because that's how good it is.  


I'm not gonna lie, I'm really bummed about this situation. What's a blog-obsessed girl to do???