le weekend.

a three day weekend

and three parks visited!

(well almost, i cheated a little for the last one, 

which was more of a general stroll. 

but doesn't that sound nice?)

we went south to mont saint bruno

and north to saint saveur

and stayed in the neighborhood 

for a sunny monday walk

we had a picnic in the mountains

and a scrumptious italian dinner 

with some locals and visitors.

we participated in our first

'apportez votre vin'

meaning...

you buy and bring your own wine to the restaurant.

a creative idea really.

it's less expensive,

you have WAY more choices,

and you get exactly what you want.

sunday was a franglais sort of day,

something i've really come to appreciate 

about this city.

we spent it with a québecoise and two français,

so there was a general mix of french, english, and québecois french.

we spent the day comparing words, phrases, ideas in the 3 languages

(this is where i argue that québecois, the montrealers french,

is at times, quite a different language)

and an added treat,

when you can't remember a word in french

or it just sounds better in english

well, just say it in english. 

the best of both worlds, i'd say.

and today is thanksgiving

here in canada.

although i find myself in a

quite non-thanksgiving mood.

thanksgiving is the thursday in november,

not the random monday in october.

 it begins 

with late morning baking

turkey stuffing

pie crust making

football watching...

or at least that thanksgiving-friends-episodes watching.

it marks the transition between autumn and winter

maybe even a couple early season ski days.

the day after thanksgiving is THE official

christmas-music-commencing-day.

not to mention the shopping to be had the day after.

yes, these are quite typically american,

the stereotypical traditions.

but it's almost what i feel like saying to these canadians up here.

um, who ever heard of 

thanksgiving before halloween anyway?

so i think i'll conserve my american traditions,

and celebrate my thanksgiving

on a completely ordinary thursday night,

in a month and a half.

ever feel weird about similar traditions in different cultures?

xo

alli

ps.

in saint saveur, 

we went on a little mountain sled ride,

-think alpine slides in park city-

so here are some fun bonus pics

the ride up

and the video.  

enjoy!

(ok, youtube is not cooperating, but the video will be posted shortly!)

does it shape you?

an interesting article.

having lived in france for 3 (2 consecutive) years...

conducted my life in two languages...

been in a relationship with someone who's mother tongue is different than mine...

recently moved to a country where the language is both familiar and foreign...

i've thought a lot about language.  

about how it forms us,

our thoughts,

our prejudices,

like it or not.

is it something we can overcome?

should we overcome it?

when is your mother tongue mindset a positive?

and when does it hinder? 

would we even recognize a situation like that?

and once you acknowledge that language shapes you,

how do you become conscious that others are shaped just as you are.

but in completely different ways.

this is something that became interesting to me 

during an intercultural management class i took in france.

it picked up again when i had classrooms full of french teens and middle schoolers.

and now that i'm starting a masters program 

all about education across borders,

teaching and learning in the past and future,

learning in a different language,

i think this is something i'll be revisiting quite often.

give it a glance

how are you influenced by your mother tongue?

a+

alli

photo & article via

i've got other cats to flog.

How's that for a title to draw you in?

Let's have a little chat.  About French.  And English.  And idiomatic phrases.

Every language has them.  We use them every day, sometimes without even noticing.

'he really just has a green thumb'

'we'll cross that bridge when we come to it'

'i've got ants in my pants'

The funny part comes when you try to translate those phrases into another language.

I'm 99% certain that if I told a french person...

'j'ai des fourmis dans mes pantalons'

I wouldn't be invited to lunch next time.

I've been collecting some good ones...

'je parle comme une vache espagnol'

translation: 'i speak like a spanish cow'

real translation: 'i'm trying to speak french/spanish/german, but I'm completely butchering it'

'j'ai d'autres chats à fouetter'

translation: 'i've got other cats to flog/whip'

real translation/US translation: 'i've got other fish to fry'

'système D'

translation: system D

real translation: plan B.  As in, that's not going to work, we need a plan B.

'il avait un chat dans la gorge'

translation: 'he had a cat in his throat'

real translation: cat's got your tongue

'chanter comme une casserole'

translation: sing like a saucepan

real translation: you sing horribly

and maybe one of my favorites:

'occupe-toi de tes oignons'

translation: take care of your onions

real translation: mind your own business!

Don't you ever wonder where all these come from?

We should start our own idioms!

What would you say?

a+

alli

photo via here.

licking windows.

Yesterday afternoon I was enjoying an espresso and a book in one of my favorite cafés in Beaune.  I was nibbling on a lunette framboise, a cookie with a light raspberry filling and powered sugar sprinkled on top.

As I was enjoying delicious bites, les piétons walked lazily down the street, meandering from window to window, finding various treasures.  A woman bundled up in a wool coat and big mittens, walking her little dog buttoned up in a toutou sized windbreaker.  She moved in a zigzag pattern from store to store, admiring the pulls, sweaters, draped in a window, or the chaussures, shoes, sitting neatly in rows.  Two lycéens walked by playing music on their cell phones and sweeping the hair from in front of their eyes in one cool collected flip.  They stopped to admire the newest Samsung phone at the Orange store.  An elderly man paused in front of the pastry shop, eyes wide as a young boy's.

I must admit, this French hobby has definitely rubbed off on me.  You haven't walked down a street the right way in France until you've learned to stop and lick the windows.

Well no, not literally.

That's how we would translate their definition of window shopping.

Lèche-vitrine.

Besides being a great way to catch the la grippe A, the flu, I think it gives a fun quirky image.

A little girl with a lollipop, enjoying a treat.

Or maybe they were going more for the 'drooling over a new pair of boots' effect.

Stores are organized perfectly to accommodate all these window lickers.

They put new merchandise, their classics, their sale items,

right up front.

They even write all the prices next to the items, so customers know what they're in for when they enter the store.

And if you've ever been to Paris during Christmas,

you may have heard of the tremendous

Galeries Layfayettes

window displays.

Animated mannequins, robot dogs, feathers, upside-down children.

They get crazier. every. year.

I've already spent many weekend afternoons walking slowly down the streets

no schedule or agenda

stopping by my favorite places

to see what's new.

No pressure, no fuss.

And when finally a French woman or man decides to enter the store

(after discerning the windows to see if the store was worth an entrance)

I think there's a certain pride in the purchase.

The shopper was just as involved in the sale as the store owner.

One spent hours preparing the windows.

One spent hours deciding where and when to buy.

Both left feeling a sense of accomplishment.

'Regardez, look at this wonderful gâteau that I picked out at the patisserie'

'Voilà, the fantastic chaussures I found at the shoe store'

I think it's a wonderful method, to select and buy only what you would brag about!

And the process is kinda fun too : )

Have you licked any windows recently?

a+

alli

photos found here here