Rigolo Privé ?? (private joke)

Two of my French friends were joking around the other day and I went out on a limb, constructed a sentence and asked whether it was a private joke, «une rigolo privé » ..
I thought, surely, they must have private jokes- and they would understand me if I said that.. But they just started laughing hysterically..
I guess they understood but thought it sounded like something a Canadian person speaking French would say :) Turns out- they say “private joke” in English.
In the beginning, you are bound to make many mistakes in communication but if they are funny, you’ll be more likely to remember the words or the grammar.
The same thing happened to me at lunch the other day- I asked “Vous avez mangé bien?” which sounds like- “Did you eat properly” (like with good manners :) when really, I meant to ask “Did you eat well?”, (like did you have a good lunch), which is said “Vous avez bien mangé?”.. Simply changing the place of the adverb changes the meaning of the sentence…
Don’t worry- French people normally help you with your pronunciation and grammar :)

MacDo = McDonalds in France

There is always a line at the MacDo on Denfert Rochereau.. and that is not a big tourist area, so it is not just Americans eating there.. Yeh- I’ve been there at least 5-6 times since I’ve been here- and man.. it’s better than in the US. They’ve got a designer menu called “Le M” with sandwiches like “chicken mythic” and “royal deluxe”… and it is not inexpensive: 7.80Euro for a regular sized value meal!!!!!
In order for MacDo to be successful in France, they have to have good food and a nice environment that completely counters the bad wrap that MacDo gets around Europe (France in particular). There is always a security guard in the Denfert location, kickin’ out bums.. The place is always clean.. There’s a flat screen TV, a children’s TV area, and the staple for all European restaurants: an automatic espresso machine. Lots of people order electronically so that they don’t have to wait in line. Americans beware that your credit cards won’t work in these machines because they take a card with a chip, not a magnetic strip :( So you wait in line and pay in cash..
Mostly- I see young people around but the other day I saw a little girl’s b-day party just like in the US!! Lots of people take it to go- and they have really nice packaging, like happy meal boxes for grownups that hold drinks- not just some flimsy bag and you have to hold your own drink ;) You can get the value meals with the regular fountain soda, but they also offer bottled water (sparkling or no gas) and beer :) Instead of frites (=French fries, try explaining that to a French person) you can get potato wedges.. mmm I’m getting hungry.
What I hear from the locals is that it is better than “Quick”, the other fast food restaurant in town.

Le GRAND Dejuner (The Big Lunch)

We’ve been eating lunch in a “cantine” or cafeteria in the bottom of Montparnasse Tower/ Les Galeries Lafayette that is for employees of the sassy Montparnasse business district.
When you walk in, you grab a tray and walk over to the long table displaying plates of all of the prepared food available for the day. It is a huge cafeteria and it is very crowded- so this helps you avoid walking around to each of the stations and possibly missing something.. Each day there are 4-5 different cuisines..

The Staples:
Always fresh personal-pan pizzas..
Bowls of salad- greens- or orange (shredded carrots are popular)..
Plates of fresh fruit.
Miles of dessert selections.. and everyone gets a dessert. My fave is the tiramisu (reminds me of State College).

While waiting in line for the cashier, you pick up silverware and a glass for water (there are carafes of water at the tables). There are also baskets full of free rolls! but after two, you must pay :) The food is amazingly priced and there are lots of options- but not anyone can eat here. All transactions are done through the meal cards of each employee. This is pretty typical of French cantines- as this is the same process at the one where I work..

I think that the French Dejuner (lunch) is like the American Dinner- except, for me at least, I get a food comma and want to go to sleep after :(

La première semaine (the first week)

I’m trying to speak French- and it is working with a few people in the lab. But there are a lot of people who just speak English after I speak French to them.. I think it’s because they don’t want to hear me butcher their beautiful language 

I spent this week meeting lab members and other people in the department and getting trained in electrophysiology and other cool techniques… Fred has some very cool projects going on- and we’ve had some time to make a preliminary plan of action for my research.

I will start my first class on Wednesday: a two-week agriculture protection course in Grignon. Luckily, a few people are putting on a joint birthday party there this weekend- so they’ll be able to show me around the Grignon campus before my first day.


I have loved walking from the Saint-Cyr metro stop to work because there are all kinds of undisturbed grasses on the sidewalk and I have seen beaucoup d’insectes there (see pics on my picassa page!)…