Le b.a. ba

Le b.a. ba (prounouced beh ah bah) is the french equivalent of "The A.B.Cs" for us. So, saying something is "le b.a. ba" is like saying it's as easy as the ABCs - the most simple thing. Although I'm surrounded by French pretty much most of every day, it's still difficult for me to find time to actually practice speaking with someone who can correct me. You would think it would be simple, but it isn't! In my classes and with French people I just talk, and people understand mostly what I'm saying even if my verb forms aren't perfect or I use an English word here and there. However, the only time I really get straight-up corrected on the little mistakes I make in every day speaking is in French class, and that's only twice a week for two hours. And then how am I supposed to learn more cool expressions that I can write about on this blog?! So basically, I've been trying to find ways where I can put my self in situations where I can talk to people and they can correct my little mistakes and help me through verb conjugations, etc. And this is where Franglish comes in! Franglish is an organization that, well, organizes these get-togethers in bars throughout Paris. You sign up online in advance, and then it's basically like language speed-dating. You are matched with a native speaker of the opposite language, and then you speak for 7 minutes in French and 7 minutes in English. You can talk about anything, as long as it's in one of the two languages!

Random pretty pictures from life in Paris...

So, my friend and I decided to go try it out tonight. It was held at a bar in the 4eme called Lizard Lounge, which had this whole cool underground section where little tables were set up with paper and pencils (if a bit of impromptu pictionary or spelling help was necessary) and French/English dictionaries.  We paid our 10 Euros, got a free drink, and then sat down. And let me say, the experience was AWESOME. I probably talked to about 7 or 8 people, and each conversation was totally different! I was surprised at the varying levels of English - I talked to a Chinese History prof from Sciences Po (the Political Science University here) whose English was almost perfect, and then I talked to a woman who was having trouble stringing sentences together. I taught one woman the word "awesome" (the closest translation in french is "chouette" which means "super") and got a mini-architecture lesson from another. I got corrected on my use of the subjunctive (of course...) and met a guy who was so obsessed with moving to San Francisco that he told me he watches South Park and Family Guy every day to try and learn American slang so he will fit in when he goes there. My friend had a funny conversation with a man about the changing policies surrounding marijuana in Amsterdam. Apparently, the french guy thought the word for "pot" was "crack," and so was saying things like "It's crazy - they let you smoke crack in bars there but not cigarettes!" It was so funny that it took my friend awhile to get up the courage to tell the guy that in fact, pot and crack are too VERY different drugs...Although I must admit, drug slang is not exactly le b.a. ba of a language!

Overall, it was an awesome evening, and it is definitely an experience we will be returning to. So nice to meet real French people and practice and get corrected and learn new things! What a great way to spend a Wednesday night.