It took Jean-Marc Vallée 10 years to write this film. Two hours of beautiful entertainment brought to you from Quebec. It is a complete emotional rollercoaster as you watch Zac (Marc-André Grondin) grow from a gorgeous young boy who is trying on his mommy’s clothes to a young smoky-eyeliner-wearing boy who retreats to pink floyd for solace from the unforgiving world. To call this a coming of age story or a coming out story would be selling it short because it is much much more. The family relationships and dynamics are so interesting, minus any icky clichés. You can’t help being drawn to and growing to love all of the characters. The movie is (appropriately named) C.R.A.Z.Y

I really recommend this film if you wish to be entertained, intrigued and teary all at the same time.  It really gets under your skin, in a good way. So, enjoy.

Oh, and here is French-Canadian actor Marc-André Grondin from the film all grown up in all of his gorgeousness. Il est trop beau.

Juste pour me rappeler ou je vivrai en septembre…

The beauty and charm of sweet France.

1. vino 2. cheese shop 3. paris, je t’aime 4. croissant + ipod 5. saucisson 6. farmers market 7. reflections in france 8. café au lait 9. restaurant 10. little glasses of sweet pleasures from the patisserie 11. fromage 12. boulangerie

I don’t know if I am being unnecessarily worried about this so please tell me if I am

You see, my name is Pip. Which is fine in English - sometimes with my kiwi accent, it can be confused with Pat, Pap or Pak, especially when I was living in Scotland for the last year. I can deal with that.

On the other hand, the Frenchies pronounce my name as ‘Pipe’ and this is how all of the French Boy’s friends spell my name when asking how I am in emails etc.

Well apparently the word Pipe has two meanings in the French language. A pipe (as in English, which you smoke, nothing sinister here) but it also means… well… something that a female does to a man. I feel a bit R18 writing it but I am sure you can guess (especially if you know le Français). So I am now a walking talking BJ.

I am moving to France in September and will be introducing myself to French people. After talking to the French boy about this, he assures me that they will only have a wee giggle when they first hear my name but then they will get used to it (oh great!).

I am thinking of changing my name for my time in France.

Any ideas?

This is just the sweetest. A little French girl named Capucine is a little star, here she is making up her very own fairytale story. She’s kind of like the child real-life version of Amélie. Her mother is using views of the video to raise money for a Mongolian children’s charity called Edurelief. Please show your support. To see more of this beautiful wee girl, check out http://www.vimeo.com/2113477

How cool will this be for her to look back on when shes grown up?

The French boy amazes me with his ability to whip out English almost as if it’s his first language. And evenmore, be witty in his second language. C’est incroyable! When I get to the point in French where I can have a proper conversation and successfully make people laugh, I will be very content.

I find it fascinating how quickly our brain can switch between languages. I often wonder if those who can speak more than one language always think automatically in their native tongue or if they adapt to thinking naturally in another one. I know that the French boy dreams in English. Would love to know your thoughts or experiences, lovely readers.

When I was in France for christmas for just 3 weeks fully immersed with a family who could not speak a word of English, I already started to think in French - I didn’t have much choice. And I learnt more French in those 3 weeks in a French village than I did in my 12 week evening course in London. I even found that asking ‘pourquoi?’ instead of ‘why?’ came more naturally. It was bizarre.

I am looking forward to being fluent and understood and more importantly, able to express myself and my personality in another language. That is my goal.

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.

If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart” - Nelson Mandela

As a side note (and completely unrelated), a tip for those going on a first date - maybe don’t go for a hot curry. Last night me and the French boy went to a Thai restaurant and apparently my request for a “mild” curry was ignored. After a few mouthfuls of my green curry (which I usually love), the French boy tells me my cheeks have gone bright red. My eyes start watering and my nose won’t stop running. Good look for a date eh? HOT! Luckily I wasn’t trying to impress him

My crappy stickfigure drawing of what happens when you get culture shock and start feeling a bit homesick (thanks to my amazing drawing skills in Microsoft Paint - ha).

I’ve been reading a book Culture Shock: France about how this cycle is completely natural and can happen many times to us all, in varying intensity, over varying periods of time. The beginning of a cultural transition.

I am feeling a little weary about France because in all of my travels over the past year in Europe, I have been living in Scotland (where English is obviously first language) and just passing through places rather than actually living there, so knowing the very basics was enough. But when I move to France, this will be my first time living in a foreign country. And it’s kinda scary.

It’s been interesting reading through various blogs of other expats living in France and their experiences. Some good experiences, some bad experiences, some awful. But it is a challenge I have to do, even if i do feel like the stickman in the middle sometimes.

People often think the French are snobby and only want to speak their language.

A lot of people have the misconception that the French do not want to ever learn or speak English. This can easily be mistaken as impolite and unfriendly. But the French boy has a different take on it - from a French perspective. The French love their language so much and take great pride in it. And because they love their language so much, they are scared of sounding bad in another language, like English.

I know that when I was in France over christmas, I would dare not speak it sometimes because I thought my French was bad, and it was a matter of self-confidence.

The other thing I think is that some people go to France and expect them to speak English rather than their native language - we can’t really expect that.

Additionally, there has never been a huge emphasis on the French learning English until recently as French President Nicolas Sarkozy has put more emphasis on learning English.

So things may be changing. Stay tuned.

unintentionally, our shoes make the french flag

Merry Xmas. Or should I say Joyeux Noël from here in France.

I am spending 3 weeks in a French village for Christmas this year with the French boy’s family (who don’t speak a word of English). It’s proven difficult to give a good impression without speaking the language. But I am giving it a go with hand signals and lots of smiles.

We have had meals every day with his friends and family. It can get tiring listening to a table full of French people full of wine and trying to understanding every word that they are saying. But his family are lovely. They live in a cute little village where we visited the local markets to get cheese.

I have had the opportunity to try lots of delicious French food and wine. I tried one of the delicacies of French food - foie gras, french for fat liver. It is scrumptious. I did not know when I was eating it that the duck is fattened through force feeding through a tube. Ick. It is actually illegal in California and there are websites protesting against the cruelty to ducks to make foie gras. But how could anyone ever tell the French to stop producing this traditional and popular dish? All I can say is, good luck.

fields of civray