Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Poulet pour le dîner

Verb: Past Tense
Vocabulaire:

la soir dernière: last night
le poulet: chicken
le dîner: dinner
pour: for
faire cuire: (vt) to cook [something]
parfait: perfect
aussi: also
alors que: while/as
sentir: (vi) to smell
préparer: (vt) to prepare [something]
les épinards: spinach
la fromage: cheese
le oignon: onion
le poivre orange: orange pepper
assaisonnement pour salade: salad dressing
fait à la maison: homemade
fatigué: tired
souhaiter: (vt) to wish for
le verre: glass
le vin: wine

La soir dernière, ma moitié d'orange et moi avons fait cuire a poulet pour la dîner. C'était parfait. Alors que le poulet a fait cuire, la maison sent bon. Nous aussi avons préparé une très beau salade de épinards avec fromage, oignon, poivre orange, et assaisonnement pour salade que était fait à la maison. Aprés nous avons mangé, j'était fatigué, et j'ai souhaité le verre du vin.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Bienvenue

For a 2006 New Year’s resolution, I decided to seriously commit to learning a second language. As a hopeless romantic at heart, I settled on French. At the time I was living in Edinburgh with a French roommate and several friends who spoke French so learning went quickly. I bought some books and even attended an intro class that met once a week. That summer I enrolled for a TESL course in Montpellier and lived with a French family for a month. I stayed in the country traveling for the remainder of the summer before returning to the States. Three and a half years later, what little French I gathered in my first valiant effort is rapidly fading and the idea saddens me. Therefore, I am renewing my New Year’s resolution of four years ago by attempting to rally fellow Madison Francophiles and anyone interested in speaking French.


My proposition is a regular meeting once a week or maybe just twice a month where we gather at a local café over wine or coffee and talk in French. If there is an interest, we can discuss and I can post potential topics to jumpstart conversations and allow people to prepare for the conversation. Ultimately, we can make this whatever the group so desires.


When anyone asks the silly icebreaker question: What would your superpower be? I always answer: to instantaneously and effortlessly speak any language. However, that is not my superpower by any stretch of the means! So whether you speak a lot or ‘un peu Francais', come and listen or come and speak French!