Vive la France! Vive l'humour!

Laughter is the greatest gift you could possibly give. So said Kermit the frog in the 2012 film 'The Muppets'. But I believe that laughing is something you should do everyday, laughing is happiness. Happiness is healthy. Now learning to laugh at yourself, that's something equally as important, you don't take yourself too seriously.

So today, I went to see a film called 'Vive la France', totally in French which was daunting in it's own right. When one of the opening lines (translated obviously) is: God created the most beautiful place in the world: France. But that was balanced out as God also created: The French'.  That got a huge laugh. Vive la France was a hilarious film that focused not so much on French stereotypes, but instead  on things that I could relate to. Without giving anything away, our central two characters are foreigners, there was a section of the film where the characters were in an office. The woman was asking for so many documents before she could do anything, and then it could take '4 or 5 years for a response'.

Vive la France was basically a comedic love letter to France, but wasn't afraid to make things (that are true) look silly. Yes all the montages featured the more beautiful parts of France. (Think helicopter shots during the Tour de France). Yes, the plot was basically two foreigners falling in love with the country.  But I related to many aspects. Not being 100% sure of the French language so not understanding when things were said sometimes, to which the characters responded with 'Comprend pas'. But would it work to a foreign audience? Well, to some point yes. I'd show this to British friends and they'd get 85% of the jokes. But a guy wearing a PSG shirt in Marseille and being assaulted for it. No, most British wouldn't understand that.

I loved the film, I will buy it on Blu-ray for sure, and if you are reading this in France, make the effort to go see it.

I was nervous about seeing a French film in a cinema, without English subtitles. But at the same time, I wanted to do it, to see how my French had progressed. I knew I wouldn't understand all the film, but I understood possibly 90%, came out feeling very pleased with myself. So, si vous etes en France. Pensez a aller au cinema pour une séance en VF.  Go aaaan, go annn.

French basketball is actually pretty good.

In the newspaper a while back there was an advert for the Disneyland Paris leaders cup. What is the Leaders Cup I hear you ask? It's a mid-season basketball tournament organised by the LNB (Ligue nationale de Basket) replacing the semaine des As. So I grabbed a ticket for the final, and thought it would be something quite fun to go see.  Turns out, I was hooked throughout the entire 3 day competition.  So essentially it's a tournament which begins on Friday with quarter finals, then on sunday moves to a semi-final stage before the final on the sunday. It's pretty intense and lends itself to who is the best at recovering after a game.

Upon discovering the teams invited (Le Mans, Roanne, Gravelines-Dunkerque, Lyon-Villeurbanne, Strasbourg, Orléans, Paris-Levallois and Chalon-Saone) I took to Paris being a local team. They did pretty well but got knocked out in the semi-final round. The matchup I would be seeing was Gravelines-Dunkerque vs Strasbourg.

I arrived nice and early to the Disney Event Arena (where the competition would be taking place), and pretty quickly discovered that directly behind my seat was the buzzer. Everytime it went off, I would be getting gradually going deaf. Hurray! Second thing I noticed, the angle of seating was very strange. If the person in front of you stood up, you'd be seeing diddly squat.

I then happened to be sat behind Strasbourg supporters, who had those wacky party hooter things. 40-50 of those going off near you hurts your ears. To be honest, I wasn't cheering for anyone especially, but I went for the slight connection of Dunkerque being the closest team to where I am from.

A few notes about the event: Whilst it was being held at Disneyland, it wasn't overly Disney. They played the parade music a little bit, and the half time show was High School Musical dance troops.  But other than that, pretty normal. The match was not as competitive as the final scoreline would suggest. Dunkerque was always the better side, at half time it was already looking like the result was decided. Credit to Strasbourg for never giving up, or their supporters (Ear ache). Dunkerque took the early points, extended an early lead and then whenever Strasbourg scored a point, Dunkerque reacted with the same.


Conclusion: French basketball is highly competitive with an enthusiastic crowd. I had a great time and I reckon I'll probably attempt to go see a Paris-Levallois game before the end of the year.

Parlez-vous Anglais?

I like France, I like the country and the language. But living here is something very different. I still like France, I've learnt that sometimes, they do things better than we do. But the opposite is also true. Living abroad opens your eyes to differences both the good and the bad. I've been learning French since I was 11 years old. I remember starting with the simple 'Je m'appelle Geoff, j'ai vingt ans' etc etc. Then we moved. Where I moved to, they had been learning French since they were 9 years old. They were already pros at the introducing yourself business. They had already moved onto 'Je voudrais un hotdog' and that sort of stuff. All of a sudden there was a significant gap between my ability and there abilities. In Year 8 (my second year of learning French) I was in the top set.  How strange, I was in a top set with people who I was supposed to be as good as, but there was a gap.

 Then in Year 9 (a new school) came a bizarre experience where I could say very very basic stuff, and then a series of slightly more complex stuff but missing out on a few in between bits. To be honest with you, I don't think I've ever made up that gap. Yeah, I know how to use the stuff they learnt, but not in the same way. I've not had that extra 2 years of practise and so I find myself in a situation where I still make silly little mistakes.

Now, moving to France and speaking every day in their language. There are barriers to overcome. Confidence being one, I was always afraid of making mistakes. My French is decent, but you don't want a situation where you speak the language, and a French person looks at you and says 'Eh?'.  But, I've learnt that that is exactly what you need! You just need to try.

You are not always going to be able to say everything. Academic French and practical French are two very different things. I was told to keep something 'branché'.  My first reaction was 'WTF does that mean?'.  It means keep it plugged in.  So, every when living here, you are going to struggle. Fact.  (Future year abroaders, get ready for this.  You're not going to know things, but not knowing things is actually how you learn things).

The biggest thing I've learnt though is that living totally in French is out of the question.  I tried not phoning home for a while at the start of the year. But then, one day I broke. My mum said to me 'Why did you phone, it'll cost a fortune?'.  My answer: 'I don't even care, I just need to speak English to someone'.  That's going to happen. It's nothing to be ashamed of. You can't turn your back on your mother tongue. I read BBC News more than I read French news. Just because you are abroad, doesn't mean you turn your back on the UK. Just take that chance to embrace a new culture as well as your own.

Have a good week folks!