Posts

Showing posts from October, 2010

LINGUISTIC LOL

Image
Reverse linguistic blunders... After years of making my own sexual-innuendo-charged linguistic blunders in French and dealing with the rollaround-on-the-floor carry-on laughter,  I would like to congratulate myself for my poise and inner-calm for the following situation.... Ex lawyer, I have been examining the regional law bar students in Bordeaux for the last 10 years. Part of their European cursus is to sit a legal english oral exam in front of a jury. Taken very seriously, it is a major source of stress for most of them. Stress takes many forms -  nervous laughter, facial sweats, near tears, speedy speech or even slow motion diction. One young candidate arrived before the jury yesterday, beautifully tailored black suit, mother's pearls, etc.... Her presentation had been rather wooden, but that was just the stress speaking. The content was brilliant. Discussing "causality" in slow, steady, careful English, she had meant to answer my question affirming that an affil

A WEEK OF IT...

Image
Demonstrations and other animals... This desperateanglohousewife has had a week of it.. 10 days ago my 16 year old son went off to school for his 8am start. 10 minutes later as I was running out the door to work he arrived back home. Smile from ear to ear - strikes, protests, the school entrance was blocked, school was "off." He went back up to his bed where, my guess is, he stayed until midday.  This went on for the next 10 days, basically until the break-up for half term. But by last Monday even my son had had enough. He swotted for mid-term tests, he turned up to class with homework projects, only to be continually turned away. Believe me, even I was surpried at his vehemence against the strikes. He rightfully said, "What about MY right to education?" Having lived in France for nearly 20 years, I am now used to Autumn, Christmas and Spring protest agendas where the country is brought to a standstill by the CGT, the country's most powerful trade un

GOD GIVE US PARITY...

Image
Just where are women today? OK do not panic, this is not going to be feminist rave. Well, not quite. Have just had 5 (bliss!) minutes to myself.  Ripped open this week's Time mag, went straight to my favourite page...The World, Top 10. My eyes swivelled directly to the flash regarding "Gender Equality Around the World." The World Economic Forum has just released its annual report on how 134 countries are closing the gender gap in education, politics, health and economic opportunity. No surprises for the top 5... 4 Scandinavian countries, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden and.....then NEW ZEALAND!!! I will be honest, I cried. My tears had nothing to do with NZ pride. They were all about what I have had to endure, as a woman, the last 17 years, in my new home country, France. And now for a quote, "France fell from No.18 to No. 46..." Surprise, surprise ! I love this country, its history, its culture, BUT, I am rather tired of being spoken about in

HUSBANDS WITH COLDS.....

Image
Dealing with neurosis! My husband had a small cold this week. Anyone would have thought he was dying of pleurisy..!  Coughing, sniffing, o-d.ing on aspirin, invading my "sleep -space" with 2am nose blowing sequences that would put Purcell's  Trumpet Voluntary to shame! Irritable and irrational, he has been the husband from hell. What is it about men with colds?!! Why do they become so WET!! I get colds..but I have to continue, work, kids, house, laundry. It doesn't all go on hold for a sniffle!!! Let's go to my grand-mother's remedy  - lemon and ginger toddies with generous splashes ( yes, that was plural!) of whiskey. GrandMother's Lemon, Ginger Hot Toddy for Colds 5cm (2in) piece of ginger root   Lemon Ginger Hot Toddy 1 branch fresh lemon grass 2 lemons 4tbsp liquid honey 4 shots whisky (optional...haha,just joking!) Peel, finely slice the ginger lengthways, I use my potato peeler.  Cut the lemon grass in half lengthways. Slice th

BIG NOISE

Image
Enlightenment about the French National Education System hits the international press. How many anglo/americans living in France jumped for joy when they found the article about French education nationale in last week's Time magazine ? Peter Gumbel, author of On Achève Bien les Ecoliers , is polite enough to refer to Education Nationale as "bloated,old-fashioned."  This DesperateAngloHousewife would go to further extremes and add constipated, draconian  and jurassic to the list. Knowing well that I shouldn't criticise my host country I am nonetheless at a loss when it comes to the French education system. I have watched my own French children, France's future, being battered psychologically by a system and its teachers who belong more in the 18th century than today. My negative experience with inhuman teachers started when my daughter was 3...I was called up to school by her kindergarten teacher for a "very serious matter"...she coul