subject:  Today I read all about Edith Piaf dans wikipedia.

Hey Everybody,

Here it is 4:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. in Hawaii) and I find myself alone at an ordi.  I just completed this extra class I’ve taken on for free.  One of my teachers, Jean-Laurent, is studying for his doctorate and has different websites for us to try out.  He observes us (just one other guy and me) and answers our questions.

Last week it was http://www.tv5.org

Click on Accueil if you want to check it out.  Then click on Apprendre le francais.  Then on Quiz.

Another one is http://jeudeloie.free.fr/plateau.htm.  They’re pretty cool for a quick way to learn or review something.

Today it was:  http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piaf.  Jean-Laurent had a list of questions to answer, really more for seeing if you understand the content than the specifics.

As many of you know who saw the French movie about her, she lived a very sad but fascinating life.  AND she could sing, AND write!  Probably the most important thing I learned today was that she wrote her biggest hit, La vie en rose, toute seul, all on her own.

School update: it’s really cool!!!  It’s very practical, the things we learn.  For example, today after being in Jean Laurent’s class from 9 to 12:30 (with a half hour break from 10:30 to 11, and after our lunch break which is from 12:30 to 13:30) I have a 45 minute class avec Marion pour conversation.  Il y a 5 étudiantes là.  The five of us laugh and play while Marion guides us.  Today we discussed an ad about giving blood.  She asked if I was ever involved with community service kind of stuff . . . and I was able to say that “J’ai fait LA pub pour le yacht club et un concert association.”  In contrast to LE pub, which are advertisements.  It just so happened that in our morning class we had learned the difference be la pub et le pub.  Only one other guy and I are in this class (it’s the one for more beginners) and the 3 other students in the conversation class are in the more advanced class.  Ricardo and I exchanged glances that yeah, we just learned LA pub! (He works in marketing and advertising in Sao Paolo, Brésil.  He showed me his picture of his petite-amie, très, très belle!)

Some of the other things we have done have been:

play taboo, a really fun game where you have to guess what we’re talking about (yes, it’s all done in French, for real!).  And the trick is that you can’t use words that would help you explain more easily.  For example, for BERLIN, you could not use the word wall.

Another activity was describing for your partner what was missing in a drawing.  The person describing has the complete picture and the other person has a drawing with only a part of it.  Try doing that in English!

So, as you can see, the activities are very practical (how to describe where something is) but just plain fun too.  You should hear us all laugh.  I love it when I manage to pull off a joke in French and they actually understand what I meant to say!  And then of course, there are those times they make a face at you like “Hehh???”

Oh, I just remembered that I wrote that next time I’d tell you about hearing the cool sénégalese music; well, I lied.  Plus tard, another time . . . .

Okay, it’s now 10 till 5 when they close; I’m all alone except for the boss . . . . and I gotta use da kine before I start my pleasant walk home in the rain!  Fortunately, I bought une parapluie last week.

Alors . . . until the next time.

Bisous to you all, mes bonnes amies.

Susan