Preparing for Europe
In August, I am flying to Manchester, NH to spend a few days at home in Northwood. Then my mom and I are flying from Boston to Paris, where we will meet up with Ryan and his mom where our EuroTrip 2010 will begin. After a week in Paris, we are picking up a rental car and heading to Bruge for a couple of days and then off to London.
I am excited to be in Paris again. I went for two weeks during the summer after my Junior year in high school and obviously did not appreciate it like I will when we go this year. In high school, I was young and stupid and all I thought about on that Paris trip was how much I missed my high school beau. I did, however, go with my best friend at the time and we had a blast. We made a lot of great memories and when I think back to it now, in all of those memories, we were rolling in laughter. It is a shame that growing up sometimes means growing apart.
For EuroTrip 2010, my mom and I are brushing up on our French. She and I both took French during our high school years and I had an extra year in college so we just need to start hearing it to pick it back up again. I figure if we can learn the basic need-to-know phrases and then comprehend listening to French that is being spoken–we’ll be all set! For instance, knowing how to say the following is key:
- Where is the bathroom?
- How much is this?
- I would like a …
- Yes please
- No thank you
You know, the basics! I think I will have a problem hearing and understanding a Parisian especially because they are not the nicest people on earth, but also because they can speak very fast. My plan is to go into Paris looking all cute and innocent and start off by saying:
Hello, my name is Nicole and I only speak a little bit of French. Could you help me find the blablabla OR tell me how much this is OR where is the blablabla.
From what I’ve read, if you give it a go, they are quick to switch to English and help you out. But if you act all American and rude, they will pretend they do not know what you are saying. My mom and I installed the Rosetta Stone software so I think that if we stick with the speaking and listening lessons over the next five months, we will be good to go!
Good News: if we tire of the whole French thing, we will be departing in a week’s time, off to Bruge and then ending in London where it is English all the way…what a great way to end Europe Trip 2010!
