OK, I'm having big trouble trying to load photos from Paris, today. I'll try again, later. Sytems are slow. (Not just the phone systems, of course, because we're back in Nigeria!! "go slow" is still the motto here!)
But my even greater "oops" was when I, in Paris, confused two similar, but different, words for "good." One, "bon," is used mainly for food as in "C'est tres bon!" for a great steak. Another, "bien," is used for describing how we're doing, like "I'm fine, thank you" --- "Je vais tres bien, merci!" So, when speaking to the attendants at the restrooms that you pay a fee to use, I said ... you guessed it ... "C'est bon!" I confirmed it today with the French teacher and with two French expats, here. It is as I feared -- I said that the toilet tasted good!
So, how do you say "a big oops" in French?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
"un grand faux pas" perhaps. I made many of them in restaurants. Our first beautiful morning in Grenoble I was so excited to be having cafe au lait and a croissant that I didn't understand the waiter "wanted his money!" til another Frenchman sitting nearby loudly clued me in! As Susan says, "You don't know til you know." There were plenty of things I didn't know, but mistakes help one to learn quickly! I look forward to your pics.
I love the OOPS stories! Comforting and hillarious!
Post a Comment