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Soirée

I went to a soirée last night with 9 people in total, all Parisians except me. The purpose of the event was the birthday of Pascal, brother of the hostess, Christine. I look forward to and dread these events. I love the fact that I will be surrounded by people speaking French, but there is always the issue of how do I contribute to the conversation. I have had very little chance to do that because the conversation takes off and leaves me in the dust.

French is a bit different than English. I think that as we converse in English, we form the ideas as we go. This keeps the pace a bit easy. The French seem to formulate the ideas in their heads and feverishly try to regurgitate the ideas as quickly as they can, hardly stopping for breath. The speed makes it very difficult to understand what they are saying, especially women. I am unsure why the difference between the sexes, but it is definitely there.

When I arrived, I saw one person I knew: Genevieve whom I had met when I first came to Paris. We greeted each other in French and she said, "Your French is getting better. The last time we were together you didn't say anything at all." which was not exactly true. I did interject some phrases and attempted to have some interaction. You have to understand that when 2 or more Parisiennes get together, speed takes over. They always have the courteous idea that they will speak slower or speak in English (which I do not want), but expediency takes over. Trying to get the gist of the conversation is like trying to read an advertisement as a high-speed train goes by. You may get a word or a picture, but any of the subtleties will be lost.

When I arrive for a French-speaking evening, I am usually alert and ready to jump in. Greetings go well, with the reaction, "Oh, you speak French well" is the norm. I think this is because I can pronounce things well. Expectations are that I can function and converse well. So much for expectations, because very soon the train gets going. I do OK at the very beginning. I get about every third word or phrase and at the beginning, this is OK.

"Yesterday a photo. . . at the Bastille. . . skateboarding. . ."

So far, so good. What will happen, though, is I will drift slightly. "Skateboard?" I think. "I haven't seen any skateboards in Paris yet. Maybe I should look closer when I am at the Bastille. Maybe Thursday afternoon..." and I realise I have drifted. Now the conversation has taken a turn and I have no idea where they are.

"Very rapid. . . my girlfriend. . . weekday. . . traffic. . ."

Hmmm. Should I ask?

"Very small. . . work going. . . workshop. . . shopping."

No idea. Maybe if I wait, they will make a turn I can follow.

The strangest turn was one person turned to me, knowing I am an American and says, "Aylvees est mort?" "Excuse me? I am sorry, I don't understand." "You know Aylvees?" "Sorry, I am not sure" "Praislee" "..." "Aylvees Praislee!" "... OH, Elvis Presley??? Oh, yes, of course he is dead by now." He then goes back to the other conversation.

I am eternally hopeful that I will get more. I think I am getting more each time, but it doesn't come together yet. I am eternally hopeful. Bit by bit. Petit à petit.

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