...that the French word for tender (as in, soft) is moelleux and not tendre. You should have seen the face of one of my students when I tried to ask him if he cooked the spinach until it was tendre (as in, romantic/emotional).
..that my students really love the fact that my name is Mary (and that Mary sounds very similar to merry). They now say "Merry Christmas" every time they see me :)
...that Nicolas is a very popular name around here and that most troublemakers are named Nicolas. It's also popular because back during the crusades, some knights brought a relic of St. Nicolas back with them and built a cathedral to house the relic (just outside Nancy). Thus, this is why the fete de Saint Nicolas is coming up this weekend! (party on, people...)
...that the French eat a lot. (no, seriously, they do). Even a French person has told me this. Why are they so thin, then, you might ask? They know how to enjoy food. If they eat a lot one day, they scrimp on the next; if they eat pastries one day, they don't on the next. They also don't eat chips or crackers or drink tons of soda, so there you go. I'm also not saying that I haven't seen fat French people, because I have. It is just less of an epidemic than in the US of A. Eating is not a mindless activity. Oh, and knowing how to cook (well) is important (at least, it's a question my students ALWAYS ask me).
...that I don't like teaching. But I think I knew that before I came. It's just too much work. I much prefer just talking to the kids (like I do in the hotellerie).
...that the tea I just bought smells better than it tastes--which is why I kind of let the teabag sit in my room longer than it should :)
...how to make tuilpe (a type of pastry) and how to flamee mirabelle (the local kind of plum. They make mirabelle EVERYTHING!) It was quite delicious!
--Mary
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