22 Comments

This is my latest post from you so can I say that your Christmas piece on overnight guests is totally brilliant- especially to allow everyone a bit of time on their own, including you , the host. I am wildly tempted to put those lines on my fridge

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​Very much in the 'throw yourself in with gusto camp', cringeworthy mistakes and all. In my early days of learning Bulgarian, I went into our village shop (one of those shops where everything is tucked away behind the counter or in the back room so you have to ask for everything), and asked the elderly shopkeeper if she had beer. She looked confused, but after repeating myself a few times, she warily opened the door to the back room and let me choose a few bottles of beer. Ten seconds after leaving I realised I'd been emphatically and repeatedly saying, 'Do you WANT beer?' Aaargh.

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Oh good lord Debora, are you *quite* sure we weren't separated at birth? I could not relate more to the crippling fear of making mistakes which makes me tongue-tied and silent when trying to make conversation in a language in which I supposedly have an A Level equivalent qualification. (At the age of 24 I told a doctor "J'ai quatre-vingts ans" and when 32 referred to my son as my grandson because I was trying to say 'my little boy'; the looks of incomprehension and faint alarm still haunt me after decades and are much more vivid memories than all the good bits of our French holidays). I am also, however, like you a good mimic and when I do manage to speak I do it well, encouraging an unfortunate confidence in my listener and subsequent torrents of chat which I have no chance of following. Meanwhile my husband, like Séan, is blithely unconcerned about over-reaching his abilities (is this just because they are men??) and will happily dive in with his execrable accent and limited vocabulary and end up achieving much more.

As always, I am absolutely filled with admiration for your determination and subsequent triumphs. I am sure the local community loves having you among them.

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I remember Thane's cookbook club with great affection. I miss it.

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Ah of course Fresh will have it. I’ll check in hyperU.

Thanks so much!

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So much to like about this post and so many parallels with life here in Italy... we've been here since July 2015, which has gone scarily fast. I still would describe myself as 'getting by' in Italian....but like you, I find it all too easy to get embroiled in a conversation that runs away from me very quickly.

I read somewhere that there are so many persimmon trees in Italy because Mussolini decreed that every household with any land should have one. I really need to fact check that, but whatever the history, we are surrounded by them in our neck of the woods. Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to enjoy the fruit unless it's cooked and hidden in a crumble or pie. So many seem to have a woolly texture. I much prefer the pomegranates which also grow in proliferation.

Thank you for another lovely immersive glimpse of your life 🤗

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I've had one or two excellent language blunders during our adventures in Turkey. One was telling our cleaning lady that we suffered far less from the weather extremes (blinding heat/hail the size of tennis balls) now that we had installed beetroot at at the windows. Only when I saw her puzzled face did I realise I realise I had said pancar instead of panjur (pronounced panjar/panjure - beetroot/shutters). The second one was when I announced rather happily to the lovely young man who repairs all things Bosch (most things are Bosch in Turkish households) that I was fresh today. He looked alarmed, and I'm certain he backed away a couple of steps. Then I realised I'd used the wrong word and had mistakenly told him that I had become fresh that day rather than becoming an aunty. Bless him, he still roars with laughter whenever he catches sight of me in town. We've found the easiest way to improve our Turkish is to go to places where nobody speaks English at all - there are a lot of those in Turkey, and nobody cares if you get your grammar/vocabulary wrong, they are just delighted to be able to communicate. Not quite so much fun now that we have google translate, but I must admit it is extremely useful when you're shopping (especially in the hardware shop, where I can see them all visibly cheering up the second I walk in - presumably in anticipation of what I am going to say next - one particular conversation involving a watering system for the garden had them literally rolling in the aisles).

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Thatvs it isn't it? For the most part people are just incredibly kind and pleased if you make any kind of effort, and if nothing else, you have the potential to give them a good laugh from time to time.

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A very enjoyable read.

Living down the road in the Var it’s really difficult to buy halloumi here(we aren’t near the coast ) - and I love it. My Irish husband thinks it’s rather like eating rubber!

Well done with the French : I’m similar to you and have the ear but this can lead to occasional disasters!

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Thank you, Caroline. It used to be quite hard to find here just a few years ago but now it's quite easy to find. They sell it in Fresh, which I think has branches in the Var, and also in the HyperU. I hope you manage to find some.

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I used to enjoy Halloumi and then realised I couldn’t bear the squeak or the rubbery texture. The squeak reminds me of fingers scraping a chalkboard!

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How did you enjoy it when you couldn't bear it's key characteristics?

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I’m not sure! The first several times it was fine and then just thought I can’t eat this anymore.

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I came to France with high school French then my husband forced me to start reading and gave me Les Rois Maudits, that and his parents who spoke not a word of English. But then I took a job in a cooking school as the interpreter for the anglophone section and boy did I learn fast ! I have so much awe and respect for you just throwing yourself in AND taking lessons! Though I do recommend reading Les Rois Maudits! I’m sorry to say that the birds are currently eating the persimmons off our tree…I love using them in jam. And your salad looks fabulous!

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You do just have to throw yourself in, don't you? Blunder along and hope for the best. Mercifully, people are very kind and forgiving. I haven't read Les Rois Maudits - I will try it. Reading is a lot simpler than big conversations, because you can take your own time. I'm also watching French television with the French subtitles on, which really helps.

I love persimmon jam too, though I don't think I have ever made it myself.

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I advanced by watching the French news. And omg, Debora, Les Rois Maudits is the greatest, funkiest, kitschiest historical novel (it’s divided into 7 or 8 thin books) and you let me know what you think as you go!

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Your haul looks lovely although slightly less leafy than usual. I wish I liked truffles but I find the taste too pungent for my wishy-washy taste buds. Love the sound and look of the salad, I'm going to try it with that interesting dressing of yours. As far as languages go, I've lived in France for 40 years and I still have an accent and still make mistakes when speaking French, but I think sod it! It's made me less self-conscious about making mistakes all round!

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That is sonibteresting, G, that it's made you less awkward about making other mistakes too. I like it.

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Bonjour Bonjour!! I'm with Sean and find I'm fluent in most languages of whatever country I'm in after a long lunch. Much to the cheek crushing embarrassment of my children. Also, absolutely my untalent for grammar (go tell it to my teachers who declared they would never correct grammar because it stilted creativity #70scomp) means mistakes are my MO and I can own the narrative ~ as I literally make it as I go along. Useful. 🤪

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Remember that time we went to a party and you convinced that handsome man you were Spanish and then you ended up marrying him? That was a bit awkward. All turned out well in the end though.

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Always does I find 😉

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A delightful read :)

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