Tidbits on the 10th.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. The thing about weather is that it's always changing. You know that saying, "Don't like the weather in Illinois? Stick around, it'll change". I'm pretty sure that they say this or a version of it almost everywhere, outside of possible San Diego. Point is I should have rephrased my question in the last blog to, "Did it snow much here?" . Regardless of what it used to do, the answer to that question in the present form is quickly becoming a "yes". I snapped this picture first light this morning. That was about 8 hours and 5 inches ago. Light fluffy snow has been falling straight down for the last 17 hours. I've been told this is abnormal, and I believe it. If it snowed this much every year, I'd think everyone would have a decent set of tires.

Dana headed to work this morning and again was treated to a commute that took 3x as long, but at least she made it this time. The rest of the day was pretty much ruined, no french lessons, no ballet, no market. At least we didn't have school to worry about.

Finally, legal

We finally recieved our French driver's licenses last Friday. I'd been told we were legit with our Illinois driver's licenses, but I was happy not to have to test that theory.

So I really felt good about it. Like I belonged, a fellow French motorist. Then not a day later I had a motorcyclist flip me the bird for staying in the left lane too long. Guess I was getting too full of myself. But seriously, the left lane is not a laughing matter. In the U.S. it's theory, in France it's a practice. No one stays in the left lane unless passing and no one will pass you on the right. That is no one except an idiot like me. And when I stayed in the left lane too long while trying to locate where I was trying to go, the motorcyclist behind me decided to ride my tail and then flip me off rather than just pass me on the right. Now that's some good driver training.

Speaking of driver training, here's the interesting thing about obtaining the licenses. France only recognizes them from certain States. Coming from Illinois, we only had to fill out a few forms and wait; however, had I been from North Dakota or something, I would have had to undergo a rigourous written and driving test. Maybe, they give a course in how not to be on the recieving end of obscene gestures.

The truffle omellete

Delicious, not unbelievable. Worth more than a Denny's Denver Omellet, but not 5 times as much. Not dissapointing, not overly memorable.

Language Selection

Most of you probably know that almost every DVD you own can be played in multiple language versions and with several different subtitles, but you never use it. On occasion I employ these as learning methods. As I have a propensity for memorizing movie lines, I decided that this would be a possible way to enhance my French abilities. While this certainly turned out to be true, I also made a startling discovery. I've always heard that jokes, and to a certain extent, humor doesn't translate across languages. Well, that may be true, but in my estimation, the translators don't even try.

Here's an example from one of my favorite movies National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I'll give you each version of one line translated literally into English. Keep in mind that that the French spoken version and the French subtitles are not even the same.

English spoken: Yeah, got the daughter in the clinic gettin' cured off the Wild Turkey.

a classic line by Cousin Eddie. Well delivered and conveys the redneck quality of the unwanted house guests.

French spoken: Yes, my daughter is in a clinic because of her habit of the bottle.

Not too bad, still funny. Doesn't convey the cheap, hillbilly nature of her addiction, but then with good wine so cheap, who in France would be a drunk on cheap whiskey?

French Subtitles: My daughter is in the hospital because of her eczema.

What? Can you blame a Frenchman for questioning the American sense of humor after reading that? How is an unprovoked skin ailment the same as someone who drinks too much? What thought process went into this translation? Was it possibly an error? This one keeps me up at night.

I may have to stop watching French versions for a while.