Two Different Kinds of English

I bought a slang dictionary this week, hoping it would help me stay fresh with my French homies, g skillet [...crickets...] I searched for a couple of words, but mostly I just didn't have it on me when I needed it. Then, when I needed it, I discovered it was actually a British/French slang dictionary. So, my main problem now is that when I look up a French word and see the English equivalent....I still don't know what it means :| for instance, chouchouter=to mollycoddle. What the hell is "to mollycoddle"? 

In case you were wondering, it means to pamper or spoil ;) 

Speaking of slang....there's a Chinese girl in my French classes whose name is Wei. She always gets really confused when people say "ouais," the French equivalent for "yeah." It cracks me up, seeing her head jerk up and her look around the room like, "Yes? You said my name?" Then again, I do the same thing when anyone says "qualité" or "qualifier." Comes with the territory I suppose :) It's better than being Peter (to fart), or Nick (basically, to shag). 

This past weekend was a big bucket o' funsies for me--I took the train to Tarbes, about 30 minutes away, to spend the weekend with some friends I met at the university. They met me at the train station, took me to a gorgeous park, cooked dinner for me, took me to a party and a "family meal" at their school, and generally showed me a spectacular time. Everyone was enthralled by the American; everyone wanted pictures, wanted to speak to me in English, wanted to grill hamburgers in my honor. It was a very empowering weekend :) 

This week my host family is leaving on vacation. I'm a little miffed--they're going to be gone three weeks, and didn't they commit to hosting a student for the entire semester, not 2-months-and-one-week? I'm supposed to get breakfast every morning and at least 2 dinners a week, not to mention conversation time with them, and so far I've gotten....none of that. I told the directors--for whom the vacation was just the straw that broke the camel's back--and they're giving me the option to change families. Do I really want to do that? I do--I would love to have a family that actually gives a damn whether or not I'm at the house, whether or not I've eaten, whether or not I'm happy. But at the same time, do I really want to impose my life and schedule and presence on someone else's family, right in the middle of the semester? Advice, please!

On a happier note, Halloween is fast approaching and I'm having a costume party this weekend! I thought, since my host family will be gone, it's only appropriate that I celebrate :) Don't worry, though, we're having the party at the university--I don't want them thinking I would trash their house while they're gone! Anyway, we're buying lots of candy, everyone's dressing up, we've even got pumpkins to carve! Basically, it's just gonna be card games, candy, and guitar--I'm pretty psyched :) If you're in the Pau area this Friday night, stop by!

Classes are going well. Just last week I did a presentation (oral, 15 minutes in French, GO! It was pretty challenging :P). I did my exposé on the French presence in Tennessee. I know, who knew there actually IS a French presence in Tennessee? Apparently, as of 2000, there are 18 000 Tennesseans who speak French. I don't believe it. Anyway, I also included slides of Nashville, country music must-sees, and, of course, played a little country tune on my guitar. It was pretty entertaining as the Finland guy and the Chinese girl had never really heard country music. Globalization, I'm tellin' ya :) 

Tonight I'm going to English Trivia Night at the Garage, one of my favorite bars. I figure I'll have a pretty significant advantage over the rest of the contestants, especially with my new slang dictionary :) Wish me luck!