To Oui or not to Oui

flight

To begin I just would like to say that yes, French people do say oh là là all the time. It's not a cliché. But! We like to do our own thing with it. Here is my understanding of the variants (used in all kinds of contexts).

Rah là là - we must accept it/what can we do about it anyway?

Ex : Elle a décidé d'y aller. Rah là là... Mais qu'est-ce qu'on peut y faire ?

Roh là là - Really? This is happening? That's a bit annoying/I'm pretending to be annoyed/grumpy about something but in fact it is not very serious

Ex : Roh là là le chat a renversé le vase... c'est malin !

Ah là là - Used to express weariness, or a certain fatalistic contrariety (often affectionate connotation).

Ex : Ah là là, c'est pas facile, je sais. Mais tu vas y arriver, pas vrai ?

Ouh là là - Something is worrying/quite serious and this expresses surprise/contrariety (but can be used in a ironic way)

can you feel the love tonight.

let it go.

when will my life begin.

I won't say.

I'll make a man out of you.

on my way.

once upon a dream.

part of your world.

circle of life.

colors of the wind.

tale as old as time.

he lives in you.

zero to hero.

friend like me.

gaston.

be prepared.

for the first time in forever.

a whole new world.

I see the light.

so this is love.

I'm still here.

go the distance.

son of man.

almost there.

you can fly.

love will find a way.

reflection.

love is an open door.

why should I worry.

friends on the other side.

me: lemme see it. garlic salt

[works for teachers, teachers in training, or also for people who have to do a presentation, it's all about that confidence] 1) Preparation I:

if you meet a class for the first time, prepare what you say to them. Even the most basic hello, my name is XY, my subjects are etc. sentence. You know what you want to say, which means that you don't have to focus on that but can focus on other things.

2) Preparation II:

If you teach a class, prepare what you say as well. Especially at the beginning, prepare the different tasks that the students have to do, so you don't have to look for words or think about what they have to do exactly.

3) Plan, plan, plan: goes hand in hand with the first two: plan everything as detailed as possible. plan the time that the students need, include a short cut when they need to much time, plan the homework, plan also who you are going to call when (students who don't want to talk at the beginning with the easy questions), the better you structure and plan your class the better you feel. This way you know exactly what is going to happen and that brings stability into the class- for the students, but also for yourself. It is, however, also important to have a red thread throughout the lesson that the students can follow. Try to switch from one task into the next seemlessly.

4) Appearance: the goal is not to not be nervous, but just not to show it. I think it's totally normal to be nervous at the beginning, when you start teaching or get a new class. Numerous teachers told me (while observing me) that I am so calm and I don't look nervous at all, even though I was nervous at that time. That's the goal to achieve. First of all: stand on your two feet, hips apart. that gives you stability. Secondly, think about what to do with your hands: don't put them together in front- sometimes that can show that you are nervous. Try letting them hang next to your body. It feels weird, but looks totally normal. You can also hold a pen (but don't play with it) or keep a peace of paper/ a tablet that you are going to use during the lesson in your hands. My motto here is: "Fake it til you make it."

5) Motto: a motto/ slogan in general is really good to calm your nerves. Say it to yourself before you go into class and it hopefully make you calmer. Someone on here gave me some advice on teaching and included this slogan: "This is my kingdom." I think this really helps you to realize that you are the boss and if you do it right the students will follow you. Other slogans might be: "I can do this." "I believe in myself." "I have the knowledge to do this." You always have to remember that you know a lot more than the students and you can tell them what to do. You are the authority person in this case!

6) Experience: Lastly, the more you teach the more confident you get. At the beginning you are neither accoustumed to standing in front of a class nor do you know the class. With experience you get a routine that helps you a lot. That's why I don't think it is bad to be nervous. Also I'd like to quote The Martian by Andy Weir here: "I guess you could call it a failure, but I prefer the term learning experience." Not everything will go according to plan- but you can learn from the mistakes and do it better next time. Don't be afraid to try things out, nothing bad can happen- you can just decide that it didn't work for you.

Hello, it’s hard to give a full answer to this question since I’ve visited those places but never lived there - on the top of my head (disclaimer if needed: I’m being very general, that’s my own experience, etc.):

Think of us as big cats. We are private (no exposing intimacy, pics everywhere, peeking in people’s houses or grocery bags, touching…) but also quite brutal: if you step on someone’s foot in the UK, they’ll apologize for being in your way. In America, they’ll make small talk. In France, expect a death stare, exasperated sigh or even verbal assault. We’re blunt, speak the truth regardless of its effect, cut to the chase if we want something.

We have unsaid social rules: you don’t just go to someone and ask a question. If you’re lost, or need something in a store, you go to someone, wait for them to look at you, say hello, wait for them to say hello back, and then ask for what you need. If you don’t, they’ll lift their eyebrows and won’t help. You say hello and goodbye when entering a store, to the bus driver, to coworkers, etc. The tu/vous thing is a daily struggle, even for natives.

Consumerism: nothing (but hotels/airports) is 24/7 (stores/gyms are open 8:30-9), Starbucks is $$, we don’t go nuts over national holidays, stores are closed on Sunday (except cinemas, bakeries in the AM, restaurants). We have smaller cars, houses with little storage (but strong walls, looking at you America), don’t do extreme couponing, don’t have storage units, etc.

We are generally not very ambitious. Of course it’s changing because of the rise of start-ups, Macron’s mentability, studying abroad programs, etc. But people willing to start a company/move abroad (…) are looked at with surprise. It’s also really hard to get us to change our ways. Usually, when someone tries to export a foreign concept, it flops miserably.

No one packs our groceries or puts the gas in the car for us. We barely ever tip (salaries are good enough) and no one works several jobs, I’m not even sure it would be legal. 

When you go to the doctor, depending on the mutuelle your company uses, you either pay only a fraction of the actual bill (le tiers payant) or pay the entire thing and then get some of the money paid back by social security - indie doctors are rarely covered. That being said, we don’t like going to the doctor (and in some parts of the country, there are basically no doctors or hospitals and you have to drive for a million years to get to see someone so you just don’t do it).

Uni costs peanuts and if your family isn’t wealthy enough, you get a monthly scholarship (enough to rent a room) ten months a year and can get up to seven of them (four for bachelor degrees + three for masters; two extras if you fail). 

At school, grades are out of 20 and you pass if you have 10. We don’t have proms/graduation, no huge gorgeous universities, libraries, photography club, drama kids, sports teams/fields… - none of that. We have general subjects, have to pick a language and an extra course and that’s it. Also, we don’t have majors/minors or very specific degrees (you can find degrees in literature or law, not in gender studies or marine photography)

Bread is a religion. At any time during the day, you can bump into someone carrying baguettes (while eating half of one). On sunday mornings, the line to get croissants and pains au chocolat will start getting nuts at about 9 am. There’s often baguettes or a sliced bread on the table during lunch and dinner.

CHEESE. I’ve been to many places, and, every time I got to a supermarket, I found the cheese aisle super sad. It is not just something you add as an ingredient to a meal, it can be a snack or an entire meal you eat either alone or on some bread. 

We do drink a lot, socially or not. The concept of underage drinking does not exist. We smoke a lot less than we used to before the 2006 law. If you go for a walk on a Sunday morning, you’ll find empty bottles and pukes. 

We’re actually quite green. We don’t have much public places and compost is not really a thing but thin plastic bags have been forbidden (we get paper bags at the shop or can bring reusable bags) and actually we’re atm studying a law to forbid anything one use only plastic (straws, cutlery, etc). You can get in trouble for littering, leaving dog shit or not do selective sorting. In big cities, you don’t need a car and rely on public transportation.

To travel within the country, we’re likely to take the train (the system, although expensive, is very well made and you can get pretty much anywhere in a few hours) or share a ride (do “covoiturage” with websites like Blablacar). We usually take planes only for international journeys.

Not everything is fleeting. Some feelings are deep.