Random photo from the Luberon. More in my weekend photo journal.
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un apprenti (ah pran tee) noun, masculine
: apprentice
synonyms: un stagiaire, un mousse*
Next Meetup: PARIS! On March 1st at Shakespeare & Company bookshop I will be talking about writing, publishing, and–bien sûr–blogging! (Starts at 7 p.m.)
Blogger Espinasse has taken a step backward in the evolution of media
by converting selected contents of her Web log into a book. Beginning students of conversational French will profit from many of
these brief entries, and supplemental tables of expressions go far to
demystify French idioms for anyone wishing to speak and write more
fluent French. (—Booklist) Order a book.
.
A Day in a French Life…
by Kristin Espinasse
I was singing my tone-deaf tonsils out when, THUMP, I fell off the bed—
and landed on my…
Hmmm… perhaps this part is better left unsaid?
The sight of this not-so-frilly fall, was all it took, yes all
for my son to double over and guffaw in his southern French drawl.
(Can laughter have an accent? And, by the way, can tonsils be 'tone-deaf'?)
Never mind. I picked myself up off the ground, dusted my robe, and cleared my lungs for another chorus run:
My son is going to work to-day!
Oh yea, oh yea, oh yea, oh yeaaa
My son in going to work to-day!
Next, I reached for my camera and snapped a picture of my son
just a prized souvenir for a tone deaf mom who'd landed on her bun.
14-year-old Max, tying his tennis shoes. The only "dress" requirement, for the restaurant in which he will be working (during winter vacation), is good gripping godasses.* Sounds to me as if he'll be working in the slippery parts of the establishment, perhaps paying his dues, doing la plonge!*
Have your say about the French Word of the Day! You may also respond to the story or share an anecdote of your own. Click here to comment and don't forget to include your name and your location. Merci beaucoup!
French Vocabulary & Sound File
Download Apprenti
Notre fils va travailler pendant cette semaine de vacances comme apprenti dans un restaurant. Our son will be working during this week of (winter) vacation as an apprentice in a restaurant.
un/une stagiaire (m) = an intern
un mousse (m) = ship's boy (though Max will not be working on a ship, he may be doing "la plonge" or "dishes," so this seems to be a fitting synonym!
une godasse (f) = shoe (attention! this is a slang term!)
la plonge (f) = dishwashing
***
A Day in a Dog's Life… by Smokey R. Dokey
Je sais… I know… you haven't seen a lot of me lately. Suffice it to say that I am growing…
and growing…
and growing!
While I am growing on the outside, I'm counting on all of you to be growing on the inside, like hot from the oven humble pie. A spoonful of humility never hurt anybody—something we dogs know instinctively.
Love,
Smokey
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How nice to see the sun shining while your dogs romp in the yard. Our yard is covered in about 18 inches of snow! But it’s warm and cozy inside. Good luck to you son on his “job” – maybe he will bring his talents home!
I was just thinking the same as Jeanne. The sun looks so warm and inviting in your photos. We are getting close to another foot on top of close to 30″ already.
Good luck to Max. It’s a requirement in my house that my kids take jobs in the restaurant field. I’m sure Max understands hard labor but there’s something about that restaurant industry that puts things in a healthy work ethic. I’m curious about this winter break. How long is that?
Your kids have a very fun mother. Never loose your sillies, I say.
Handsome son, precious puppy! How fast they grow; and how strong and upright. Sing an aria, Kristin, for you are truly blessed!
His first job…a real rite of passage! Good for Max. Smokey’s looking so beautiful. My guess almost all of your readers would love to share in your Provencal sunshine. It’s lightly snowing..again..here in Iowa with more snow predicted Friday into Saturday. I feel really bad for folks on the East Coast. It’s getting to be a very long winter!
You’re looking good, Smokey. I see that you are at that “lanky” stage right now. You need to eat more so the rest of your body can catch up to your legs! Just be sure you only eat food that Gramma K provides – none of that “good” smelling stuff you find outside.
Good luck to Max as he brings his working career! Many a chef started where he is starting.
Hi Jeanne: Oh, wouldn’t that be nice to have a little chef in the house?
Karen, This little chef and his sister are on “winter” break. It lasts two weeks, and began on Monday.
Bravo, Max, for being willing to work on vacation! Do you hope to learn something about the restaurant field/cooking, or are you just hoping to accumulate some euros?
Do Max and Jackie have a southern French accent? I Haven’t noticed it in the audio files (and thanks for using different voices, which is good ear training).
What does the R. in “Smokey R. Dokey” stand for?
Karen in Towson, I think we are having the same weather. I’m in University Park, MD, just a mile or so from the College Park campus of the U. of Md. Even Rt. 1 was not plowed.
I’ve often thought that we receive so much from this blog besides polishing our French. Friendship, and a window into French life. Merci!
Hi Marianne: Max is considering doing a BAC PRO (le baccalauréat professionnel), which he could begin this fall. He would like to go into the restaurant business (restauration?). We hope this experience as an apprenti at a local restaurant will give him a taste of what the field is like.
Thanks for asking about the R in Smokey R Dokey. Smokey wrote, in a past column:
you might have noticed my new signature Smokey R. R is
not for Robinson–it stands for Russell. I get the name—and my good
looks—from Gramma Ks dear Uncle Rusty.
Hi Kristin,
Congratulations to Max! He is a handsome boy. Did he get his braces off or am I thinking of your daughter?
I enjoyed seeing the pictures of Smokey in the sun! The sun is finally shining here today on all that snow. We got another 5 inches last night.
I enjoyed listening to the audio file today. I love when JM says “la plonge”. Do you have a saying in French that is similar to “take the plunge”?
Hi Kristin — I am sooo happy to see that Smokey is almost fully mended! Actually, he does look completley healed… true? I love seeing Smokey keeping up with his blog-posting duties!
Glad to know I’m not the only one who makes up songs when I’m happy! When I got my free ticket to Paris (frequent flyers) I sang: I am going to Paris, it’s first class and it’s freeee, I am going to Paris, it’s first class and it’s FREE! My kids think I’m CRAZY!
So happy to find out that Jean-Marc will be stopping in MN! We should be able to see him!
Hi Marianne. Yes we are certainly experiencing the same weather. With gutters full of ice, water coming in around our bay window, nowhere left to put the snow, buses breaking down and blocking the only path of the road that was plowed – I think we can say that the magic is gone. We should have had the Winter Olympics right here in Maryland!
I’m going to put aside the useless shovel and instead I’ll put on a sundress and flip-flops. It’s time for make-believe!
Hi Kristin and Friends,
Hoping I am not being inappropriate with a question instead of a comment…
Do any of you have experience with a good, reasonably priced French language school for adults (in France)? We’d like to study for two weeks, location preferably in the south or southwest.
I’m always happy to find French word a day in my mailbox. Thanks if anyone has a suggestion.
Sarah Wilcox, San Francisco
Son and dog both growing into fine young men!
Still loving Smokey’s “page”!
Patricia in blizzard-ing northwestern Virginia. 30″ last weekend and more now!
And don’t forget “un plongeur” is a dishwasher, as in a Wpot washerW type person in a restaurant (as opposed to a dishwashing machine). I think I learned that kitchen term from an old George Orwell novel.
Along with Sarah, I’m interested in any suggestions for a good language school in France. Thanks in advance! (If it’s easier, email me at bcjackson8 at gmail dot com.)
Christine in clear, cold and sunny SLC where it is currently 32 degrees.
Hi Sarah, Thanks for asking your question here, in the comments box. This is a good place for an answer as we have others looking for the same info. Can anyone help answer Sarahs question? Merci!
Loved the story today and Smokey is looking great! and BIG! Is the worry of further infections gone?
Evening Hérault, thank you for pointing out the potential confusion between man and machine. I’ll see if I can fix that!
Christine, just saw your message after I posted mine. I hope you find a good language school, too! Here’s one to check out:
http://www.languageinprovence.com/
Save your money Max. Remember to pay yourself before you pay others. Save just a little money over time and it pays off in the long-term. The rewards are distant, just as they are when you lead a good moral life.
Kristin – I fell in the forest 3 days ago when I slipped on ice. Heavy winter clothing cushioned my impact. I commiserate with you. 0C (32F) and partly sunny in southwestern Newfoundland today.
Hi, believe that “stagiare” is spelled “stagiaire”…..(?)
I too started working in a restaurant at the age of 14, working every summer in my parents’ best friends’ restaurant on Cape Cod. I started as a salad girl, then became a dessert girl, moved on to bus tables and eventually became a waitress. The experience has been invaluable as I love food and cooking and learned so much of the basics in this small family owned operation. In addition, when I’ve been out of work in other fields I’ve been able to return easily to the restaurant business. And lastly, some of my longest standing friends I met while working in restaurants. Good people gravitate to the business of food! I hope Max’s experience is equally as rewarding. Blizzard in Bridgehampton today!
Congratulations to Max for his job and No, he should not be laughing at Mom, even when she falls off the bed! And why were you falling off the bed?! : )
Smokey, you are slender and gorgeous and that face is so cute! Yes, I am trying to grow on the inside but it is so hard. It is quite easy for me to grow on the outside with all the chocolate and food that I eat.
Have a lovely day!
-m
I did my own Mother’s Happy Dance last week when my son got a job at a restaurant. He’s only a busboy, but for now a job is a job. I wish he’d learn some cooking skills to bring home and share with the family (i.e., cook so I don’t have to).
The Orwell book in which he talks about “un plongeur” is Down and Out in Paris and London. I bought my copy at Shakespeare and Company. Wish I could be there for Kristin’s upcoming appearance. It’s a fascinating look at all the nitty gritty of the “have-nots” in those two cities.
I saw on the FWAD website that language program Kristin posted. I would love to do a two-week program.
Hi Kristin, I used to write on my wife’s e-mail, but she set up my own. I love French Word of the day, of course, and I ordered your book,Words…in a French Life. Matt
Hi, It is amazing to be here in the Rockies with modest melting snow. However wait until March and April it will still be arriving. Years ago, not too many, a friend and I attended the Centre International d’Antibes, http;//www.cia-france.com. It is well run, with a variety of accommodations available and in warm territory.
Cheers for the new job and to the long legged Smokey.
Mona: good question. Answer: I fell off the bed while leaning back (waaaay back) to shoot Max’s photo as he sat on the opposite end of the bed tying his shoes. He had come into the room to wish me a good day and that is when he reminded me the he was off to work. When I realized that “today was the day” I felt so giddy and excited for him and I wanted to capture the moment on, well, “pixels”! That’s when I fell off the bed. Max has never laughed so hard in his life (and we, rather he has an ongoing “blond” joke which didn’t help things on my (sore) end.
Matt, so glad to hear from you!
Julie, best to your son! I hope he learns some good recipes (Max made meringue today!)
Marshall, thanks for “stagiaIre”.
Douglas, enjoyed your sage words to Max. Sorry to hear about your fall. Glad you were “cusioned” 🙂
Mais, où est la mousse au chocolat?
Voilà la différence, masculin, c’est du travail, et feminin, le mot est le plus bon dessert . C’est vrai?
Thanks Kristin and Carole: I’m off to check out those sites now!
MAX MADE MERINGUE TODAY… the sweetest words a Grand’Mere could ever hear!
XOXO
JULES
France magazine has a bunch of ads for French schools in France. I’ll try to remember to come up with a list for Friday’s FWAD.
It seems impossible to me that Max is 14 and going to work! And, I have never met you and know you and your family only through your blog! Good for him and courage, Mom. This is as important a step for his parents as his first day of school.
Kristin
Isn’t it great to wake up happy , singing , and enjoying life, hope all your coming days are sunny for you and family and of course the dogs too. Such a sweet family.
I am trying to learn french oh but it is slow Joanny
Reminds me of my days as a “plongeur”, many years ago, at the dining hall at college, and later at a restaurant in my home town, “Welch’s Carriage Inn”. I especially remember trying to scrape and clean fried chicken pans (impossible!) and how hot the water was (scalding!)
As the saying goes, “Après la pluie, le beau temps!”, here in sunny California.
I saw an ad in a magazine for two- to four-week courses in French for adults at Institut de Francais. Their e-mail is info at institutdefrancais.com. The classes are on the Riviera.
Max is so adorable and reminds me of my Andy at that age – so cute. How wonderful that he came in to wish you a good day! Sons are so special! Cherish every moment! Your photos of Smokey remind me of the scene in “The Lion King” (I know, kinda strange!) when it shows Simba running along a log and he gets bigger by the moment! A question for you, Kristin: I noticed you are advertising for the Kindle. Is you blog available on it? That way even if I’m nowhere near a computer I could still read FWAD! And JULES, I loved your comment about Max and the meringue!
Congratulations to Max and so glad to see Smokey, WOW he has gotten so big.
My very soon to be 21 year old son, has become a chef. He used to watch all the cooking channels as a kid then would go to the kitchen
to see if I had all the ingredients he needed. He has made us some yummy things!
Cloudy and cool here in Phoenix.
Kristin, please ask Jean-Marc if he has contacted a healthy-food grocery chain by the name of Whole Foods. They have a splendid array of organic foods, etc, and a nice section of organic wines. Your lovely wine could be added to the roster and then people in the southeastern states (like US!)could pick some up whenever we shop!
Bonjour Kristen, I love reading about the adventures of you and your family, and the dogs! What a wonderful time in life, and your descriptions are a delight ! Best of luck to Max. I look forward to hearing details of his new work experience. Sara from Danville, california.
Bonjour! Max is about to leave for his second day of work! I have been reading him your comments, which he LOVES (just like his mom loves hers 🙂
Max would like to point out that he is not being paid for his mini internship. (Though he did admit to eating several of the meringues that he made yesterday. When the chef instructed him to throw out the broken pieces, Max suggested that they be eaten, instead….) So, meringues–and not mula–in Max’s case!
One more note: Max was astonished at the uneaten food. On seeing the “finished” plates that the waiters returned to the wash area, he remarked “Tu veux dire que j’ai travaillé cinq heures pour préparer tout çela… You mean I worked five hours to make that… (and they didn’t eat ALL of it?)
Candy, Thank you for mentionning my blog on Kindle. So far, I haven’t figured out how to add it (I think it has something to do with my living in Europe? If I remember correctly. Time to check this out again… Merci pour la motivation!
Hello Max,
Te voilà donc lancé dans le monde de la restauration! Je suis sûre que ces deux semaines t’apprendront des tas de choses passionnantes. Tu connais déjà l’art de faire des meringues – félicitations! En deux temps trois mouvements, tu sauras comment réussir les sauces, présenter une entrée… et bien d’autres choses encore!
Ces deux semaines t’ouvriront aussi les yeux sur quelques réalités un peu alarmantes – tu as déjà noté le gâchis de la nourriture, alors, tu n’as pas les yeux dans ta poche… Bravo! Les règles élémentaires à suivre quand on travaille dans la cuisine d’un restaurant sont sans doute strictes, mais essentielles, et deux semaines te donneront une petite idée de l’ambiance du travail. Bref, ton temps sera rempli d’activités pratiques qui, j’espère, ne manqueront pas de variété.
Que cette première expérience de ton apprentissage soit aussi bonne et aussi joyeuse que possible!
Hey Max…you may find this translation hilarious but I will try my luck as I really only know the few french words your lovely Maman has been teaching me here…so here goes :)…
Congratulations sur votre travail a un restaurant…it serait tres occupe mais beaucoup d’amusement. S’assurer que vous trouvez quelque bon receipes pour votre Maman pour nous envoyer tout ici!
PS eut-etre les beaux clients verront comment dur vous travaillez et vous donnez une pointe!
Somehow I suspect that the last word may not have anything to do with euro “tips”! (stop laughing as well Newforest! 🙂 )
Best of luck Max…my son has just finished 8 weeks of holiday work at a building site and has decided that getting up at 5.30am and being asleep by 8.30pm exhausted is not really his cup of tea! He is looking forward to starting studies again!
Amicalement
Gretel
Yes, the wasted food is a real shame.
Of course one cannot reuse food that has been on someone’s plate, but I’m curious to know if the restaurant has a way of recycling uneaten food that can’t be served the next day. Could it be taken to a homeless shelter, soup kitchen, or other place where someone could eat it? In the USA, grocery stores sometimes will let organizations take, say, two-day-old bread or other items that would otherwise be thrown away. And under certain carefully controlled/supervised conditions, more perishable food (salads, milk) can also be given away. I became aware of this when I used to help with a soup kitchen.
Just a thought; maybe someone will be less hungry as a result.
Hi Marianne,
Who knows?, one day, when Max is a bit older, he might generously give a few days of his holidays to help in “un resto du coeur” where soup will surely come from items that would, otherwise, been thrown away.
This would be a different type of “apprentissage”!
Saying that, I doubt such places exist in Ste Cécile-les-Vignes, of course. They most probably exist in Marseilles – a bit far… or in towns in between (?)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurants_du_C%C5%93ur
We are steady viewers of Word-a-day. We have been to Paris four times and want to venture to other parts of France on our next trip. Thank you for your help with the language and for your insights into the wonderful culture of France.
Bon chance, to Max in his new venture. Going to work outside of the family is a rite of passage.
Don and Adrienne
I failed to mention, we are in Fair Oaks, California. It is near Sacramento in Northern California.
Don and Adrienne
Thanks for the note, Newforest. I’m impressed by what the Restos have been able to accomplish. Just shows what one person (Coluche in this case) taking the initiative can do.
Hi Sarah in San Francisco,
I attended the Institut de Francais http://www.institutdefrancais.com/ for four weeks and it was excellent. They have a wonderful program and I learned a lot of French. It is a serious school – 8 1/2 hours a day in French. Wonderful teachers. I truly don’t think you will find a better program.
Best wishes for a wonderful experience in France,
Christina
Appreciate this post. Will try it out.