What do this dog and I have in common? We were both fragile, yet trusting, passengers over the weekend. Read on, in today's story column. (And thanks to Bernard, a photographer, and his dog "Pixelle" for allowing me to take their photo after I introduced myself to the two in a mountaintop café.)
conduite accompagnée (ko-ndweet ah-kom-pan-yay)
: (newbie) driving with an experienced driver
.
(Booklist) Blogger Espinasse has taken a step backward in the evolution of media
by converting selected contents of her Web log into a book. Her popular
blog covers a different French word each day for an English-speaking
audience. Espinasse's "definitions" come from her everyday experiences,
particularly those provoked by her children's frequent delight at their
mother's mistakes, misuses, and mispronunciation of words. Order this book.
A Day in a French Life… by Kristin Espinasse
You should have seen the pride in our eyes—the fierté on our faces! There we were, my 14-year-old and I—Max in the driver's siège and me, shaking, to his right. It wasn't fear that had me trembling, it was the shaky ride and the newbie driver by my side!
As our family car came coughing down the country lane, my husband, who was in the grape field, pruning, looked up. Were we insane?
With Jean-Marc still staring, a sourire now stretching across his face, the crazy train passed and I, inside, reached over my son and honked the horn, in pride. "This," cried the klaxon, "is the day a driver was born!"
The back wheels all but lifted off the ground as our car came to a hasty halt just a few feet from the front gate. With that, the driver casually stepped out, only to pick up his heels, jump up and down, and shout!
Ça y est. Jaaaai connnnnduiiiiiiiit!
***
Post note: After Max was already in the house (probably bragging to his sister) I slowly unhooked my seat-belt and clambered, like a crab, out of the car. Once the ground settled, I took a moment to memorize a milestone of my own and a song by Elton John brought the treasured souvenir home.
I'm still standing….
Le Coin Commentaires
Have your say about the French word of the day, or comment on the story.
Best-selling books on the French Language:
- Pronounce it perfectly in French: essential for travelers!
- Easy French Reader: one of the best ways to learn French is by reading French!
- 501 French Verbs fully conjugated in all the tenses! + Common idioms
French Vocabulary & Sound File
Listen to my friend, Rachel, pronounce these French words: Download MP3 or Download Wav
Accompanied driving, is, for a parent, an unforgettable experience!
la fierté = pride
le siège = seat
un sourire = smile
le klaxon = horn
Ça y est! = That's it!
J'ai conduit! = I drove!
~~~~~~~~~~~Gifts & More~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
French film: My
Father's Glory
French
cuisine: Fleur De Sel De Camargue French Sea Salt
French
games: Mille Bornes: First published in 1962, Mille Bornes (pronounced "meel
born," French for "milestones") is an auto racing card game whose object, for
each team of two players, is to be the first to complete a series of
1,000-mile trips.
Rosetta Stone French Level 1, 2, & 3
Fluenz French 1+2
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Another character I met in the mountains. Name this photo, or this one, below.
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those dog pictures!!! “Shirts Required. Pants optional”
“Has anyone seen my pants?”
Chaud ou froid, vous choisissez!
They hustled me out of the house so quickly, I didn’t have time to finish dressing!
Hi Kristin,
Great story! Congratulations to Max! I remember I couldn’t wait until I was 16 so I could get my license. I remember practicing with my mom but never really thought about how she was feeling. Was she scared with me behind the wheel? My daughter got her license last August and I am now constantly worried about her on the road. She does love having the freedom to drive to school and visit her friends. She also does errands for me now on her way home from school. That part is great!
A basic white t-shirt is a must for the times basic black won’t work.
“Oops, better go back in and put on my pants!”
“Oups, je dois aller mettre mon pantalon!”
(not sure about the translation)
Max is driving and he is only 14? What is the age requirement in France? I have heard that in the USA, youngsters may drive at any age on their own property; we don’t have enough property to do that.
Every American state has its own requirements, and the trend is to raise the age. Maryland allows teens to drive before they are 17, but has established rigorous preparation requirements. Kids must have 60 hours of documented driving practice in a booklet provided for the purpose, 10 of which must be at night/dawn/dusk. Those can be with a parent or other driver over 21. They must also have 30 hours with an approved driving school, 6 in the classroom and 24 on the road (and those schools are expensive). All of this takes place over a minimum 9-month period, which in my opinion, is unnecessarily long. Once the teen passes the road test, there is a system of graduated licensing, with all restrictions removed after at least a year. Yet in spite of all this, I don’t think Maryland drivers are noticeably better than any others, and there are plenty of cars with out-of-state plates in the area, mostly Va. and D.C., but a few from all over. A requirement I approve of is mandatory car insurance, and info about it is furnished to the Motor Vehicle Administration. The rates go up exponentially for young drivers. Is this the case in France? Best of luck to Max and family, and I can surely understand the parents’ nerves.
Bonjour à tous (thank you for the fun photo captions!)
Marianne, In France, the driving age is 17 (I believe…) La conduite accompagnée begins after 16 (16 and a half?). But here on our farm we can fudge a bit 🙂
Kristi,
So much to comment on today. First, la petite Pixelle. My mother Portia had a teacup Yorkie named Precious. She carried her in a baby sling when they went out. Once at a Fourth of July parade in Elfin Forest (San Diego County) when she plucked Precious from the sling and put her on the ground, a startled little boy exclaimed, “Its gots feet!”
Oh, Max, learning to drive. I remember on my first outing my father calmly telling me to pull over on Route 66 in Monrovia, CA. I asked how I was doing. He responded, “Very good. But I want to point out that you ran two stop signs and you almost hit a parked car on that last turn.” When we got home he announced that it might be better for my mother to teach me to drive!
The first photo’s caption, “Which way to the fashion runways in Bryant Park?”
Noir, blanc, noir … un Biscuit Oréo!
Ah, methinks you’ve just created a monster, Kristi 🙂 There will be alot of begging to drive the parameters of the farm for the next year or so……. But, just think how experienced Max will be by the time he is “legal”. He’s so lucky to have understanding folks like you and JM.
Loved the pics of the dogs. Do people get as silly over there about putting costumes/clothes on their dogs as they do in the States? It is definitely big business over here. Thanks for brightening my day as usual.
Half-dressed!
Hi Kristin! We let my step-son, MAtt, practice driving in France on a rented stick shift car when he was 13. When we returned two years later he had the chance to turn around on on a one lane road and poked two holes in the bumper in Normandy, followed a few days later by getting a flat tire and having to find the key in the car to unlock the spare! In the meantime we met many kind Frenchmen who offered their assistance. When I returned the car to the Paris rental office I had to use my best french to explain why the car was being returned in this condition! Teenagers create many fond family memories! Enjoy these years.
I tried to learn how to drive as a teenager. One driving lesson Mom and I were on a city hill at night. She said
“be very careful there is a sheer cliff on the side of the road”. Ay yi yi! A few years later I took driving lessons from a professional. I never gained any driving confidence and feel it is best not to drive.
the photo? 1. I managed to get the shirt on but the tail made it impossible to get the pants on. 2. My pants are in the dryer.
Good for Max! I still remember my first drive assisted with my cousin. We drove alone, age 10 or 11. She pushed on the gas pedal pendant que je conduisais. Most exciting experience. Parents never realized that I was learning how to shift gears when as a child I sat next to them driving. Ha ha!
You are too brave Kristin! Still well worth it, right?
Dogs in shirts!!! Cute! And merci au bonhomme avec le petit chien dans son jacket…
Have a great Monday!
xx
The dog picture immediately made me think of the song lyrics “I’m too sexy for my shirt…”. I wonder if he’ll be doing his “turn on the catwalk”. Probably beneath him unless you rename it the dogwalk!
Hi Kristin.
We do have those farm exceptions in the states for driving age too. My husband grew up in Iowa where tractors were parked all over main street. He could drive at 14.
My daughter has had her license for 7 months. At first I felt like I was sending her into a war zone! I surpress my fears and say the rosary more often. She still doesn’t do the highways and I am scared to death of the day she decides she’s ready for that.
Cute photos! I think pets “sans pantalon” must be all the rage. Look at this:
Enjoying some slightly warmer temps in Maryland where the snow starts to recede little by little.
Kristin, grammar question for you:
I’ve never seen “That’s it.” said as “Ça y est.”.
I would have thought it was “C’est Ça.” Never wanting to appear the fool – can you tell me which is preferred? Is one an expression of completion or of arriving (knowing that the “y” indicates a place). Is “C’est Ça” used when talking of an object (as in “Is this your hat?” – “Oui. C’est Ça.”)
Photo 1 -I’m heading off to Bryant Park in NYC for the fashion show.
Photo 2 – Hey, I got my picture in the style section of the NY Times – I’m too kool!
I remember my first time driving. Of course we had to learn on a standard and my mother always felt that she was on a wild bronco as I learned to shift gears – 1st was the toughest and then the others came easier. We first practiced in the school parking lot.
No Shirt, No Service!
première photo :
Ben quoi? J’ai l’droit, non ?
nadine
Hi Kristen, How brave of you to teach your son how to drive. I can say this because I taught both of my kids how to drive and I was terrrrifed. You are lucky to have the land to allow them to learn. Our children started driving the tractor when they were five (Dad was on there with them) and it helped immensely. Good luck to Max, and good luck to you too.
Kristin
The download for conduite & etc. is not working. I think I need a download that is not MP3
Merci
Alain
Photo #1
Stepping out on casual Friday.
As to story:
Welcome to the years of earning each and every one of your soon to be sprouting gray hairs! Thank goodness my husband handled the driver education duties. I never would have survived, and he thrived.
Hi Kristin, The question is, who was more excited? I finished your “words” book over the weekend. It gave me a lot of new words and how they fit in to everyday usage. Merci, Matt
Hi Kirstin,
Caption for picture 1: Ants in my pants !
Caption for picture 2: Run ! It’s the mamma – razzi with that camera, again !
Congrats to Max on the driving…And I will see you in Paris at your Shakespeare & Company reading.
“Topless? Oh, I thought you said BOTTOMless. My bad. Well, I’ll go change.”
Love the Elton John song! I’ll be right there with you in about four years. . . and hopefully singing the same song! 🙂
Photos:” And they say they love me! Who would do such a thing to one they love?”
Years ago my mom related that as a VERY young (2-3?)lad I was somehow alone in our parked car on a dirt side road; the car began to roll with guess who behind the wheel! Anyone out there who drove at an earlier age? Someone rescued the car before any damage resulted to car or driver.
Tried again when mon frere allowed his under aged kid bro to drive his Model A Ford around the block. All went without mishaps until a sharp turn back into our driveway did not straighten out soon enough to avoid the car slamming into the foundation of our 130 year old maison. Those days cars and houses were rugged — neither car nor house nor occupants were the worse for ware!
Kristi, I loved your story today. Thank you mucho! OOOO Your octogenarian friend
“My owners went to Paris and all I got was this lousy tee shirt.”
Candy, love that one. I was going to come up with something lame like “N’etait pas mon idee!”
One of my favorite memories of Paris was seeing the most handsome, beautifully dressed man walking down the street carrying a tiny dog in a Louis Vuitton bag. Such a serious business suit, such a handsome man and a tiny little dog being carried like a king! How can one not love France?!?
Good luck, Max! And hang in there mom! My two sons, 23 and 18, still scare me to death.
I love I’m too sexy for my shirt! I thought the driving age in France was 18 with a very difficult (and expensive) driving school diploma. Most people take the test at least twice before succeeding. Maybe things have changed. In any case, I have a French nephew who passed the test after 3 tries and still has wrecked many cars.