Those colorful tasseled linens on the ladder are called foutas (available here). You see them on the beach, beneath the very chic! The French adore them though they're not made in France (some come from Tunisia). They don't cost an arm and a leg–and for added value you can use them as a tablecloth or a bed runner or a body wrap. ORDER A TOWEL HERE
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE…
by Kristin Espinasse
This morning when my son walks up to the breakfast table I promise not to fire off 24 giddy questions like the last time. "There's a bag of sliced bread here and some Nutella over there," I say simply, smiling peacefully when he says he prefers baguettes (we're out.)
It is so rare these days to share a meal with Max that I don't want to ruin this opportunity. Especially, I don't want to scare him away–after all, he has two more options: he could eat in the dining room or he could eat outside on the patio. The weather's still nice, so this last possibility would be tempting.
"Look at the jellyfish stings I got! " I try distracting my 18-year-old before he even considers his options. Quickly, I offer my hand for Max's inspection. Pointing to my ankle, I show off a second prickly red patch. "Que ça gratte!"
While away with Jean-Marc this weekend, on a 3-day escapade amoureux, I tried to keep up with my adventurous husband. But I was reluctant to swim in the sea with him after I noticed all the jellyfish. Finally on day three I made up my mind to brave the salty waters (which had cleared, some, of the stinging monsters). I mimicked my husband, spitting several times in my face mask, using my thumbs to "shine" the goggles with the help of my salive. Next, I yanked on the mask and dove in before chickening out. Seconds later I was stunned back to my good senses. Zapped twice by jellyfish!
How ironic to have been so cautious only to double the odds! Or, as Jean-Marc said when later we laughed about my accidental run-in with the méduses: "Il fallait le faire express! You would have had to do that on purpose!" He's right–and fear is like a magnet… it seems to attract the very thing it hopes to avoid!
Max laughed hearing my story. "Maman," he said, dismissing my superstition, "t'es une catastrophe!" You are just clumsy.
"Oh, by the way," I said to Max, "When I tried to text you last night with my mobile phone, I got confused by your response, which didn't make any sense–until I realized I was reading a response you had sent me last month!"
Max smiled and shook his head in appreciation of another of his mom's ineptitudes.
"…So I decided to have your sister text you for me! Only, when I texted Jackie for an update, I received another strange response. It read 'C ki?' I quickly figured out that 'c ki' was a keyboard shortcut for "c'est qui?"
Having decripted the French SMS, or text, I still found the message strange. Perhaps Jackie couldn't see my name in the text box thing? So I texted right back with "c maman". (Though I struggled with the tiny keys on my non-smart phone, I felt smug using the SMS code I'd just learned, such as the "c" for "c'est". But any pride quickly dissipated when I couldn't figure out how to abbreviate "maman"… mmn? mn? ma? meh…
"Next I received this message: 'dsl vs fait erreur'." After unscrambling the second message ("dsl = désolé; vs = vous…) I realized I had just texted a complete stranger, one who was polite enough to inform me: "sorry you've made a mistake"!
I debated several minutes on whether or not to reply to the inconnu, deciding it was only right to acknowledge the error: "dsl je me suis trompe de no". So much for the brief foray into French texting (and what a relief it was when the stranger didn't write back. Ouf!)
Max, having heard me out, came back to his first conclusion: "T'es une catastrophe!" he snickered.
Well, Max may be clever, but can he say "clumsy" in textese? MDR! Meantime, to help you with your own speed-texting, I leave you with a list of French SMS lingo–compiled by our daughter and SMS specialist Jackie (she also recorded an audio file for you… just below). Please share this blog with a friend–or a class, if you are teaching French 🙂
Audio File: You can listen to the following list, here: Download MP3 or Wav file
Mdr = Mort de rire (lol).
Pk = Pourquoi (why)
Je c = Je sais (I know)
Stp = S'il te plait (please)
Tg = Ta gueule! (shut up! [written teasingly])
Tmtc = Toi même tu sais (and you know it)
Jtm = Je t'aime (I love you)
Slt = Salut (hi)
Cc = Coucou (hi)
Bjr = Bonjour (hi)
Bsr = Bonsoir (goodnight)
Dsl = Désolé (sorry)
Have some French SMS shorthand you'd like to add to this list? Click here to go to the comments box.
French Vocabulary
que ça gratte! = it itches so bad!
une escapade amoureuse = lovers' getaway
la salive = saliva
une méduse = jellyfish
la maman = mom
l'inconnu = stranger
ouf! = phew!
Please help answer Patty's adoption question:
Kristin
Thank you for your wonderful newsletter.. It inspires me…. Although, I do not read it as much as I would like to….it always amazes me…and brings me to my roots… You may have the information I am looking for…. What is the name of the French TV program that looks for relatives of adopted children…. I understand they are quite successful at finding families..
I was adopted at birth in Bordeaux by an American Military couple back in the 50’s and have tried to look, but I haven’t much info…. I was told about the show and that that might be a possibility…. Any information you might have would be great….
Patty
Comments
During our 3-day getaway, we visited a little island church. I noticed this statue of St. Antoine. Beneath it there was a prayer book where you could leave a request. I mispelled the first word of mine…
….Good thing you don't have to conjugate to get your point across to God.
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Hmm … in quick notes I’ve seen …
bizz
biz
gros bsx
C’est à dire ‘bisous’ et ‘gros bisous’…maybe not really SMS (SMS? aucune idée – no idea what SMS means)
Hmm … in quick notes I’ve seen …
bizz
biz
gros bsx
C’est à dire ‘bisous’ et ‘gros bisous’…maybe not really SMS (SMS? aucune idée – no idea what SMS means)
Kristin,
I like the red fouta…it’s a lovely shade! So sorry about the jelly fish stings…must have been painful. The Mayo Clinic recommends the following….
http://tinyurl.com/cjmckj9
Sandy
Kristin,
I like the red fouta…it’s a lovely shade! So sorry about the jelly fish stings…must have been painful. The Mayo Clinic recommends the following….
http://tinyurl.com/cjmckj9
Sandy
Somtimes I think your JL is a a nutcake! Jellyfish?? Let him get stung.
As for texting, tweeting, twittering and twicking, I prefer a well-written email or a sweet voiced hello on a cellphone.
If this is an age thing, c’est ma vie…
Somtimes I think your JL is a a nutcake! Jellyfish?? Let him get stung.
As for texting, tweeting, twittering and twicking, I prefer a well-written email or a sweet voiced hello on a cellphone.
If this is an age thing, c’est ma vie…
Yikes,
I am too old to keep up with the new txt argot…quand meme…je vais continuer de essayer soyez en courant avec vos nouvelles en whatever way you expose them to me.
Yikes,
I am too old to keep up with the new txt argot…quand meme…je vais continuer de essayer soyez en courant avec vos nouvelles en whatever way you expose them to me.
Salut Kristin: I laughed reading about your being stung by des méduses after carefully avoiding them the first two days!!! Comme si le bon Dieu nous taquine, ça m’arrive souvent ainsi, mais dans des différentes circonstances.
By the way, NOT ” faire express” as you have misspelled maybe. To do it on purpose is “faire exprès”.
Salut Kristin: I laughed reading about your being stung by des méduses after carefully avoiding them the first two days!!! Comme si le bon Dieu nous taquine, ça m’arrive souvent ainsi, mais dans des différentes circonstances.
By the way, NOT ” faire express” as you have misspelled maybe. To do it on purpose is “faire exprès”.
SMS == Short Messaging System
SMS == Short Messaging System
Thank you for the added terms for our French SMS texting guide! And to Nigel, for defining SMS. And I appreciate your sympathies and solutions to the piqûre de méduse, or jellyfish bite I got. Currently the bumpy rash is covered in soothing organic coconut oil (I have a good supply on hand for all the no grudge fudge Ive been making http://french-word-a-day.typepad.com/motdujour/2013/07/fudge.html
Thank you for the added terms for our French SMS texting guide! And to Nigel, for defining SMS. And I appreciate your sympathies and solutions to the piqûre de méduse, or jellyfish bite I got. Currently the bumpy rash is covered in soothing organic coconut oil (I have a good supply on hand for all the no grudge fudge Ive been making http://french-word-a-day.typepad.com/motdujour/2013/07/fudge.html
P.S. Millie — many thanks for the correction. Off to update the post … Any other errors Ive missed?
P.S. Millie — many thanks for the correction. Off to update the post … Any other errors Ive missed?
Hi,
I thought that we only had jelly fish in Long Island Sound. I didn’t realize that other places have them also. C’est domage. I have been lucky and have never gotten stung,but of course, I don’t swim with the (jelly) fish.
Thanks for the French texting short cuts. I don’t know them in English and many times have to look them up in Google.
As for which fouta to buy..what are the couples colors?
Kathleen
Hi,
I thought that we only had jelly fish in Long Island Sound. I didn’t realize that other places have them also. C’est domage. I have been lucky and have never gotten stung,but of course, I don’t swim with the (jelly) fish.
Thanks for the French texting short cuts. I don’t know them in English and many times have to look them up in Google.
As for which fouta to buy..what are the couples colors?
Kathleen
Hi kristin, je vous signale un article qui peut vous interesser in the LA Times TRAVEL
Sunday September 1, 2013: “A bookish haven for Americans in Paris”.
LATIMES.COM/TRAVEL
Have a wonderfull autumn! Odile in LA
Hi kristin, je vous signale un article qui peut vous interesser in the LA Times TRAVEL
Sunday September 1, 2013: “A bookish haven for Americans in Paris”.
LATIMES.COM/TRAVEL
Have a wonderfull autumn! Odile in LA
“…Good thing you don’t have to conjugate to get your point across to God.”
AMEN!
“…Good thing you don’t have to conjugate to get your point across to God.”
AMEN!
I recently saw a girl at a beach in Hawaii suffer two jellyfish stings. She cried and cried and lifeguards put vinegar on the welts. She said it reduced the pain, but I saw she had the welts for several more days.
I recently saw a girl at a beach in Hawaii suffer two jellyfish stings. She cried and cried and lifeguards put vinegar on the welts. She said it reduced the pain, but I saw she had the welts for several more days.
Love those foutas! Have one on my table here in Paris, but the shop where I bought it had less fun colors. Thanks for sharing and good luck selecting the gift for your friends.
Love those foutas! Have one on my table here in Paris, but the shop where I bought it had less fun colors. Thanks for sharing and good luck selecting the gift for your friends.
When I have been stung by jellyfish, I use Adolph’s meat tenderizer. It really works. Just moisten the powder slightly to make a quick paste and dab it on. You can do this after you come out of the sea, no need to rush out right away. Hope this helps, because they really sting and itch.
And I would get the lower right hand fouta….love those colors, so summery and lively.
Love your French word of the day, too!
When I have been stung by jellyfish, I use Adolph’s meat tenderizer. It really works. Just moisten the powder slightly to make a quick paste and dab it on. You can do this after you come out of the sea, no need to rush out right away. Hope this helps, because they really sting and itch.
And I would get the lower right hand fouta….love those colors, so summery and lively.
Love your French word of the day, too!
I’m amazed the French don’t have a French term for SMS. (Thanks,Nigel, for explaining Short Messaging System for SMS). Our bank recently became PNC and no one seems to know what it stands for, only that it’s supposed to appeal to “the achiever in you.” How stale can you get?
Weather in Kankakee has finally cooled off; after a week of early dismissals nfor over 90 degree temps, my classroom is actually comfortable today. Happy week, everyone! Joan L.
I’m amazed the French don’t have a French term for SMS. (Thanks,Nigel, for explaining Short Messaging System for SMS). Our bank recently became PNC and no one seems to know what it stands for, only that it’s supposed to appeal to “the achiever in you.” How stale can you get?
Weather in Kankakee has finally cooled off; after a week of early dismissals nfor over 90 degree temps, my classroom is actually comfortable today. Happy week, everyone! Joan L.
Has the word fouta been used long in France? It is actually an Arabic word meaning towel.
Has the word fouta been used long in France? It is actually an Arabic word meaning towel.
Hani, thanks for translating the word foutas. The French have adopted it–but only to refer to these scarf-like beach towels that, here, are imported from Tunisia–where they are used for the hammam. Your note reminds me of a few other Arabic words the French regularly use… Could be a good post to share. Thanks!
Hani, thanks for translating the word foutas. The French have adopted it–but only to refer to these scarf-like beach towels that, here, are imported from Tunisia–where they are used for the hammam. Your note reminds me of a few other Arabic words the French regularly use… Could be a good post to share. Thanks!
Je ne crois pas que “snuck” soit un vrai mot anglais. Je ne peux
pas le trouve à mon dictionnaire d’anglais. Le passé du verbe ‘sneak’
c’est ‘sneaked’. Peut-être je fais tort parce que mon dictionnaire
soit ancien; je suis un peu de la vieille école. Joanne, Carmel, CA
Je ne crois pas que “snuck” soit un vrai mot anglais. Je ne peux
pas le trouve à mon dictionnaire d’anglais. Le passé du verbe ‘sneak’
c’est ‘sneaked’. Peut-être je fais tort parce que mon dictionnaire
soit ancien; je suis un peu de la vieille école. Joanne, Carmel, CA
Sneaked may be more formally correct but most Americans say “snuck”, as in ” I snuck ihto the room”, not “I sneaked into the room”:. It may be an argot thing. We definitely have jellyfish in Fla. and you want to avoid at all costs. Various remedies sound possible. Jean Marc is one of those people who doesn’t attract biters where you and I and most all light haired, light skinned people are like magnets for the biters. Loved the foutas, particularly the bottom left.
Sneaked may be more formally correct but most Americans say “snuck”, as in ” I snuck ihto the room”, not “I sneaked into the room”:. It may be an argot thing. We definitely have jellyfish in Fla. and you want to avoid at all costs. Various remedies sound possible. Jean Marc is one of those people who doesn’t attract biters where you and I and most all light haired, light skinned people are like magnets for the biters. Loved the foutas, particularly the bottom left.
“He’s right–and fear is like a magnet… it seems to attract the very thing it hopes to avoid!
Dear Kristin,
There is a scriptural basis for your assertion: In Job 3:25, after wishing he had never been born, Job says, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.” Some biblical scholars attribute Job’s plight to his fear. Fear has been described as the opposite of faith and the companion of doubt. For, if one is in fear, one cannot be in faith. Faith is believing what one hears is true, while fear is the natural consequence of suspecting that it is not.
“He’s right–and fear is like a magnet… it seems to attract the very thing it hopes to avoid!
Dear Kristin,
There is a scriptural basis for your assertion: In Job 3:25, after wishing he had never been born, Job says, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.” Some biblical scholars attribute Job’s plight to his fear. Fear has been described as the opposite of faith and the companion of doubt. For, if one is in fear, one cannot be in faith. Faith is believing what one hears is true, while fear is the natural consequence of suspecting that it is not.
You misspelled a word? Prier au lieu de Priez? Prier est correct! Many times I’ve seen signs, or directions in a French textbook that use the infinitive form as a command.
You misspelled a word? Prier au lieu de Priez? Prier est correct! Many times I’ve seen signs, or directions in a French textbook that use the infinitive form as a command.
Diane Nyad who just swam from Havana to Key West was thwarted by jellyfish the last time she tried. She had to wear a special mask to make it across. She’s blond, BTW. Lifeguards recommend squirting Windex or Glass Plus (it’s the ammonia) on jellyfish stings here in Florida since they are usually at hand. A baking soda paste (mixed with water) also takes the sting out & with hornet & bee stings. Je crois que tu es très courageuse!
Diane Nyad who just swam from Havana to Key West was thwarted by jellyfish the last time she tried. She had to wear a special mask to make it across. She’s blond, BTW. Lifeguards recommend squirting Windex or Glass Plus (it’s the ammonia) on jellyfish stings here in Florida since they are usually at hand. A baking soda paste (mixed with water) also takes the sting out & with hornet & bee stings. Je crois que tu es très courageuse!
Michael, so cheered to see your note and to know my Mom is getting her vision taken care of. Thank you so much for visiting us here at our language blog-I am sure others appreciated an update on Jules, too! Welcome, Michael, and please come back for a visit.
Kent, your note about the related scripture is much appreciated. Thank you!
Fred, glad you saw my note! I think of you, too!
To all who responded to this post, many many thanks. We are in and out of the house this weekend and I am sorry for this brief reply. On our way to Momtpellier now, for a yearly reunion with friends to honor the memory of a dear school chum of Jean-Marc. Wishing everybody an enjoyable weekend. Take good care.
Michael, so cheered to see your note and to know my Mom is getting her vision taken care of. Thank you so much for visiting us here at our language blog-I am sure others appreciated an update on Jules, too! Welcome, Michael, and please come back for a visit.
Kent, your note about the related scripture is much appreciated. Thank you!
Fred, glad you saw my note! I think of you, too!
To all who responded to this post, many many thanks. We are in and out of the house this weekend and I am sorry for this brief reply. On our way to Momtpellier now, for a yearly reunion with friends to honor the memory of a dear school chum of Jean-Marc. Wishing everybody an enjoyable weekend. Take good care.
Chere Kristi,
So glad you and JM were able to plan a little getaway but I’m sorry for the jellyfish stings. I’ve never had one but I’m sure they’re nasty! Hope you’re feeling better.
Love all the foutas, esp. the ones at the top but I’d be tempted to buy one of each-what great colors!
I’ve never texted in my life and don’t plan to in the future. Too much of a technological intrusion on my life. Cell phones are bad enough and I rarely use mine. With teenagers, you’re kind of stuck in the middle of that stuff-good luck with that one! I don’t envy you!
Hope you’re having a wonderful day!
Chere Kristi,
So glad you and JM were able to plan a little getaway but I’m sorry for the jellyfish stings. I’ve never had one but I’m sure they’re nasty! Hope you’re feeling better.
Love all the foutas, esp. the ones at the top but I’d be tempted to buy one of each-what great colors!
I’ve never texted in my life and don’t plan to in the future. Too much of a technological intrusion on my life. Cell phones are bad enough and I rarely use mine. With teenagers, you’re kind of stuck in the middle of that stuff-good luck with that one! I don’t envy you!
Hope you’re having a wonderful day!
awesome
awesome