Regular verbs and issues of social justice

8/3/13
This morning there's a problem on the Metro that makes almost everyone late for school (no, not me, there's something to be said for being an early bird) ;-) So those of us who are at school on time have an interesting chat about the beggars in Paris while we wait for the others to arrive (yes, ok, it was me who asked the question and initiated the discussion....... what can I say, I want to know!). Our teacher explains that there is a significant problem with homelessness in Paris but that it can be hard to tell the genuinely needy from those who work as part of organized groups. There are disenfranchised people groups (not just in Paris but elsewhere in Europe too) who, small children included, are victims of "mafia-style" gangs and are expected to, for example, steal a certain number of mobile phones each day or they will be beaten. So anyone with a smart phone needs to be very cautious about using it in public places. There are other scams around too, but the upshot of all this is that it's still not easy to know who is truly needy, even for the locals. So I guess I'll just keep grappling with that one.
Today in class we continue to learn about the regular verbs and we're getting better at composing sentences orally. It feels good to be using my brain in this way and I think I'll continue to learn the language when I get back home. My ability to understand is improving every day and my attempts at composing sentences verbally are no longer quite so halting, hesitant or laughable (to me)!
We move on to the numbers, which even Stephanie admits are a bit "weird" - for example the number 80 is quatre-vingt (essentially 4 lots of 20) and 90 is quatre-vingt-dix (4 lots of 20 plus 10). By now I'm getting used to hearing Stephanie say, in response to my question "Pourquoi?", simply "Parce que!" (Because!)!!!! As with many other things about the language, we just have to accept it and learn it!
We finish the lesson with a game of Bingo, which is fun and requires both saying and listening to the numbers so is good practice. Stephanie sets us homework for the weekend which she says should take no more than an hour, and then class is dismissed - my first week of school is over and I feel pretty good about my progress :-)
I walk home in the light but steady rain today and it's lovely, although occasionally a gust of wind blows my cheap umbrella inside out :-/ With the wet day there are fewer people out and about, but still, on the narrower streets, it's dueling umbrellas at times. I stop at Starbucks for a cappuccino and as with most shops in Paris it's way too overheated and I have to take coat, gloves and scarf off as well as juggle my wet umbrella while waiting for my coffee! A little further along Rue de Rivoli (my usual route) a man approaches and speaks to me in French. I'm pretty good now at quickly saying "Je ne parle pas français" and usually they give me an apologetic smile and move on, but today I manage to quickly add "Plus lentement, s'il vous plaît?" before he disappears, and so he slowly repeats the key word - "Metro?" Ah, this is now fairly familiar turf for me and I've walked past the nearby entrance to the Metro many times in the past week. I'm on the opposite side of the street today and I can't remember if it's to the left or to the right but I use what words I can cobble together, as well as the always helpful and generally universally understood gestures to indicate that it's somewhere close by on the other side of the street. He thanks me and goes on his way. As I walk on I think how I could have done better - if I'd remembered how to say "traverser la rue" and "à droite", for example. This is where the rubber hits the road, when I find myself in a real-life spontaneous interaction, but overall I'm actually pretty pleased that 1: I actually remembered to ask him to speak more slowly;  2: He understood my fledgling French; and 3: I understood his key word and was able to point him in the right direction! So I do feel like I'm making progress :-)
Closer to home I stop in at the Body Shop and as I'm the only customer I take the opportunity to practise more of my French. The shop assistant asks an initial question in French and I respond (en français) that I don't speak French, but add "Mais je suis étudiante en français" and "Vous pouvez parler plus lentement, s'il vous plaît?" and so she does and she's very sweet and helpful, speaking slowly and repeating when I haven't understood. It's a very encouraging interaction and just the sort of no-pressure chat I need :-)
On Skype my gorgeous husband asks me what I'm doing tonight - it's Friday night after all - yep, so for me that would be the same as every other night for the last couple of weeks - I'll be cooking dinner and having an early night, but since it's not a school night, I think I might finish off the wine ;-)