Birthday Orchid
The month of October has been very educational, teaching me several new French phrases:
- Quand mon objectif de la caméra est entièrement zoomée, il ne se concentre pas.
When my camera lens is fully zoomed, it does not focus. - La lentille optique sur mon appareil est débranché.
The optical lens on my camera is disconnected. - L’objectif n’est pas en garantie et doit être réparé.
The lens is not in warranty and needs to be repaired. - Vous avez laissé tomber ma lentille et maintenant elle est brisée.
You dropped my lens and now it is shattered. - Mon vélo a été volé dans mon garage.
My bicycle was stolen from my garage. - Le vélo n’était pas verrouillée.
The bike was not locked. - La nouvelle porte de garage reste ouvert pendant une minute quand quelqu’un entre ou sort.
The new garage door stays open for one minute when someone enters or leaves.
We’ve had a frustrating time with a broken camera lens (18-200mm), a stolen bicycle, and also a small fender bender (but that’s Thomas’ story to tell). Luckily, everyone has been very patient with our poor French, but sometimes, it makes things so much harder. For example, I took my camera lens in to a shop because the full zoom was not focusing and the glass had become unattached. Though I told this to the man in the store…in French, he did not understand me and had picked up the lens before I could react…the unattached glass shattering on the floor.
I think we’ve got everything sorted out now. The broken lens has been sent in for repairs. We bought a new lens so we’d have one for our trip to Morocco (photos coming soon). If the old lens can be repaired for a reasonable price, we’ll sell it. We reported the stolen bike to the police and our insurance should be covering it. And Thomas’ insurance is taking care of the fender bender.
It really hit home this month on how important it is for us to learn French. In Brussels, you often find people that speak English, but outside the city, it’s less common. I feel horrible each time I ask someone, “Parlez-vous anglais?” even though, their English is often better than my French. In the US, even in Spanish-speaking areas, no one ever asked me if I could speak Spanish to them instead of English. Guess I need to put a little more time into studying for my French class.
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Great entry! I completely sympathize and I’m glad it’s all sorted out now.
(For a parallel experience, in my blog archive look for February 19, 2009. The follow up entry for it is called “what the…”).
Meh. I eventually plan on learning French, but the attitudes of a lot of the French speakers in Belgium make me not want to. Like today, my wallet was stolen on the metro. I went to an MIVB worker and asked for the police station (in Dutch and English) and he started saying in French there wasn’t one. Then I asked for the metro police station and he started giving me directions in French. I said in French that I didn’t speak French, I spoke English. He continued to speak to me in French until the other MIVB worker pulled out a metro map and they pointed to the stop I needed.
I mean, really, why do the francophone Belgians not comprehend the fact that some people don’t know French and that continuing to speak it at them will not make them magically understand it.
.-= Lilacspecs´s last blog ..For Every High There Is A Low =-.
Oh no! Too much bad! Your bike, from your garage even?! Amazing! Love your orchids!
So glad to see you back with a new post. You attitude is inspirational.