#my grade 11 french teacher had a friend who was an english teacher in france
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season change is upon us, is there any outfit you're excited to bring back into rotation? colors you are partial to? how about accessories/shoes? If you don't live in a place with seasons (or a place with negligible seasonal change/just feel like answering smth else), what is your favorite outfit lately?
The weather hasn't transitioned to fall here yet, but the stores are rolling out Halloween stuff and pumpkin spice treats already 🎃
My wardrobe hasn't really rotated much in the last few years, since I've been stuck at home for 4 years now, with the pandemic hitting about 1.5 years into that. I don't spend a lot of time outside anymore and tend to dress according to indoor conditions. Also, I've never been one to change the colours of my clothes according to the seasons, I just wear whatever colours I feel like at that moment.
However, I did recently go to some outdoor drag shows and was able to dress for hot weather! I have a hard time finding shorts I like, so I usually wear short skirts or short dresses to stay cool. Due to EDS, I have venous insufficiency, where the veins in my legs struggle to pump blood back to my heart, which means I need to wear compression socks in the heat, but I'm still on the search for some that don't look awkward on their own (they're sheer so they don't quite look like socks, but they're knee-high so they don't look like stockings, either), so I always cover them with either knee-high socks or full-length leggings. I got new glasses a few months ago and I always get two pairs at a time, one pair that's colourful and one that matches all my outfits.
When I went to see Ilona Verley, I wore my yellow Pikachu shirt and a skirt from Rancid Yogurt that I can't find the product photo for, but it has the same print as these leggings:
For accessories, I brought my tiny pink backpack, I wore a necklace that's silver with white gems on a star-shaped pendant, I had grey socks with bows on the outer sides, I had a light yellow floral-printed bow in my hair, and my mask was a pastel rainbow gradient. My shoes were what I usually wear, black Converse high-tops with white rubber and white stitching, since I like how they look, it's easy to find another pair whenever old ones need to be replaced, and the high tops are very supportive for hypermobile ankles. The makeup I wore was pink eyeshadow, pink lipstick, and pink glitter. I wore my new glasses that are yellow squiggles throughout clear plastic.
When I saw Saltina Shaker, I had 4 different plaids in my outfit in the form of a skirt that was black and white plaid, a hair bow that was a different black and white plaid, a mask that was red and black plaid, and a flannel shirt that was another type of red and black plaid. Under the flannel shirt, I was wearing the shirt I got at a Green Day concert that's black and white with a design of an American flag where the stripes are made of barbed wire. I'm not completely sure what accessories I had for this one, but I know I had socks that looked like skeleton legs, and I think I may have been wearing my ring that's silver with a grey gem and/or the black and red Green Day bracelet that I'd bought matching ones of for myself and my pen pal from grade 11 French class. I had the same pink backpack as when I saw Ilona, but I didn't have a bag that was fun and also matched this outfit, so I just went with the backpack. My makeup was red eyeshadow, red lipstick, and gold glitter. I wore my other new glasses that are transparent grey with a beveled look; I call them my crystal glasses because they look kinda like gems.
My physical health is finally getting better, so hopefully I can go outside and wear fun outfits more often again :)
#and about the pen pal#my grade 11 french teacher had a friend who was an english teacher in france#so they had their classes write each other letters to practice the target languages in a more practical sense#since we wrote to them in french and they wrote to us in english#and we could discuss any topic we wanted instead of beinf restricted to the curriculum#and anyways#i got randomly partnered with a girl who just so happened to like green day too#and she told me about a french band she liked and i told her about marianas trench from here in canada#and then at christmas i went to hot topic and bought us matching green day bracelets#and she sent back a maybelline eyeshadow single and a tiny bottle of nail polish#(judge me if you want but i still have the eyeshadow 9 years later and it still stands up with brand-new shadows that i buy)#(unfortunately i dont think they make it anymore bc i cant find it for sale online)
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tagged by @kabeswaters and @fortisfiliae love u both sm <3 <3
1. on a scale of 1-10, how excited are you about life right now? it fluctuates but right now -1
2. describe yourself in a hashtag? #anxious
3. if you could do a love scene with anyone, who would it be? JAKE MOTHERFUCKING GYLLENHAAL
4. if your life was a musical, what would the marquee say? i dont know what that is hah
5. what’s one thing people don’t know about you? i guess some people don’t know i’m type one diabetic??
6. what’s your wake up ritual? uh phone, animal crossing, fruit loops, weed
7. what’s your go to bed ritual? I watch asmr videos cuz im usually high as fuck and they knock me out lol, or i watch tiktok or pillow talk with my bf nick.
8. what’s your favorite time of day? like 9 pm?
9. your go to for having a good laugh? my boyfriend always makes me laugh no matter how angry or upset i am so i’d talk to him uwu
10. dream country to visit? FRANCe specifically Paris oui oui with my french candian bullshit
11. what’s the biggest surprise you’ve ever had? when they announced 5sos was touring with one direction and i had tickets, never screamed so loud in my LIFE
12. heels or flats/sneakers? sneakers duh
13. vintage or new? vintage babey
14. who do you want to write your obituary? ME from the great beyond, the only other person who knows me well enouhg is nick and i love him but he is very stupid.
15. style icon? uh harry styles, devon lee carlson, halsey, bella hadid, tyler the creator some normal people whos style i LOVE from insta are rebeccaramsdale , kehllie , kikalateefff , yourgirlneens , lilxmg !
16. what are three things you cannot live without? phone, insulin, art, music
17. what’s one ingredient you put in everything? probs vanilla or hotsauce, the only two flavours.
18. what 3 people living or dead would you want to make dinner for? my dead brother DJ, kurt cobain andddd ryan dunn from jackass what a weird mix.
19. what’s your biggest fear in life? loosing my senses, loosing control, the fear that i am not actually real and ... oh spiders.
20. window or aisle seat? window
21. what’s your current tv obsession? think its gonna be adventure time again
22. favorite app? instagram or discord so i can talk to my friends uwu
23. secret talent? i can speak french and giberish
24. most adventurous thing you’ve ever done in your life? camping i guess?
25. how would you define yourself in three words? anxious, empathetic, creative
26. favorite piece of clothing you own? my vintage star wars shirt
27. a must have clothing item that everyone should have? blank tees, good quality blank tees!!! white black grey mhmhmh
28. a superpower you would want? i’d wanna be spidergirl
29. what’s inspiring you in life right now? nothing at all :(
30. best piece of advice you’ve received? my grade six teacher telling me that i was very empathetic as i was sitting at the back of the class crying because of the movie we were watching, she told me not everyone is empathetic like i am but its okay to be soft. but not to expect that from everyone else.
31. best advice you’d give your teenage self? teenage me was a mess but not messy enough that i’d change anything. i’d just say, things get better but im currently back in the state teenage me was in so...i’d be lying. maybe that wanting to kill yourself does not count as a personality trait - and start reading comics earlier cuz u really like them.
32. a book everyone should read? i read wack books, everyone on tumblr should read fangirl tho
33. what would you like to be remembered for? something i created
34. how do you define beauty? self expression and individuality
35. what do you love most about your body? wait people love their bodies? not everyone was severly damaged by online diet culture and thigh gap era tumblr? weird ok
36. best way to take a rest/decompress? weed or bath or a movie
37. favorite place to view art? there is an art gallery in saskatchewan that i love, i was suposed to go there this summer before corona took over :(((
38. if your life was a song, what would the title be? either something short like “mellow” or fob style like “im so anxiuos all the time and nothing ever feels real and i dont know what im doing but somehow im doing pretty good while feeling prety bad and laughing through my tears lol.” or i’d steal “teen idle” by marina and the diamonds.
39. if you could master one instrument, what would it be? guitar or piano because im lame at both.
40. if you had a tattoo, where would it be? i want two moths above my knees rn
41 dolphins or koalas? neither
42. what’s an animal that represents you? im more of a pokemon, i think id be jigglypuff
43. best gift you’ve ever received? whenever nick buys me clothes from stussy or maybe infinity on high on vinyl.
44. best gift you’ve given? i bought nick the entire sin city comic series in one giant book.
45. what’s your favorite board game? monopoly
46. what’s your favorite color? yellow
47. least favorite color? that weird pinky purple
48. diamond or pearls? pearls
49. drugstore makeup or designer? colour pop and fenty
50. pilates or yoga? yoga
51. coffee or tea? tea
52. what’s the weirdest word in the english language? pumpernickle is my fav one.
53. dark chocolate or milk chocolate? MILK
54. stairs or elevators? stairs
55. summer or winter? summer, canadian winters are brutal.
56. you are stuck on an island, you can pick one food to eat forever without getting tired of it, what would you eat? ur asking someone who has very specific comfort foods so i already do this - cheese bagel toasted with cream cheese and then toasted again to melt cheddar cheese on top. with a diet coke thats very important.
57. a dessert you don’t like? cheesecake
58. a skill you’re working on mastering? im crazy so this is a lot but - writing , drawing and painting, polymer clay, sewing, resin art and pottery.
59. best thing to happen to you today? nothing
60. worst thing to happen to you today? the line at starbucks was too long and i had to get wendys instead, and a few other things i won’t mention.
61. best compliment you’ve ever received? whenever my mom says i remind her of my brother dj, when people say anything nice about my art or writing style. when people ask about my clothes. when my friend jess called me a “known softie” uwu
62. favorite smell? lavender
63. hugs or kisses? hugs
64. if you made a documentary, what would it be about? i’d talk about star wars for hours on end
65. last piece of content you consumed that made you cry? of mice and men made me ball my fucking eyes out
66. lipstick or lipgloss? chapstickk
67. sweet or savory? sweet
68. girl crush? Zendaya
69. how do you know you’re in love? idk ive just always been in love with nick (since i was 15) before i even really knew what love was, i guess if the other person feels like home, you know ur doing something right.
70. a song you can listen to on repeat? nine in the afternoon by p!atd or a match into water by peirce the veil, over my head by fleetwood mac
71. if you could switch lives with someone for a day, who would it be? harry styles that mysterious fucker
72. what are you most excited for/about this time in your life? currently not looking forward to anything becase my life is super uncertain right now ha.. maybe the release of the chaos walking movie whenever that decides to happen.
tagging: i assume yall have been tagged in this already but just incase @beskarjedi @woakiees @bluemadcnna @carolinesbookworld @theseuscmander and anyone else who wants to do this consider urself tagged.
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HP next Gen headcannons
These are my headcannons so not everyone will agree with it.
Teddy:
* he started going after Victorie at the age of twelve, but in a teasing way at first, since they were such good friends and so close to each other. However when she started at Hogwarts in fourth year is when he started meaning it. After a year of trying and teasing they started dating in his last year of Hogwarts her fifth. They date for five years, then teddy pops the question and then get married a year after.
* Whilst at Hogwarts, he’s a Hufflepuff, or hufflepunk, as he’s calls it. He was the bad boy of Hufflepuff, every girl had a crush on him, but he only had eyes for Victorie.
* Was headboy and definitely used it to his advantage.
* His patronus is a wolf like his parents.
* Got top grades as well.
* He was popular, but humble, he was friendly and with many people but had two really close friends.
* His grandmother Andromeda died when he was ten, and then lived with Harry and Ginny full time. He did visit them while living with his grandmother, but it was for a couple weeks during the summer and Christmas. They would babysit teddy when the need came.
* Has a very colorful vocabulary (swears)
* He played on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and once got knocked out, but since he wasn’t able to change his appearance laying there he looked exactly like Remus, and those who noticed cried.
* His hair changed colors with his emotions, ex. his signature turquoise blue hair was when he was content, and chill. Red for when he was angry or pissed off. He also changed it when he felt he needed too. His first few years he had a mix of colors he changed it very often, depending who he would talk too, especially if he knew that persons favorite color. Every year on the anniversary of his parents death his hair was a bubblegum pink, with sandy blonde side.
* Only has some of his father’s wolfish traits.
* Learned to control his metamorphegi early on with the help of his grandmother.
* Halloween is his favorite holiday, He would morph himself into someone each year. He’s known for pulling a prank on a teacher or two my morphing. he’s looked like each of his “family members” at least once.
* Closest to James in terms of siblings, taught James how to play quidditch and passed on the marauders map to James, in his second year.
* He would eat lots of chocolate when he was sad or upset and Harry noticed this early on and would always make sure that there was chocolate in the house just in case he needed it.
* His teen years were hard for him and he had a complicated relationship with Harry for a while. They talked it out and resolved everything.
* His face was the spitting image of his father minus the scars. It could be hard to notice with the changing hair colors tho. He was very tall as well.
* Becomes an auror like his mother and godfather.
Victorie:
* a very pretty girl, being part Veela.
* Shorted into Ravenclaw in her fourth year after transferring from beauxbatons after much convincing Fleur, and never regretted leaving.
* Really took a liking to Teddy and agreed to go out with him in her fifth year. She was also a prefect
* Named for the victory of the battle of Hogwarts which is also her birthday.
* Being gifted at art and enjoying it
* Plays Quidditch on the house team something her and teddy bonded over and enjoyed talking about.
* Is fluent in French and English and would teach her younger cousins occasionally.
* She’s very observant and knows just about everyone one of her siblings/ cousins crushes.
* Dated other guys before teddy but they weren’t serious until Teddy.
* Hated herbology with a passion.
* Studied a lot in the library during free time.
* Got top grades as well and was headgirl
* She took a likening to dance when she was younger but stoped once she was going to school at 11.
* Loved to go shopping with her sister and cousins and sometimes would drag teddy along with them.
* Helping Dom, adjust to Hogwarts even if they were in different houses.
* The only one to enjoy visiting the delacour side of the family in France.
* She was very close to Dominique and when Vic left beauxbatons Dom had to as well.
* Her patronus is a rabbit.
* Can read and recite Shakespeare at any given time.
* Becomes a journalist for the daily prophet
* Learned to do wand-less magic bc no one thought she could do it.
Dominique:
* also very pretty being part Veela.
* Always knew how push her parents buttons
* Can be very outspoken and courageous when she has to be. Tho never purposely looking for trouble.
* Was sorted into Gryffindor in her third year after transferring from beauxbatons. Again after much convincing and to be with Victorie.
* She actually hates her name until she’s told otherwise by her boyfriend who loves it, only then does he like it.
* Loves Quidditch was a chaser on the house team her first year there.
* Meets Elliot Wood on the team and they date for two years but they had a nasty fall out and broke up.
* After the break up she went though a hard time, had a “emo phase” and dyed the tips of her hair black and closed herself off for her fifth and most of sixth year.
* Actually got detention quite a lot for skipping classes that she didn’t feel like going too.
* Had a bit of a crush on professor Longbottom since she’s been in the school.
* Best friends with her cousin Molly since they are the same age.
* Was absolutely horrible at potions and Divination
* Was super jealous of her sisters relationship with Teddy.
* Her patronus is a Fox
* Started to take a liking to Frank Longbottom late into her sixth year, after he helped her pick up her things, when her bag was knocked off her shoulder. They talk for a while and they walk to the common room together and she starts to flirt with him more after a while and in her final year he asks her out and they go out for three years before he pops the question to her. And they marry a year later.
* Becomes an auror and partners with Teddy
* Dyes her hair ginger red for a while, like most of her family. But got bored with it and goes back to blonde.
* Loved going to the borrow, and spending time with her grandparents. Grandma Molly would teach her to knit
* Loved her Weasley side more than the Delacour side, but would never admit it. Bummed she never goes to the burrow for Christmas since that’s when they visit France. But she always wears the latest Weasley sweater.
* Wasn’t as fluent in French as her sister, but can hold a decent conversation.
Louis:
* the only one of his siblings to not go to beauxbatons.
* Isn’t as fluent in French but can understand it perfectly, and can converse if he has too.
* The only one who doesn’t really like playing Quidditch all that much, and would rather watch.
* Definitely a very handsome and has a rep of being called “the pretty boy” also being part veela
* Has his father’s wolfish tendencies.
* Super smart and resourceful. People were surprised he was a Gryffindor.
* Soft spoken and kind to everyone but can be a force to reckon with if provoked.
* Definitely a brave and courageous person.
* Is made a prefect in his fifth year.
* Favorite class was definitely care of magical creatures and was like best friends with Hagrid and his uncle Charlie.
* Was actually horrible at defense against the dark arts.
* Looks up to Teddy and his father.
* Had many girlfriends throughout his time at school, but none were ever serious enough for him to commit too wholeheartedly. Tended to be a bit of a heartbreaker for this reason alone.
* His patronus is a lion
* Is super protective of his older sisters and would stand up for them at any cost no matter the circumstances.
* The tallest one in the family.
* Was lost in the background as a young child being so quite. Didn’t mind having a back seat to his sisters having most of the attention.
* Doesn’t get married and works with his uncle caring for creatures.
Molly:
* sorted into Ravenclaw no surprise to anyone
* Wears glasses like her father.
* A total book worm
* She doesn’t do a whole lot of dating in school only really dates once out of Hogwarts.
* Best friends with Dominique even if their opposites.
* Missed Dominique for two years while she was at beauxbatons.
* Was slightly bummed dom was in Gryffindor while Vic was in Ravenclaw with her.
* Was a prefect and later head girl
* Took after her father Percy more than her mother.
* She was always teased by her cousins for being a nerd and no fun.
* Has short ginger hair and brown eyes, a bit more heavier set then the rest of her family, which makes her self conscious at times.
* Is a shy and quite person by nature but kind.
* Can actually draw really well and be really creative.
* Always stayed away from trouble and always followed rules.
* Loved watching Quidditch but doesn’t play it.
* Is actually very good at wizard chess and once beat her uncle Ron.
* She’s the complete opposite to her younger sister Lucy.
* Loves her family unconditionally.
* Her patronus is a dolphin.
Lucy:
* Is not her sister
* Has beautiful long ginger hair and freckles
* Is a hardcore Gryffindor and takes it with pride.
* Is definitely boy crazy and dated many boys throughout the years in Hogwarts. Probably dated just about every boy in her year and older at some point, a player, people called her a slut behind her back.
* However was very popular
* Loves shopping with her friends and cousins
* Plays keeper on the Quidditch team
* Lazy when it comes to school work and gets in trouble for it but is actually smart.
* Is frequently in detention for skipping classes and being out after hours
* Is always butting heads with her parents
* Definitely has an attitude and temperamental
* Is a very pretty girl
* Her patronus is a hippogriff
* Wild child was her nickname given to her by uncle George.
* Can be somewhat of a bitch
* Brutally honest, but with the best intentions.
* Loves butterbeers and Honeydukes sweet shop.
* Favorite class is actually transfiguration
* And hates history of Magic with a passion.
Fred II
* is definitely a prankster and trouble maker just like his father and namesake.
* Loves Quidditch and is on the Gryffindor team as a beater.
* One of his best friends is Lee Jordan’s son whose also a Gryffindor.
* Doesn’t do much dating but takes a liking to a muggleborn girl that was in Hufflepuff and tries to get the courage to ask her out. After much encouragement from Roxanne he did it and they started dating in their seventh year.
* Looks just like his father but with darker skin and hair
* Is super tall
* His patronus is a hyena just like his dead uncles which made his father cry when he found out
* Is actually smart beyond popular belief
* Resurrects the name marauders with his cousins James and friends.
* Actually gets along well his is sister Roxanne and is super protective of her, will do anything for her.
* His favorite class is defense against the dark arts
* Despised history of magic thought it to be incredibly boring and played a prank on prof. Binns more than once.
* Actually cried when he meets his uncles ghost and got along well with him and played pranks with his help and peeves on Filch.
* Best friends with this cousin James
* Works with his father for years at the jokeshop, then takes over the joke shop after George can’t do it anymore.
Roxanne:
* is like her mother
* Pranks with her brother but not as much mostly when she was younger
* Can cook really well.
* Also on the Quidditch team for Gryffindor as a seeker.
* She has freckles and darker skin tone and long beautiful black hair.
* Gets along great with her brother Fred.
* Starts dating Jordan’s son in her sixth year with caused some tension between her and Fred but he saw how happy they were together and was actually excited about it.
* Goes on to being a professional Quidditch seeker.
* Worked at the jokeshop during summers but never did it like Fred.
* Favorite class is herbology and was friends with Professor Longbottom.
* Hated potions class.
* Best Friends with Alice Longbottom and bonded over their love for herbology.
* Her patronus is a coyote like her father.
Rose:
* is sorted into Ravenclaw after a hat-stall almost putting her in Gryffindor.
* Is a total book worm and rule follower.
* However a procrastinator when it comes to writing essays.
* Got closer to her cousin Molly after her sorting
* Studied in the library for hours.
* Is decent at wizard chess but can never beat her father.
* Doesn’t like Quidditch at all and doesn’t like watching it at all, which annoyed her father for a while.
* It’s actually really good at arts like drawing.
* Her favorite class is charms but won’t admit it saying their all her favorite.
* Struggles in potions only being beaten by her cousin Albus which annoys her to no end
* Actually likes Divination
* Has fiery red curly hair and freckles and on the shorter side.
* Was best friends with Albus, until their sorting and he became friends with Scorpius.
* Hates Scorpius for the first few years in Hogwarts believes the rumors
* Actually hates roses as a flower
* Will hex you into oblivion if provoked.
* Will eat anything in front of her, inherited her father’s appetite
* Loves muggle books and fairytales and movies, watches Disney with Lily
* Hates coffee and tea but loves hot chocolate.
* Reads witch weekly almost religiously.
* Enjoys visiting her muggle grandparents during holidays.
* Her patronus is a unicorn
* Liked learning French from Victorie
* Was the first to master nonverbal spells right away.
* Was a prefect and later head girl
* Actually likes doing things the muggle way.
* Was close to Lily she was like a sister to rose.
* She and Lily were the only ones who thought Teddy’s lame jokes were actually funny.
* She’s very protective of he little brother Hugo
Hugo:
* is sorted into Gryffindor and was eager to join the Quidditch team but wasn’t allowed to until fifth year but tried to every year but got busted by Rose
* Supported the Chudley Cannons and Puddlemore teams.
* Was gifted in wizard chess and beat his father every time since he was seven.
* Has the appetite of a bottomless pit.
* The only Weasley grandson to have red hair, blue eyes and freckles.
* Is freakishly tall
* Is very close to Lily Potter
* Got along well with Rose most of the time and later become very protective of her as well.
* Is a soft spoken and kind boy always making people laugh.
* His favorite class is actually astronomy
* Hates care of Magical Creatures but was friends with Hagrid and would visit him often
* Was secretly smart and becomes a prefect in his fifth year.
* Looks up to his cousins James and Fred and likes to follow them around and help them pull pranks.
* Was a quite and shy kid, once got forgotten at home when it was Christmas and everyone was going to the burrow.
* Loves visiting shell cottage.
* Loves muggle movies and tv shows.
* Can actually play the piano, he was taught by his mother and muggle grandmother.
James:
* Immediately sorted into Gryffindor
* Learned Quidditch from teddy and his parents at a young age
* Was the biggest supporter for the Holly Head Harpies other than his father
* Absolutely loved Quidditch and was on the team in his second year. The best Potter child at the sport.
* Mesh of his parents, auburn hair, hazel eyes, father’s temper and mother’s affinity for hexing
* The only Potter child to wear glasses.
* Got his ears pierced without permission and teddy did it and took the blame for it.
* Was head over heels for Alice Longbottom and tried to ask her out every year, she finally gave in when he was in his sixth year her fifth.
* Acted out so people don’t think much of him
* Is secretly really smart
* Is very protective over Lily, he’s the worst
* Brave and courageous to the nth degree.
* Oozes confidence, and can be taken for arrogance.
* Ravishes in the spotlight of his family name and uses the “Don’t you know who my father is” excuse to get out of trouble and it doesn’t work on Professor Longbottom or McGonagall at all.
* A jokester and prankster with his best friend and cousin Fred
* His favorite class is defense against the dark arts
* Hates history of magic and Divination
* Only one of his siblings who doesn’t have freckles
* Loves teasing his younger siblings
* Looks up to his father and Teddy and wants to be just like them
* Shunned Albus after his sorting but when he got a howler from his mother about it he stopped.
* Inherited the invisibly cloak and marauders map from his father.
* His godfather is Hagrid, and James makes frequent trips to visit him.
* Spent quite a lot of time in detention
* His patronus is a stag just like his father and grandfather.
* Becomes an auror like his father and Teddy
#harry potter#gryffindor#next gen harry potter#slytherin#the cursed child#albus severus potter#hufflepuff#ravenclaw#scorpius malfoy#teddy lupin#drarry#drastoria#hinny#scorbus#roxanne weasley#fred weasley#lucy weasley#molly weasley#rose weasley#hugo weasley#louis weasley#dominique weasley#headconon
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Get a grade 9 in a language GCSE!
Please note:
1. These tips are almost entirely applicable to any AQA language at GCSE.
2. Modern Foreign Languages at GCSE Level is anywhere from A2 to B1 (dependant on the tier and grade) on the CEFR scale, but, there is no official equivalent.
In November 2018, whilst in Year 10, my teacher saw that I was excelling in French, with my extensive knowledge of tenses and idioms. So, she proposed that I’d do the January mocks, alongside Year 11, despite not knowing more than half of the subject content. Then we’d see where I’d go from there.
I followed the AQA exam board, higher paper. Specification. You can find the Kerboodle textbook I used, here.
Here’s what I did:
Throughout the year, I was also studying the Year 10 content (Theme 1 - Identity and culture) in class.
In my own time, each month I’d cover one or two units, completing the more challenging activities on each page of the textbook. Luckily, each unit was only 4 double-page spreads long.
In January I completed my mocks. This was the first time I had ever sat in an exam hall, so it was really daunting to be doing it with a bunch of kids who were older than me, even though I knew I had enough knowledge. Overall, I got a secure grade 8, in my mocks, despite not knowing half of the course content.
I also did “pre-exam mocks”, two weeks before each exam. These consisted of specimen papers which are notoriously harder, so my results looked almost exactly the same as past papers, which was upsetting as I couldn’t see that I’d actually improved. But practice is practice!
MY ACTUAL GCSE RESULT:
With a lot of work. I managed to achieve a grade 9 (the top mark, higher than an A*), which was insane. I’m so, so proud of myself, and grateful for all of the teachers that supported me!!!
^Edit from 25/08/2019.
LISTENING
In my opinion, listening is based purely on practice and knowing the exam technique that works for you.
To practice:
frenchpod101 intermediate listening comprehension
Going through every specimen track and listening activity I could find - pausing it after each sentence, saying it once in French, then translating it into English. I’d do this in the shower, on the way to school, wherever.
Know your vocab!
My exam technique:
In the 5 minutes reading time: underline keywords and themes in the questions. This time goes very quickly, but I’d also try to jot down a few synonyms in the French section too.
Multiple choice questions: the process of elimination; key vocab; negative and positive tonality and opinion words - watch out for negative structures!
Completing the sentences: note down words said in French or translate each sentence into English in your head, then remember it when it comes to writing it down.
French section: fill each sentence with key French words that you hear. Don’t worry about accents, unless it helps you determine the word.
Remember each track plays twice.
READING
The January Mock: I didn’t know much of the course content, so I struggled with the translation. I also circled and placed a question mark near any words I didn’t know, as it was a mock and my teacher would be able to note down any translations for me. I think what boosted my grade, to a 9 for this paper, was knowledge of grammar.
T/F/NM questions are usually a gamble. Just look for explicit information and know your negative formations.
Texts change their minds often: look out for counter-arguments and opposing exclamations
Use the method of elimination for multiple choice: rule out if there’s no mention. Be wary that a text can mention an option, but say it wasn’t that.
Texts often refer to things mentioned prior.
If you know a certain type of texts are your kryptonite (it was the classical stories with dialogue, for me), then download as many of that genre as you can. Understand the way speech and dialogue works, and the structure, before you tackle the vocab.
Many say skim read and don’t read the whole thing, but I found it easier to translate big chunks in my head as I went along and lightly annotate each text, which just comes with practice.
WRITING
Top tip: don’t go any more than 10% over word limits!!!!!!! Teachers say they have to mark all of it - no they don’t. If you do double the word limit, your last few bullet points could come after the cut-off point, cutting off access to half of the marks!!!
90 WORD - 99 words maximum! About 20-25 words per bullet point.
150 WORD - 165 words maximum! About 75 words per bullet point.
Which brings me to mention, that you must cover every bullet point: those are your content marks, which cover about half the marks of each question.
90 WORD Question (16 marks)
Content - 10 marks: Making sure your writing covers each bullet point enough.
Quality of Language - 6 marks: Using interesting vocabulary, such as “malheureusement”.
Stick to about one page.
If you’re giving an opinion, great, just stop there. If you explain it too much, you risk going over your word limit.
150 WORD Question (32 marks)
Content - 15 marks: Every. Bullet. Point. Detailed.
Range of Language - 12 marks: get in those adjectives, idioms and grammatical structures!
Accuracy - 5 marks: correct basic tense conjugations (present, past, future simple/future proche)
In order to hit all of these I came up with a mnemonic checklist, and it scored me full marks in a specimen paper I did for my teacher! And I made it into a cute phone background, so I’d start to remember it, I still can now, hehe! You can find it here. If that doesn’t work, then download it here.
SPEAKING
Know your question words! (x)
For the roleplay and photocard, my teacher printed off me a load of practice cards in bulk and annotated two or three every day, using the planning techniques mentioned below.
Roleplay - 2 minutes; can be any theme.
When planning, try to avoid writing out answers, but just keywords and gaps for you to fill in with pronouns or articles etc.
Keep it brief, one sentence per bullet point, but cover each part of each bullet point.
Photo card - 3 minutes (aim to speak for at least 2).
Plan with a small spider-diagram of nouns, opinions, anecdotes etc. for each known question.
Use one or two prepped anecdotes for the prepared questions - e.g. where you went last year, who with, what you did.
For the unknown questions, keep it short and sweet and fill up any time with opinions and reasoning.
General conversation - 5-7 minutes.
Lie and make up stories! Be creative and use the words and structures you know.
I was a little extra and I prepared every theme as flashcards. You can’t get away with only revising your chosen theme!
I made flashcards that could cover several types of questions: I had bullet points of topics and keywords on one side and a sample paragraph on the other.
Pretty sure I made about 80 flashcards oops.
I also went through the mark scheme and see which areas I could secure marks in and which areas I needed to improve.
VOCAB
Learning vocab is SO important!
I started by making spreadsheets of jumbled word lists from the specification and doing a colour-coded match up.
You can access a pdf of all of the vocab grids here. There might be the odd word missing due to copy-pasting errors, but if so, don’t stress, just look it up in a dictionary and note it down - sorry in advance!!!
Then with the vocab that I had to look up in a dictionary, I added to a Quizlet and wrestled it into my noggin.
You can find the Quizlet here.
Remember that:
sauf - except
puisque - since
presque - almost
GRAMMAR
To me, learning tenses was like learning formulae for maths. So find a way to learn rules like that, if it’s easier for you.
e.g. Conditional Tense = subject + (future/conditional stem + imperfect ending)*
*note that future stems are the same as conditional stems.
Know your DRMRSPVANDERTRAMP verbs, and their past participles. These verbs go with ÊTRE and always agree with the subject.
Know your auxiliary and irregular verbs.
MUST KNOW: avoir, être, aller, faire, vouloir
HELPFUL: devoir, pouvoir, vivre, boire, voir, dire, savoir
OTHERS: mettre, prendre, venir, écrire, lire, recevoir
I learnt these by making flashcards, and then brain dumping them on paper over and over again until they stuck - my teacher thought I was insane, madly scribbling away.
Memorise some key structures that can be used in writing and speaking.
If you want 7+ structures, find them here.
MISC TIPS
Always write notes about improvements and errors in practice papers and mocks.
Find a native french internet friend.
In my opinion, music, movies and TV shows aren’t great for revision. However, if you begin to understand them, they are a great confidence boost.
I highly recommend the Skam France series, which you can find with and without les sous-titres (subtitles) here.
And here’s my french music playlist on Spotify.
MORE ASSISTANCE
I’m happy to offer my assistance to anybody who needs it, pop me a dm or an ask if you think others will find it useful too.
Here’s some ways I could help:
Finding some resources about a certain topic (videos, worksheets, mindmaps) - I have them all backed up hehe
Sending you some of my past answers
Sending you pdf of my general conversation/irregular verb table flashcards
Marking practice answers
Talking to you in french
Etc. etc.
Thank you for reading! Please reblog to help any others that might find this useful. If any of the links are faulty, please pop me a dm, and I’ll get them sorted asap!! 🥐
-Wil x
#french#gcse#langblr#studyblr#study#gcses#french language#lovelybluepanda#wilstudies#studies#etudier#francais#emmastudies#a level#b2#b1#cefr#masterpost#masterlist#advice#a2
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Mmh... All the field
the whole- the whole field....
thank you for asking, this is going to be one long post
Alisons: Sexuality?
asexual, unlabeled/queer romantic
Amaranth: Pronouns/Gender?
they/them or he/him, nonbinary
Amaryllis: Birthday?
february 4th
Anemone: Favorite flower?
bleeding heart
Angelonia: Favorite t.v. show?
steven universe
Arum-Lily: What’s the farthest you’d go for a stranger?
probably offer a place to sleep overnight
Aster: What’s one of your favorite quotes?
“Do you think God stays in heaven because he, too, lives in fear of what he’s created?”
Aubrieta: Favorite drink?
strawberry lemonade
Baby’s Breath: Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
my gf? yes, absolutely.
Balsam Fir: Have you ever been in love?
i’d like to think so, yes
Baneberries: Favorite song?
currently “better than me” by the brobecks
Basket of Gold: Describe your family.
a mess, i have three siblings, and two of them are currently living at home, we also have two large dogs
Beebalm: Do you have a best friend? Who is it?
yes! my best friend anna, and her brother bryan!
Begonia: Favorite color?
purple
Bellflower: Favorite animal?
mantis shrimp
Bergenia: Are you a morning or night person?
night person
Black-Eyed Susan: If you could be any animal for a day, what would it be?
dog, i want the constant love and affection
Bloodroots: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
first a botanist, then a geologist
Bluemink: What are your thoughts on children?
i want to adopt some someday! sometimes they suck, but i want to be there for someone who doesn’t have a family to lean on.
Blazing Stars: What are you afraid of? Is there a reason why?
abandonment, because i’m annoying
Borage: Give a random fact about your childhood.
i shared a room with my little brother until i was like 12.
Bugleherb: How would you spend your last day on Earth?
visiting all the people i love most, all of my friends, my gf, i’d call my sister
Buttercup: Relationship Status?
taken!
Camelia: If you could visit anywhere, where would you want to go?
france
Candytufts: When do you feel most loved?
when people take the time out of their day to talk to me
Canna: Do you have any tattoos?
nope, i do want some someday, though
Canterbury Bells: Do you have any piercings?
yes! i got my ears pierced twice because it ripped my earlobe the first time
California Poppy: Height?
~5′8″
Cardinal Flower: Do you believe in ghosts?
yes, and if i die before any of my friends, i’m coming back to haunt them
Carnation: What are you currently wearing?
a floral tank top, my favorite sleeveless cardigan, and jean shorts
Catnip: Have you ever slept with a nightlight?
yes, my little brother was afraid of the dark and insisted on having a nightlight on
Chives: Who was the last person you hugged?
my mom
Chrysanthemum: Who’s the last person you kissed?
my gf
Cock’s Comb: Favorite font?
architect’s daughter
Columbine: Are you tired?
yes, very
Common Boneset: What are you looking forward to?
tomorrow i get to leave the house all day to drive across the state and it’s going to be a lot of fun
Coneflower: Dream job?
language teacher! either english to people who don’t speak it or german/french to english speakers
Crane’s-Bill: Introvert or extrovert?
introvert. i’m on tumblr all day
Crocus: Have you ever been in love?
yeah, i think so
Crown Imperial: What’s the farthest you would go for someone you care about?
i’d actually die for multiple people in my life
Cyclamen: Did you have a favorite stuffed animal as a child? What was it?
yes! a stuffed white dog with a plaid scarf and matching antlers! my friend got it for me because it reminded her of my big white dog.
Daffodil: What’s your zodiac sign?
aquarius
Dahlia: Have you done anything worth remembering?
once i came 3rd in my age group for a 5k i ran
Daisy: What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment?
i successfully kept a frail axolotl alive for an entire summer
Daylily: What would you do if your parents didn’t like your partner(s)?
i dont care what my parents think about stuff like that, they cant tell my who i am or am not allowed to date
Dendrobium: Who is the last person that you said “I love you” to?
@byler-obsessed literally like, maybe 15 minutes ago as of writing this
False Goat’s Beard: What is something you are good at?
i’d like to think i’m decent at singing
Foxgloves: What’s something you’re bad at?
staying awake during the day
Freesia: What are three good things that have happened in the past month?
i saw my gf for the first time in months! i came out to the girls team for xc! i spent a lot of time with one of my closest irl friends!
Garden Cosmos: How was your day today?
decent, i had coach practice, which was nice
Gardenia: Are you happy with where you’re at in your life?
yeah, i’d say i’m pretty happy where i am
Gladiolus: What is something you hope to do in the next year or two?
learn guitar
Glory-of-the-Snow: What are ten things that make you happy/you’re grateful to have in your life?
my best friends anna and bryan, my older brother, the girls on the team, my ukulele, my therapist, my dogs, the creek in my back yard, my grandma’s amish apple dumpling recipe, random internet memes, books
Heliotropium: What helps you calm down when you feel stressed?
listening to my spotify playlist
Hellebore: How do you show affection?
reassurance and/or talking about things that i enjoy, i’m really insecure so if i’m talking about something i like, that’s me trusting you.
Hoary Stock: What are you proudest of?
the mental health progress i’ve made
Hollyhock: Describe your ideal day.
i lay in bed until like 11, then, i spend the rest of the day out with my friends, we get sushi for dinner and stay up until like 3am
Hyacinth: What do you like to do in your free time?
be on tumblr
Hydrangea: How long have you known your best friend? How did you meet them?
i met them both in 6th grade, anna nad i were in the same science class and i met bryan at lunch, he didn’t talk to me for at least the first half of the year.
Irises: Who can you talk to about (almost) everything?
bryan, he always knows just what to say, and knows that he doesn’t have to fix my problems to be a good friend.
Laceleaf: How many friends do you have?
like, 13?
Lantanas: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?
my friend once told me that they couldn’t tell if i was a boy or girl upon first meeting me and it made my day.
Larkspur: What do you think of yourself?
i’m a mess, an anxious, depressed, gay mess
Lavender: What’s your favorite thing about yourself?
my hair, it’s really fluffy and soft, and just about light enough to dye bright colors
Leather Flower: What’s your least favorite thing about yourself?
my chest, it’s always been a huge part of my dysphoria and i want it gone please
Lilac: What’s something you liked to do as a child?
i would play dress up with my dog, he had to suffer through wearing all my old dresses, but he got treats so it was ok
Lily: Who was your best friend when you were a kid?
my friend ry, we met in second grade, we’re still on and off friends, currently off
Lily of the Incas: What is something you still feel guilty for?
in 5th grade i used the word “suck” in class and got yelled at
Lily of the Nile: What is something you feel guilty for that you shouldn’t feel guilty about?
see above answer
Lupine: What does your name mean? Why is that your name?
carson: christian. it’s my name because i like how it sounds, and anna really liked it too, she picked it for me.
Marigold: Where did you grow up? Tell us about it.
white, suburban ohio. all the kids had cliques by the second day of kindergarten, and if you were knew, you generally had a pretty good chance of being picked up by the popular kids.
Morning Glory: What was your bedroom like growing up?
i had bunkbeds with my little brother, i slept on the bottom.
Mugworts: What was it like for you as a teenager? Did you enjoy your teenage years?
so far, not really. i’m just mentally ill and closeted, it’s not great
Norwegian Angelica: Tell us about your mom.
she likes to dye her hair crazy colors, and she used to be a beekeeper, even though she’s allergic to bee stings.
Onions: Tell about your dad.
he rides his bike almost every day, and supports my mom in whatever she does
Orchid: Tell about your grandparents.
on my mom’s side, the kindest boomers i’ve ever met, my grandpa used to take us on “adventures” to the park and just watch us play
on my dad’s side: my grandpa loves seeing us but doesn’t get out much, my grandma laughs hysterically at every family gathering, and has all the best amish recipes
Pansy: What was your most memorable birthday? What made it be so memorable?
when i turned 13, i went ice skating for the first time and fell and sprained my wrist
Peony: What was your first job?
mowing lawns
Petunia: If you’re in a relationship, how did you meet your partner(s)? If you’re not in a relationship, how did you meet your crush/how do you hope to meet your future partner(s), if you want any?
we had mutual friends and slowly ended up being close, we were in school plays and track together.
Pincushion: How do you deal with pain?
i bite down on my finger to simultaneously distract myself, focus on something else, and hold myself back
Pink: Where is home?
my best friends’ living room at 1 am, with the golden girls playing in the background
Plantain Lilies: If you could go back in time, what is one thing you would stop/change?
i’d go back and stop current president from becoming president
Prairie Gentian: Who is someone you look up to? Describe them.
my sister, she has always been driven and passionate and talented, and she makes everything seem effortless and still gives it her all.
Primrose: Describe your ideal life.
me and my spouse and my kids amd my dogs all live in a decently spacious house in europe, my job is stable and i love my work, my students think i’m cool and come to me if they need help, i am doing well.
Rhodendron: What is something you used to believe in as a child?
i used to believe that the smoke from fireworks was where clouds came from
Ricinus: Who’s the most important in your life?
my best friends
Rose: What’s your favorite sound?
the sound of rain on my roof at night
Rosemallows: What’s your favorite memory?
when my sister, dad, and i all climbed to the top of a mountain in california
Sage: What’s your least favorite memory?
throwing up in the car on the way home for visiting my sister in new york
Snapdragon: At this moment, what do you want?
a hug from anna
St. John’s Wort: Is it easy or difficult for you to express how you feel about things?
it’s hard because i don’t trust people
Sunflower: What is something you don’t want to imagine life without?
the internet
Sweet Pea: How much sleep did you get last night?
like 5.5 hours
Tickseed: What’s your main reason to get up every morning?
to run, it makes me feel better and i love cross country
Touch-Me-Not: How do you feel about your current job?
lmao i dont have one
Transvaal Daisy: What’s your favorite item of clothing?
my binder!
Tropical White Morning Glory: Describe your aesthetic.
the record player song but a boy
Tulip: What would be the best present to get you?
a list of reasons why you deal with me/things you like about me
Vervain: What’s stressing you out most right now?
the fact that this is taking a lot longer than anticipated and i don’t want people to think i’m ignoring their asks
Wisteria: How many books have you read in the past few months? What were they called?
actual books? only 2, Catcher in the Rye and the Night Circus
Wolf’s Bane: Where do you want to be in life this time next year?
out with my friends
Yarrow: Do you know what vore is?
yes, and i regret it
Zinnia: Give a random fact about yourself.
i’m double jointed in my left pinky
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Paris, France- Whitley
1) Why did you decide to Study Abroad? Specifically, what made you choose to go to Paris?
I wanted to study abroad because I’ve grown up traveling around the United States with my family, and I wanted to broaden my horizons. Coming from a very small town, I never experienced much diversity, and I really wanted to change that while in college. I chose to study in Paris because I have a minor in French, and I wanted to improve my language skills. I also thought the city was the perfect home point in Europe to be able to travel to other countries.
2) What was your favorite part about Paris?
It’s hard to pick one favorite thing in regard to one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The food was amazing, and I could happily live off of bread and cheese for the rest of my life. I loved the architecture. Around every corner was a new beautiful building. It made me appreciate being more present; I wasn’t on my phone as often because I was too busy admiring the city around me,
3) Describe a day in the life of a student in Paris?
Paris universities are different from American universities because students don’t have on- campus housing. That requires daily transportation to classes. Luckily, Paris has one of the best public transportation systems, and it’s very easy to get everywhere, whether it be by train, bus, or bike. Classes were lecture style, with a teacher in the front talking to roughly 60-100 students. I never had homework, my grade was just defined by my final exam and a final paper. After class you’ll find students gathering at the local cafes to sit on the terrace to enjoy an espresso or an aperitif, or find a quiet spot on the Seine to read. As a Parisian student you also get free access to nearly every major museum in the city!
4) What were your accommodations like?
I lived in Foyer Des Etudiants, which is similar to an American dorm style building, though I didn’t live on campus, and not everyone went to the same school. Students in this building came from around the world. I lived in a double room, and my roommate was from Lebanon. We each had our own bed, desk, and dresser and closet, and we shared a sink and a mini fridge. Toilets and showers were down the hall, and there was a small kitchen on each floor for students to cook in. My building also had a library free to anyone who lived there, as well as laundry, a piano, and a workout room in the basement. There was also a beautiful balcony on the top floor that had a view of the entire city, where we could sit and watch as the sun sets behind the Eiffel Tower.
5) Did you do any traveling while abroad in Paris? Where?
I made it my mission while studying abroad to travel to as many new countries as I could. The amazing thing about Europe is that travel is very easy. Going to a new country is like going to a neighboring state in America; everything is nearby and relatively affordable. While abroad, I traveled to Austria, Slovakia, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, England, and various parts of Northern and Southern France. Each country was a unique experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
6) What is one thing you wish you could have done differently?
“Do it. And if you’re scared, do it scared.” During the start of my abroad experience I was very anxious about living on my own in a new country. For the first week or two I would call my parents every day and was too scared to walk farther than the street I lived on. Gradually, I began to walk farther, and discovered the wonderful nooks and crannies of Paris. I wish I had forced myself to go off of my street earlier, because then I could have had more time finding cute cafes or fun bookstores to spend my afternoons in, or a hidden park to sit under the sun with my baguette and a glass of wine. I did it eventually, I only wish I had done it sooner.
7) What did you enjoy doing in your free time?
When we didn’t have class, my friends and I would often have picnics in one of Paris’s many parks. We would stop at the nearest Monoprix and purchase a bottle of wine and some cheese, and then stop at a local boulangerie for a fresh baked baguette. We would find a grassy spot to sit, and spend our afternoons laughing and walking the streets of Paris. Other days we would admire the art in the Louvre, or spend hours sitting in front of Monet’s Water Lilies in the Musée de l’Orangerie. When the weather warmed up, we would sit or take walks on the Seine, passing various street artists and musicians.
8) What is one thing that anyone interested in going to Paris that they should know?
ALWAYS say “bonjour” when entering. It doesn’t matter where you’re entering: the grocery store, your apartment building, an office, the bus, a café… You always say bonjour when walking into a new place. It is a part of the Parisian culture, and they take it very seriously. Don’t be surprised if someone were to treat you with less respect if you didn’t say bonjour when you walk in. Not doing so is considered rude and is a clear indicator that you are not from Paris, and are not adapting to their culture.
9) What was something you didn’t expect to experience while abroad in Paris?
How friendly the Parisian people are. There’s an unfortunate stereotype that Parisians are rude and snobby. This could not be farther from true. Parisians just have a different lifestyle than Americans. They’re much more reserved and focus on one activity at a time whereas in America we have all become experts at multi-tasking. If you make an effort to be friendly with the shop owners and neighbors around you, you hear a lot of amazing stories from people and their travels around the world, and it’s a really special experience. Always be open to new people and experiences.
10) How has studying abroad impacted your life?
Studying abroad has made me a more confident person. Previous to this experience I had never traveled alone before. Now I feel more confident in being able to rely on myself. Going to a foreign country can be scary, but it will ultimately be worth it. Going outside of your comfort zone is the best form of personal growth, and you’ll make many new friends along the way.
11) Would you recommend that other students study abroad in Paris? Why?
I’m biased but I think everyone should study abroad in Paris. It’s a beautiful city and there’s always something to do. Paris is also perfect for students who aren’t fluent in French. While most people in the city will speak French to you, many people are also fluent in English as a second language. Because the city is so popular for tourists there is a plethora of language specific tours, restaurants, and activities that people can participate in. Paris is also perfect because it’s a central European city, so you can catch a cheap flight to nearly any other European city. And if there isn’t a flight, there are trains and overnight buses. If anything, everyone needs to go to Paris at least once just to try the bread; Once you have a true Parisian baguette with French butter you can never go back to normal bread.
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Dima’s top 12 quick and dirty hacks for sounding more proficient in French
Bonjour à toutes et tous !
A friend recently asked for some French help, and I… got carried away. And made this list. There are probably similar lists out there, but I had a lot of fun making this so OSEF (that’s on s’en fout, or “who cares”).
I realize it’s basically all for spoken (or very casual written) French, but hey, talking is hard, but at least you don’t have to spell anything.
I have more or less put these in the order I (from personal experience) consider to be the easiest to the more advanced/difficult to implement. You may have more luck with one further down the list, who knows. À chacun son style !
(NB: I’m a native speaker of American English currently living in France. I started learning French in 8th grade (~13 years old) and fell in love.)
Click here to listen to the sample sentences used in the list.
If you would prefer this list in .pdf format, or have any questions/corrections contact me here.
(Other than typos, I would prefer that only native speakers offer corrections if there is a definition/usage concern.)
At the end of the list is a (short) list of my top English-French resources.
edit: the part about verlan has been updated, thanks to @fcktaken for pointing out the over-simplification.
Bref ! On y va, c’est parti !
1. Oui= Ouais
Okay, this is an easy one. Instead of saying a strict “yes” all the time, try a “yeah” in your speaking. (It sounds like “weh”, in case you weren’t sure.)
Ouais, ça va.
2. Double subjects
French, especially spoken or casual writing, likes to double subjects. It emphasizes who you’re talking about, especially when you’re discussing or comparing multiple subjets.
Use the direct object version and then the subject version of the pronoun:
Moi, j’aimerais bien.
Toi, tu as un stylo à me prêter ?
Lui, il est parti.
Nous, on a déjà fini. (Notice here that “nous” corresponds to the « on ». see trick 3 for more on « on ».)
Vous, vous êtes satisfaits ?
Eux, ils parlent espagnol.
It also works for objects (at higher levels you will get yelled at for doing this in academic settings but everyone does it so fight me).
La chaise, elle est confortable ?
Le cahier, il est où ?
Le français, c’est une langue compliquée. (Fun fact: the c’ in c’est comes from ça which comes from cela, which is the official subject form “it”. I did not know this until literal years into my French education. Don’t worry about it.)
In questions, the direct object version (moi, toi, lui, etc) goes at the end :
Tu as des sœurs, toi ?
Il a réussi à l’examen, lui ?
3. “Nous” is out; « on » is in
Especially when speaking, but also in more casual writing (and even in some scientific research papers, despite what my professors all say), instead of saying “nous”, use “on”. It uses the same conjugation as “il/elle” singular.
–Caroline, qu’est que tu as fait avec ton amie hier ?
–On est allées au ciné le soir. On s’est bien amusées ! (Note: you must show agreement with whoever the « on » is referring to! That’s why there’s an extra e and an s here: two girls = es ending.)
Nous, on a déjà fini le projet.
It can also be used to refer to people in general, as in “you have to pass a test to become a teacher”, where “you” is just some person in general, and no one specific. In English, we can also say “one”, as in “one must pass an exam…” but it sounds kind of snooty or pretentious. In French ? Very casual. Very common.
On doit passer un examen pour devenir prof.
On dirait que c’est de ta faute !
On est plus fort quand on a bien dormi. (Note : for a general use, no agreement is necessary. So just “fort”, not “forts” or “fortes”.)
4. Drop the “ne” from your negations
Ok so your professor might not like this, and you should definitely still write it. But when speaking, most French people (young and old except for absolute sticklers) do not say the “ne” in a “ne__ pas” (or “ne __ rien”, “ne __ plus, etc.) construction unless they are really trying to emphasize the negative. Again, this is for speaking only.
J’ai pas de stylo.
Vous êtes pas d’accord ?
Là j’ai rien compris.
Il peut plus continuer à courir.
Vous voyez personne ?
5. Contractions with je suis, je sais pas, and tu es/tu as
When speaking quickly, French speakers tend to contract certain sounds. Think of the English “I’m going to” becoming “I’m gonna”. In French, there a few common spoken (or chatspeak 😉) contractions:
Je suis: Chuis contente de te voir! ALSO Chu contente de te voir ! (Remember that in French, « ch » makes an English « sh » sound.)
Je sais pas : Chais pas trop. (Remember, we abandoned our « ne”! For some reason, the affirmative “je sais” doesn’t really get contracted as “chais”.)
Tu es : T’es très gentille !
Tu as : T’as un vélo, toi ?
6. Filler words
Get rid of your “um”s and “uh”s and replace them with things like “euh”, “ben” or “fin”:
Je suis… fin, je suis pas content de voir ça.
Ben, écoute, il y a plus que ça dans la vie !
7. “du coup”
This is a spoken/casual replacement for “donc” and I swear native French speakers use it in every conversation. I honestly thought it was just a random filler word for literally weeks the first time I lived in France. Any time you want to say “so” or “therefore”, try du coup instead of “donc”:
Du coup, j’ai oublié l’heure du rendez-vous.
J’ai raté le train, du coup je suis arrivé en retard.
On comprend pas les consignes, du coup on peut pas finir le projet.
8. « N’importe quoi ! »
Okay this is a very self-indulgent because this is like. My favorite thing to say in French. It’s a very flexible phrase, and hard to “directly” translate into English. Here are a few scenarios where it works well:
· To say « anything »: Tu peux faire n’importe quoi avec un diplôme de Business. (This might be the original usage? But not the most fun…)
· Someone says something totally false or incorrect and you want to call them out (a tiiiny bit rudely): Mais tu dis n’importe quoi !
· Something is ridiculous or nonsensical: C’est vraiment du n’importe quoi…
· When someone is doing who-knows-what: Tu fais du n’importe quoi!
9. Le subjonctif
Listen. I’m really sorry. As a native English speaker, I had no idea what the subjunctive was. We don’t inflect it in English, and there’s a shit load of irregular stems, and sometimes the use of subjunctive seems random and doesn’t follow the “rules” our teachers give us. (Welcome to language, where everything is made up and rules don’t matter.) However, it’s really common in French. Anyway, even if you don’t master this mood, there are a few common phrases and irregular forms you should pay attention to:
· Il faut + infinitive: the easiest one. Seriously, you got this one.
· Il faut que j’y aille : I gotta go ! (aille is from aller) (please don’t ask me what the “y” is for; it’s a pronoun for a place but like… where are you going? Somewhere… Just don’t forget it.)
· Il faut que je fasse… : I have to do/make… (fasse is from faire)
· Il faut que tu sois/ça soit/vous soyez … : You/One/Y’all must be…. (sois/soit/soyez is from être)
10. Complain more
You think I’m kidding ? Okay, I am a little bit. But if you have the opportunity, a little whining never hurt anyone. According to my sources, 25% of French culture is complaining.
Here’s a few phrases to try out:
Ça craint! (That sucks!)
C’est chiant, ça. (A bit vulgar, so mind your audience.)
J’ai des devoirs à faire mais j’en veux paaaaas. (really draw it out)
Mais non, c’est pas possible… (with a sense of despair)
When in doubt, just fais la grève (go on strike).
11.Slang (argot) and swearing (gros mots)
Learning and integrating slang is… difficult. It varies regionally, it doesn’t translate directly, and if you’re only using French in a classroom setting, your teacher probably wants you to use more formal (and polite) French. BUT. It’s fun and if you spend time around native speakers in a casual setting, they will probably use a shitload of it. Here is a small selection of my favorites:
· Bordel: literally a brothel, you can use this to say something is a mess (J’ai pas fait le ménage depuis longtemps… Mon appart’ est un bordel…)
· Je m’en fous !: The more aggressive/vulgar cousin of “je m’en fiche” and “ça m’est égal » (all meaning various degrees of “I don’t care”), tell people you don’t give a fuck with this expression.
· Abréviations communes : la faculté (université) becomes la fac, d’accord becomes d’acc, personnellement becomes perso, ne t’inquiète pas becomes t’inquiète (negation ? don’t know her). There are loads others, but those are the ones that come to mind right away.
· Putain (‘tain): roughly the French equivalent of “fuck”. Use it as an exclamation, or add “de” and a noun to say “fucking (thing)”: putain de stylo ! Il y a plus d’encre !
· Merde/marde: literally “shit”, another common French swear. Merde is the French-from-France version, marde is the Canadian-French version that I also use because I think it sounds better. Feeling really angry? Try combining it with “putain” for “putain de merde/marde” for a nice, resounding “fucking shit!”
· Verlan: I personally don’t like/use verlan, but you might hear it among younger (teen/young adult) native speakers, especially those in urban/immigrant areas. it’s a heavily cultural kind of slang, but many words have entered “mainstream” French. Check out the french wiki for more on verlan (the English wiki is less complete re: cultural significance, but explains the form a bit). This is only on the list so you recognize what the hell people are saying when you hear it. The 2 most common ones I hear are meuf (femme) and ouf (fou).
· Wikebec.org: If you want to learn a lot of very diverse Canadian French (including slang and swearing, which is a whole art), check out wikebec. It is all in French, so if you’re not as advanced you may need an additional French-English dictionary.
12. Punctuation (aka I am passionate about silly things you can honestly skip this one I won’t be sad)
Wow, something about formal writing! So this is getting kind of knit-picky, and if you switch your word-processor language to French, it will do this automatically for you. Anyway, punctuation in formal French writing is a little different from English. Obviously, where and how many commas there are is very nuanced and I’m not going to get into much here, but here’s a few stylistic things to consider for the Advanced Schmoozer Student of French™:
· Commas in a list (virgules dans une série)
Ok so in English, I am an Oxford Comma Stan. The French have cordially invited me to go fuck myself. Here’s an English example WITH the Oxford comma, followed by the French translation withOUT the Oxford comma:
I bought milk, eggs, and fruit at the store.
J’ai acheté du lait, des œufs et des fruits au supermarché.
(The Oxford comma is the one after “eggs” in my example. It’s not there in French. It’s not a thing in French.)
· Quotation marks (des guillemets)
You may have noticed in this document that for the French words, there are some accent looking things. Those are quotation marks. In narrative writing, these bad boys are largely ignored, but if you use MS Word with a French dictionary turned on, it will automatically turn your English “ “ into French « ». (See next point for further usage instructions.)
« Les guillemets français sont différents de ceux d’anglais. »
· Extra spaces
For all punctuation except periods and commas, an extra space is used. This means that colons (:), semicolons (;), quotation marks, question marks, and exclamation points have an extra space. Again, if you set your language to French, MS Word should do this automatically for you, but it looks like this:
Tu parles à qui ?
J’étais choqué !
Il faut faire attention ; sinon on va se tromper.
Danger : entrée interdite !
Le mot « putain » est vulgaire.
Quelques ressources utiles et d’autres conseils
This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the resources that I’ve used throughout my French education. BUT, these are the ones I frequently use and find easiest to navigate.
· www.wordreference.com
Ok if you’re not already using wordreference and you are a fluent English speaker learning French, honestly what are you doing. Love yourself. It’s not perfect, but it’s by far the best online English-French dictionary I’ve used. (There is also a Spanish-French dictionary, but as my Spanish isn’t that advanced, I can’t speak personally to its accuracy.)
Highlights of WR: easy to use, free app for phones/tablets, audio pronunciation for most (perhaps all?) main entries (and IPA transcription, if you know IPA), extensive phrases/expressions/idioms per entry, lots of example sentences (though not for every definition), forum with discussions of usage in context.
Just like any dictionary, pay attention to the part of speech and context: don’t just pick the first translation! Make sure it’s the version you want for your sentence.
· https://www.linguee.fr/francais-anglais
Another good online French-English dictionary, though I don’t use it as much.
· http://bonpatron.com/
A spelling and grammar checker! The free version has a character limit, but you can just cut your original text into smaller chunks and check it in parts instead of all at once if you pass the limit.
Highlights: Will tell you the general rule for errors it identifies (in English! As long as you make sure the “I’m a francophone” box is NOT checked), distinguishes between “double check this” (yellow highlight) and “just wrong” (red highlight), will check for feminine adjective agreement if you check the “je is feminine” box
· www.french.typeit.org
If you don’t want to install a French keyboard, memorize keyboard shortcuts, or spend 5 minutes searching for your accents in the “insert symbol” menu of word, typeit.org offers a free, online French keyboard. You can use their shortcuts or click on the button with the accent you want. Only downside is that you gotta copy paste it back into your document, but I used it a lot back in high school for typed French assignments.
· http://soutien67.free.fr/francais/francais.htm
Okay, hear me out: yes, this is a site for grade school teachers to help their kids learn French (as native speakers). BUT, there are a BUTTLOAD of conjugation exercises, vocabulary builders, and they all have answer keys! Available in .doc and .pdf format.
“Fiches” is where you want to go for the worksheets. It has downloadable worksheets, and then you can either choose a grade level or just start scrolling. The worksheets are organized by category, like “lire” with short stories and poems (for kids, so eh idk if that’s interesting), “grammaire” (goes more into parts of speech and such, but all in French), “orthographe” (spelling/writing rules), and “conjugaison” (our good friend verbs).
For the niveaux (levels): CP= 1st grade, when kids learn to read. These are likely not what you are looking for. CE1= 2nd grade, CE2= 3rd grade, CM1= 4th grade, CM2= 5th grade. Obviously gets more complicated/harder the higher the level.
So if you can put up with the grade school approach and you want more practice, check out what they have. (If you can’t find what you’re looking for, ask me and I will help you find what you need.)
If you made it this far…. Félicitations. You either have too much time on your hands, are very dedicated to French, or maybe both.
Merci et au revoir !!
#french#french resources#learning french#learn french#language learning#speaking french#casual french#french slang#french pronunciation#langblr#french language#mine#sorry about the formatting i... am too lazy to fix it#bc i copy pasted from a word doc#fle
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I was tagged by @nothinggold13
answer these questions and tag 20 people
ttagging: in all honesty Mackenzie tagged most of the people I was going to so here goes anyway: @customarycreate @toast--with--honey @sojourner-between-worlds @rainbow9167 @howtotrainyouragents @perhaps-mr-collins-has-a-cousin
sorry y’all that’s not even close to 20 but tbh if you want to join in, please answer these!!!
— what was your last…
1. drink: Odwalla vitamin C smoothie 2. phone call: my mom 3. text message: "It’s a long string of coincidences...” to my family group chat (message is longer but it’s personal lol) 4. song you listened to: currently listening to “A Postcard to Henry Purcell” from the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack 5. time you cried: tbh I think it was my counseling appointment last week...
— have you ever…
6. dated someone twice: no 7. kissed someone and regretted it: no 8. been cheated on: no 9. lost someone special: yes 10. been depressed: not clinically diagnosed, but I believe so 11. gotten drunk and thrown up: no
— fave colours
12. maroon 13. purple 14. light pink
— in the last year have you…
15. made new friends: yes! 16. fallen out of love: I’m trying to? 17. laughed until you cried: no 18. found out someone was talking about you: yes 19. met someone who changed you: yes 20. found out who your friends are: I’ve known awhile 21. kissed someone on your facebook friends list: I’m gonna quote Mackenzie on this one: “The thing about never dating is that I’ve never kissed anyone. No drama here.”
— general
22. how many of your facebook friends do you know irl: all of them, I believe 23. do you have any pets: yesssss Phoebe the schnoodle (plus a fish) 24. do you want to change your name: ehh. Not really. 25. what did you do for your last birthday: Mmmm... I believe I had dinner at my Grandma’s and she made me my favorite dinner- cuban food. 26. what time did you wake up today: 6:00 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: sleeping. 28. what is something you can’t wait for: sounds cheesy, but mental peace. 30. what are you listening to right now: The rest of the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack... 31. have you ever talked to a person named tom: My neighbor!
32. something that’s getting on your nerves: Having to study things (for my degree and for grades) that don’t interest me
33. most visited website: Tumblr for sure 34. hair colour: reddish-brown 35. long or short hair: medium.
36. do you have a crush on someone: See the thing is I’ve had one for literally 4 years that won’t go away. Stupid hope.
37. what do you like about yourself: My eyebrows are kind of nice. My freckles. 38. want any piercings: nuuu 39. blood type: lol, I should probably know that and I don’t. 40. nicknames: my last name, and then a version of my last name said in the “ermergersh” voice, lol 41. relationship status: single 42. sign: idk actually 43. pronouns: she/her 44. fave tv show: THE WEST WINGGGG 45. tattoos: nope. 46. right or left handed: right 47: ever had surgery: yes 48. piercings: none 49. sport: I used to dance. but that’s a long story. 50. vacation: Last vacation- the eastern part of my state. Want to go to: France, New Zealand, New Orleans 51. trainers: ???
— more general
52. eating: nothin atm 53. drinking: Odwalla smoothie 54. i’m about to watch: The last 2 episodes of Series of Unfortunate Events 55. waiting for: my roommate to be hungry for dinner
56. want: a different, less-obsessive brain. 57. get married: I think so. I’m kind of absolutely terrified at the same time. 58. career: translator.
— which is better
59. hugs or kisses: hugs? Never been kissed so... 60. lips or eyes: eyes 61. shorter or taller: taller 62. older or younger: older, with the exception of one guy... 63. nice arms or stomach: hmm...stomach? 64. hookup or relationships: definitely, definitely relationship. 65. troublemaker or hesitant: Can’t there be something in the middle? Confident?
— have you ever
66. kissed a stranger: no. 67. drank hard liquor: No. 68. turned someone down: Yes (and was very, very uncomfortable). 69. sex on first date: I think it’s kind of sad this is even on here (means no) 70: broken someone’s heart: maybe. I feel bad about it now, but it was the right call. 71. had your heart broken: Maybe by myself and my “what-if” scenarios. Hope can be heartbreaking sometimes I think. 72. been arrested: no 73. cried when someone died: yes. 74. fallen for a friend: Yes.
— do you believe in
75. yourself: nope 76. miracles: yes 77. love at first sight: no. I believe in crushes at first sight though. 78. santa claus: I mean he’s definitely in Narnia so 79. angels: yes
— misc
80. eye colour: grey-green 81. best friend’s name: Jessica 82. favourite movie: the new Great Gatsby movie (I think it was a really good rendition and very true to the book), Prince of Egypt, all the Narnias, and Pirates of the Caribbean. 83. favourite actor: I really like Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch (partially for their acting, partially for their looks and accents (insert heart eyes here) and partially because they’re awesome human beings. I also think Millie Bobby Brown is one of the best actresses of her generation and I’m constantly impressed by her. Also the entire cast of the West Wing and the entire cast of Agents of SHIELD.
84. favourite cartoon: Phineas and Ferb and also Gravity Falls. 85. favourite teacher’s name: Oh goodness. Madame G (French), Dr. K. (English), Mr. M (English)... so many others.
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The Stone Knight
Part 1/? - Two Statues
Part 2/? - A Curious Interview
Part 3/? - John Doe
Part 4/? - Escape Attempt
Part 5/? - Making the News
Part 6/? - Fallout
Part 7/? - More Impossible
Part 8/? - The Shield Thieves
Part 9/? - Reality Sinks In
Part 10/? - Preparing a Quest
Part 11/? - The Marvelous History of Sir Stephen
Part 12/? - Uninvited Guests
Part 13/? - So That’s What It Does
Part 14/? - The What and the Where
Part 15/? - Gearing Up
Part 16/? - Just Passing Through
Part 17/? - Dinner with Druids
Part 18/? - Kracness Henge
Part 19/? - A Task Interrupted
Part 20/? - The Red Death
Part 21/? - Aphelion
Part 22/? - The Stone Giants
Part 23/? - Nat the Giant Killer
Part 24/? - An Interrogation
Part 25/? - Guilt
Part 26/? - Rushman’s Brilliant Idea
Part 27/? - Hunter in Hiding
Part 28/? - Ridiculous
Part 29/? - The Guy from Barton
Part 30/? - Sherwood Forest
Part 31/? - Buckeye’s Fall
Part 32/? - Robin Hood
Part 33/? - Fantasies and Consequences
Part 34/? - Swords of Damocles
Part 35/? - The Road to London
Part 36/? - View from the Top
Some conclusions at last, and the beginnings of a plan.
The observation platform at the top of the skyscraper was creatively called the View from the Shard, and was a nice airy little place with a hardwood floor and potted plants, and a little bar that served snacks and alcohol while people looked out over the city. The view itself was certainly very impressive, with London spread out below them to the horizon on every side. Cities like this were Natasha’s natural habitat. She’d been taught to blend into the urban jungle, to know its predators and prey, anywhere on the planet. Seeing it from up here made her feel, as Robin had already noted, like a hawk on a perch, ready to swoop down on anything she liked.
Sam took up a role as unofficial tour guide for the group, pointing out landmarks like Big Ben, the London Eye, and the replica of the Globe Theatre. Nat pretended to be interested in what he was saying, just in case of watching eyes or listening ears, but her eyes stayed on the Tower. As she’d expected, from here she could see right inside the walls. The Tower grounds were full of tourists roaming around looking at the various sights and historical locations. When Nat took out a pair of binoculars, she could pick out the Yeomen in their Tudor costumes with the Queen’s initials on the front, and the black specks of the Tower ravens.
Her eye was unavoidably drawn, however, to the tallest and oldest part of the castle – the White Tower. It was currently closed to the public and surrounded by scaffolding while some sort of work was done on it. The White Tower was William the Conqueror’s original keep, although it hadn’t gained its famous name until his successor Henry the Third had it whitewashed. It was the strongest and most defensible place in the Tower of London, perfect for hiding something you didn’t want anybody else to get to. The question was, where in the White Tower would the Grail be?
Natasha had never been inside the White Tower, but she’d looked it up online the previous evening, after telling Allen to go to bed. There were four floors, each divided into three rooms. What had once been the great hall was now the Royal Armory, a museum displaying historical armor and weapons. Other rooms were now used to store the rest of the armory collection, for employees, and for equipment that maintained the air quality and helped preserve the building. The third room, in the south-east corner of the building, was St. John’s Chapel.
According to the papers Nat had read, the Chapel had not been part of the original building plan – the design had been changed to include it and its semi-circular apse only after the foundations had already been laid. That had caught her attention, and now as she stood musing on it from a thousand feet in the air, she was sure she had it right. William the Conqueror had re-hidden the Holy Grail under the floor of the chapel in his new castle.
It made sense on multiple levels. In the Christian worldview of Sir Stephen, or of William himself, the Grail was something evil and demonic. Placing a consecrated room overtop it and having regular prayers and masses there would provide spiritual energy to keep it under control, almost as if God were literally sitting on it. It was also a place nobody would dig up in the Middle Ages, because they would assume there were tombs under the floor that should not be disturbed.
In modern times, of course, things were different. People had a far more secular outlook and old bones had become something to dig up deliberately, to study and DNA test and do reconstructive portraits of. The Chapel of St. John had survived that, too, however. The Tower of London was a Grade I Listed Building as well as an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Digging it up was a Federal and International crime, and the Chapel was particularly valuable because it preserved its original Norman interior. It was even still in use, with services said in it on a semi-regular basis. If there were anywhere in England where the Grail could have sat quietly for a thousand years undetected, the basement of St. John’s Chapel was the place.
“Figuring out how to get in?” asked Sharon, coming to look over Nat’s shoulder. Allen had come up on her other side, and was also looking down into the Tower.
“Getting in will be easy,” said Nat. “Figuring out where we’re going once we’re in is the hard part, but I think I’ve got it.”
Sharon nodded. “Where is it, exactly?”
Nat shook her head. “Not here,” she reminded her. There were people all around them. The bartender was serving drinks, tourists were chatting to each other or on their phones, and a teenage girl was taking selfies right next to them. Any one of these people might be Zola in disguise. “We’ll get a hotel room, put up some ivy, and then I’ll explain.”
“Sounds good,” said Sharon. “Are we doing this tonight?”
“I hope so,” Nat said. “Faster is better. Get it out, and get out of the country.” She’d been thinking about that, too. They could stow away in the cargo section of the Chunnel train, and reach France without having to go through customs. From there they’d just have to get to Kazakhstan without being noticed. Nat had done that before in the opposite direction, so she was confident she could do it again. The trip itself would hopefully give them time to figure out how to use the Grail, and fix the problems it had caused. It wasn’t time to think about that yet, though. Sir Stephen had the right idea for now – one step at a time.
She stepped back from the window and looked around. “Where are the guys?” she asked. Sam, Sir Stephen, and Robin were no longer with them.
“I’ll bet Robin dragged them off to go on the Ferris Wheel,” said Allen. “That seems like it would catch his eye.”
Nat wouldn’t have been surprised if it were true, but as it turned out they found the others around the other side of the observation deck where the café and gift shop were. Sir Stephen was, unsurprisingly, eating – he had a slice of carrot cake, and in between mouthfuls he was telling a group of schoolchildren about the time his friend Buckeye had tried to woo a girl by shooting an apple down from a tree with an arrow.
“The apple was not properly ripe,” he explained, “so the arrow went in, but the apple did not fall. Buckeye was therefore obliged to climb up and retrieve it while the girl and her friends made fun, and worse, on his way up he broke a branch, leaving him unable to climb down again.”
“Your friend had a weak arm or a lousy bow,” said Robin Hood, who also had a slice of cake – his was chocolate. Sir Stephen was eating with a fork, but Robin was just pulling pieces off with his fingers and getting them covered with icing that was then smeared all over his coffee cup. “I don’t care if the apple was ripe or not – I could put an arrow through the stem to cut it down, and another through the apple before it hit the ground!”
“Buckeye was a knight,” sniffed Sir Stephen, “not a common archer.”
“I’m not a common archer, either,” said Robin. “I’m the best there is.”
“A knight on horseback would run you down where you stood,” said Sir Stephen.
“His horse would be dead under him before he got anywhere near me,” Robin countered.
“He’s right, you know,” said Natasha. “At the Battle of Crecy in 1346, English archers completely obliterated the French cavalry.”
Sir Stephen pretended to be shocked, as if Natasha had betrayed him. “You’d take his side?”
“It’s not a side,” said Natasha, recognizing the argument as a joke. “It’s history. Come on, guys, we have to do some shopping.”
The kids who’d been listening waved goodbye, and their teacher smiled at the two men he assumed had been telling made-up stories. Robin was chuckling as they walked out.
“Don’t mind him,” he said, pointing a thumb at Sir Stephen. “He’s just sore that they’d all heard of me but not of him.”
“I am not ‘sore’,” Sir Stephen protested. “I’m only confused why so much attention is paid to a poacher and highwayman.”
“I’m kind of confused about that myself,” Robin admitted cheerfully, “but they don’t seem to be demanding my head on a pike, so I’ll take it.”
“It’s all in your point of view,” said Nat, attempting to herd them towards the lifts. “We’re not really into quest stories nowadays – they’re seen as old-fashioned. Robin Hood was supposed to have lived during the time of King John, who is remembered as incompetent if not outright evil, and the popular legend is that he stole from the rich to give to the poor, but even if he didn’t, he’s remembered more as a rebel than a criminal, and everybody likes rebels.”
“Do they?” asked Sir Stephen. This was completely alien to his worldview, in which the King ruled by divine right and any who opposed him were opposing God.
“We’ve got to make you watch Star Wars,” said Sharon, patting Sir Stephen’s back.
Their next stop was at the Millennium Park B&Q, where they bought shovels, picks, crowbars, and tarpaulins, along with a couple more potted ivy plants. The clerk who packed it up for them cheerfully asked what kind of gardening they were going to be doing.
“No gardening,” said Nat. “Archaeology.”
“Yeah?” the clerk smiled. “What kind?”
“We’re going to dig up a Norman chapel,” said Nat. “It’s gonna be one for the history books.”
“I’ll look forward to seeing you on Time Team, then,” said the clerk.
Nat thought he was more likely to see them on Crimes that Shook Britain, but she just paid the bill, and they moved on to a room in a Safestay hostel. There, they put up ivy and horseshoes to keep unwanted visitors out, and Natasha pulled up the Google satellite map of the Tower grounds.
“You can’t see it from the bird’s eye view, of course,” she said, “but while we were driving past I noticed that the walkway beside the A400 is at almost the same height as the outer curtain wall.” She poked the place. “That’s also one of the narrowest points in the moat besides the ones that border on the Thames. That means nobody will have a good angle on what we’re doing, so we can climb up to the Develin Tower, then along the top of the wall to the workshops, where the inner wall is only a few yards away. Drop to the ground between the workshops and the hospital block, and the chapel is just around the corner.”
“How do we get in to the actual building?” asked Sharon.
“Through the doors, I’m assuming,” said Nat. “I mean, it’s a medieval castle, there’s not gonna be ducts we can climb through. The good news is that the keep is closed to the public for restoration work. The contractors are gonna need to be able to get in and out, probably during hours when the area isn’t open to the public, so they’ll have one of those keypads on the door. I can figure that out, no problem.” It was a little funny, honestly, how high tech modern security was so easy for her to break, while the walls of a castle remained as they had always been, impenetrable.
“The problem there,” she went on, “is that there’ll be guards around, and I’m sure the night guards will be much more practically dressed and lethally armed than the daytime ones. Somebody will have to stay outside the walls at a vantage point while the rest of us go in, so they can warn us if anyone’s coming.” She looked up at Allen, standing behind her to see the map over her shoulder. “That’s gonna be your job?”
“Me?” he asked in surprise.
“Yeah,” said Nat. “We’re gonna put you up on one of the bridge towers with my binoculars, where you’ll have a view of everything going on down in the grounds. If anything happens, you text me. We’ll need to know if somebody’s seen us.”
“How will I know?” asked Allen. “It could be just the contractors, or the guard changing or something.”
“Then you have to inform us of any of those things,” said Nat. “We’re gonna be in the basement, don’t forget. We’ll need to have eyes outside.”
Allen’s jaw set. “All right,” he said. He was determined not to let them down this time, and Nat felt rather pleased with herself for having found him a job he could do that would be actually helpful but still within his comfort zone.
“For the rest of us,” Nat added, “the most important thing has to be getting the job done. Everything else is secondary. No matter what happens, we have to walk out of there with the Grail so that we can get rid of it.”
“After I get my memories back,” Robin said.
“Right,” Nat agreed, although she was still having doubts about that. “Of course. What that means is that if somebody gets hurt, the rest of us have to carry on. If somebody gets arrested, or even killed, the rest of us have to carry on. We aren’t going to get a chance to come back and try again tomorrow night – I’m sure they inspect this place, basement and all, very thoroughly, and if they find we were in there they’ll step up the guard. Or worse, they’ll dig deeper to figure out what we were looking for. Do you understand?”
They nodded, but she wasn’t sure they really did understand. Except for Allen, all of Nat’s companions in this had some kind of combat training, but it wasn’t like hers. They lived in a world where lives could still be more important than missions. This was a place where it couldn’t be. Not if the alternative was the Red Death and his Nazi followers getting the Grail. This was a mission almost meant for somebody like a black widow. Maybe, in the fantasy-tinged world they found themselves in, it was Nat’s destiny as much as it was Sir Stephen’s.
#fanfic#natasha romanov#black widow#steve rogers#captain america#sam wilson#falcon#sharon carter#agent 13#clint barton#hawkeye
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Now I’ll talk about our educational system.
it is COMPLICATED. REALLY. Even I can get lost in here!
Children usually start school when they are 2 years old. At age 2 they enter the phase called “Maternelle”, where they learn the basics, until they enter primary school (at age 5-6).
How to live with other kids, colors, numbers, how to read their own name, all of that. They are lucky, the little monsters get to take a nap each afternoon at school!
This step in education isn’t mandatory, Parents can put their child directly in primary school when they are 6. Or can wait a little because their kid isn’t ready. By ready, we think “when they are not clean” (meaning, not ready to stop the diapers). In big cities like Paris it’s more complicated. Kids don’t go to school when they are 2 years old because there are too many kids for a limited amount of kids allowed, so it’s not uncommon for them to begin school later.
After the Maternelle, here we go to serious business! At 6 years old, kids enter the first phase of mandatory school. It’s called Ecole Primaire. They are supposed to know the very basics, so now, let’s teach them how to read,maths, English, and all that. Kids are in this phase until they are 10-11 years old.
After that, it’s College! Not your college. Not university! xD. It’s like middle school. The education is a little more advanced than the previous phase.
The name of the different classes are funny. See, at the end of our High school years, we have to take an exam. THE exam. well, in our Colleges, the year we’re in is the count of how many years are left before we take this exam. :D
For example. you have four years of College. The first one is “6e”, second “5e”, the third “4e” and last one “3e”. At the end of college we take an exam, called “Brevet des colleges”. Completely useless, but necessary. you have to take tests in Maths, French and History and Geography.
Afterwards, it’s High School. The kids are now between 15 and 18 years old. You call this high school, we call it “Lycée”.
The messy one, really. Here, you are supposed to have chosen a path for your future. And it IS complicated.
Your diploma can be completely different from another kid.
The biggest exam, the most important one is called Baccalauréat (or “Bac” for short). But there are TONS of different baccalauréats. They depend on which specialty we choose.
We also have smaller diplomas, but I won’t talk about them. They exist, but are useless, and it’s not necessarily a good thing when we have them and not the Bac.
First, we have the general paths. Yes, in plural. 3 different baccalaureats.
-> The scienctific Baccalauréat (or as we call it “Bac S”). Maybe the most complicated of all, and also the most valuable. You have to study HARD to get it. Physics, Biology, Math... you name it. it’s the hardest. My sister passed this one a looooong time ago.
-> The economic Baccalauréat (we call it “Bac ES”). The second hardest to pass. You learn politics, economics, of France but other countries too, especially European ones to understand the economic context. And social studies. Maths, foreign languages, history and Geography are very important subjects. I passed this one. and oh Boy I have never written so much in my life. in all subjects ... This bac is almost as appreciated as the sciences one.
-> The litterature Baccalauréat (called “Bac L”). This one is hard to have, but doesn’t offer many opportunities, except for teaching. Most of the people who passed this one ARE teachers. two friends took it, and they are teachers now xD.
These were the general bacs we can have. Our specialty begin different, the exam is different.
Now we have all the others. They are more technical. We have for example a baccalaureat in electronics for example. each technical field has it’s own baccalauréat. It really depends on which path we choose when we enter High School. The exams are completely differents from each other, but they have the same name.
Now, kiddies are grown up now, they can go to universities!
haha, if only it was that easy. Most people having a general Baccalauréat (S, ES or L), tend to go to university, it’s true. I went to university at first to be a translator. BUT we have other options.
For example, we can stay in High school for two more years. It’s another diploma, called “Brevet de Technicien Supérieur” (BTS for short). Any domain. Economics, Sciences, technology, Marketing, you name it. I have one, in programming :D
You may stay in high school for two more years but your status changes. You go from pupil to student. It is a huge deal in France, because we have a lot of advantages when we are students. Especially smaller prices in cinemas, museums, or in transports. When you pass, you have a new diploma, and can continue in university or in other schools.
Other than that, we have Engineering schools, or school/work. You have like one week a month at school and the rest is at work. Very useful to get an experience, but unfortunately, finding a company is very very hard.
But one thing is sure. No matter how many years you spend at schools/ university, the Baccalauréat is ground Zero. The very base your diplomas. If you had another diploma two years after the bac (like the BTS as said earlier), you are a Bac +2 (baccalauréat + 2 successful years of studies, proved by a new diploma).
I’m personnally a Bac +3. I have my Baccalauréat diploma, My BTS diploma, and another diploma.
As I said, it’s really complicated, but I gave a summary of what it’s like. Some people are bac +5 (engineers) or even bac +8 (equivalent of PhD). I know I don’t have the patience to go that far.
I changed paths and went from foreign languages to programming, but it was possible because my education in high school opened the way to this opportunity. Some aren’t this lucky.
I need to add the fact that our education system is FAR from perfect. A lot of things need to be changed, and the discipline is a disaster. I’m trying to give the most objective explanation because If I begin to put in my thoughts, it can become a disaster.
Funny thing is that in High School, especially in Geography, we had a small test where we had to know the location of EVERY. COUNTRY, in the European Union. We had to put them on a blank map, and we had to write WHEN they entered the EU. It was the worst test xD.
I feel the need to add that our grading system isn’t the same than in the US. From what I know, you use letters.
We use numbers. From 0 to 20. A- or A++ don’t exist here.
from 0 to 5 /20 -> bad
from 6 to 10/20 -> m’kay
from 11 to 15/20 -> good
from 16 to 20/20 -> very good;
I’m not trying to find an equivalent with the letter system because I don’t understand it.
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Was tagged by @kohlrabikid. Nothing else to do so I’m just gonna do it:
How tall are you? 1.62m, haven’t grown since I was 13 (sadly).
What color and style is your hair? What color are your eyes? Kind of reddish, like red-brown-blonde hair, it’s really hard to describe (a friend told me that it has the colour of dried ketchup).
Do you wear glasses? Nope, never have.
Do you wear braces? Sadly, yes. Hopefully not for much longer, though.
What is your fashion/sense of style? Just normal t-shirts, jumpers and a pair of black jeans or hotpants, according to weather. Not really a style, though.
Do you have a sibling? Yup, two older adult half brothers (33 and 30) and two younger sisters (9 and 11). (I am both the middle one and the oldest.)
What kind of student were you? The one that almost always puts her hand up, gets good to okay grades without doing basically anything and is a nerd.
What were your favorite subjects? I am freaking in love with Ethics (have been reading philosophy books - e.g. books by Plato or Sophie’s world - since I was 13, when I was still in Religion) and our Ethics teacher, I also love History (especially ancient Greece) but our teacher is shit, same with English.
What are your favorite TV shows? Firefly, Doctor Who, Broadchurch, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Rick and Morty, Eureka, Psych
Favorite books? The Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
Favorite pastimes? Chatting with people, tumblr, sleeping (all the time), watching stuff on Netflix and Amazon Video.
Regrets? Not doing an exchange when I had the possibilty (too late doing it now without repeating a year).
What is your dream job? Historian (for a museum for ancient Greece related stuff), politician or something in the field of international law or relations.
Do you want to get married? If I find the right someone, sure, but I’d be okay without marrying, too.
Do you want kids? Right now absolutely not but maybe in like fifteen years.
How many countries have you visited? Australia (three times but twice as a baby and toddler, flew to Australia again on my own when I was 14, almost 15, staying with relatives and was totally enchanted especially by Melbourne and the gorgeous countryside in Western Australia), New Zealand (spoke my first word there - it was “cat”), Canada (two weeks long exchange with my school), China (with the Confucius Institute), France (five times or so - why have I chosen learning Latin instead of French?), Italy (again this summer!), Portugal (gorgeous country), Czech Republic (Prague), the Netherlands (Amsterdam, - no, not to smoke pot - I absolutely fell in love with this city), Austria (Switzerland, too but we only drove through it to get to France). I probably forgot some countries, though.
Everyone I would tagged was already tagged by kohlrabikid, so I’ll just tag no one and shed some lonely tears.
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Thanks for tagging me @language-amante!! I’ll do my best to answer!!
1. When did you realize you had fallen in love with your target language?
As soon as I left the school I studied it in. I spent 12 years learning French in French Immersion (50% French school) in Canada but we were very unengaged and although I’ve always loved French, I’ve always hated studying it in school.
2. If you could choose to have any animal for a pet, which one would you pick?
Still a dog tbh. I love my dog so much.
3. What is a grammatical concept you found/find difficult to understand?
I remember my Grade 9 French teacher struggling to help me understand several concepts and grammar still isn’t my strong suit... I have a lot of trouble applying the grammar I know to my writing.
4. At what time during the day do you feel the most productive?
Never. Or the morning.
5. Describe your hometown using one sentence.
White parents prepared to petition to change the airline routes so they don’t have to hear a faint plane overhead every hour or so while sitting out on their million-dollar patio.
6. Have you ever felt at home abroad?
I haven’t ever been abroad for longer than about ten days so it’s always been a whirlwind but someday hopefully...
7. What is a habit of yours you find annoying?
Too many to choose. I guess procrastinating.
8. What do you consider to be your best trait?
A love of learning maybe? I’m very enthusiastic about things I love and I love to teach other people about them.
9. Is there a song/ movie/ animation that you can’t help but associate with your childhood?
Almost every Disney movie.
10. You get to tell your favourite celebrity a single sentence. What will it be? (and who would you tell it to)
I’m in love with so many celebrities wow I don’t know. I guess I would tell someone how much they mean to me and how much they affected and helped me. I feel like that’s one of the best things to tell someone.
11. What is the first thing you notice about a person you meet?
I’m not sure. After their appearance, I guess the way they speak (accent, dialect, etc.)
~
1. What was the last language you started learning? (Even if you dropped it)
American Sign Language? I watched several beginner videos on Youtube the other day and plan on convincing my siblings to learn it with me this summer. Also Spanish.
2. Do you play an instrument?
The trumpet!! I haven’t played in a while though. My sister plays it now.
3. Where in the world would you be most happy?
In my bedroom at home. With my friends. I miss home and I miss them.
4. Do you think that your TL will help you get a good job? Or do you prefer them to be a by-side thing?
Definitely. My mom always told me how being bilingual in English and French opens so many doors to me. Especially in Canada.
5. If you ever have children, will you teach them your target languages?
I don’t think so. I don’t know if I’d ever be confident or competent enough.
6. Did you grow up as monolingual or bilingual? Do you wish that it had been different?
I grew up monolingual but I started learning French really young so even though I'm horrible at grammar, I have a good grasp of the language in general and can hear words I don’t know and understand what they mean without thinking about it like I can in English. I definitely wish I had more opportunity to speak it outside French class.
7. What’s the last book you read and what language was it in?
Great House by Nicole Krauss in English.
8. Do you have friends near you who speak more than one language?
I can literally only think of one friend who doesn’t speak more than one language.
9. What is/are the official language/s of your country?
English and French.
10. Have you ever been to a city where they speak one of your TL?
Actually no, come to think of it. I haven’t been to Quebec but I’m going to France this May with my Grandpa and cousin!! Which is really intimidating because neither of them speak French and we’ll be in smaller rural towns for part of our trip so I’m tasked as being the translator.
11. Have you ever tried to teach your native language or one of your TLs to another person?
In Grade 6, a girl who ended up becoming one of my best friends was new to the school and didn’t speak much English. I’m pretty sure I talked at her so much all day that her language learning process was sped up. I often help my sister with her French homework. I’ve never officially taught anyone a language.
Who do I tag? How about @strugglingtofrench, @queerwug, @in-languages-i-wander, @polyglossa, @langsandculture, @linguist-breakaribecca, @polyglotical, @thelanguagelover, @languagesandculture, and @laviedulinguiste!!!
I also tag anyone else who sees this post!!
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Les nombres impairs du Get to know me et les multiples de 5 du distract me Merci bisous :)))))
1) What images do you have set for your desktop/cell phone wallpapers? My desktop wallpaper is an edit of FitzSimmons a friend made me years ago and i never changed it i can’t find it but it’s a great one
3) What was your last text message? My mom telling me she just got to the repair shop5) If you could be anywhere else right now, where would you be? Nowhere i’m good here for now7) What was your favorite 90s show? Malcolm in the middle, does that count?9) Have you ever been stood up? Nah11) Have you been to Las Vegas? Nope13) Honestly, have you ever cheated on your significant other? I’d need a significant other for that, but not, i won’t cheat15) Have you talked to anyone on tumblr that you could see yourself dating/having sex with? If possible? huuuum no i don’t think so?17) Do you smoke? If so, what? ...............nooooo. Haven’t smoked in like, 2 months? 3 maybe19) Do you believe in God? nah21) Favorite position? Lying down in a pool of my own tears23) Your fears? I have some, like, ending up with no friends and shit, sometimes heights, sometimes butterflies cause they’re freaking weird25) What never fails to turn you on? politeness, humor27) What is something most people don't know about you? The color of my underwear29) What store do you shop at most often? Leclerc rpz31) Do you believe in karma? yeh kinda33) Do you think flowers or candy are a better way to apologize? I’s a good start35) Coffee or Tea? Neither
37) Would you rather be older or younger than your current age? idk older i guess? but like, not much, like maybe one or two years idk39) Are you a competitive person? not at first but once you get me started yeh maybe41) Do you like dancing? alone, yes
43) What is your favorite cartoon character? Wendy Corduroy45) Eat at home or eat out? at home, but take out.47) What was the last thing you bought for yourself? clothes probably49) How many hours do you sleep at night? 7ish, maybe 8 on a school night51) If you had a friend that spoke to you the same way you speak to yourself, how long would you be friends? Forever i’m fucking amazing53) What do you wish you didn't know? idk55) If you could live in any home on a television series, what would it be? The Cullens’ house cause it’s big and lost in the woods and great57) What's the habit you're proudest of breaking? i don’t know??59) What's the best bargain you've ever found at a garage sale or thrift store? I don’t go to any of those :///61) If you had to be named after one of the 50 states, which would it be? WYOMING WINK WINK63) Favorite kind of chips? paprika, or the normal salted ones65) Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus? The thesaurus 67) What's your favorite form of exercise? sleeping
69) What's the most memorable class you've ever taken? On of my civilisation class where the teacher is so lame i don’t even go to his class anymoreBut like, english in high school was the shit, the teacher was amazing and super funny and shit71) Do you like guacamole?never tasted it i think
73) What/who are you thinking about right now? the episode of twd i just watched
75) Are you holding onto something you need to let go of? Probably lmao77) Favorite city you've been to? In France, Rennes is probably on top79) Talk about an embarrassing moment? ahahahahah no.81) What's the worst injury you've ever had? I fell of my bike literally right in front of my house, hurt half of my face and other parts of my body like wrist, shoulder, hip and shit. Also once i fell of my bike (again) (not in front of my house this time) and fell in pebbles and one of them stayed in my elbow for like a week, fun times.
83) Do you consider yourself sexually open minded? yeh i guess
85) Which living celebrity would you like to know? Any french basketball player like, i’m not picky. OH OR LIKE CHYLER LEIGH I MEAN come on87) Do you want/have kids? yeh why not89) Do you get easily distracted? Absolutely, i’m the worst91) What is your favorite word? ÉPITAPHE93) Do you have any pets? yeh 3 cats95) How old are you? 19 on the outside, 12 on the inside97) Is there anything you're really passionate about? Women’s Basketball i guess lately 99) Do you believe in love at first sight? Yeh why not
5: Are you afraid of falling in love?Nah?10: Do you like your phone?I love it15: Would you rather visit a zoo or an art museum?Art museum, i hate the zoo20: When did you last talk to the last person you shared a kiss with?idk good couple of months i’d say?25: What’s on your mind?food30: Think to the last person you kissed, have you ever kissed them on a couch?nah35: Say the last person you kissed was kissing someone right in front of you?good for them40: Have you ever cried over a text?proooooobably yeh45: Do you have a favourite pair of shoes?yes 50: Top 3 web-pages?betaseries, netflix, and like, ao355: How is your hair?Fine i just washed them today, they were super happy60: When’s the next time you will give someone a BIG hug?idk probably next week when i go back to uni65: This time last year, can you remember who you liked?I don’t think i liked anyone?? OH no yes, i do.70: How many windows are open on your computer?475: Why aren’t you with the person you were first in love with or almost in love?Cause they were dating someone else i guess? I mean it wasn’t love but i liked them so :///80: Have you ever fallen asleep in someones arms?nah, but, story time, in 3rd grade, we were on a big school trip and we went to this “amusement park” in France and there was a night show so we went there and i was so tired i put my head on my teacher’s shoulder and fell asleep.85: If your BF/GF was into drugs would you care?Depends what kind of drugs i guess?90: Have you ever trusted someone too much?idk, i don’t think so?95: You’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, is that a problem?nah it’ll be fun100: Who was the last person that you pinky promise?
myself
i hate you
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Entry #1 - Monday, February 26, 2018
The day started out like any other, waking up at the crack of dawn to get ready for school.
I got ready, my dad drove me and I waited in the cafeteria until my friends came to talk.
Then i met more of my friends in the area outside the cafeteria. I forgot what we talked about, it might’ve been the drama club show, they put on Anne Frank & Me and the last night (last Friday) I filmed it so they have a copy of it. Anyways let’s dissect this group of friends, although I’m only going to be talking about three of them because they are my closest friends and will definitely be reoccurring (remember fake names) also this officially the point in which if anyone from school or my friends or family are reading this, I’ll be screwed or at least people will draw comparisons if anyone hears about this, oh boy
Kate - Knew her since 6th grade english, a nerd like myself, and although we ‘dated’ for a bit and we’re friends now, and also the fact that I might be asexual (or romantically asexual) I think I still like her. She likes D&D and we’re planning on co-DMing a game for a D&D club. Everyone ships us but, when we ‘dated’ I had such a lack of confidence that I did jack shit and now we’re back right where we were. and I only asked her out cause my ‘friends’ slightly pressured me. Idk what else to say, I guess more will be revealed
Ruby - Knew her from same 6th grade english class, really really close friends with Kate, basically sisters. We both really want to be directors and we are currently trying to find an idea to pursue and film. idk what else to say, more to be revealed and rememebred
Greg - Best way to describe him is a dick but a friendly dick, idk really how to explain the enigma that is him. A) somehow he got a girlfriend (who’s a year olde than him) B) he draws smut and just causally brings it up every now and then. He is/used to be very depressed but we cheer him up and he seems happy now. Idk what else, leaving a bit out and also not remembering a bunch
So yeah, then we went to class after discussing something, I can’t remember. History class was normal, i like my teacher, she’s nice and cool but sometimes she uses memes or is trying way to hard to be hip and cool like that one Steve Buscemi meme. Then is Geo where I blaze ahead of everyone, I got a 100% on a quiz from last week and had to tutor two kids in the class on questions they got wrong.
Now lets get to french. In 6th-7th grade I had the single greatest teacher I have ever had in my entire ‘academic career’ she was fun, nice, caring, helpful, and the amount of happiness she emitted everyday just can’t be described with words, she was just an amazing teacher, at the end of the year me and a couple other students made a small movie with clips of students saying thank you or saying why they loved her and it was intercut with the speech before she received the teacher of the year award that year and we premiered it at our french production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as a complete surprise to her, one of the greatest moments in my life I think. Since then, my 8th grade french teacher was the same teacher that my sister had had up to 8th grade so she knows my family pretty well, there wasn’t much that important for last year’s french. But then this year, we had french honors and our teacher is atrocious, she barely explains things in english and expects us to memorize things in a day, and also to understand her when she’s using words we don’t understand. there’s so much wrong with her as a teacher but I can’t get into it all. But it has occurred to me more than ever this year that I want to pursue film and be a director and i want to know when there are people whose job it is to be a translator for movies and also we have the internet, when the fuck will I need a language, if I go to another country I can hire someone or I can just try another means of communication and it’s not like the only foreign country I’m gonna travel to is France so yeah.
Now my next class is filmmaking where we just watched our short films on different angle shots. Then in ceramics (which I didn’t even want but I ended up with for some reason) we just started decorating our pots and also because people in another ceramics period did bad on a vocab quiz, she’s making everyone take a new quiz on more shit to memorize. Ugh. Then was lunch, which was normal if not a bit lackluster, we talked about the normal stuff, playfully roasted someone at the table for reading the entirety of twilight and being an emotional wreck afterwards. Then we had english where we talked about an article we wrote a response to about cloning and also plans to make a mini book club to read Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and then skip school to see the movie version Love, Simon. Then in bio, where I am one of the top 3 smartest kids in that class because at least 75% of the kids are popular thots or fuckbois and can’t do work for themselves and are mind numbingly stupid. Like usual I speed through my work with extreme accuracy. Then in gym I talked with my friend Natalie (again fake name), she’s usually the one I console in a lot, i used to have a small crush on her back when we had health together last year and when I first talked to her I was more nervous than the most nervous person you’ve seen in your life but times 10. Anyways we’re close friends now and we just talk about life, how people suck, ideas, etc. It’s dun, our teacher is laid back so instead of doing actual PE we just walked the entire time like a lot of classes.
Then when i got home my mom and I went to McDonalds to get the resurrected Szechuan Sauce which was amazing and worth the wait. Then I just did homework and shit for the rest of the night. I started watching Heathers (the original) because I watched the new reboot TV show and it was really fucking bad. i also listened to the musical soundtrack and that was good.
Last bit of the day, so a few weeks back at ruby’s birthday party she invited one of her friends Emma, and it was the first time I had talked to her (she was more of a popular kid and I am in no way popular lol). It turns out she’s not like the thots at all and is genuinely nice. We finished the night off with like a 40 minute gossip session where we talked about her terrible boyfriend and how I nor Kate had had our first kiss and other gossip which was nice to hear for once as I am someone who is always on the outside looking in (DEH reference). But anyways i might have developed a tiny tiny bit of feelings but I know she’s out of my league and would not at all be compatible with me, I mean she came to school high once so yeah. And also the only times we talk are just saying hi in the halls or as we’re leaving school and even then we don’t actually talk. She said she would try to help me overcome my confidence problems and also she joined the group of my friends who said they’d bust down my door and drag me to semi even though I think it’s really stupid. Anyways I bring this up becuase she posted on her snapchat a thing about that if “anyone wants to be friends or doesn’t want to fade away and all that then actually hmu and don’t wait” something along those lines. and I’ve been debating doing this, it’s already too late because it’s like 11:00 and idk when I’d do it tomorrow. Also there’s the whole thing of us not really knowing each other that well so it would be weird if I, a nerdy, acne faces, semi-nobody just sent her “hey’ in an attempt at making friends and all that. Here’s a perfect example of my confidence and anxiety issues. Ugh everything just sucks sometimes.
That’s all for now, fml
Yours truly,
C
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Part 4: France Exchange 2015
All good things come to an end...
I've had the best time writing this mini series of the time I went on an exchange to France with some Grade 11 and 12 French Immersion students/classmates from my high school. I probably would've had more detail throughout the whole series, but I'm just glad I finished it and I hope you guys did too.
Here is the last part to the series, and I will link the first part right here.
Friday, March 13, 2015 - Palais Garnier et Palais de la Découverte
After another tasty 8 AM breakfast, our first stop today was the Palais Garnier or the Paris Opera House. Amongst ourselves, we were split into small groups and given short tours. The opera house is outstandingly beautiful... it's very elegant and it reminded me a lot of the musical 'Phantom of the Opera'.
Following that visit, we were given time to buy some lunch and we all sat on the stars in front of the Palais Garnier and listened to a man singing covers of American songs which were actually pretty good that one of my friends bought his mixtape.
We went off the itinerary again, as what mostly happened nearing the end of our time in France, and one of our teachers decided that we go to a science museum (kind of like 'Science World' in Vancouver) called le Palais de la Découverte. Once we got there, we all went inside and explored for a bit. I still remember being there, playing with this lever thing with my friends, then these French boys come towards us and we back away slowly and look at each other like "lol I hope they don't speak to us in French 'cause that'd be embarrassing for us..." Okay, that may have just been the thoughts going on in MY head, but anyways, my friends and I decided to leave the museum (we had the choice to) and so we went to les Champs-Élysées just to explore.
We went into a few stores, and I have got to say this; once you walk into a store in France, you will be greeted in French, but once you speak a word in English, the employees will immediately switch to English. This may or may not be unfortunate if you want to go to a French-speaking country to practice your French, so try not to use your native tongue!
This is just for memories sake, but some of my group went into Abercrombie & Fitch, and the inside was crazy. There were these blue gates that you had to go through to get into the store, and it was all dark inside (obviously) with chandeliers everywhere, and I think that it just goes to show how luxurious-looking the stores are on les Champs-Élysées. Before going back to the science museum, some of us bought crepes, and then we were off for dinner at Le Cardinal Saint-Germain.
I don't have a photo of the main course, which was spaghetti, but I do have a photo of the dessert, chocolate fondant, which was amazing (second favourite dessert from Paris!). Good conversations were held at the dinner table with fellow classmates who have become closer friends throughout the trip, and afterwards, we went back to our hotel where most of us probably started to pack to go home *tear falling down my cheek*.
Saturday, March 14, 2016 - Roamin' around Paris, Sacré-Coeur/Montmartre (LAST DAY)
Today was almost completely free time. The only directions our teachers/supervisors gave us were that we had to meet at a certain time at Sacré-Coeur (or Montmartre). Most of us went into the same general area where there were more shops. My friends and I went into a store called Mango, which I was already familiar to me because I was a lot more into fashion at the time, and we also visited a small thrift shop and a few souvenir shops (which were still kind of pricy, unfortunately). I've got to also give a shoutout to the McDonalds here... they sell macarons?!? Pretty crazy.
We didn't want to be late to meetup with everyone, so we took the metro to the stop at which was found Sacré-Cœur. To be more clear, Sacré-Cœur is a Roman Catholic Church on Montmartre, which is this huge hill (thanks Wikipedia). Before heading to the meeting place, myself and two other friends went into a café to have a little snack and use the washroom.
The church, along with the view, was stunning. It was also pretty crowded with tourists and locals everywhere. We stayed there for a bit and then walked to our chosen restaurant, which was this all-you-can-eat place which wasn't very good, especially for our last night in Paris. Aside from that, what mattered most this night was taking in not only our last night in France, but our whole two weeks in this beautiful country *now fully sobbing*.
Sunday, March 15 - AU REVOIR, PARIS --> GOIN' BACK HOME
For the last morning in our hotel, I finally decided to take a photo of what I'd usually have for breakfast! Soon after, we boarded our coach at 9:30 AM and set off to the airport for our flight at 1 PM. I remember looking out the window, listening to 'Paris' and 'Coming Back by Bluey Robinson, passing by l'Arc de Triomphe and the beautiful European buildings, and feeling all the feelings I've felt during this trip.
France was a dream. It was like being in another world. Almost literally, because the culture and the surroundings are so different than they are here in Vancouver. It was a trip of a lifetime. I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to go. I went to France with my friends and other awesome people at 17-years-old! That's crazy!
As I said in my post 'This Is How It Gets Better,' my trip to France that year was a huge highlight. I fell in love with the country because of the feelings it gave me. It had given me new perspectives -- the notion that there are so many places to explore in the world, that there are so many people out there to meet, and that life can be so beautiful and worth living if you choose to make it that way.
Tu me manques toujours, France. To more adventures in the future for this Livin'Lin <3
Thanks for reading & I hope wonderful adventures also come your way! xo
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