pixiebelle

I think my husband has taken for granted that I don't speak French fluently. Yes, I took four years in high school, and I keep studying. I can read a good bit of French, but speaking and listening are a lot harder for me, mostly because I've been taught with an American accent. Pronunciation is hard, and I'm still getting used to their accents.

My husband's parents don't speak English at all, so when we visit them, they mostly speak French.  I remember being so proud of myself when we first met — I understood a phrase his mother had said. 

She had said, "Il aime le chat." Which means, "He loves the cat." 

Yeah, yeah, anyone who uses Duolingo for even an hour can understand that. But it was still the first phrase I ever understood outside of the traditional greetings, so it meant a lot to me. And until recently, it was the only phrase I ever picked up on from their conversations. 

pixiebelle

My fiancé doesn’t fit the French stereotype. In fact, until I started coming around, he never bought baguettes. Like, how is that possible? You have some of the best bread in the world at your disposal - there are literally boulangeries every few steps. They’re like Starbucks for bread. And you never have one at home? How is this even possible? Are you even French if you don't have a baguette with every meal? 

People even break their own rules when it comes to bread. For instance, it's frowned upon to eat on the run. They think meals should be eaten while sitting at a table, enjoying the food. Except when it comes to their precious baguettes.  People break off bits of the baguette, munching as they walk home from work. People give kids hunks of the hard, French bread as they run around the park. No butter needed. Just a chunk of bread. 

But not my fiancé. 

Not until I came around, that is. Because apparently, in some ways, I'm more Frenchified than he is. 

It started with me venturing to the stores on my own, just an excuse to get out and about. I'd pick up a baguette to go with our dinner since it felt like the French thing to do. I'm really struggling with finding meals for me to eat there. A lot of the brands I'm familiar with back in the United States don't exist there, and it's been a frustrating process for me. I'm used to eating certain things, almost always the same types of things, every day. And now I need to find new things to eat.