See you in Heaven!

Adieu!

Literal meaning: until God
Notes: Used like "farewell": when you don't expect to see the person again until God (when you die and go to Heaven)

This word, ironically enough, starts the long list of French vocabulary in English that's found at www.french.about.com.

At first I thought a not-so-nice way to say farewell if you take it literally! Death being not so nice. However, Heaven is supposed to be VERY nice.

On second thought I have rarely heard anyone say farewell in such a nice way in English. Usually the final farewells are nasty: "See you in Hell! " There isn't a one-word expression for that in English. I wonder if there's one in French?

more examples of French words in English
Photo: Sky over Costa del Sol
en Espagne, en janvier 2006

Speechless and laughing

"C'est intéressant" I say to my French teacher, matching my tone of voice to the context of the information she divulges. Her laughter mixes with mine. Naturally, I would like to specifically say what I find interesting but I'm only on lesson 10 (dix!) and there isn't enough time in my 45 (quarante-cinq!) minutes of class to explain myself even with mistakes.

Today, during my milestone 10th lesson, I said "c'est intéressant" many times. How could I not? We were, after all, talking about comparatives, superlatives, and terms of endearment. Certainly lots to laugh about in any language.

Eventually by the end of the lesson the "c'est intéressant" became the title of the blog where I could explain in my native language (and eventually French- let's give my teacher some hope AND motivation) specifically what I find interesting. My teacher liked the idea: "on va creuser l'idée". Yes, her words. She's the French speaker. I'm the French listener.

So without further ado: www.interestingfrench.blogspot.com!

Photo: At the Dubai Airshow 2005
aux Émirats arabes unis, novembre