How can I be more "French"?

[hangingoutattheendofmywick]

So this morning I did an Ocado shop and stumbled across the world foods department. There is a French section and I was immediately transported to my holidays when I was young at Keycamp in France. I basically ordered a shed load of French delights and as I'm currently really down in the dumps and life is a bit shite I've decided to BE more French.

Other than learning the language again (I've lost it since GCSE) and eating / drinking all my French delights I'm wondering what I can do to make my life a bit more French. Any ideas?

I'm looking for :
Music
Literature
Recipes
Drinks
General ways of living.

Ta!

The Bee very simply something that is NOT a sandwich with a packet of crisps!
Crisps are only for special occasion anyway .

So my dcs have quite a lot salads at the mo (anything with frech vegs, a bit of chicken or cheese etc..) plus a dessert (most of the time fruits but they've had yogurts in the past and I would have loved a compote if you could find some here!). Or a fully cokked meal (eg a curry, chili con carne, left overs ...) plus a fruit.
Our agreement is that they can have some crisps on the last day of the term, just before the hols so they don't feel too left out....

leur lardons = their children

lardons? means kids

I once spent hols with a french close friend, her 2 sons and mine.
next to us at the campsite ( in Fr ) was a family , the parents spent all day playing with their kids , they had an arsenal of plastic games, skittles, boules etc.
My friend stared at them, shivered and muttered " I don't understand parents who devote themselves completely to their kids"
ahem... I do and spent every single night reading stories to her kids who were astonished at the fact

Mamanofthree

I did une sortie de classe with my CE2 DD on Monday and all the (French children') packed lunches looked exactly the same:

--sandwich
--crisps
--bottle of Oasis / can of coke / botter water

My dd with her Tupperware of chopped melon, breadsticks, cherry tomatoes and cheese stuck out like a sore thumb!

But it IS a special occasion that is treated as un piquenique. That's what they would do for that.
But they wouldn't be happy for their dcs to eat like this every single day which is what a packed lunch is for.

In anyway, packed lunches just don't exist in France so one can only guess what they could be.

Mysotisbleu, planqués, exactement! But out of the thousands of employees in France, only 2 of us at the time were not French. That and paying only 10% of your electricity bill and having a week's paid company holiday every year somewhere exotic, made it a great job! Sadly, since leaving (18 years ago, God I'm old!), I've discovered that not all work is created equal.....

Oh and you'll need to develop a torticolis every so often (sore neck). It's very popular in France.....

heavy legs, a torticolis and spasmophilie
and make sure you have corresponding medicines always handy in your handbag

I don't really understand this Heavy Legs 'condition'. Wikipedia's tone is less than credulous.

if you are standing up all day, you get swollen , numb , tired legs.... that's all it is.

spasmophilie is basically panic attack isn't it?

Heavy legs! Omg! I remember buying a product in a department store for this very condition. It was a cold gel, possibly by Elancyl, and apparently could be applied over nylon tights??

Don't bother with Flaubert, that's an arse ache. Read Gemma Bovery by Posy Simmonds, it is sublime.

And they take medicine for it?

and if you get this more readily than other women because of a poor circulation, you have heavy legs

spasmophilie I reckon is because french women worry far too much , about being slim, their man being a cheating arsehole or not, their children not doing well enough at school, the dog being incontinent, the blanquette being too fatty...

I still don't know what it is and I'm french

ppeat You should always flirt back with a butcher, that's how you get the best rognons de veau, gigot and filet

Probably been said already, but take a 3 hour lunch break and go home for lunch every day.

Celebrate your saint's name day.

Do absolutely nothing on a Sunday as all shops, cafes restaurants etc should be shut on the Lord's day.

Confess your sins. :-)

I have been diagnosed iwth that as a young adult. That's the best translation I found.
So not really about worrying too much about being slim. I was in Math Spe at the time and then working in a very stressful job later on. I actually scared my boss the day I got one attack

And the wild success of Pomme de Pain and Class'Croute flogging sandwiches every day to office workers?

oh but that sounds like actual real spasmophilie.. I was talking about the kind you flaunt to look dramatic and highly strung after 10 black coffees and your ex turning up at the bar with a new woman dressed like you used to

Just watched your video, Cardi It's brilliant!

Completely agree regarding French parents putting their couple before the kids...I have asked my parents years ago if they loved each other more than their children and I got a straight yes as an answer...I was not surprised but I was hoping they were going to deny it for my sake

This thread is hilarious!! "Bof" - love it!!

I remember a tisane would cure most ailments, if not a small white homeopathy pill.

I kind of desagree with French parents acting selfishly with kids. We have our way to soare time for our couples, true, but you have your own way as well.

For instance, I've always found it utterly bizarre that most English kids don't eat diner with their parents. I can't comply myself to make my son eat at 5h30 either, except when friends come for a play date. We always have dinner together when my partner comes back from work at 7h30-8 pm. But "c'est la vie!" And "when in Rome"

I think cultural diferences are what make our resoective countries interesting and we should be more open-minded about these. :-)