French language day! 20.03.23

How did I learn French… being blind?

France, beautiful France: a country where baguettes, snails and even frogs are eaten. A country where the great music of Edit Piaf is listened to. A country that speaks such a lovely, romantic-sounding language.

That's how I thought about France when I started learning French almost 10 years ago. It soon turned out that the French language is much more than just: merci, bonjour and au revoir. Pronunciation is extremely difficult, because there are a lot of sounds in French that do not exist in Polish. Spelling, on the other hand, is even more difficult - you write twice as much as you read.

From my blind perspective, it seemed much more difficult than for a sighted person, as I have no visual memory, but as I studied, my knowledge of this lovely language gradually improved. The real test for me was the participation in the first performance organized by a group of young Frenchmen. It was the beginning of my second year of study. It was then that I realized that it would be a long time before I could talk freely in Victor Hugo's language.

At the beginning of my third year of studies, I flew to France, specifically Toulouse, to take part in a student exchange program, Erasmus. In France, I had the honor of spending four years on and off. What were my impressions? A custom that I never understood or liked was faire la bise, or apparent kissing on the cheeks. In Poland, we shake hands, and we kiss mainly within the family. Personally, I find a kiss to be quite intimate.

The baguette stereotype was confirmed. After all, stereotypes come from somewhere! I myself started munching on a fresh baguette with butter and jam or honey for breakfast. What really surprised me was how little snails are eaten there, and most French people have never even smelled a frog dish, let alone tasted one. Indeed, frogs were once eaten in France, but only during times of poverty caused by natural disaster or war. Currently, frogs are only eaten in expensive restaurants. Having lived in France for almost four years, I have never tried frog legs. Hence, I think that the pejorative term "frog" can only be written in history books.

Mince, as the French say, which is our chicken, I would forget about cheese! This is one hundred percent true. Cheese is eaten there all the time, to such an extent that instead of a sweet dessert after dinner, a cheese board is served. Would you like to eat blue cheese after dinner instead of a sweet cake? I ate many times!

To sum up: France is a beautiful country where there are mountains, there is also an ocean and maybe, the climate is very diverse and the people are quite helpful. Some of the stereotypes have been confirmed, and some have not, but that's the way it is with these stereotypes.

It's best to go and see for yourself. You will surely have your own observations, some of them will align with mine and some will not.