conversations
by Rachael
Uzerche, France
We’ve been away from home for 300 days today! Jboy13 is keeping count <wink>
In Asia we had a standard conversation with everyone we came across.
Are you one family?
Yes.
How many children are there?
Eight.
Ah you are so lucky.
Thank you.
Where are you travelling?
Name next destination.
Pat Rob’s back, telling him again how lucky and strong he is!
In Germany we had a different standard discussion – in German, of course!
Hallo.
Hallo.
Where are you from?
We come from New Zealand (when you can manage those schoolgirl textbook correct full sentences you might as well use them!)
Are you all together?
Yes, we have eight children and one Grandpa.
How long are you here?
We will be one month in Germany and eight months in Europe in total.
What about school?
In New Zealand children do not have to go to school. We teach them at home. In Germany this is verboten, but in New Zealand we are allowed. So our children are learning as we travel.
Yes, but what about school?
We write every day and we have a maths book.
Laugh – oh ja! (or they say something about travelling is good for geography, but what about other subjects? So we explain some of them are learning Latin and that is usually enough to appease the frightened minds – for those that it is not, they ask “Can you really do that?” and I am honest and explain I don’t speak Latin, but the children are using a book to learn by themselves. At this point, I suspect we are written off as nutcases and the conversation moves on to more important matters.)
Where do you all sleep?
Seven in this one, four in that one.
Seven?
Jawohl. Two here, two here and three up there (pointing). It is registered for seven.
Oh so big. (really funny when our vans are usually smaller than theirs!)
Ach so old!
But they go. Did you rent them in Berlin?
No, we bought them both in Berlin. Old and cheap. We will sell them again later.
Very good.
Where are you going?
They give destination.
We say “Oh we were just there, it is beautiful” OR “We’ve never been there.”
Where are you going?
We give destination.
Oh, you must go to xyz (favourite spot is recommended)
Generally the friendly *Gute Reise* is then exchanged and we go our separate ways.
Now we’re on to French.
Dad and Rob are doing fine – they nod their heads vigorously, throw around knowing comments and can even use verbs as well as grunts. I am incapable of recording one of their conversations, so here’s one of mine instead. Please excuse the spelling and grammar and bad accent.
Rachael: Bonjour Monsieur!
Neighbour: Bonjour Madame! Something something something in French.
I figure it’s most likely did you sleep well?
or isn’t it good the sun is shining!
Rachael: Oui oui.
Neighbour: Tres bien. Something something something in French accompanied by
hand signals meaning *are you moving on today?*
Rachael: Oui oui. Toulouse.
Neighbour: Aaah Toulouse something something about how great it is, no doubt.
Rachael: Tres belle.
Neighbour: Absolut. (Is he speaking French or German????)
Rachael: Magnifique.
Neighbour: And then he totally loses me….you gotta remember I’ve only been au fait with these frog croaks for a week! And we’re not even going to Toulouse – we *were* going to, but in order to avoid a toll road, we’ve changed our plans and I can’t even remember the name of the place we’re now heading for!
But that ain’t half as confusing as Grandpa trying to converse with me in the van. Of course, it is a Very Noisy Environment, especially if the window is down and you can hear some outside part of the vehicle squeaking as well as the general indoor rattle, not to mention our engine roar and the diesel hum coming from the van in front of us. Add to this, the fact that Grandpa’s hearing aids have died and you have a recipe for a mixture of companionable silence, great guffaws and screaming matches. The following conversation is a typical example, but merged from a few day’s worth of experiences:
Rachael: Look at that bridge over there!
Seven second delay
Grandpa: Did you see that bridge?
R: Yeah, I just mentioned it to you.
G: Oh I guess you couldn’t see it, not with driving.
R: (shouting) I saw it.
G: Oh did you?
R: (still shouting) I even told you.
G: It’s these ears you know…..
Later:
G: There’s Road A over there (pointing to a sign, which I cannot find)
R: We don’t want an A road, we need N or D, I can’t remember which; the A20 is tolled
G: What was that?
R: We don’t need Road A.
G: Yes, that’s where we’re headed.
R: No, we need a D or N road.
G: Pardon?
R: We need D or….oh don’t worry (as I finally see the sign) Yes, we’re going to Rodez!
Walkie-talkie interrupts
R: What was that?
G: What?
R: The walkie-talkie
G: Pressing walkie-talkie button, “What did you say?”
Other end of walkie-talkie: Nothing
G: What did he say?
R: Nothing (simultaneously walkie-talkie goes again, this time saying something)
G: What did they say?
R: Not sure, I missed it…..and so we ask them and the non-versation continues.
PS. We were going to Rodez, not Toulouse that day…..no actually, Rodez was en route to our final destination.
Time on the road: need to check Jboy13’s record!
Distance covered: 0km
Tags: 2008/09, grandpa's stories, health, language, postcard: France, postcard: Germany
rayres
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