I found out on my way to Vernon yesterday that Giverny had opened for the season and when the sun broke out from being the clouds at noon, I decided I better go today since there is a chance of rain every day this coming week and plenty of clouds attending with or without the rain. So I spent 4 or 5 hours walking and taking pictures. I felt extra lucky for a second reason, I had arrived a few hours before everyone and their brother showed up so there are almost no people in the pictures and I got to fully enjoy the enchantment of being there. It's hard to believe that I got to see them in person years after falling in love with Monet's paintings. He has always been my favorite impressionist but I don't know enough about art to provide an essay explaining why.
After a successful trip, I ended up attending a party in which only two or three out of the 8 other people spoke any English. So I mostly sat and listened but at some point, and I can't say how this happened but I guess they had asked me what I did to practice my French before coming here and I ended up sharing the songs I had learned. A few people recognized the group Kids United and the movie Les Choristes so there ended up being a bit of a sing-along. If you're curious enough to hear the songs here they are.
Qui a le Droit (Who Has the Right):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8zMCf9rwlM
L'Oiseau et L'Enfant (The Bird and the Child):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQH1HlQeHdo
On Ecrit Sur Les Murs* (We Write on the Walls)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV5oVYVGfNc
Besides the songs, I have had 7 years of French in school starting in Middle School and for the first four of those years I had a teacher fluent in French. Then I took a semester in college as well. So I guess I'm well acquainted with the language but tonight I caught many of the smaller or more common words like "parce-que" (because), "donc" (so), peut-etre (maybe), "jamais" (never), "moyenne" (average) and "plus cher" (more expensive). I was way too tired to keep up with the project of breaking what was said into separate words. That's an essential trick so later you can ask what a specific word means.
*Mur explains the word mural
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