When the women are from America and men are from France, wait isn't there a book with a title like that… how does it go? Venus and Mars isn't it? Well, let's just say when you heart parks in Venus and your language is a mixture of Coca Cola Light and Cotes de Provence it can be full of snap, crackle, pop and a few hiccups in between.
Mr. A. (he loves his blog name) and Mimi fall into a similar loophole as did French Husband and I when we first met. Talking matters of the heart, when your first language is not the same as the one you love, can be challenging. Add to the mispronounced words, culture differences, and another country that is known for romance and topless beaches, you have a bag of tricks that can easily be laughed about, and add confusion all in the same breath.
My dear French friend Françoise had the best tongue-twisting, language fowl up to date. Françoise thought she asked her American Husband:
"I would like a sheet of paper to wrap a present."
Instead, her accent made the sentence sound like:
"I would like a shit of paper to rape a present."
Mimi and Mr. A's. text messages are book worthy, the language is so sweetly butchered. "Mon Chou" just doesn't sound as sweet in English, "My Cabbage."
What term of endearment do you call your loved one?
When my little nieces couldn't say YANN I told them that their French Uncle's name was: Uncle Yo-Yo. They use it all the time. I became Coco that same day.
One of my favorites nicknames for French Husband is: Chérie FM, it is the name of the French radio channel he listens to… I heard the advertisement so often that I started singing it to him. French Husband doesn't use terms of endearment… he finds them insulting. Though I don't. I wouldn't mind if he called me: "My Coco Puff".
Though I don't take offense to French Husband's lack of endearing nicknames. Instead, I take heart in one of my father's favorite mottos:
"Call me what you'd like, just don't call me late for dinner."
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