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Does Roast Beef mean “I’m ready to settle down?”

Backward Investors

Old Dream

Low-fat croissants

Parlez-vous Restaurantian ?

Calorie Count

To be or not to be… speaking French ?

Keep on asking and you will receive

It’s going south

License to speak

Tour de Food

Who wants to live in Whatever-sur-Mer ?

EXpress yourself

How’s your skin today?

The nose job

Mission impossible?

ADN

Charity work

Sleepless in Paris

Accents

Ambassadress

Tacos fever

Bon voyage !

À la vôtre !

Blind date

Pastis anyone ?

No plan B

Irresistible

La muse et le coq

La victoire de Michelle

Act #4: Low-fat croissants

Hello Again

Michelle: Oh bonjour Valérie !
Valérie: Bonjour Michelle !
Michelle: Pardon, I think I fell asleep while studying.
Valérie: Pas de problème Michelle.
Michelle: You see, I’ve been on this cleanse for 2 days now, and I’m just exhausted.
Valérie: A cleanse?
Michelle: J’aime beaucoup les cleanses. It’s a natural way to purify your body, to get rid of all the toxins.
Valérie: What sort of cleanse is it?
Michelle: The one I’m on right now, I am trying it for the first time. You’re not allowed to eat at all.
Valérie: Not at all?
Michelle: Just drinks.
Valérie: It sounds a bit drastic. Is it a good idea not to eat at all?
Michelle: Oui, j’ai besoin de lose some weight. I’ve indulged a bit too much recently.
Valérie: Ok, Michelle. I hope you’ll be alright for the lesson. If you don’t feel good, just let me know.
Michelle: D’accord. Je suis prête Valérie. Oh, wait a second, I had a question before we start. J’ai une question.
Valérie: Tell me.
Michelle: You remember I told you I want to move to France or, at least, live most of the year there.
Valérie: Oui, oui.
Michelle: I’m trying to think of practical steps I can take now to make the move easier.
Valérie: You mean looking for a place to live, transportation, that sort of things?
Michelle: I was thinking more of...where I can find low-fat croissants.
Valérie: Low fat croissants? What’s that?
Michelle: J’aime les croissants mais ils sont full of butter as you know. I can’t eat that. It’s too fattening.
Valérie: I don’t think low-fat croissants exist...not in France anyway.
Michelle: Non ? Il n’y a pas de croissants low fat en France ? J’ai besoin de low fat croissants !
Valérie: Besoin ?
Michelle: Oui...Je suis sûre I could convince a baker to make them. That’s what I did here.
Valérie: Really?
Michelle: Really! My baker makes them especially for me. Les croissants low fat!
Valérie: Euh... je ne suis pas sûre Michelle. You could try...I guess.
Michelle: Vous êtes pessimistic.
Valérie: Pessimiste ? Maybe...
Michelle: J’ai une idée. If it doesn’t work, I could always have them shipped from here frozen. Ah ah, voilà la solution ! Il n’y a pas de problème.
Valérie: Bonne chance Michelle.
Michelle: Ok Valérie, merci beaucoup. J’aime parler with you about France. It’s helpful, really. Je suis prête.
Valérie: Bien...Shall we?
Michelle: Oui.
Valérie: What did we learn about last time?
Michelle: I learned beaucoup. I learned that il y a des Mcdonalds et des Starbucks en France, that les Français travaillent beaucoup.
Valérie: Ok, what about grammar?
Michelle: Oh, grammar! First group verbs.
Valérie: How do you recognize them?
Michelle: They finish in er in the infinitive.
Valérie: For example...
Michelle: Aimer, parler, écouter, regarder, étudier, habiter...
Valérie: Excellent Michelle. Il y a aussi chercher, demander, travailler, trouver, détester that sounds just like the English verb to detest.
Michelle: Ils sont faciles, these verbs because they’re regular.
Valérie: Oui, ils sont réguliers. Vous aimez conjuguer Michelle ?
Michelle: Conjugate? Oui.
Valérie: Let’s conjugate in the negative form.
Michelle: With ne pas?
Valérie: Oui.
Michelle: Je n’aime pas, tu n’aimes pas, il n’aime pas, elle n’aime pas, nous n’aimons pas, vous n’aimez pas, ils n’aiment pas, elles n’aiment pas.
Valérie: No hesitation! Parfait! Voilà une étudiante sérieuse.
Michelle: Ah bon ? Merci. J’aime étudier les verbes.
Valérie: That’s a good thing, we have many more to learn, and they’re not all regular.