Visit www.anglais.re for more! I have to admit that Creole cuisine is not my favourite. It’s not because of the flavour, it’s because of the bones. For those of you who know me, you know that I don’t enjoy eating meat off the bone. Give me a chicken breast over a chicken drumstick any day! So when I first arrived in Reunion I was eager to try the local food to see what it was all about. When my friend invited me to her mother’s for dinner I jumped at the chance. My first Creole dinner cooked by a Creole lady, it couldn’t get any better than that! On the menu was a traditional carri poulet. ‘Great!’ I thought. So I arrived and I was greeted by the family and we all sat around a very large table. After trying to decipher some Creole and follow a conversation unsuccessfully, my attention turned to the huge pile of rice, which was making its way to the table. I have now learnt that this was a normal amount of rice for any meal. After that the beans and the famous carri arrived - at this point I was starving! So I was served a generous amount and was the butt of the jokes as I politely skipped on the rougail tomate. I couldn’t wait to stuff my face but being British I made sure my elbows were off the table and I ate with my knife and fork, something, which attracted attention as the majority of the family were eating with their hands…but that’s an entirely different story. As I neared the end of my meal and ate the last bit of chicken I was just about to put down my knife and fork and then it happened. SLURPPPPPP! I thought somebody was choking on a bone but to my surprise no! One by one everybody started picking up their bones and sucking and slurping over them. I didn’t know whether to look horrified, smile or even laugh! Awkward doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt. It didn’t take long for someone to question me as to why I wasn’t doing the same. I just didn’t know what to respond to not offend anybody or be rude! But where I am from this is a no no! It is just as bad as licking your plate! I have never sucked on a bone at the dinner table nor would I ever do it, especially when invited to somebody’s house! This was one experience I will never forget. I can still remember the SLLUUURRRPP even now! Vocabulary flavour = le goût bones = les os to enjoy = apprécier chicken breast = blanc de poulet chicken drumstick = cuisse de poulet to be eager to = avoir hâte de to see what it’s about = voir de quoi il s’agit to jump at the chance = sauter sur l’occasion de faire qqch to decipher = déchiffrer huge = énorme to be starving = avoir la dalle to be the butt of the joke = être la cible d’une blague to skip = passer to stuff my face = s’empiffrer elbow = coude to near the end = approcher la fin to choke = étouffer awkward = gênant rude = mal poli to lick your plate = lécher son assiette
Visit www.anglais.re for more! I have to admit that Creole cuisine is not my favourite. It’s not because of the flavour, it’s because of the bones. For those of you who know me, you know that I don’t enjoy eating meat off the bone. Give me a chicken breast over a chicken drumstick any day! So when I first arrived in Reunion I was eager to try the local food to see what it was all about. When my friend invited me to her mother’s for dinner I jumped at the chance. My first Creole dinner cooked by a Creole lady, it couldn’t get any better than that! On the menu was a traditional carri poulet. ‘Great!’ I thought. So I arrived and I was greeted by the family and we all sat around a very large table. After trying to decipher some Creole and follow a conversation unsuccessfully, my attention turned to the huge pile of rice, which was making its way to the table. I have now learnt that this was a normal amount of rice for any meal. After that the beans and the famous carri arrived - at this point I was starving! So I was served a generous amount and was the butt of the jokes as I politely skipped on the rougail tomate. I couldn’t wait to stuff my face but being British I made sure my elbows were off the table and I ate with my knife and fork, something, which attracted attention as the majority of the family were eating with their hands…but that’s an entirely different story. As I neared the end of my meal and ate the last bit of chicken I was just about to put down my knife and fork and then it happened. SLURPPPPPP! I thought somebody was choking on a bone but to my surprise no! One by one everybody started picking up their bones and sucking and slurping over them. I didn’t know whether to look horrified, smile or even laugh! Awkward doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt. It didn’t take long for someone to question me as to why I wasn’t doing the same. I just didn’t know what to respond to not offend anybody or be rude! But where I am from this is a no no! It is just as bad as licking your plate! I have never sucked on a bone at the dinner table nor would I ever do it, especially when invited to somebody’s house! This was one experience I will never forget. I can still remember the SLLUUURRRPP even now! Vocabulary flavour = le goût bones = les os to enjoy = apprécier chicken breast = blanc de poulet chicken drumstick = cuisse de poulet to be eager to = avoir hâte de to see what it’s about = voir de quoi il s’agit to jump at the chance = sauter sur l’occasion de faire qqch to decipher = déchiffrer huge = énorme to be starving = avoir la dalle to be the butt of the joke = être la cible d’une blague to skip = passer to stuff my face = s’empiffrer elbow = coude to near the end = approcher la fin to choke = étouffer awkward = gênant rude = mal poli to lick your plate = lécher son assiette
Visit www.anglais.re for more! I have to admit that Creole cuisine is not my favourite. It’s not because of the flavour, it’s because of the bones. For those of you who know me, you know that I don’t enjoy eating meat off the bone. Give me a chicken breast over a chicken drumstick any day! So when I first arrived in Reunion I was eager to try the local food to see what it was all about. When my friend invited me to her mother’s for dinner I jumped at the chance. My first Creole dinner cooked by a Creole lady, it couldn’t get any better than that! On the menu was a traditional carri poulet. ‘Great!’ I thought. So I arrived and I was greeted by the family and we all sat around a very large table. After trying to decipher some Creole and follow a conversation unsuccessfully, my attention turned to the huge pile of rice, which was making its way to the table. I have now learnt that this was a normal amount of rice for any meal. After that the beans and the famous carri arrived - at this point I was starving! So I was served a generous amount and was the butt of the jokes as I politely skipped on the rougail tomate. I couldn’t wait to stuff my face but being British I made sure my elbows were off the table and I ate with my knife and fork, something, which attracted attention as the majority of the family were eating with their hands…but that’s an entirely different story. As I neared the end of my meal and ate the last bit of chicken I was just about to put down my knife and fork and then it happened. SLURPPPPPP! I thought somebody was choking on a bone but to my surprise no! One by one everybody started picking up their bones and sucking and slurping over them. I didn’t know whether to look horrified, smile or even laugh! Awkward doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt. It didn’t take long for someone to question me as to why I wasn’t doing the same. I just didn’t know what to respond to not offend anybody or be rude! But where I am from this is a no no! It is just as bad as licking your plate! I have never sucked on a bone at the dinner table nor would I ever do it, especially when invited to somebody’s house! This was one experience I will never forget. I can still remember the SLLUUURRRPP even now! Vocabulary flavour = le goût bones = les os to enjoy = apprécier chicken breast = blanc de poulet chicken drumstick = cuisse de poulet to be eager to = avoir hâte de to see what it’s about = voir de quoi il s’agit to jump at the chance = sauter sur l’occasion de faire qqch to decipher = déchiffrer huge = énorme to be starving = avoir la dalle to be the butt of the joke = être la cible d’une blague to skip = passer to stuff my face = s’empiffrer elbow = coude to near the end = approcher la fin to choke = étouffer awkward = gênant rude = mal poli to lick your plate = lécher son assiette
Visit www.anglais.re for more! You know that saying 'Be careful what you wish for'? When you long for something that you are so sure you want, until one day you get it, and it turns out to be hell on earth? Yeah, I'm pretty familiar with it now. I moved into a flat 6 months ago and although the flat is great, it's well priced and spacious, I quickly noticed that mine was the only flat inhabited in the entire building. That's one out of a possible 6. The nights grew long and lonely and before I knew it I was posting ads trying to get the word out about the apartments to rent. And it worked! The next thing I knew, I was seeing people come and visit the flats on a daily basis. At this point I was feeling pretty smug, imagining myself chatting with my soon-to-be neighbours over a bottle of wine. Well someone should have just slapped me right there. It didn't quite turn out that way. That’s an understatement. A few nights later at about 2am, I was swatting off mosquitos half asleep when I heard what I thought was a burglar trying to break into my flat. Terrified, I jumped out of bed and grabbed my weapon of choice, which due to little choice was my hairbrush, and crept towards the living room. Lights on, no-one was inside. But the front door handle was moving up and down and I was freaking out. I looked through the peephole and what did I see? A woman, maybe in her fifties, crazily looking around her and talking to herself, laughing and shouting all at once. I genuinely thought I was in a scene from an M. Night Shyamalan movie. I was preparing to call the police when through the peephole I saw the door from the flat opposite open and a young woman drag her inside. The rest of the night was a bit of a sleepless blur. When I left the flat the next day, I bumped into the same woman, who, seemingly oblivious to the events of the night before, introduced herself as my new neighbour. So there we go. I got what I wanted right? We don't chat about our days or have a drink together, but every now and then I get the chance to hear her banging mistakenly on my door and I never feel alone, because she leaves rubbish in all of the communal spaces. Moral of the story? Be careful what you wish for. Vocabulary to long for = désirer pretty = assezto move = déménagerflat = appartementalthough = bien que to notice = remarquerto chat = bavarderads = annoncessmug = arrogantto slap = gifler understatement = minimisationto grab = saisirto creep = se faufilerdoor handle = poignetto freak out = flipper peephole = judasto bump into = croiseroblivious = inconscientmistakenly = par erreurrubbish = déchets
Visit www.anglais.re for more! You know that saying 'Be careful what you wish for'? When you long for something that you are so sure you want, until one day you get it, and it turns out to be hell on earth? Yeah, I'm pretty familiar with it now. I moved into a flat 6 months ago and although the flat is great, it's well priced and spacious, I quickly noticed that mine was the only flat inhabited in the entire building. That's one out of a possible 6. The nights grew long and lonely and before I knew it I was posting ads trying to get the word out about the apartments to rent. And it worked! The next thing I knew, I was seeing people come and visit the flats on a daily basis. At this point I was feeling pretty smug, imagining myself chatting with my soon-to-be neighbours over a bottle of wine. Well someone should have just slapped me right there. It didn't quite turn out that way. That’s an understatement. A few nights later at about 2am, I was swatting off mosquitos half asleep when I heard what I thought was a burglar trying to break into my flat. Terrified, I jumped out of bed and grabbed my weapon of choice, which due to little choice was my hairbrush, and crept towards the living room. Lights on, no-one was inside. But the front door handle was moving up and down and I was freaking out. I looked through the peephole and what did I see? A woman, maybe in her fifties, crazily looking around her and talking to herself, laughing and shouting all at once. I genuinely thought I was in a scene from an M. Night Shyamalan movie. I was preparing to call the police when through the peephole I saw the door from the flat opposite open and a young woman drag her inside. The rest of the night was a bit of a sleepless blur. When I left the flat the next day, I bumped into the same woman, who, seemingly oblivious to the events of the night before, introduced herself as my new neighbour. So there we go. I got what I wanted right? We don't chat about our days or have a drink together, but every now and then I get the chance to hear her banging mistakenly on my door and I never feel alone, because she leaves rubbish in all of the communal spaces. Moral of the story? Be careful what you wish for. Vocabulary to long for = désirer pretty = assezto move = déménagerflat = appartementalthough = bien que to notice = remarquerto chat = bavarderads = annoncessmug = arrogantto slap = gifler understatement = minimisationto grab = saisirto creep = se faufilerdoor handle = poignetto freak out = flipper peephole = judasto bump into = croiseroblivious = inconscientmistakenly = par erreurrubbish = déchets