We are now into mid-May, I have been in France for 2 and a 1/2 months and the lingo learning continues. Now ensconced in Neffiès, I have established a pattern of longer dog walks that consist of running half-way and then walking back. I use the walking time to listen and repeat my Anki flashcard set of 10,000 French sentences. Example from yesterday ‘Si vous n’allez pas au concert, je n’y vais pas non plus’ Last week, slightly stoned, and later confirmed in a sober state, I had something of a break through – phrases and word combinations I had struggled with became tractable, and in general my ability to pick up and repeat a sentence, something which typically took numerous attempts over days, now became in many cases almost immediate. There are certain word combinations which are difficult for my English speaking mind to internalise. Example; my langue maternelle est le plus beau cadeau que j’ai reçu de ma mére’. I struggle with the pronunciation of maternelle and surprisingly with the phrase ‘le plus beau cadeau’. I am struggling with the cadence and rhythm of the entire phrase. While in the past this would have taken days, weeks and sometimes months to get, now I will most likely nail it on my walk today. Anki does a fine job of repeating sentences that are proving problematic. I notice that language cadence, captured faithfully, is an integral part of retention. It is the internal, to iself and to our memory, nursery rhyme that aids recall and crucially informs the smell test that enables us to converse in the moment between the rails that define and guide correct speech. As such it is deep knowledge, it is where knowledge becomes understanding. It is the manifestation of understanding, and we recognise it when we see it and hear it from others. I mused to myself prior to coming to France, that the French like the Japanese would assign credibility and prestige to someone who speaks their language well, that the sense of culture and sophistication is aligned more tightly with linguistic facility. My speaking is yet quite limited. I can throw out well constructed sentences but soon run out of steam. My listening has improved a lot. I’ve had numerous conversations on the phone with delivery people and while my responses are limited and terse, the ability to understand what’s being said gets you 80% of the way to being functional. What I do have going for me is my cadence which delivers the intent and partly compensates for some dodgy pronunciation of individual words, and as rhythm is perceived as understanding, I speculated before coming here that it had the potential to impress the locals and mark me out as a person of distinction, which would be a useful interpretation for someone trying to make a go of it. And some proof of the pudding came my way earlier this week, when I travelled with the 1992 camper we bought recently, to a campsite about an hour away, in a wee town called Balaruc les Bains that is beside the Thai lagoon famed for its oysters. It was my first time ever ever camping with a camper van, and of course I didn’t have the right connector to plug into the 3 phase electrical mains. I got back in the camper went to Carrefour, bought an extension cable which turned out to have the wrong sort of two pin plug. Electrical plugs here are more complicated than just European two pin for the win, there are subtleties and difference across countries and across kinds of plugs. Anyhow upshot: despite my can do spirit I got back to the campsite still missing a connector. I threw myself at the kindness of strangers with a helpless defeated demeanour and my neighbour took pity, and found an adaptor that allowed me to share his connection. He was travelling with his wife, sister and brother-in-law. When those 3 returned he told them that ‘il parle Français trés bien!’, despite me making no more than 2 or 3 phrases in the language. Most of our interaction was done through his serviceable English. Once 2 or 3 phrases but with decent cadence and delivery. This stuff counts.