J'aime chaussures

I went to France the summer before my senior year of high school (so, in '95). I didn't take French in high school. I took Spanish. I didn't know any French upon my arrival. I learned enough phrases to get by while there, but only a handful of them have stuck with me. Among them:

Je n'aime pas le poisson - I don't like fish. This came in handy. I really can't stand fish, and fish was all over the place in France. Man oh man them Frenchies can eat them some poisson.

Je n'aime pas les moules - I don't like mussels. Pretty much in the same catergory as the fish thing, but this one only came in handy once.

Je n'aime pas les chauves-souris - I don't like bats. Anyone else seeing a pattern here? Boy I bet the French just loved me. I guess I was one of those "stupid Americans" that come over there and complain about everything. Guilty as charged. But this one is of particular importance to my blog today because the French word for bats, chauves-souris, is very similar to the French word for shoes, chaussures.

To the non-French speaking community (like myself), I know these two words look very different, but they are pronounced very similarly. And believe me, I do not hate shoes. Quite the opposite. I love shoes. So I learned how to convey this sentiment in French, "J'aime chaussures". But see, I had to be careful when pronouncing shoes and bats. I mean, I figure the French already hated me, but I didn't want them to think I was some sort of crazy Bat-Loving (or worse, Shoe-Hating) American.

And maybe you're thinking to youself "But why would she need to talk about her great dislike for bats in France?" And the answer is because on our first night there, we were enjoying a lovely meal (of fish, but nevermind) on the terrace of the home of our friends, Guy and Annick, and all of the sudden about a billion kadrillion bats start flying out of the trees all over the yard. It was dusk. The bats were coming out. I thought they were birds until the Frenchies started talking about the "chauves-souris" and when clarification was offered, I learned that they were bats.

Bats stink. Just an aside. A little FYI.

Anyway I got way off subject here. The reason for my post today is because J'aime chaussures.

I got new shoes!!!!!

And do you know what is even better than new shoes? I will tell you. It's new shoes that were 80% off!!!!!!!! These puppies were originally $54.99, marked down to $10.99.

New 80% off shoes make me want to dance. Thank you France!

(France didn't really have anything to do with my bargain shoes, but it rhymes with dance. See what I did there? I made a little rhyme.)

Here's another.

New shoes are a treat. Just ask my happy feet.

I know you all wish you had my wicked third grade poetry writing skillz.