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Entries from April 2023

A Horticulturist, A Lawyer, and a Cat walk into a Chat bot...

Purple delphinium and cabanon
Today's entry won't whisk you into the blossoming fields of Provence or take you on a tour of Paris's catacombs. Our destination is cyberspace (of which France is part of, n'est-ce pas?) and the mission is to keep up with technology. This journal will return to its bucolic roots very soon, so please don't leave the room. Without further delay, here's our word of the day:

DÉBROUILLARD (day-broo-ee-yar)

    : someone who is resourceful and able to find solutions to problems on their own
    : quelqu'un qui est astucieux et capable de trouver des solutions à des problèmes de manière autonome.

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse

"Navigating New Technology: A Cat's Guide to Using ChatGPT"

In the dozen or so hours I've poured questions or commands into Chatgpt--an artificial intelligence chatbot--I've had many amusing exchanges--especially when I ask it to respond as a specialist in the field, i.e. "answer as a horticulturist or a lawyer or a cat..." Did you know it could do that? The answers are delivered in very specific ways depending on "who" is talking. 

Recently I asked Chatgpt to help with a current garden dilemma. I carefully worded my query as follows:  "Answer as a horticulturist: there are tomato plants sprouting in the same pot as my 4-year-old lemon tree. Will the tomato plants be ok?

Here's the answer I got back:

"As a horticulturist, I would advise that it is not recommended to grow tomato plants in the same pot as a lemon tree. Lemon trees have different nutrient requirements than tomato plants, and their growth patterns are also different..."

Next, I asked it to answer as a lawyer...

"As a lawyer, it is important to note that the answer to this question may vary depending on the specific circumstances and applicable laws in the jurisdiction where the lemon tree and tomato plants are located."

Then I asked it to "answer as a cat"...

"As a cat, my answer would be to first sniff and investigate the tomato plants and lemon tree to satisfy my curiosity. If they are safe and non-toxic to cats, I may choose to lounge in the pot or nearby area, or use the leaves and branches as a fun toy to bat around."

Finally, I asked it to answer as a life coach...

"As a life coach, I would say that having tomato plants sprouting in the same pot as your 4-year-old lemon tree could be seen as a metaphor for life. Sometimes unexpected challenges or opportunities arise, and it's up to us to find ways to adapt and make the most of them."

Answer as Kristi?
I could have gone on for hours, asking the chatbot to reply in various "voices" (while enjoying the colorful output), but it was time to resolve my garden dilemma. In the end, I decided to go with the voice of experience. And in my own experience I have seen tomato plants and citrus plants live together in harmony (in fact, the two tomato seedlings that sprang up last year--in the same small pot as our kumquat--grew into hardy plants yielding a dozen tomatoes! 

So the moral of the story is: have fun with artificial intelligence, but call on and trust your own experience as far as possible. In other words, when it comes to new and unfamiliar technology sniff and investigate, then do some lounging in time to mull things over. Indeed, we must continue to think, and not delegate all our problem-solving to a robot.

Now, what would the cat say?

*   *    *

Lili and the kumquat
Lili and the Kumquats. Sounds like a cool band! This year our kumquat tree welcomed dozens of calendula or "souci" blossoms after seeds sprouted in the same little pot as the tree. I'm about to pull out the last of the flowers as more tomato sprouts have appeared this year. It's some kind of magic pot that houses that old kumquat! (Notice one of our doves, above.) 

Lemon tree
The lemon tree was a gift from Mom. In the background, our old farm table which we still haven't replaced after the fire.

LISTEN TO THE FRENCH
Now you can enjoy another video from FluentListener.com. Be sure to do the whole listening exercise here. And for David's French listening course, go here.

Ce que je dis toujours

FRENCH VOCABULARY

I received this suggestion from Mary, regarding the sound file:

"It would help me immensely if Jean-Marc would say the English word first, then the word in French. I read your article first, then listen to the words - but I cannot remember what the word meant when he speaks it. I love to hear him speak - and really want to know how to pronounce the words correctly - and it would be very beneficial to hear the English word, then in French."

Here you go, Mary! In the following sound file I say the words in English, first, and Jean-Marc pronounces the French:

Click here for the audio file


The horticulturist = L'horticulteur
The tomato plants = Les plants de tomate
The lemon tree = Le citronnier
The nutrients = Les nutriments
Growth = La croissance
The lawyer = L'avocat
The circumstances = Les circonstances
The jurisdiction = La juridiction
The cat = Le chat
Curiosity = La curiosité
Non-toxic = Non-toxique
The life coach = Le coach de vie
The metaphor = La métaphore
The experience = L'expérience
The kumquat = Le kumquat
Harmony = L'harmonie
The problem = Le problème
The technology = La technologie
To resolve = Résoudre
Thought = La pensée

Kristi and smokey and lemon tree
Memories. Making parsley pesto with Smokey. That's another lemon tree we had at our vineyard. I wonder what ChatGPT's life coach would say about all the lemon trees we have tried growing--on the vineyard and now near the beach? Are they metaphoric?

A Message from KristiOngoing support from readers like you keeps me writing and publishing this free language journal each week. If you find joy or value in these stories and would like to keep this site going, donating today will help so much. Thank you for being a part of this community and helping me to maintain this site and its newsletter.

Ways to contribute:
1.Zelle®, The best way to donate and there are no transaction fees. Zelle to [email protected]

2.Paypal or credit card
Or purchase my book for a friend and so help them discover this free weekly journal.
For more online reading: The Lost Gardens: A Story of Two Vineyards and a Sobriety


La Rafale: The Gusts of France: An Ode to the Mistral Wind

Wind sports in france hyeres
Harnessing the wind in Hyérès, South of France, a kite surfer’s paradise. More advantages of the wind in today's story. First, our word of the day: 

LA RAFALE

    : gusty wind, bluster, squall

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse

Brise, rafale, mistral...No matter how poetic it is in French, wind can be disruptive and annoying. My husband used to curse the wind as it blew through our vineyard snapping the limbs off his grapevines. The blustery Mistral knocked down his precious grapes weeks before la vendange and made pruning time a glacial nightmare. Ever seen a southern French winemaker in a ski suit? It’s a funny thought. But most times we’re not laughing about the wind....

Tempête, Bourrasque, Tourbillon--when the wind is really strong it knocks over our flower pots and rattles our wooden shutters making us restless. Part of the reason I cannot sleep is that I'm busy thinking of all the damage happening outside: the pepper tree will lose tons of leaves (now floating in the fountain below). Mom's fence (the flimsy divider that gives her a modicum of privacy) will have blown down, and our garden chairs will be strewn around the yard.

Apart from the wind's damage, it’s irritating. It makes my eyes water like faucets and it blows my hair into my lipstick. And on my list of gripes about the wind, I can now add that it ruins dates....

Saturday Jean-Marc and I took a scenic drive to Tourves, where we hiked around the flowering garrigue. After picking wild thyme and le romarin, and stocking up on pinecones for our fireplace, we headed to the village of Néoules for lunch. The restaurant was full so we sat outside, even if it was un peu frisquet. The waitress gave us blankets in case we were frileux.

Next, the wind picked up....

The breadbasket flew first, then the napkins. As I ran after our serviettes and la corbeille à pain, my husband held down the fort. He placed his mug of beer over the menu and fastened down la nappe with the help of strategically-placed forks an knives. This wasn't what I pictured in my mind when we decided to forgo a picnic and dine out. I imagined a cozy booth with a view of the countryside. I pictured us being a little more dressed up than usual, and every hair smoothly in place. Instead, we sat wrapped in blankets, holding on to our flapping hats. As we waited and waited for our moules frites, I feared that when they finally did arrive they’d fly off into the not-so-scenic view (our table overlooked the parking lot).

LE VENT ET SES VERTUS 
When we got home that afternoon, I filled my trusty bouillotte with hot water and headed upstairs to décongeler, or thaw out and rest. I usually watch Youtube, but lately, I'm into ChatGPT. So I asked the virtual robot to give me a few good reasons to admire the wind (instead of curse it). I added that I'd like the answer to be funny--and salt and peppered with French. Here's the amusing (and slightly corny) response I got back from the chatbot:

"Firstly, the mistral wind clears the air of all the pollution and dust that's been clogging up your nose. So now you can breathe easy and say "merci" to the wind. But be careful not to get blown away when you step outside, mon ami!

Secondly, the mistral wind can help dry out your laundry faster than a tumble dryer. So say "au revoir" to soggy socks and hello to fresh, crisp laundry in no time. Just make sure you have a good grip on those clothespins, or they might end up flying all the way to Paris!

Thirdly, the mistral wind is a tourist attraction in its own right. People come from all over to experience the gusts of wind that can knock you off your feet. It's like a rollercoaster, except you don't have to wait in line and it's completely free. C'est magnifique!

Fourthly, the mistral wind can help you generate some green energy. Install a wind turbine in your backyard and let the wind power your home. It's like having your very own Eiffel Tower, except instead of lights, it powers your fridge.

Fifthly, the mistral wind can help you avoid awkward conversations. Just tell your chatty neighbor that you can't hear them over the wind, and voila! Problem solved. Merci, mistral!

Sixthly, the mistral wind can make you feel like a supermodel. With your hair blowing in the wind and your coat flapping behind you, you'll feel like you're walking the runway at Paris Fashion Week. Strike a pose, mon cher!

Seventhly, the mistral wind can be used to create a natural exfoliant. Just stand outside for a few minutes and let the wind do its thing. Your skin will be as smooth as a French croissant in no time.

Eighthly, the mistral wind can make you feel like a real adventurer. Imagine hiking through the Rhone Valley, with the wind pushing against you like an invisible force. You'll feel like you're in an action movie, only with more baguettes.

Ninthly, the mistral wind is a great way to practice your French. Just shout "Vive le vent!" (Long live the wind!) as you step outside, and you'll sound like a true Francophone. Bonus points if you can do it without getting blown away."

(End of quote) I hope you enjoyed Chatgpt's response as much as I did. The wind has finally subsided over here and it’s safe to wear lipstick again. Vive le vent et vive le rouge à lèvres!

To comment, click here.

***

Painting holiday in France


FRENCH VOCABULARY

Click here for Jean-Marc's soundfile

Le vent = Wind
La rafale = Gusty wind, bluster, squall
La brise = Breeze
Le mistral = Mistral (a strong, cold wind that blows from the north through the Rhône valley and southern France to the Mediterranean Sea)
La vendange = Grape harvest
La tempête = Storm
La bourrasque = Gust of wind
Le tourbillon = Whirlwind
La garrigue = Wild Mediterranean scrubland
Le romarin = Rosemary
Un peux frisquet = A little chilly
Le frileux, la frileuse = Person who feels the cold easily
La serviette = Napkin
La corbeille à pain = Breadbasket
La nappe = Tablecloth
La fourchette = Fork
Le couteau = Knife
Décongeler = Thaw out
Merci = Thank you
Au revoir = Goodbye
Mon ami = My friend
C'est magnifique = It's magnificent
Vive le vent = Long live the wind!
Les environs = Surrounding area
Le Rouge à lèvres = Lipstick

Thank you for checking in today and being a part of this French-language community. Your support through reading, sharing, or donating keeps this journal thriving amidst the sea of digital information. Goodbye for now and I leave you with some recent photos from our town...

Tree blossoms in La Ciotat
During a stroll through La Ciotat on Sunday...

Architecture in la ciotat
Notice the netting at the top, beneath the roof tiles on this ancient façade: a safeguard against falling tiles when the wind blows through town.

La ciotat centre cille
The sign reads: Cet endroit n'est pas un depotoir. Merci de jeter vos ordures devant chez vous. This place is not a dump. Please throw your garbage in front of your own home. (Looks like the sign is working. No garbage for the mistral wind to blow all over our town.)

View down to the sea
The view down to the sea along Rue Louis Vignol. 

A Message from KristiOngoing support from readers like you keeps me writing and publishing this free language journal each week. If you find joy or value in these stories and would like to keep this site going, donating today will help so much. Thank you for being a part of this community and helping me to maintain this site and its newsletter.

Ways to contribute:
1.Zelle®, The best way to donate and there are no transaction fees. Zelle to [email protected]

2.Paypal or credit card
Or purchase my book for a friend and so help them discover this free weekly journal.
For more online reading: The Lost Gardens: A Story of Two Vineyards and a Sobriety


La Surdité: I Can't Hear What You Are Saying! + Tinnitus in French

Jean-Marc and Mama The Dove
Jean-Marc, tending to his tomato plants as Mama the Dove looks on. 

la surdité (suhr-dee-tay)

    : hearing loss, deafness, infirmité auditive

VIEW FULL POST
This newsletter has experienced technical problems recently, as I am trying to set the format back to “show full post.” Hopefully, you are seeing this now. If not, my apologies. Click here to view the entire post.

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse
"Je n'entends pas ce que tu m'as dit..."

Over the past year, I have noticed my husband and I aren't hearing each other so well anymore (and it's not like we're that old at 55 and 56). Proximity used to be the problem: "I can't hear you when you're talking to me from the other room!" one of us grumbles (we're both guilty of these long-distance hurlements). But lately, I've noticed a few other factors that may explain our surdité, or hearing loss. I'll get to those in a minute... 

Pardon? What was that you said? Hmm? Hein? I CAN'T HEAR YOU! Often, these ear strainings, or hearing struggles, happen when we are right beside each other: seated at the table, working in the garden, or riding in our car. It can be so frustrating and there's the tendency to want to blame the other. "Tu marmonnes," I'll say to Jean-Marc, wishing he’d speak up. But when my husband went to see the doctor last month about the ringing and buzzing in his ears, we learned les acouphènes were affecting his hearing. (The tinnitus came on suddenly, two years ago. It got so bad that Jean-Marc now wears une prothèse auditive). While we still don't know what brought on his severe tinnitus (stress? the vaccination?), we now know it is partly responsible for our communication conundrum.

BLAME IT ON THE FRENCH
At least Jean-Marc has a good reason for not hearing me clearly. But the same isn't true for you-know-who. (I'll admit: listening is part of the problem. I've got to tune in when my loved ones speak!) On the bright side, our hearing difficulties do lead to some laughs. Recently, while out on a morning walk, the subject of breakfast came up—this, just after the subject of fishing, which must have been on my mind when Jean-Marc said:

"Tu veux le croissant qui reste d'hier matin?
"Uh...No thanks. I'll have toast," I said, thinking it odd he was offering me yesterday's fish for breakfast. Beurk!

But Jean-Marc insisted that if I wanted it, the fish was mine. He'd happily leave it for me. We went round and round with this fishy conversation until I turned to him and asked just what exactly are you talking about? And that's when I heard about le croissant (and not le poisson). Ouf! I now understand that French is to blame for my own auditive issues--and I was beginning to think it was my age. That said, I will think about a visit to the ear doctor--l'Oto-Rhino-Laryngologiste (try hearing that one in French!).

***
I hope you enjoyed today's story. Now is a good time to plug my friend Dave's French listening program. Check it out and be sure to get the French Listening Course.

IMG_1150


FRENCH VOCABULARY

Click here to listen to Jean-Marc read this French list:

la surdité = hearing loss
Je n'entends pas ce que tu m'as dit = I didn't hear what you said
Pardon = Excuse me
hein = eh? what?
marmonner = to mumble
tu marmonnes = you're mumbling
l'acouphène (m) = tinnitus
une prothèse auditive = hearing aid
beurk! = yuck! ew!
le croissant = croissant
le poisson = fish
ouf! = phew
Jackie and Lili
Our daughter, Jackie, and 18-year-old Lili-the-Cat, who is deaf, or sourd. Turns out there’s a word for Age-Related Hearing Loss: Presbycusis. I would love to hear your stories regarding la surdité. Also, have you experienced tinnitus and do you know the cause? Thank you for commenting.

A Message from KristiOngoing support from readers like you keeps me writing and publishing this free language journal each week. If you find joy or value in these stories and would like to keep this site going, donating today will help so much. Thank you for being a part of this community and helping me to maintain this site and its newsletter.

Ways to contribute:
1.Zelle®, The best way to donate and there are no transaction fees. Zelle to [email protected]

2.Paypal or credit card
Or purchase my book for a friend and so help them discover this free weekly journal.
For more online reading: The Lost Gardens: A Story of Two Vineyards and a Sobriety


The French word "capter" + Exploring the Wonders of Chatgpt and AI-Assisted Writing

IMG_5727
Salut! This week I have a personal assistant who speaks 40 languages and who has just written this blog's first press release in French. Follow along today as I become the last person on earth to learn about Chatgpt, a computer program and tool that can talk with you and help you by answering questions, translating languages, and giving suggestions. (It also helped with the phonetic pronunciation of today's word and more...) To read the full post (if not shown here), click here.

Today's French Word: "Capter" 

pronunciation: kahp-teh

definition: to get, understand, grasp

Example: Je n'ai pas capté ce qu'il a dit. I didn't understand what he said.

Click here to listen to the example sentence

A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse

Wednesday, Jean-Marc and I met up with our Swiss friends, Tanja and Marc, in the seaside town of Bandol. Usually, this excursion to Winny's café is a biannual girls' meetup (just Tanja and I) where we catch up on dogs, kids, and health but this time our husbands added to our colorful chat. When the men finished discussing wine, our conversation merged to another topic, something called Chatgpt.

Chat what? I was suddenly lost and didn't understand what the others were talking about. Je n'ai pas capté. Finally, I reached for my smartphone and typed the word "Chatgpt" into Google.

Chatgpt was some sort of assistant that helps solve problems with the help of AI, or artificial intelligence. You can ask Chatgpt anything, just as you would google--only it's beyond Google. Chatgpt can actually do things for you (such as grade a paper, if you are a teacher). For such AI savoir-faire, it uses an enormous amount of text data from the internet, including books, articles, websites, social media posts, and even human interaction from previous Chatgpt users.

"[Chat]gpt is about amplifying what every person is able to do." -- Chatgpt video

As I tried to wrap my mind around Chatgpt, my tablemates at Winny's offered more examples of this AI-in-action's potential:

--It can tell you how to make wine
--It can help you design a product
--It can even write a press release

It can write something for you? Well, that was amazing! I hurried home to learn more about Chatgpt and to try it out. But when I got to the actual chatbot (the AI or non-human waiting to assist me) I froze. What, if any, were the risks and dangers of talking to Artificial Intelligence? Would that be like talking to a spy? (To find out, I snuck back over to Google, who had only one warning: that Chatgtp could sometimes hallucinate.)

Hallucinate? While I didn't understand what that meant, at least it was Chatgpt doing the hallucinating (and not something IT could do to ME. Imagine!). Still, I decided to proceed with caution. One of the things I learned Chatgpt could do was grade papers. Out of curiosity, I asked it to grade an article I had just submitted to France Today magazine...

The AI guy (or girl?)--the non-human--gave me a "B" and the following critique: Overall, the essay is well-written, entertaining, and emotionally engaging. It does a great job of conveying the author's love for dogs and their search for a new furry friend.

"Emotionally engaging,"... I wonder how Chatgpt can comprehend emotions? For that, I asked it to write a "hopefully and happy story about my family"--in one hundred words. I entered a few facts (our family members' names, our city, our boat, sea urchins...). Within seconds, here is the story Chatgpt composed:

On a beautiful day in La Ciotat, the family set out on their boat, ready to hunt for sea urchins in the sparkling Mediterranean Sea. Jean-Marc steered the boat, while Jules regaled the family with stories of her youth. Max and Jackie dove into the water, gathering the spiny delicacies. Lili the cat lounged on deck, watching the birds flutter by. As the sun began to set, they returned to shore, and Kristi prepared a delicious feast of sea urchin pasta. The family laughed and chatted late into the night, grateful for each other's company and the joys of life in the south of France.

(Well! What do you think about that? Next, I asked Chatgtp to translate the text into French....)

Un beau jour à La Ciotat, la famille a pris le large sur leur bateau, prête à chasser les oursins dans la Méditerranée scintillante. Jean-Marc a dirigé le bateau, tandis que Jules a raconté des histoires de sa jeunesse. Max et Jackie ont plongé dans l'eau, ramassant les délicieux oursins épineux. Lili le chat s'est prélassé sur le pont, regardant les oiseaux voleter autour. Au coucher du soleil, ils sont rentrés à terre et Kristi a préparé un délicieux festin de pâtes aux oursins. La famille a ri et discuté jusqu'à tard dans la nuit, reconnaissante pour la compagnie les uns des autres et les joies de la vie dans le sud de la France.

Whoah! As the French would say, C'est hallucinant. That's amazing! (Perhaps that is what Google meant in its warning?!). While I am still a touch apprehensive about interacting with AI, I can't help but be curious and want to discover more ways in which to use AI--to begin with as my multilingual writing assistant. Meantime, I would love to know how you use Chatgpt and what your thoughts are about this technology. Please share your experiences with Chatgpt in the comments.

Bisettes,

Kristi
P.S. I just got off the phone with Jean-Marc. I told him I didn't need him to record today's sound file.... I managed to do it with the help of AI. "So you don't need me anymore?" he chuckled. Funnily, I have the same concerns. Will my own job become obsolete in this era of artificial intelligence and all it can do? 

To read the press release for this blog, written by Chatgpt, go here.

Tess-Advert-3

 

FRENCH TRANSLATION OF TODAY'S POST
by Chatgpt
(Human corrections are welcome. Please use the comments section)

Une journée dans la vie française par Kristi Espinasse

Mercredi, Jean-Marc et moi avons retrouvé nos amis suisses, Tanja et Marc, à Bandol, au bord de la mer. Normalement, cette excursion au café de Winny est une rencontre annuelle ou biannuelle entre filles (juste Tanja et moi) où nous rattrapons le temps perdu sur les chiens, les enfants et la santé, mais cette fois, nos maris se sont ajoutés à notre conversation colorée. Lorsque les hommes ont fini de discuter du vin, notre conversation s'est soudainement tournée vers la créativité et quelque chose appelé Chatgpt.

Chat quoi? Peu importe le nombre de fois que Marc l'a prononcé, je n'ai pas compris ce qu'il disait. Je n'ai pas capté. Finalement, j'ai pris mon smartphone et je lui ai fait taper le mot dans Google.

Chatgpt était une sorte d'assistant qui aide à résoudre des problèmes à l'aide de l'IA ou de l'intelligence artificielle. Vous pouvez demander à Chatgpt n'importe quoi, comme vous le feriez avec Google, mais c'est au-delà de Google. Chatgpt peut réellement faire des choses pour vous.

"[Chat]gpt consiste à amplifier ce que chaque personne est capable de faire." - Vidéo de Chatgpt

Alors que j'essayais de comprendre Chatgpt, mes compagnons de table à Winny ont offert plus d'exemples du potentiel de cette IA en action: elle peut vous dire comment faire du vin. Elle peut vous aider à concevoir un produit. Elle peut même écrire un communiqué de presse."

Ça peut écrire quelque chose pour vous? Eh bien, c'était incroyable! Je me suis dépêché de rentrer chez moi pour en savoir plus sur Chatgpt et l'essayer. Mais quand je suis arrivé sur le chatbot (l'IA ou le non-humain qui attendait de m'aider), je me suis figé. Quels sont les risques et les dangers de parler à l'intelligence artificielle? Serait-ce comme parler à un espion? (Pour cela, je suis retourné en douce sur Google, qui n'avait qu'un avertissement : que Chatgtp pouvait parfois halluciner.)

Halluciner? Bien que je n'aie pas tout à fait compris ce que cela voulait dire, au moins, c'était Chatgpt qui faisait des hallucinations (et pas quelque chose que cela pouvait me faire. Imaginez!). Néanmoins, j'ai décidé de procéder avec prudence. Une des choses que j'ai apprises que Chatgpt pouvait faire était de noter des articles. Par curiosité, je lui ai demandé de noter un article que je venais de soumettre au magazine France Today...

J'ai eu un "B"! Et le résumé suivant : "Dans l'ensemble, l'essai est bien écrit, divertissant et émotionnellement engageant. Il fait un excellent travail de transmission de l'amour de l'auteur pour les chiens et leur recherche d'un nouvel ami à fourrure."

"Émotionnellement engageant"... Je me demande comment Chatgpt peut comprendre les émotions? Pour cela, je lui ai demandé d'écrire une "histoire pleine d'espoir et heureuse sur ma famille"... en cent mots. J'ai entré quelques faits (les noms de nos membres de la famille, notre ville, notre bateau, les oursins). En quelques secondes, voici l'histoire de Chatgpt :

Un beau jour à La Ciotat, la famille a pris le large sur leur bateau, prête à chasser les oursins dans la Méditerranée scintillante. Jean-Marc a dirigé le bateau, tandis que Jules a raconté des histoires de sa jeunesse. Max et Jackie ont plongé dans l'eau, ramassant les délicieux oursins épineux. Lili le chat s'est prélassé sur le pont, regardant les oiseaux voleter autour. Au coucher du soleil, ils sont rentrés à terre et Kristi a préparé un délicieux festin de pâtes aux oursins. La famille a ri et discuté jusqu'à tard dans la nuit, reconnaissante pour la compagnie les uns des autres et les joies de la vie dans le sud de la France.

(Eh bien ! Qu'est-ce que vous en pensez ? Ensuite, j'ai demandé à Chatgpt de traduire le texte en français...)

(Waouh ! Comme diraient les Français, c'est hallucinant. C'est incroyable ! (Peut-être que c'est ce que Google voulait dire dans son avertissement ?). Bien que je sois encore un peu appréhensive à l'idée d'interagir avec l'IA, je ne peux m'empêcher d'être curieuse et de vouloir découvrir d'autres façons d'utiliser l'IA - pour commencer en tant qu'assistante d'écriture multilingue. En attendant, j'aimerais savoir comment vous utilisez Chatgpt et ce que vous pensez de cette nouvelle technologie. Veuillez partager vos expériences avec Chatgpt dans les commentaires.

Bisettes,

Kristi

P.S. Je viens de raccrocher avec Jean-Marc. Je lui ai dit que je n'avais pas besoin de lui pour enregistrer le fichier sonore d'aujourd'hui... J'ai réussi à le faire avec l'aide de l'IA. "Alors, tu n'as plus besoin de moi ?" a-t-il plaisanté. Drôlement, j'ai les mêmes préoccupations. Mon travail deviendra-t-il obsolète dans cette ère de l'intelligence artificielle et de tout ce qu'elle peut faire ?

IMG_5852
I've had my dose of technology for today. Going to putter around in my yard now. It's good for the brain! To view the comments to this post, or to write one, click here.

A Message from KristiOngoing support from readers like you keeps me writing and publishing this free language journal each week. If you find joy or value in these stories and would like to keep this site going, donating today will help so much. Thank you for being a part of this community and helping me to maintain this site and its newsletter.

Ways to contribute:
1.Zelle®, The best way to donate and there are no transaction fees. Zelle to [email protected]

2.Paypal or credit card
Or purchase my book for a friend and so help them discover this free weekly journal.
For more online reading: The Lost Gardens: A Story of Two Vineyards and a Sobriety


The Missing Link

Sanary sur Mer
I am very sorry for this extra email in your inbox but there was a missing link to my current post making it difficult to access today's update

To access the full story, click here or go directly to French Word-A-Day.com. Thank you very much for your understanding (and if you follow me on social media you have probably heard enough from me today). Désolée!

Bisettes et bon week-end,

Kristi

A Message from KristiOngoing support from readers like you keeps me writing and publishing this free language journal each week. If you find joy or value in these stories and would like to keep this site going, donating today will help so much. Thank you for being a part of this community and helping me to maintain this site and its newsletter.

Ways to contribute:
1.Zelle®, The best way to donate and there are no transaction fees. Zelle to [email protected]

2.Paypal or credit card
Or purchase my book for a friend and so help them discover this free weekly journal.
For more online reading: The Lost Gardens: A Story of Two Vineyards and a Sobriety


The French Speedo is Back as France strips down for the Climate

Levant Island France
Levant Island, off the coast of Hyérès, is one of France's naturist territories. From April to October locals and tourists roam free (of clothing). Find out why the French government is expanding its "no clothes zones" across the Hexagone and what, if any, effect this will have on Paris. First, today's French phrase:

"EN TENUE D'ADAM"

    : in one's birthday suit, without a stitch on


A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse

In the three decades I've lived in France, I have witnessed a few cultural, economic, and social changes in my adopted country--the most extreme being the abrupt demise of la bise. Before that, there was the disappearance of the French franc. And the past decade has seen a particular custom disappearing as, little by little, on French beaches from coast to coast, the French are "covering up." Whereas you used to see a lot of topless women (and men in speedos), these days one-pieces for her (and long "board shorts" for him) are à la mode. While all this amounts to just a few more square inches of fabric (if you can call it that), environmentalists at the Paris Climate Summit say the trend of "seasonal overdressing"--or wearing more than necessary during warmer months--is having an effect on greenhouse gas emissions. So much so that global heating experts believe it is clothing--and not cows--that's the real culprit behind the climate crisis.

C'est les vêtements! Non pas les vaches!
"It's clothing! Not cows!" You may have seen this mantra on posterboards that began cropping up across France in March. It is no coincidence officials waited until Springtime to crack down on "Les SVs" (Les Sur-Vêtementés or Over-Clothed). But a new law will do more than crack down on clothes hounds, it will penalize anyone wearing too much clothing in summertime.

But just how much is too much clothing? According to France's climate minister, Philippe SansHabilles, 1 kilogram of clothing--or the equivalent of a t-shirt (350 grams), shorts (500 grams), and underwear (150 grams) even this much is a burden when you consider just how much energy it takes to machine wash and dry or produce the collected tons of clothing throughout France. (And you thought cow burps were to blame!)

Wear less, emit less....
As summer heats up, so do new legislative measures. By June 15, the clothing limits fall to 700 grams. In July, with the heatwave well underway (and when CO2 levels peak in Europe) citizens will be required to shed their "threads" by another 200 grams and to use the community lavoir to rinse what few articles of clothing they're still sporting.

By August it is rumored certain towns along the South coast will have the same stature as Île du Levant (France's "naturalist" island which I reported  about here after ditching my jeans and t-shirt).

Naturiste zone france ile levant
"Bring Back the Speedo!" A drastic measure to slow climate change has the French government scrambling for a solution. 

Our town of La Ciotat happens to be within this bare-all jurisdiction and these extreme government measures are no longer a rumor but a soon-to-be reality. In order to drastically reduce the ecological footprint, citizens will be encouraged to go about "en costume d'Adam" or without a stitch of clothing. (Fig leaf optional.) Failure to wear less will result in une amende of 1500 euros (1629.60 USD) or two days of civil service (I can tell you from personal experience this is a super creepy job--even in Paris!). CCTV cameras are posed to record and track perpetrators and to assign points: the more points the fewer grams of clothing you're allowed the next time out. 

Thankfully our mayor (more of a Prudist than a Nudist) has divided the town into zones:

Zone A ("Adam's Costume," or no clothing)
Zone B (Barely-Clad)
Zone C (Clothed--500 grams maximum)

For those like me who are prone to skin cancer, the city will be distributing free and unlimited crème solaire, but I won't be taking any. You will find this hopeless prude holed up at home. I can't bear the idea of seeing my neighbors naked (Zone A)--and don't want to catch our local policemen sporting speedos (Zone B)! Hallelujah, though. I just realized my church is in Zone C (but what will 500 grams of clothing look like on my brothers and sisters? Does this include shoe weight? Are shoes "clothes"? What about espadrilles(which have a lot of fabric)?

As you can imagine, there's a lot to consider given these drastic measures go into effect very soon. Meantime, if you are traveling to France this summer and if, like me, you'd like to keep your pants on, stick to Paris where the clothes hounds hang out. If you do come south, take heart: there is one day a year when such draconian laws are relaxed: April 1st. (Only an April Fool would be caught in their birthday suit today!)  

Amicalement,
Kristi

FRENCH VOCABULARY

Click here for the audio file and listen to these French words

être en tenue d'Adam = to be in your birthday suit 
la bise
= a French greeting wherein two people kiss
à la mode = in fashion
C'est les vêtements! Non pas les vaches! = It's clothing! Not cows!
les Sur Vêtementés = the Over Dressed
le lavoir = community wash basin
Île du Levant = Levant Island
une amende = a fine
le costume d'Adam = Adam's suit (to wear no clothes)
la crème solaire = sunblock
amicalement = yours

Tess-Advert-3

Jean-Marc beach St cyr sur mer
Jean-Marc, ever comfortable en tenue d'Adam

A Message from KristiOngoing support from readers like you keeps me writing and publishing this free language journal each week. If you find joy or value in these stories and would like to keep this site going, donating today will help so much. Thank you for being a part of this community and helping me to maintain this site and its newsletter.

Ways to contribute:
1.Zelle®, The best way to donate and there are no transaction fees. Zelle to [email protected]

2.Paypal or credit card
Or purchase my book for a friend and so help them discover this free weekly journal.
For more online reading: The Lost Gardens: A Story of Two Vineyards and a Sobriety