New french scoutmaster

[Hugolin]

Dear scout brothers,

 

I am happy to join your e-community. Please, forgive my very very bad english.

I live in France and I am 22. I would be glad to meet american scoutmasters in order to share our ideas, experience, pedagogy about scouting.

I am waiting for your answer.

[Trevorum]

Bonjour Hugolin!

 

Please pull up a log and join our campfire. We have lots of good folks here who share their Scouting experiences, and we look forward to your contributions from Scouting in France!

[Hugolin]

Thank you for the invitation. But are you talking about a virtual campfire or a real one?

Anyway I am interested. Where is it?

 

 

[Trevorum]

Hugs, (you'd better get used to nicknames, here...)

 

I meant our virtual campfire of course! Some of us like to think of this e-community as a campfire, with folks sitting around on logs, getting up to avoid the smoke from time to time, sipping their favorite beverage (say, what do y'all drink in France around a campfire?) and swapping stories and debating the finer points of Scouting.

 

Others like to think of this e-community as a lazy Sunday afternoon on a front porch, with friendly neighbors dropping in from time to time to listen, make snide comments, or just chat.

 

either way, welcome!

[SemperParatus]

Welcome. You can have my log. I've been sitting so long I have sor bonnes.

 

 

[Hugolin]

Trevorum,

 

My american nickname is "Brad".

Your campfire seems to be funny and your discussions sound interesting. I like the lazy Sunday afternoon idea. Thank you for your very clear explanation and sorry for my english.

I am glad to join your community. I will tell you what we drink in France arround the fire...

Thank you for your welcome.

 

Brad

 

PS : Excuse my curiosity, but where do you live in Texas?

[Trevorum]

Semper, now be nice with your bad puns. After all, you have nothing Toulouse ...

 

Hugs, don't worry about your language skills. Believe me, you'll fit right in.

 

(PPS. I live near Austin - World Armadillo Headquarters! Where in France are y'all from?)

[SemperParatus]

Time to visit the latrine...if I could just get the pas de deux open

 

Let me translate that Texas twang for you...

 

Where do you live in France?

 

(This message has been edited by SemperParatus)

[Trevorum]

Alas, I fear our American humor may be lost on our new friend Hugs. Thank goodness we don't have any of those wanky Brits amongst us (no offense, Eamonn)

[EagleInKY]

Bonjour mon ami. Welcome to our prestigious group. You're among friends here, so don't let them scare you!

 

Tell you a secret, I was born in France. My dad was stationed there in the U.S. Army. Of course, they had to renounce my French citizenship when they returned to the states, but I still have my French birth certificate.

[SemperParatus]

EIKY'mon

I always thought you had that certain je ne sais quoi.

[Hugolin]

Dear friends,

 

Thank you very much for such a reception. I am glad to meet you.

First, what means "Semper Paratus". We say : "Semper Parati". No?

Then, I didn't undersand the word game with "Sor bonnes" (I know La Sorbonne, but what means your sentence?).

Sorry, but because of the .... (I don't know the expression - hour which change through Atlantic), I leave when everybody is coming. It's a pity...

I live in Angers (France Western), and I study in Paris.

I like Texas. It's a great state! I seen a cup "don't mess with Texas". I have a friend from Houston (studiing in Austin).

 

Very nice to meet you. Maybe see you tomorow.

 

Brotherly,

Hugs

[Adrianvs]

Bienvenue a notre forum, Hugolin. Certainment, mon francais est plus pauvre que votre anglais.. :-)

[Trevorum]

Hugs,

 

I'd very much like to know about Scouting in France. It would be great if you could spin off a new thread (see the link in the lower right hand corner of every dialogue box) and tell us more.

 

In the meantime, our friend Semper Paratus (Latin for the BSA Motto of 'Be Prepared' is well known here for his clever word games. With "Sor bonnes", he was making a word play on "sore bones", meaning his rear end was tired of sitting and he wanted to get up and do something else (all virtual, of course!). My reply word play ("Toulouse" meaning "to loose") fell flat (wasn't very funny). I can see we will have to be careful of word play and using American slang when chatting with you!

 

I'm glad you like Texas. We do, too. Yes, it's a very big place and we don't really ride horses to work anymore. The "Don't mess with Texas" slogan is also a word play. It means first, don't litter in Texas, but the slang meaning is sort of a macho boast sort of like don't start a fight with us, either, or we'll open a can of ... (nevermind).

 

(gee, these things sound sort of lame [dumb] when you have to explain them.)

 

Don't worry about the differences in time zones between France and the US. No one here expects immediate replies (or any replies at all for that matter) to a posting. When you have something to contribute to a discussion, just chime in (say what is on your mind) regardless of what time it is on either side of the Atlantic.

 

One last word. As I'm sure you know, internet discussions can get pretty heated at times. While we are all Scouts here and we all try to be respectful of others, it doesn't hurt to have a thick skin (umm.. don't get offended too easily by anything).

 

Again, welcome to our forum.

[scoutldr]

Bonjour, Hugolin. Bienvenue. Your English is magnifique. My experience is that Europeans speak better English than Americans do most of the time. I have a Cuban friend who has been like a brother to me for 30 years. He tells me English is a stupid language and very difficult to learn. I reply to him that at least in English we don't have to remember whether a table is male or female!