Antoine in Wellington

[piwakawaka]

The door opens onto a patio that's full of a huge family working on a barbeque and other things.

There's a view over a city with a horseshoe harbor and a wind that threatens to blow you over if you walk the wrong way.

Comments

[piwakawaka]

A couple of tourists and bird watchers are having avid discussions about fantails as she goes around his head and perches on his shoulder and chirps again at him.

[ecrivez-moivite.livejournal.com]

He stops as she does so, tilting his head as if to say, 'Yes ma'am?'

[piwakawaka]

Then she flies down towards the waterfront again, then finds a clearer space and moves behind where there's a feathery sound,

"Do you like gelato?"

[ecrivez-moivite.livejournal.com]

"Sure."

[piwakawaka]

"Good, best place in the city."

She takes his hand and pulls him over to the little cafe and puts him in front,

"You order first."

[ecrivez-moivite.livejournal.com]

"Oh - non -"

After a moment of language flail, Antoine succeeds in getting himself a strawberry gelato.

Tiwa should be proud.

[piwakawaka]

She is and orders herself a chocolate hazelnut one and then pulls him over to sit right on the water,

"So, what should I start with in French?"

[ecrivez-moivite.livejournal.com]

"Well, 'bonjour' is a good start."

:D?

[piwakawaka]

"Bonjour."

Tiwa says with a grin as she digs into her gelato. She has learned some French in school but Antoine is more fun.

[ecrivez-moivite.livejournal.com]

"And bonsoir for good evening, and bonne nuit for goodnight."

[piwakawaka]

"Lots of different ways to say hello. Bonjour, bonsoir, bonne nuit."

[ecrivez-moivite.livejournal.com]

"Plus salut, which functions as both hello and goodbye."

[piwakawaka]

"Salut, I like that one, its quicker. Here you could say Hello, Kia Ora or Haere Mai."

[ecrivez-moivite.livejournal.com]

"Haere Mai," he repeats, as if testing the sounds out.

"Is there a difference between them?"

[piwakawaka]

"Haere Mai is more formal, more like welcome instead of hello."

[ecrivez-moivite.livejournal.com]

"Ah, I see. And the others are both informal versions?"

[piwakawaka]

"Yes, not that tricky at all."

[ecrivez-moivite.livejournal.com]

"Luckily for me."

[piwakawaka]

"So what's next?"

[ecrivez-moivite.livejournal.com]

"Well, s'il vous plaît is please, and merci or merci beaucoup for thank you, and thank you very much, respectively."

[piwakawaka]

"S'il vous plait, merci and merci beaucoup."

Her accent is actually quite close to his, she's got a bit of mimic in her.

[ecrivez-moivite.livejournal.com]

Her pronunciation of French is better than his of Maori, at any rate.

"Comment allez-vous is the formal form of 'how are you'. Ça va is the informal."

[piwakawaka]

"Always a formal and informal, rather complicated. Comment allez-vous and Ca va."

[ecrivez-moivite.livejournal.com]

"I hear it's even more complicated in the oriental languages."

[piwakawaka]

"I think I'll just stick with French for now."