Watching French TV

It is a Monday evening and since it is the end of September, that means it is the end of another quarter for Lyle. That also means long days on the phone, whether it is at the office, or when he comes home and continues the conversations. One of the frustrating aspects of the job here is that he has to be mindful of the time difference between Paris and the U.S. Many of his conference calls are in the evening because it is early afternoon in the U.S, and that makes dinner a challenge. Do we have dinner like the Americans at 6 or 7 p.m.? Or do we wait until after the phone calls and dine like the French....around 9 or even 10 pm?

Well, tonight, since I had a fantastic lunch at the Women's International Club meeting, he had dinner while on the phone, and I decided to see what was on TV.

We have cable TV here, of course, and it is pretty interesting. After looking at television a little in hotel rooms in Belgium and Spain, I am coming to the conclusion that French TV is not very English-friendly. There are a number of American TV shows, but they are usually dubbed into French, so I can't hear the English. I just watched the end of Extreme Makeover, in French. Can you even imagine Ty screaming and talking in FRENCH? It is pretty weird!

This cable station has a button on the remote where sometimes you can switch from French to English. It works about half the time. Some of the American shows I have cruised by, not stopping because they are only in French, are The Office, 24, House, Cold Case, McGyver, The Simpsons, Starsky and Hutch, Queer Eye, and lots of cartoons. It is a real mix of current and oldies. I find it more interesting to look at the French shows, but am frustrated that I can't understand what they are really about. Oh, how I wish I knew the language! I do actually enjoy the commercials as they can be quite funny! And...they are good language lessons!

There are very few programs in English : CNN, CNBC, France 24 (gives the Paris news in English), and TMC, which plays old movies. I am now realizing how limited that is since seeing a little of Belgium TV last weekend, where there were LOTS of English and American programming....and no dubbing! They did more sub-titles instead of dubbing. I even saw the British version of "Dancing with the Stars".

One of my favorite channels in the US is HGTV and I love to watch people looking for houses to buy. Well, right now I just discovered "Maison a Vendre" (House for Sale). It's kind of fun to take a peek inside French homes. Living in a city full of apartments, I sometimes forget that there are actually single-family homes here too!

We don't really watch that much TV, though, but as the days get darker earlier, the evening walks are probably going to become more scarce. I just need to do a little more reading.....and maybe even study my French!