ça va?

After "bonjour", "ça va" has to be the second most commonly used greeting in France. Literally it means "that goes?", and since its response is the same phrase itself, "ça va" is usually posed as a rhetoric question.

Needless to say, for the month or so that I've been here, I've asked and have been asked this question numerous times.

However, the problem lies in what to say after the ça va. Usually some small talk about daily life, interesting things, school, e.g. will follow en suite the opening pleasantries. Preferably, these little banter sessions should evolve into something more substantial like debates of the achievements of Manchester United against those of Liverpool's, good natured ribbing, and maybe even gossip. Sadly though, I am more often then not faced with awkward silence and nerve wracking hem and hawing as I try to think of interesting/common things to continue the brief spark of human contact.

Speaking with the French is not easy. Trying to talk to and fit in with the French youth is even more challenging. I guess the system is pretty much the same around the world: Cliques between youths can be pretty strong and it may be difficult to join in when they are already well cemented. There's also the problem of slang as youths are prone to using another set of words and jargon which are completely different from the mainstream language. Being of another race, colour and culture obviously does not help as well.

So how do I survive?

It sure helps to have a group of Singaporean friends and the ever faithful msn live messenger to fall back on at the end of the day. Not that I am xenophobic, but it sure feels good to be able to add the "la"s at the end of sentences rather than to use them as articles! Also, isn't the look of total comprehension just oh-so satisfying as you share an inside joke with the rest? =) Nevertheless, I still try to converse with my international friends (from French intensive week) and my French classmates as much as possible. After all, that's the goal of a year abroad isn't it?

In the meantime I have to learn how to grin and bear with the anonymity. The learning curve is steep and it can be very harsh at times, but nothing ventured nothing gained!

Maybe one day I'll be able to write something about going beyond the ça va. But for now, ça ne va pas!!! =P