God bless you Scratch, wherever you are!

I had my French language proficiency test today in connection with my request for French citizenship. Up until April of this year anyone over 60 didn't have to take the test, but on 1 April all that changed and now everyone requesting citizenship has to take it. I can't say I was particularly bothered but it was just one more hoop to jump through all the same. Then again, if getting citizenship gives you the right to vote I think it's only right that your French should be good enough to understand French politics don't you? Not that I do actually understand French politics but .... I certainly consider my French up to it should I ever show an interest!

I set off really early because although it was in a town not far from here I didn't know the exact location. On the way there I saw a Buffalo Grill steak house so I thought I'd stick one to the ex and have lunch there. I've written about this before but we used to go to Buffalo Grill sometimes when we were shopping in Annecy (they make a mean margarita), but my ex always used to do his nut because they put CORN in the free salad they gave you before your meal!!!! Damn, CORN??? My solution to that problem was either refuse the free salad or pick the corn out of it, but NO, his solution was that we should never set foot in that den of iniquity ever again! And he stuck to it! So, with a "devil may care" attitude I decided to eat at the Buffalo Grill before going on to my French test (although I passed on the margarita since I needed to keep my single brain cell alive for the test). And guess what, nobody died and the world didn't stop spinning because there was corn in the salad!

It's a good job I set out early though as it was a real pain to find this place. I was supposed to show up at 14h and 20 minutes beforehand I'm still driving round in circles looking for it. I finally found it though and was still in good time for the test. I'd guess there were about 20 of us in the group and it was very well organized - all covid-compliant and stuff. They walked us through the mechanics of the test and then we set to with the first part, which was the oral comprehension. I mentioned before that that was the part that most bothered me because while I understood everything that was said, as the questions became more difficult I always felt that the answers were ambiguous and several could have been right, and that was certainly true this time. That being said, the test was actually much easier than the practice tests I had been sitting, so that was a positive. Then we had the written comprehension test which, again, was pretty straightforward (although French can get pretty "flowery" - you know, why use one word when 100 will do?), followed by an exercise where we had to write three paragraphs on three different topics - which was fine, except for having to deal with a French keyboard. Still I managed. When I'd finished I turned to look out the window at the kids walking past and I realized that I could see the screen of the guy facing the window. He had his screen set up in a really huge font and that was when I realized that we didn't all have the same test. I could actually read his questions from where I sat (not that I was cheating of course) and he wasn't sitting the same test as me!

This test had never particularly worried me and for that I can only send praises up to heaven for my old French teacher, Mr. Etches - who we all referred to affectionately as Scratch! He was incredibly strict but very fair, and he used to wander up and down the classroom singing verb endings (how to conjugate French verbs) and as daft as it sounds those bloody songs stuck. Ten trillion years later, when I joined my friend Ian in Bulgaria, we got to talking about Scratch and Ian started singing Scratch's "verb conjugating songs"! When I got my job in Geneva at the age of 21 I took the time to write to Scratch and thanked him for his wonderful teaching, which "was absolutely instrumental in helping me to get my fabulous job in Geneva". He wrote back to me, addressing me as "Treaders", saying how I was a delight to teach and that he was so glad that he had made an impact on my life. I learned that he died shortly thereafter but I know that somewhere I still have that letter!

Anyway, thanks to Scratch I wasn't particularly worried about writing in French. I make mistakes, of course, but not that many, so I'm pretty confident about the written part. The good thing was that the oral and written comprehension part was easy to mark as we went along, so at the end of the test we got our results. A1 and A2 are basically "you speak basic French" and are not accepted as sufficient fluency to become French citizens. At a minimum you need B1 - and I couldn't believe it when I got C2!!! That's not the definitive score because the written and the oral interview have to be marked first but I'm pretty damn pleased with that anyway. Apparently I got 699/700, and the Algerian guy next to me asked me if I was French when he clocked my score (so why would I be applying for French citizenship?)!!!! I didn't dare look at his score because it didn't feel right, but I'm assuming it should have been ok - I mean, Algerians speak French anyway right!

After that it was the one-on-one interview on three different subjects. She asked me what my hobbies were, so after "patchwork, walking in the mountains etc." I mentioned reading. So she asked what I was reading at the moment, and when I said Donald Trump's niece's book she asked me to tell her the "juicy bits". I told her that Mary Trump certainly didn't hold back and it was a good read, and she just laughed.

This lady gets to mark me on my interview with her but the recording of it is then sent off to Paris and they will have the definitive say-so for the marks. So I'll have to wait a couple of weeks for the final results (they have to mark the written test also) and then I'll know if I can proceed with my citizenship request.

The campus was in a beautiful spot alongside the Salève mountain with a view over the city of Geneva. House prices (I imagine) are higher around there because of the proximity to the Swiss border, and there are some truly stunning houses around, but I don't think I would like to be negotiating those little winding roads every day, particularly not in winter!

As I was driving back I noticed that the mountains were particularly spectacular today, with clear blue skies and a fabulous view of the Mont Blanc. I couldn't stop to get a photo though, but by golly some days are just diamonds. But you know what will probably bug me for a long time? If I got 699/700 on the test that they were already able to mark, what was the question I got wrong?