Biographic Information: English/French, Female 64 yrs
Themes: Life history interview, Participant talks about her whole life (childhood, family, education, career, moving from France to the U.S.., etc.)
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Transcript:
[00:00]
00:03
Interviewer: Hi. How are you this morning.
00:05
Participant: I’m good, thanks.
00:07
I: Wonderful.
00:07
P: I’ll make sure I speak louder.
00:08
I: Yes and I, I asked them to turn it down so they, um they should. Uh, all right well, we’ll start with the basic information. Um, where are you from I’m from?
00:18
P: I’m from Normandy France.
00:21
I: Ah, how nice. Did you, did you- were you born there? Did you grow up there?
00:25
P: Yes.
00:25
I: Nice. So, tell me a little bit about that. How was that?
00:28
P: Yeah. Um, it was um very cold and humid and so the point where we had to use a heater in August but now when I go visit it’s really changed because it’s too hot now in the summer. (laughs). Which never happened before, and we were walking everywhere like even to go to school. That was really nice. Um, I remember living in um, um, fourth floor of the apartment building and um from the fourth floor I could see the slaughterhouse next door and hear the poor cows being slaughtered every day, so I became vegetarian. And um it was beautiful we had great food a large family seven kids and good education that’s all I can say right now.
01:47
I: Wonderful.
01:50
P: Ohh yeah one more thing. In this town where I was um, where I grew up everything was free so we we were pretty poor and even the movies the anything recreational was free especially for children um so the buses were free it was an experiment and so everything was paid by the city not the, not at the federal level just this city and um that was really um a- amazing because even being- my parents couldn’t afford take me any class- to pay for any classes so I, but I took clarinet and I became a member of the orchestra at twelve. Um, horseback riding, sailing kayaking, I became a kayak instructor at eighteen, and it didn’t cost me anything. Um camping. I mean you name it we have everything. It’s like kids’ heaven. (laughs) It’s was a little town.
03:10
I:That’s wonderful! That’s lots of opportunities to try things that people don’t normally get the chance to try.
03:15
P: Absolutely. Especially when you don’t have the means.
03:18
I: Right. Right. And it’s a shame because a lot of times monetary is, is the reason that people don’t want to do things, that the kids don’t have access to these things.
03:27
P: Yeah.
03:38
I: So that’s – [an]
3:30
P: And then, can you imagine like you ca- your parents don’t have to be available to drive you cause you can walk or just take the bus, they’re free. Or bicycle it’s very safe. Bicycling.
03:44
I: My parents love kayaking. We have a couple of kayaks, and we’ll go down to the, to Elephant Butte or Caballo Lake [oh yeah that’s a great place to do] we’ll spend the weekend kayaking. We went to, I forget the name of the event but it was some of the Native Americans and then we were out on the lake and it was at night. It was midnight and they were telling us about the stars, the legends, the myths of the stars while we were out kayaking together and so that was very beautiful.
04:16
P: I bet.
04:17
I: I loved that. So, clarinet an- and orchestra. Wha- tell me about your interest in music.
04:26
P: Um, it’s interesting. I was not interested in music at all but um because I was g- we had to go to take music classes that was kind of like no, no choice everybody was taking music classes just to learn- at first just to learn how to read music right. Part of the school curriculum and, and then I realized that people were getting instruments for free. You didn’t have to buy one, [5:00] from the city. And I thought you know I have asthma. I had really bad asthma cause it was so humid the weather and so, you know even in my little head of a kid I thought “if I play clarinet that will help my asthma” (laughs) and it did! Casue it was really bad asthma and by fifteen I had played for three years, no problem. It was gone. It never came back.
05:36
I: That’s really good! You got training. It’s training your lungs. [yes]. It’s training breathing. [yes].
05:42
P: Yes. So, it had a me- medical reason but it end up being great. OK that’s one where I talk. We, we would be paid to play. It was a very good orchestra. The, the conductor was the youngest conductor in all France and he was really crazy but completely passionate so we got gigs all over Europe so we’d be traveling for free and go to restaurants for free. And it was really-, and we were in demand I mean even a- we even had a game, TV game show that wanted us to play for their game when they came to town. And I re- clearly remember I’ve never been to a restaurant because in France you don’t just go to a restaurant there. There was no fast food at all we didn’t know what a hamburger was and so when first time I went to the restaurant I remember folding my napkins my girlfriend is like “no no don’t do that in the restaurant” and she taught me everything so I learned manners and uhh, eh, it’s a great training I mean and we have so much fun, I mean, you know. Can you imagine being a teenager traveling and with your your your friends because everybody’s your friend in the, in the band and uh, so yeah. (laughs)
07:15
I: I’m so jealous! That sound so wonderful. [so good].
07:23
P: I was blessed.
07:24
I: Restaurants. (4.0) That’ll um, gets me [ohh it was fancy restaurants]
07:29
P: not just restaurants.
07:32
I: Oh yeah. I believe it. Um, that- guess I wanna ask, food. Your favorite food. [oh] From childhood? Now? Has it changed?
07:41
P: Ohh yeah it’s changed but um I’ve always liked um simple food, you know because I was vegetarian anyway. I was like a lot of vegetables and my mother grew a whole garden like she removed- she a- once we move from the apartment complex to a house, we’re finally qualified, she had all the grass removed and she grew vegetables. And so, I just love anything with vegetables of course but my yeah my favorite is Mediterranean for sure you know. I like anything with olive, olive oil um lots of veggies lot’s of um, you know like um humus. I mean Greek, Lebanese, uh what else is Mediterranean, Greek, Lebanese, uh Italian. I, I, guess global foods you know. I like anything that’s international more than typical French it’s heavy in cream and sauces and meat and typical American bistec and potatoes, you know that’s not my thing.
09:03
I: I need to, I need to try more food.
09:05
P: yeah
09:06
I: I definitely-
09:07
P: Japanese. Ohh that’s my latest thing, I love Japanese.
09:10
I: I don’t think I’ve ever tried and mostly Mexican food. That’s what I grew up with, over here in New Mexico. [oh, yeah. I just have a hard time with chili. Jalapeños and the chilis].
09:19
I: I’m not good with chili either. (laughs) so, um
09:22
P: I just can’t have too many.
09:26
I: Do you cook?
09:27
P: Ohh yeah, every day.
09:29
I: Do you like it?
09:30
P: I love cooking.
09:32
I: When did you learn how to cook?
P: Um, since I was a little tiny girl. I would always like, you know, hang on to my mom’s apron and she cooked all the time and uh, and I said “Please! Please, teach me! she said “just watch” she would always say “just watch” and then eventually when I was got big enough I, I got cook every day with her and I grew the garden so, it was just wonderful to be able to [10:00] see you know, go pick up some veggies and transform them in the kitchen with her. Eventually I cooked alone. Yeah.
10:10
I: That’s nice. So, um. Tell me about your family. [ok] Your mom your, your dad your siblings.
10:17
P: Okay. Um, my my uh dad was working in a uh factory. Caribbean made uh furniture. And uh my mother she had to work even with so many kids because because uh of a financial aspect and so she was sewing all day. She was sewing uniform in a small factory and uh she’s very resourceful like I said she did the garden then she worked all day. She knitted our, our clo- you know like sweaters and then she would sew our clothes so she was very very resourceful and extremely loving always I mean I remember her just knitting on the couch falling asleep after a long day you know just watching TV and she just, she’d fall sleep on the couch every night. And um, uh, brothers and sis- four bro- I have four brothers, two sisters but one died. One brother died and um my mother died of cancer at seventy-four so it was really really tough. I was like twelve years ago. At least she got to live to that time that’s really good. She she wasn’t very healthy because she loved eating and she was overweight. Yeah. She she’d always eat dessert and French fries. (laughs)
11:53
I: She knew how to enjoy life. (laughs) Food is definitely one of the joys of life.
12:00
P: Yeah.
12:02
I: What about your siblings?
12:04
P: Okay my siblings, so my older sister Susie is uh, three years older than me. So uh basically seven so its every year. One kid every year. (laughs) Basically. And umm sh- she um trained as a secretary but then she became a painter uh artist very good. Very good painter. She lives in the South of France and my brother um works for the post office and is retired now then me then um then another brother who lives in Turkey. He married someone from Turkey has four kids. And then the brother that died. And uh, then my sister who lives in Paris and works for the city in recre- recreational setting. She’s like managing a recreational after school recreational setting for teenagers you know. There’s class. Dance class all kinds of interesting things to do and then the youngest one lives in uh, (speaks French) which is in the mountains. Um, has eight kids (laughs) from three marriages and he has his own business selling apparel.
13:49
I: So, if everybody stayed over there what brought you here?
13:53
P: Oh okay. So, at eighteen um, I, I realized- well first of all I stared working at fourteen after school. I worked at a repair shoe store and I learned how to change like zippers for motorcycle jackets, for purses, and I learned to of course repair the shoes. Cause at first, I was just a front person and a cashier and then um, I saved so much money. Back then that was a lot of money, $3000 dollars. I was banking at the same bank as my mother and the manager wanted to talk to her said you know your daughter she has a lot of money in this bank and she’s awfully young, what’s the deal? He thought I was dealing drugs. (lauhgs) [oh no! Suspicious] and he told, she told him, [15:00] no she want to she want to move far away from here and so shes saving money. I’d always told my mom I don’t want to stay in France. The reason I didn’t want to stay in France was because um, people were not happy. That was my main reason I just I always happy singing and then they would just like snap you out of it you know like, what’s wrong with you, so happy, we don’t like it. I didn’t, I didn’t feel like I belonged. And one summer I worked for a factory, and it was (speaks French) You know, (speaks French). And I was just on the factory just putting the top on all day long so I’m singing to myself. I got fired. I got fired for being happy on the line. What’s wrong with you? You shouldn’t be happy. You’re working in a factory, right? What’s the matter with you? And that mentality I couldn’t take anymore you know? I just couldn’t take it.
16:08
I: Yeah.
16:09
P: So, um, (4.0) as soon as I could of uh made enough money, I decided uh moving either New York City or LA. I had one friend in both cities. Each city. So, I, actually uh, decided to go to LA but I packed for New York. It was November first, 1980, and I, I was, by then I was already 21. But I had a coat on, and I packed one suitcase with just winter clothes. Arrived at the airport, everybody’s in shorts (laughs).
16:49
I: Uh huh! (laughs)
16:51
P: We didn’t have the internet, you know. I didn’t even think of the weather or, yeah, I just packed based on the wea- wea- I was in- living in Paris then, I, I based on that, so like, okay. That’s alright. I’ll just gonna buy some clothes. (laughs)
17:21
I: Cut all your pants into shorts.
17:13
P: (laughs)
17:15
I: Rip the sleeves off.
17:15
P: Yeah. (2.0) I never wear my coat again.
17:22
I: Was that um, was that a scary transition? Moving on your own?
17:25
P: Yeah, that was a culture shock but I, I felt at home right away. It was right that weekend of Halloween and people were still wearing costumes, and it was fascinating to me. Everything was fascinating so, and I, I’m just really yeah a spirit of adventure which French people don’t have. You have- you have to understand the mentality in France. It’s like they, they work just to go rest or relax somewhere or you know buy some vacation. That’s the only reason hey work. They only have a thirty-five-hour work week, and they complain. And they have three we- three weeks paid vacation and they complain. They always have, a, you know demonstration because they’re not happy. It’s not because-, the problem is not the stuff, it’s them. (laughs)
18:26
I: And I think a lot of that is learned, because we we pick up habits [Yes! Just complaining. Complaining. Complaining. That’s it.] that we see ad we’re around. We learn to complain.
18:34
P: Just complain. Everything is wrong. And, and uh, so, it was this mentality you know. Entitled. You’re entitled. That’s it. You’re entitled. And I’m, I don’t mean to complain about the French people, but I just always felt there was a mistake. God made a mistake to have me born from there, raise there (laughs) but that’s okay he corrected it. (laughs)
19:10
I: He gave you the means and the opportunity to find somewhere else. [and be appreciative]
19:13
P: You know when you are around something like that then you really appreciate because at some point I, I lived in uh San Francisco, and um, I, lots of French people had moved to San Francisco but they didn’t want to speak French with me. (3.0) It’s like, excuse me? No, they wanted to speak English. So that’s where, it’s like they bring their culture wherever they go, but then they don’t want to have anything to do with you because you’re from back there.
19:52
I: They don’t want association.
19:53
P: No. no.
19:55
I: And do you still speak French?
19:57
P: Yes.
19:58
I: Fluently?
19:58
P: Oh. Yeah.
[20:00]
I: That’s good. I think a lot of language is lost. [I have to speak]
20:02
P: To my family
20:04
I: Oh yeah, that’s right, that’s right.
20:06
P: But yeah, a lot of language gets lost. Yeah.
20:08
I: When you don’t practice it every day. [yeah]
20:09
P: It’s true.
20:10
I: Sometimes I’ll go a couple of months without speaking Spanish and then I come back to it, and I go, “do I remember?” (laughs). Um, [yeah] I think that’s wonderful that you speak still speak French and that you’re still in contact with your family. Um, have you ever gone back to France?
20:24
P: I go every year.
20:26
I: Oh! That’s good! That’s wonderful. [That’s, That’s]
20:27
P: one pact that I made to myself, was I would work hard enough to be able to go every year and then when I married my second husband, I married twice, um he would let me go twice a year so that’s really nice.
20:44
I: So, I take it you like traveling?
20:46
P: Yes! (laughs)
20:48
I: That’s good.
20:49
P: And I have family all over. I mean now I have Turkey, Greece, France, Germany, my older son lives in Germany, and I think there’s more but I can’t remember right now. (laughs) Spain! Spain.
21:06
I: Oh! Yes! You get to see the world.
21:08
P: Yeah, when I go visit yeah.
21:11
I: So, let’s talk about work, career.
21:14
P: Career? Okay. What did I do all my life? Well, I, I just jumped from career to career to career. Job to jobs. First job um in the states, I was a- um- well first in France, I finished high school and I became um a recreational leader for the city. Right. It was kind of like my sister expect she’s a manager and I was just a leader. And what it meant was uh we took care of kids that were um uh, living in ghettos basically. And after school we’d keep them busy with activities. And uh, took them camping. Things like that ok, I really like that. And then um it was good cause the city offered me a choice when I left, they said in one year if you want to come back you can come back. (3.0) and once I moved I said “no way” (laughs) I sent my letter I said “no. no thanks” (laughs) so then when I moved to L.A I found a, well actually I was, no, I was on a tourist visa. So, I became legal by amnesty. That very year, eighty-one, Regan gave amnesty to all the people that, that, came in illegally. I didn’t come illegally, but I was on the tourist visa working so, all the requirements was yet to work three weeks before December 31, 1981 to qualify and that’s exactly what I had! Three weeks before, because um it took me a long time to get a job in LA. Uh, my English wasn’t that great yet. Oh boy! It’s becoming uh, I was uh a speaker. A fluent speaker but I wasn’t as comfortable yet. And I had learned umm, British English, which is a little different and learned business, English. Anyway, then I found a job, at- i-, it was called uh, The Ca- Casino Café on in Beverly hills. Casino Café had a lot of like, celebrities. I met Ma- Mahammad Ali. I met a lot of people. And um, so that was my first job there, then I went to Santa Monica college got some um credits and uh then I, so I became a receptionist at first receptionist, and then um (3.0) the secretary to the controller of the real estate company that was doing residential real estate. Then I got really bored sitting in an office all day, so I went and waitressed. And you know I became a waitress at a very nice, classy restaurant where we had a lot of celebrities, big tips and um, (2.0) what did I do after that? Ah I did so many jobs. I worked for a flower shops, I worked for- cause I back then I moved to San Diego and [25:00] then I became a manager of a café. I married my first husband we moved to uh, (4.0) Kansas. I hated Kansas. And then he moved me to- we moved to Oklahoma city, because he was from Oklahoma city, and so but there was no jobs there. So i-, but Oklahoma City I be- I became pregnant so I became a nanny for a wealthy family for seven years so I raised my son with three boys you know. It was nice. They treated me really well.
25:43
I: That’s good. That’s really good. So, why did—
25:47
P: Oh! And then I worked for my second husband on the store in the mall. A- apperal for men. Mhm. And I taught French too to kids. (laughs)
26:00
I: That’s good! It’s a little bit fo everything. That’s so nice.
26:03
P: (laughs) Because that’s how I am I get interest in a lot of things, but I don’t like to stay in one thing cause I get bored.
26:11
I: I feel I’m the same way. I’ve changed my major at the university so many times. [oh yeah] because I like these classes, but, but I also like these classes, so I jump over to the next, [yeah. Yeah. I, I-].
26:20
P: When I was in college too I kept changing, my course.
26:26
I: You went to college?
26:26
P: Yeah. [Tell me about that] So, I went to Santa Mocaco- Santa Monica college and then finished in um Oklahoma City. I got a degree in um, uh, Childhood Education so that’s how I taught French. Mhm.
26:42
I: That’s awesome! So you’re-
26:42
P: So, I did finish. Yay!
26:45
I: You’ve done, you’ve done a lot, and I think that’s admirable.
26:48
P: Well, I didn’t think I was smart that’s why I didn’t do it in France. I didn’t want to go to college in France. And my professor were always like, “You’re so smart, you need to keep going.” You know. Even high school I didn’t want to finish. I wanted to just go to a trade school and my teach- my professors like, “I’m not gonna let you”.
27:09
I: Well, I’m glad. I think education is uh is always a good investment.
27:13
P: Absolutely. Was very cheap there. Very very cheap. Especially in my condition I could get it for free. Scholarship.
27:25
I: Jumping back to traveling, since you’ve been so many places, do you want to tell me about the favorite, favorite one?
27:32
P: France. (laughs) that’s ironic. I like France without the French people. (laughs)
27:39
I: The place not the people.
27:40
P: It is the most beautiful place, really. And I think um either you get a beautiful place, or you get beautiful people, but you can’t get them both in the same. (laughs) You know, and um, like Oklahoma City, for example it’s not pretty, it’s not attractive, but the most incredible people you know that i-, it was really hard to me to move from there because of that. Very very nice and um after that it would be Greece. France, Greece, Spain, and Germany. You know Berlin in amazing city. Absolutely amazing city. And uh (4.0) and uh (3.0) uh, I’ve been to Mexico, but I don’t know enough, you know. I’m sure it’s great. It was just as a tourist. I never stayed there long and uh, I’m trying to think of what- oh! England. I’ve been to England a lot. To study English. Cause they would, like they would ta- put us in families when we were middle school. They pu- we would go to England we have to take the ferry. Back then back then, there was no tunnel and so they put you in families, so you have to speak English. It’s good.
29:07
I: I really think that the only [yeah. Yeah.] way to learn a language is to be fully immersed in that language.
29:15
P: And then I want to go to India. I’ve never been to India. And Japan. Those are the two countries I’d like to go to.
29:34
I: I think I’d like to go to India as well and Japan. I’ve never been anywhere. I’ve been to Mexico but only the city. [hmm] It’s nothing, it’s nothing significant, it’s just a city and like you said I don’t know enough to talk [right] about Mexico. I’m sure it’s beautiful. [I Love Italy].
29:58
P: I love Italy too [30:00] Italy. But um too much theft. I lost my jewelry. My jewelry was stolen in um, in Rome and my aunt too had her- all her papers stolen in, in Italy. So, it’s very- you have to be on your toes all the time, it’s very stressful.
30:24
I: Yeah, I bet.
30:25
P: Pickpockets, and all that.
30:32
I: You already talked about this a little bit. Um, learning English and talking about the immersion into the language. That was middle school. [yeah, middle school.] Did you have experience with English before then, or was that the start?
30:42
P: No, middle scho- well actually no no we started, there was an experiment starting us earlier. I think I was seven, and um, it was was very – and I knew I liked it, and as a matter of fact my mother would always say um that I learned English as if my life depended on it and it did you know. And so I did that then we went to families uh in England, actually my family was from Canada. But yeah the they lived in England and it was beautiful. It was by the shores, just very pretty and then um, (4.8) and then uh I took class- business classes because I thought I was gonna become a uh, a CPA but it’s too boring for me. (laughs) I had to give up. I started taking classes and I ughh never.
31:53
I: I spent a couple semesters studying accounting as well and (laughs) I get it.
31:57
P: Aghhhh! Only picked it because I knew I could, after high school, I could start working [mhm] and then working my way up.
32:05
I: It’s, it’s a good smart choice but you have to have a different kind of patience for that (laugh) and I don’t. [and]
32:11
P: to be boring! (laughs)
32:16
I: (laughs) Alright.
32:17
P: I can’t do that.
32:22
I: Okay. A couple fun questions, I hope. Uh, what was the best gift you’ve ever received?
32:30
P: Let me think for a minute,
32:32
I: Yes, yes. Take your time.
32:33
P: ‘cause there’s so many. (laughs)
32:35
P: Well, first I want to say the gift of life.
32:37
I: Yes.
32:38
P: You know. And um, and to still be alive at my age. I’m very grateful. Sixty-four. You know. Uh, not many people make it to that. Um. (4.0) Best gift. (4.0) Gift of health. For my um, cooking, and my lifestyle. That’s one thing I have studied but it’s not official, but I studied on my own is health. Alternative health. There’s plants, and I still study that. Um, to know which plants are are healing what. And to grow food, I grow food. And then my um uh my third gift would be uh, the gift of discernment. Yeah. It’s got me through my life really well, you know. To make the right choices. And the uh, I think they are God’s gifts. You know they don’t require money time or anything else. So.
33:59
I: That’s, that’s, those are excellent answers. [(laughs) Thank you] Thank you, Thank you for that.
34:04
P: No, because material always fades you know. It’s temporary, but those those are good gifts that can last.
34:12
I: There’s a song that I really like- and I grew up listening to it. And you know when you hear things a child you don’t really understand them [oh yeah sure, ‘til you, ‘til later.] There’s this really pretty line- the song is in Spanish but translated it says teach your kids to value the meaning of things not the things themselves. I think that’s a nice sentiment it’s [oh yeah] it’s not so much the gift that I receive but the intention behind it.
34:42
P: Right.
34:43
I: Things like that and [that’s beautiful] I try to think about things like that sometimes.
34:49
P: That is good.
34:50
I: Alright.
34:52
P: Of course, the gifts of my children. You know. Two boys. The- that’s gotta be number one. (lauhgs) [35:00] Well, number two, after birth. (laughs)
35:02
I: Yes (laughs)
35:04
I: Tell me about your children.
35:05
P: Okay, I have two sons. One is twenty-three- no! Twenty-four already. The other one is turning thirty-two. From two different marriages. And the youngest one is in um Austin Texas uh University, what do say for short? UT? I think it’s UT, University of Texas. Yeah.
35:32
I: I wouldn’t know [Anyways] so yeah.
35:33
P: Uh, he’s in law school and he’s graduating and I’m so proud of him. And, and my other one is uh, he was like me. He just wanted to go places and he still does. Travels a lot. And he uh moved to Germany- first of all he decided to take German in school and I was totally against it ‘cause I took German for five years, never ever used it even in Germany. Everybody speaks German in Germany- I mean English very well. And uh, I was kind of mad at that, and then I thought, what do I know? he may need it. You know? But I wanted him to take Spanish. ‘Cause he already spoke French fluently and turns out he met a girl from Italy who was moving to Germany for studying and he followed her after he graduated um from college. And uh, he uh, never moved back. (laughs) I thought it was temporary. It’s like my mom she though it was temporary. (laughs)
36:52
I: (laughs) and you never went back.
36:53
P: (laughs) never came back. So, a, and good thing I did the uh, persue the long paper, red tate- red tape paperwork for France for him to get a French passport. You know, and his son- my uh, and Christopher too, my youngest one, to both get French passports so now he can live there. Otherwise, he couldn’t. So, thanks to me I can’t see him, expect when I go there and he comes visit. But he’s really happy there. And I can understand. It’s a great city with lots of parks and lakes and um culture. You know. Wonderful culture. And uh, he’s an artist. He’s the opposite of his brother. It’s just like, he’s hes a video caster, he makes short films, he’s a musician, he’s a writer and he uh he has uh, (5.0) uh short films that he shows all over really. And then you- they pay him to fly there to present his film. So he went to New York City to New Zealand in March to London, to uh Belgium, I mean all over. You know, and so that’s perfect for him because it’s all expenses paid and then he gets to vi- to travel.
38:29
I: That sounds like a really great and exciting life.
38:31
P: Yeah, he’s just freelance but he doesn’t care about money, he’s like the opposite of his brother. He doesn’t care about money, and he’s always managed really well, and uh if he needs more money, he just gets a barista job or a cook job. He cooks really well too. I taught him.
38:51
I: You taught him?
38:52
P: Oh yeah.
38:53
I: Oh! That’s great. [He was always interested.]
38:57
I: You’re a- [so,] sorry! Go ahead.
38:39
P: No, no go ahead. Go ahead.
39:01
I: Um, both of your kids are fluent in French?
39:06
P: No. Max, Maximilian is the oldest one. Christopher just fought me. He just didn’t want to learn.
39:18
I: He didn’t want to learn? (laughs)
39:20
P: And uh now he regrets it but he he understands because I took him to my French classes. I took him, I mean we took our kids to France every year you know so, he understands it he just doesn’t speak it. Hm.
39:40
I: So that was going to be my question, if you had taught them French yourself.
39:43
P: Yeah.
39:44
I: Yeah
39:44
P: Yeah. Myself. It is very very difficult. A lot of people give up. A lot of my friends they give up. E- either give up or they like spending all the money they can to take them abroad and then take them to French [40:00] school. Like in Austin is have a friend who’s French, both her kids but its 13,000 each
40:10
I: yeah that’s, that’s expensive.
40:11
P: for elementary school.
40:12
(audio inaudible) expensive (audio inaudible)
40:16
P: Yeah. But she had to do it because (2.6) same thing the first one no problem, the second one, she didn’t want to have anything to do with it. It was French. And girls are better at languages than boys. And, so, but my oldest speak German English French, and some Italian.
40:38
I: That’s wonderful. Picking up languages is difficult so anyone who speaks more than one, more than two is [is smarter] yeah, it’s really really impressive. [you do you get smarter]. (5.8) Your marriages, your two husbands, did they speak French. Did they speak any- [yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah]
40:57
P: Jus- not the first one. And there’s very simple ex- uh, reasons. Second one very well. Um, he was he was hard of hearing one ear and couldn’t pronounce ‘cause he couldn’t hear it well. That make sense. I’d never thought about it. But uh, yeah we spoke at home. We did. With the second one for sure. We had to speak uh French at home. But still Christopher (2.0) he was embarrassed, he just wanted to conform. As a boy he wanted to conform and he didn’t want any of his friends to hear French or you know that he was different in any way. It was hard for him.
41:46
I: A little- a little different and it’s not necessarily a bad thing it’s just, just different.
41:53
P: But I know eventually he will ‘cause he’s, he’s always interested, and he wants to go to France this year on his own. (10.4) I love your questions so far.
42:14
I: Great! [It’s a great interview] I think they’re fun. (laughs)
42:16
P: Yeah, it is fun.
42:18
I: Alright.
42:19
P: Did you come up with them?
42:21
I: I, yeah, I did. (laughs)
42:22
P: Beautiful. You did a great job.
42:23
I: Thank you. Alright so my next one is, advice. What is the best advice- or a good piece of advice that you’ve received?
42:32
P: For anything?
42:32
I: For anything.
42:37
P: This too shall pass. (laughs) I love that. This too shall pass, no matter what it is. Good or bad, happy sad, sorrow. Everything passes in this world. You know, so don’t be attached. (lauhgs)
42:53
I: Everything is fleeting. I heard that one recently [yeah] and I, I told it to my sisters as well.
42:58
P: Don’t be attached to anything because it’s gonna be gone, you know. Anything or anyone. (lauhgs)
43:07
I: Yes. For better or worse [yeah] that’s the way things, things, go. [yeah] (7.8) What about pets? Did you have pets growing up [we had, yeah,]
43:18
P: We had one dog in uh my second marriage. (6.0) Border Collie. Very sweet, she was wonderful. And then as- and then we- after she passed we had a cat, Sammy. Queen B and Sammy. (laughs) [oh how sweet!] and Sammy we brought here about three years ago we moved here (3.2) got eaten by coyotes.
43:48
I: Oh no! (whispered) (3.4) We have a cat and we can’t let him out past a certain time [oh] because there’s owls in the neighborhood. [oh yeah] we had a cat before that and the owl- the owls got him, unfortunately.
44:01
P: But we couldn’t. He was used to be outdoors. He loved being outdoors.
44:07
I: I think it’s, it’s kind of sad to keep indoors when they’re just looking out the window [it’s really cruel] and they want to go outside. Yeah. So, it’s alright. (5.0) so I know- we met in aerial dance, so I know [yup] you like to try cool things [yeah! Oh that was a great experience] and you told me about bungee jumping-
44:29
P: I bought the equipment.
44:30
I: You did? Oh! That’s-
44:32
P: I do it in my back yard. (laughs)
44:32
I: That’s wonderful! Is it the hammock or the silk?
44:35
P: No, no, no. The equipment of jumbee- of bungee. Bungee jumping. [oh! The jumping]
44:39
I: Oh sweet. That’s really awesome! (laughs) so my question is, what what got you into these, these, things? Martial arts. You also do marital arts.
44:39
P: I di- that’s how I made- met my second husband is martial arts, um Hapkido and then I [45:00] got certified to be a yoga instructor in Oklahoma city so. Then when I heard of aerial ooo that’s a take it to a different level you know.
45:11
I: (laughs) yeah.
45:12
P: I wish I had been younger when I knew about. ‘Cause I’d still be in it (laughs) I can come back.
45:27
I: I think that’s all the questions I have.
45:30
P: Okay. (3.2) That was very pleasant. Thank you.
45:35
I: Of course. Is there anything else you want to add before we go?
45:39
P: Umm. (4.3) Life is a, is a flash in the pan (laughs) it’s true and you don’t realize it until you’re older. You know? So, appreciate every moment. (2.6) [I definitely try too] Good or bad. (laughs) everything’s a gift.
46:03
I: Right. Well, thank you. Thank you very much.
46:06
P: Thank you. I appreciate it. That was the best interview.
[46:10]
New Mexico Border Spanish Corpus 