I've been hearing this more and more and I don't know if I am in denial or if all those Irish friends of mine are winding me up ( as they usually do...)
I mean, in my mind, I'm French and I always will be. I can't live without my filter coffee machine, I love croissants and baguettes (and please, not the Cuisine de France ones),I could eat a platter of cheese on my own, with some wine of course... I have a colourful catalogue of French curses and I'm a moany, always complaining woman (although that could be typical of every woman in the world, but being French on top of that doesn't help).
The truth is, my beloved coffee machine broke at least a month ago, I haven't bothered buying a new one, and I've been drinking instant coffee since ( shocking I know!). The only time there are croissants or baguettes in my house is when my mum comes to visit. Otherwise, I eat sliced bread. French cheese is way too expensive so it really is a treat when I eat some. The old reliable mature cheddar cheese is good enough for me...
Irish people think the French are always on strike. Well, I've never been on strike, ever. And the more I live here, the more I am laid-back. Sure I still moan about everything, but most of the time I end up saying "Sure, there's nothing we can do about it" and my favourite one " We'll see how it goes"...
I do curse, probably too much, but like the Irish , I say "f***king" every second word. The weird thing is my co-workers are now cursing in French... go figure!
And now for the worst, I think I'm losing my French. Sometimes I find myself having to THINK how I would explain something in my own language.
I do love Ireland, and even if I thought of going back to France a million times,I'm still here. I miss my family, I miss my friends, but I don't miss my country that much. I would just like to be able to go back there more than once a year.
I still learn about Ireland and Irish people, even after 11 years living here, but nothing really surprises me any more...
And more importantly, I enjoy being "The French one", even if I get slagged all the time for it !
