Le fil dentaire et les paroles

Today was the first day back to school after winter vacation. Meh. It was fine. On the positive side, I realized how much progress I've made with my french over the break. I really could understand what the professors were teaching today and I didn't run into too much trouble talking with my friends. I always make a few mistakes here and there still. ;)

As I was flossing my teeth tonight, it reminded me that I forgot to mention a story in my post for Noël. During vacation, I introduced my host sisters to dental floss. They had never seen dental floss!!! Never! I couldn't understand why Mathilde kept looking at me weird when I was flossing my teeth one night and she explained that she didn't understand what I was doing. My other sisters overheard the conversation and soon they were all in the bathroom with me, watching me in awe as I flossed my teeth. My older sister Marine told me that she knew of dental floss ("fil dentaire" en français), but that their family never used it. I'm not naïve and I know that most people in the US don't use dental floss regularly, (expect for that week right before a dentist appointment!) But still, I was shocked that they didn't know what dental floss was. However, I've also noticed that I've never seen of any of my siblings going to a dentist appointment or that you find only two brands of dental floss at a local Target like store. From my experience here, I would conclude that dental care is not as promoted here as the US. Generally speaking, people here have great teeth. I just don't understand how.

So lately I've been watching youtube videos with the lyrics ("paroles" en français) to practice my french. It's also fun to listen to all different types of french songs. I've had this song in my head all day. It's called "Toi plus moi" by Grégoire. It's not popular now, but it's a classic. It's so catchy!