At the table - Moments from the Dinner Table

The dinner table is generally our best opportunity for extended French conversation - and lots of mistakes... Our first funny moment actually happened tonight when Mme. wasn't here. Part of our housing is that she provides dinner every night. (We really don't mind cooking ourselves, but she does it anyway.) She left stuff for us to microwave tonight while she went out with friends. After a light meal, we decided to have dessert. Usually we have chocolate or coffee pudding cups, but the girl who lived here in the fall told us that Mme. buys really good vanilla pudding. There were some cups labeled vanilla in the fridge so we decided to try them. As soon as we opened them, we realized it was not your standard vanilla pudding... It was a brown, somewhat grainy, almost pureed texture and it tasted like Mom's sweet potatoes that she makes at Thanksgiving. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't vanilla. Upon closer inspection, we discovered that it was chestnut paste with vanilla flavoring. Lesson: If there's a word in big letters on the package that you don't know, look it up before eating.