We had copies of both films on video-tape at home. The films had been recorded from the television and were in the original French, with English subtitles. The more I watched them and the better my French understanding became, I would prop things up in front of the screen so as to cover up the English, while not obscuring the picture.
I trust that all the hours I have spent doing that sort of thing have paid off over the years. I used to apply a similar method to reading books in other languages, or when watching news recordings or documentaries.
It is the way I have always worked. It is my mentality. I do the same thing now with guitar and I used to do the same thing when I was serious about cycling. I would train and train, constantly striving to get better, to push the limits. When the club ride was fifty-miles, I would do another twenty before and a further twenty-miles after. When we had a mid-week evening ride of thirty-five to forty-miles, I would do an additional fifty or sixty in the morning.
This 'mentality' explains one of those mental blocks I have when it comes to other people. I cannot understand why some people cannot adopt the same attitude and I fail to comprehend teaching strategies and methods. If you want to learn something, then just do it.
Success is achieved through desire, application and dedication. Don't be a 'douchebag,' give it time and concentrate.
Returning to Marcel Pagnol. I love those films. I love them for the language and I love them for the memories they stir, not only of France at the turn of the twentieth century but also of my own youth. The south of France is beautiful. The early 1900's setting is wonderful – there is a simplicity, an innocence and a natural charm.
It would be nice to live there.
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