La Vache Blanc and Daniel

There will always be room for Grenoble in my heart. Although I only studied in this city for a brief time, the memories and friends I made there will never fade. For a person known for her words, I find myself speechless on how to introduce this alpine jewel. I suppose I will just have to start from the beginning when I first learned how to say “la vache blanc”.

On the TGV ride from Paris to Lyon, I met Daniel, a sweet and adventurous spirit. Because of the language gap, we played an amazing game of charades and sounds to help us communicate. He taught me one of my first French words “la vache blanc,” which means “the white cow.” Before you judge, let me explain. The scenic views from the TGV are all blurred because of the train’s tremendous speeds. I kept seeing blurbs of white animals and simply assumed that they were sheep. So because I didn’t know the word for “sheep” in French, I proceeded to bleat and point to the white blurbs so Daniel would know what I was trying to say. He of course was initially confused, but finally shook his head, laughed, and mooed in a French way (sorry it’s something I can’t explain) and thus taught me my most memorable French words “la vache blanc.” So now when I see cows, I can’t help but smile and think of Daniel, the TGV ride, and the start of my Grenoble adventure.

I proceeded to bleat and point to the white blurbs