Pourquoi

That's the first French word I learnt, 10 years ago, on one of the hottest days in Australia. It was a sweltering hot day in the city. I was melting under the fierce summer heat and my mall-rat self couldn't escape to shopping malls as they were swarming with christmas-shopping crowds.

So, I dashed into the closest arty cinema. After a quick scan at the foreign movies listed and a quick study at the movie posters displayed, I opted for 'Blue' because Juliette Binoche captivated my attention with her lucid brown eyes and the indigo blue of the poster was simply gorgeous, enigmatic and mysterious. Also, the movie was titled after a colour piqued my curiosity. Hmm, interesting, what does it explore? What aspect of the blue colour? What is it about?

Watching BLUE marked the birth of my francophile self; which wasn't a conscious effort but a constant nagging feeling that popped up every now and then- hmm, maybe I should go see that French movie, go read French authors and be tickled over Asterix comics.

After watching Blue, I was compelled to learn French and soon, I found myself taking French electives in uni. Over the years, I've kept up by reading French magazines, listening to French internet radio and watching French movies screened at the Alliance Francaise.

I suspect I was a French in my past life as once, I dreamt myself speaking the language fluently in a French seaside town, buying bread from a boulangerie.

* Pourquoi- why
boulangerie- bakery