When Laetitia from the boulangerie came to do " le resencement" the census, I jokingly said did she need the names of our donkeys. She had a puzzled frown and then said " vous vous moquez de moi" I was slow on the uptake but knew the verb was to mock or make fun of. In my French lesson a bit later I asked if the verb had the same meaning as in English or was it more jokey and perhaps more funny. I was told mocking someone was not a nice thing to do. Yikes, I seem to have been perceived as being rude!
This morning whilst being served by Laetitia who is doing both jobs at the moment I apologised in case she had taken offence and said it was just me trying a joke. Laetitia looked relieved and then we had a nice conversation about our house and the wonderful views. So easy to offend someone in a foreign language... and often quite easy to offend someone in English!
Laetitia not to be confused with Laetitia, notre petite ange / who helps with the cleaning.
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