French Children Don't Throw Food
“She’s even studying French, though it’s not going as well as she’d like. An American friend of hers, who lived in Panama but spoke little Spanish, suggests a technique: say a Spanish sentence in the present tense, then shout the name of the intended tense. ‘I go to the store … pasado!’ means that she went to the store. ‘I go to the store … futuro!’ means that she’ll go later.
I’ve forbidden my mother from doing this when she comes to visit. To my astonishment, I now have a reputation to protect.... I have three kids in the local school, and courteous relationships with neighbourhood fishmongers, tailors and café proprietors.
I still haven’t swooned for Paris. I get tired of the elaborate exchange of bonjours, and of using the distancing vous with everyone but colleagues and intimates. Living in France feels a bit too formal, and doesn’t bring out my freewheeling side. I realize how much I’ve changed when, on the Métro one morning, I instinctively back away from the man sitting next to the only empty seat, because I have the impression that he’s deranged.MoreLess
I’ve forbidden my mother from doing this when she comes to visit. To my astonishment, I now have a reputation to protect.... I have three kids in the local school, and courteous relationships with neighbourhood fishmongers, tailors and café proprietors.
I still haven’t swooned for Paris. I get tired of the elaborate exchange of bonjours, and of using the distancing vous with everyone but colleagues and intimates. Living in France feels a bit too formal, and doesn’t bring out my freewheeling side. I realize how much I’ve changed when, on the Métro one morning, I instinctively back away from the man sitting next to the only empty seat, because I have the impression that he’s deranged.MoreLess
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