I feel that during my time here in France, there will be many occasions when words, sentences, and ideas get confused, slurred and flat out misunderstood. I intend to document these moments to reflect on daily encounters with friends and strangers, demonstrate the difficulties of language barriers and ideally, create a sense of embarrassment felt for myself and others. Please enjoy.
The other night, my newly found friends Bea (of Spain), Maggie (of Pennsylvania), and I went out for an after-school (how I love being able to say that once again!) drink. We decided to head to the Vingt et Unieme (the 21st), a chic, slightly upscale cafe meets lounge resting on the foot of the Cathedral Square.
An hour and a half, one Irish coffee and two blonde beers later, our afternoon sojourn was coming to an end. Bea and I, umbrellas in tow (umbrellas are the Amex of Brittany), started our paces uphill as we sent Maggie on her way into Centre Ville. Just as our backs turned, Bea called out to Maggie, "restes-toi!"
"Hm?" Maggie responded, as she whisked around. "You want me to stay?"
A flutter of confused looks followed these statements. "Quoi?" Bea said.
"You're asking me to stay?"
Bea, in her charming, Spanish accent, replied in her near-perfect English, "No, I mean - you seem tired. So..."
My and Maggie's laughter interrupts Bea, as we both realize her, completely logical, mistake.
"Reposes-toi," Maggie corrects her, smiling. "Unless you really do want me to stay?" We all smile, exchange "I've been there" looks, and part ways.
And for every night to follow, Bea and I ditch the tried and true "bon nuit" and head to our bedrooms opting for her incorrectly-used and much more laughable phrase.
No comments:
Post a Comment