I took a day off from work this past week and decided to go to the neighborhood sushi place to get take-out. While I was waiting for my order I heard a couple of Americans at a nearby table. Even though I tried to tune them out, I couldn’t for very long. I’d focus on something else, but a minute or two later I’d realize that I was listening to them again. Then it hit me that this happens quite often. When I’m out and about, I can usually tune out French conversations if I choose to. I just go into “not listening” mode. But English, particularly when spoken with American accents, tends to cut through any other noise. When I’m in France, there’s something about hearing an accent from across the Atlantic that makes my ears automatically perk up. Funnily enough, the same thing happens when I’m in the US and hear French.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Eavesdropping
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A Seattleite in Paris
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10:22 PM
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Thursday, May 22, 2008
Buttes
(The photo is from Gasworks Park in Seattle)
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A Seattleite in Paris
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8:42 PM
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Sunday, May 18, 2008
Obama Campaigners And Racism
The Washington Post ran an article a few days ago about the blatant racism Obama campaigners have encountered in parts of the country. While it’s no shock that there are people in the US who will not and would not vote for Obama because he was born with a certain skin color, I am a bit surprised that they would be so overt about it. The fact that Obama has a real chance of becoming president illustrates how far the country has come in a short amount of time – just a few decades after the overturning of Jim Crow. But situations and encounters like those described in the article highlight that we still have a long way to go.
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6:21 PM
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Thursday, May 15, 2008
Rant
I recognize that different cultures have different personal space boundaries and I tend to adjust mine according to where I am. That said, there is something that still bugs me about riding the metro here – people with newspapers invading the personal space of others. It’s one thing if the metro isn’t full and you have plenty of space for your paper, but if there are people next to you have some consideration and fold the friggin’ thing! Just because you decided to catch up on recent news during your commute doesn’t mean you should take up someone else’s space in the process.
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A Seattleite in Paris
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9:16 PM
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Saturday, May 10, 2008
London
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A Seattleite in Paris
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8:24 PM
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Wednesday, May 7, 2008
International Grass Rules
So I’m in London for three loooooooooong days and the UK immigration checkpoint at gare du nord was as pleasant as ever. Surprisingly, the London weather is sunny and warm (but a bit muggy). I had some time to kill before my meeting started, so one of my colleagues in the London office (an Aussie) took me to a cute little park near the office. The first park we went to was closed so we went a couple of streets over to another smaller one. And guess what this park had – a sign to stay off the grass!! Maybe the English and French aren’t so different after all….
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8:05 PM
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Sunday, May 4, 2008
The Grass Is Resting
This is something that I still don’t understand. If the grass needs to rest when the weather is crappy – fine, but when it’s sunny and in the 70s the grass is meant to be enjoyed. The French are so strict about this that they even have grass police in some parks. I was having lunch in a well known, large park near the office (I was on a bench) when 2 women appeared blowing whistles and motioning to people who were lunching on the grass to get off. It’s times like these when I miss Seattle and it’s abundance of non-resting greenery…
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A Seattleite in Paris
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4:35 PM
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