David Sedaris has a great collection of essays called "Me Talk Pretty One Day" about learning to speak French and observations about France and America. Being one of the 80% monolingual set is a regret for sure.
My experience with France has been similar to yours. Most people have been incredibly nice and welcoming when I’ve visited, and I only know basic greetings and understand approximately 5% of what is said to me. In fact, my first trip to France was an incredibly humbling experience because it was the first country I had been in where I understood almost nothing and was unable to communicate at least a little in the local language.
A couple of years ago I worked with a woman originally from France and she told me that she felt that people in Spain were too over-the-top. She explained that her Spanish friends here would gush over how handsome a guy was, but in France her friends would have said something more like “He’s not bad” and that was taken as a huge compliment for the guy. She also said she felt it was overwhelming how everyone calls you “guapa” in Spain (something that I personally hate in the US--being called “sweetie” or “honey”--but find endearing here). It’s interesting to learn about those little cultural differences!
Sep 23, 2022·edited Sep 23, 2022Liked by Pablo Andreu
Just discovered your newsletter from the Writer's office hours comments section. This is hilarious!! I had a similar impression, but then met enough French people to change my mind. (I am an immigrant in the US, so your last section hit home). Great job.
David Sedaris has a great collection of essays called "Me Talk Pretty One Day" about learning to speak French and observations about France and America. Being one of the 80% monolingual set is a regret for sure.
My experience with France has been similar to yours. Most people have been incredibly nice and welcoming when I’ve visited, and I only know basic greetings and understand approximately 5% of what is said to me. In fact, my first trip to France was an incredibly humbling experience because it was the first country I had been in where I understood almost nothing and was unable to communicate at least a little in the local language.
A couple of years ago I worked with a woman originally from France and she told me that she felt that people in Spain were too over-the-top. She explained that her Spanish friends here would gush over how handsome a guy was, but in France her friends would have said something more like “He’s not bad” and that was taken as a huge compliment for the guy. She also said she felt it was overwhelming how everyone calls you “guapa” in Spain (something that I personally hate in the US--being called “sweetie” or “honey”--but find endearing here). It’s interesting to learn about those little cultural differences!
A terrific and amusing read, Pablo! :D
Just discovered your newsletter from the Writer's office hours comments section. This is hilarious!! I had a similar impression, but then met enough French people to change my mind. (I am an immigrant in the US, so your last section hit home). Great job.
Love the Sidney Sheldon quote!