--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Sal Sunshine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Sep 17, 2006, at 8:40 AM, TurquoiseB wrote: > > > Gotta agree. I currently live in France, which has MORE > > than its share of problems. They're *also* a remarkably > > Self Important culture. But one of the things they are > > NOT is apathetic. > > Any culture which invented the croissant, cappucino, and > Freedom Fries has my vote...even if they can't speak American > or even French. :)
Here, for possible future reference, is the deep, dark secret that all tourist guides to France should tell you but few do: At least in the major cities, many if not most of the people you speak to *can* understand and speak English. It's just that unless their income is completely dependent on tips -- and sometimes even when it is -- they WON'T converse with you in English until you first prove your worthiness as a human being. You do this by attempting to speak French, and thus by embarrassing yourself thoroughly in public. Once you've done this and the other French people in the shop or bar or restaurant have had the opportunity to snicker silently at your terrible accent and grammar, the French are more than willing to suddenly rediscover their previously-lapsed language skills and speak English with you. It's a pecking order thang. :-) > > If a president of France had tried to > > fuck with the French people basic rights one tenth as > > greviously as Bush has fucked with Americans' basic rights, > > the entire population of France would have been out on the > > streets in protest. The country would have shut down and > > would not have moved again until the government rescinded > > its actions. > > Presumably they never would have elected an illiterate moron > to begin with...let alone a whole group of them. I dunno. Look at Chirac. He's in place because (near as I can figure out) the French went into the last *primary* elections voting the way French people DO, for tiny little Green and Socialist and Liberal and even Commie party candidates. They do this thinking that the primary is where they get to protest, and then they'll cast their *real* vote in the final election. Well, the problem was that so many people voted for their "for show" tiny parties that the two candidates for the final election were a conservative blowhard with a history of corruption and zero charisma (Chirac) and a dangerous Right-wing (but charismatic) nutcase named Le Pen. It is to the French people's credit that they came out en masse to vote Le Pen down, but it is to their discredit that they allowed either him *or* Chirac to be nominated in the first place. Just my opinion. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
