The French. They are infamous for their rudeness. Yes, I have run into some rude people. Yes, I've even gotten in two separate, multilingual screaming matches. It strikes me, however, that I've only had trouble when I was already stressed, or not in the best of moods. Now, I refuse to take all of the blame. In both instances, the (other) offending party WAS terribly rude. In most of my other interactions with the French, however, everything has been fine. They don't seem to be a terribly warm people, but they have been polite enough. It strikes me that I am not the easiest person to placate, and that I am rather lazy, especially when I am stressed and out of my element. So, my question is, if the great big "we" (they're cousins of 'they') went to Paris remembering that is IS indeed a different culture, would we leave feeling so slighted? I can't believe that we would. Now, should all of "us" (another cousin to 'we' and 'they') be extra warm and try desperately to make the people of Paris like us? Absolutely not. Over large smiles and upward inflection when ending our sentences would only serve, I believe, to make those less-than-terribly-warm people even more standoffish. Can you imagine having someone with a terrible English leaning toward you, massive smile plastered across their face, trying to obtain information? I'd probably be wondering where the nearest police officer was. So, tomorrow, when I am on yet another of my Paris adventures, I will try to "do as the Romans do;" Keep my head cool and simply ask for information in a professional manner, then move the heck on. Maybe I'll have better luck. And maybe, just maybe, if I put aside my laziness and attempted to understand "them" (it's quite a large family) I might really enjoy myself.
Au Revoir!
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