PARISIAN WOMAN AT MY HOSTEL: So, where are you from?
ME: The United States.
PARISIAN: Cool, which one? California? Miami? New York City?
ME: Minnesota actually.
PARISIAN: Oh, is that by Florida?
ME: No it's by Canada.
PARISIAN: I don't know this, what else?
ME: It's by the Great Lakes.
PARISIAN: I don't know this, what else?
ME: I live near Minneapolis.
PARISIAN: I don't know this, what else?
ME: Well, I guess the next city is Chicago.
PARISIAN: OHHHH! You're from CHICAGO! Why didn't you say so?! City of crime, eh? Look out everyone!
You should have said "From where Prince lives". Or if they're 90210 fans (original version), you can say "You know, where Brandon et Brenda come from". Any French person over 30 will suddenly have a lightbulb moement and say "Ohh!! Le Minnesota!! Il fait froid là-bas non ??". :)
ReplyDeleteHa, thanks for the suggestions! Cultural references definitely work better than maps - most people that have heard of Minnesota are fans of the show "How I Met Your Mother."
ReplyDeleteI like how she apparently doesn't know Canada.
ReplyDeleteThat tiny country that's twenty times bigger than France...
ReplyDeleteWhat's with Chicago's reputation? When I say that that's where I'm from, the teachers tell everyone to be nice to me so I don't call up my gangster friends to come beat everyone up. It's possible that this was because I wore my spats to the first day of school, or invited everyone to my birthday party in the speakeasy, or talk out of the side of my mouth while clenching a cigar between my teeth, but really, it's just an unfair assumption.
ReplyDelete