They Like Us, They Really Like Us!

We’ve heard that the French hate us. That they don’t like America. It’s not true. Don’t believe it. I haven’t been here for very long, and was fully expecting to have to say I was Canadian to escape a hassle. I didn’t have to. I have had a great experience with everyone I’ve met here, both in Paris (apparently the hub of this anti-Americanism) and here in Cannes. Most people speak English, their TV is full of American shows, and no one has made that classic French face of disgust.

I think I also realize why most people here speak English. It’s not that they’ve got some superior education system or we’re just dumb for not all learning a foreign language to the point of comfortable conversation. It’s’ that they almost have to. English is, oddly enough, the common language not only of business, but of entertainment, and it seems of Europe. I was watching a German snowboarding show the other night, where snowboarders from four or five different countries were interviewed. The German interviewer spoke to the foreign athletes in English, and the athletes answered back.

In Paris, I went into a little boulangerie (bakery) near my hotel and stumbled through ordering a sandwich and some beignets. The young man behind the counter pegged me right away as American, and seemed really happy to be able to practice his English. I ordered in my crap French. He replied in his stilted English, and we had a laugh.

Here, in the hotel restaurant (which is unbelievably good), almost everyone speaks English. There’s one older man who doesn’t, and seems apologetic about it. I don’t get that. I should be the one apologizing. I came into his country, and I don’t speak the language. I’m embarrassed at how bad my French is, which I think has helped me get along with the people I’ve met so far here. I try French first, if that doesn’t work, I ask if they speak English (in French), and then thank them if they say they do (again in French). So far, I haven’t had any trouble with people refusing to speak English (I was warned by several people that Parisians will watch you struggle just for the fun of it). Now, I have had some funny experiences with us both speaking English and us still not understanding each other, but it’s not for lack of trying, and it usually ends in a laugh.

The French don’t hate us. There’s no reason for us to have “freedom fries” or dump French wine. Doing so doesn’t hurt the French government (which is who we may have a problem with), it makes us look silly.