Dear Gina,
What is it like being abroad on Inauguration Day?
Love,
Most-of-the-people-Gina-talked-to-yesterday
I will answer your question with a statement: It was the first time I have ever been in another country and proud to be an American.
Instead of lowering my voice to a whisper when speaking English in public (something I usually try to avoid in the first place), I sang along with the national anthem during the inauguration ceremonies, loud and proud.
Instead of shooting looks of horror and disgust at tipsy, singing Americans, the waiter made a motion with his hand to offer us a microphone.
Across from the grand Opéra Garnier, American pubs sported "LIVE OBAMA NIGHT" signs on the windows. Crowds of expats and French people alike spilled into the streets, jamming the doorways in an attempt to catch a glimpse of our new President or what Michelle Obama was wearing.
1/20/09. A good day for Americans in Paris. And for Americans everywhere.
And tomorrow, it's back to mumbling "Toronto" instead of the truth when people ask where I'm from.*
*This has not actually happened yet. I am tempted.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Toronto? Really Gina? You better hope Jeremy's not reading this . . .
ReplyDeleteHere's my reasoning: if I'm going with Canada, I can't go with a French-speaking province, because then I'm still supposed to be fluent and will hence be silently ridiculed when I open my mouth and am definitely not. Toronto = Canadian (read: non-American) city in which mostly just English is spoken. And as for Jeremy, it would be paying him a compliment, really.
ReplyDeletesay windsor. they speak english, and you can complain about the 19year old detroiters crossing the border to drink in the casino. then you even get believable local color points!!!!
ReplyDeleteSay you're from Oshawa or some other podunk Ontario shithole that nobody would ever be interested in.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Quebecois French is not actually French at all. Vive le Quebec libre!