Saturday, March 29, 2008

am i a snob for saying this?

I am seriously hoping that even though I am not from here, I do not stick out like a sore thumb. After seeing the American\ Canadian\ English speaking tourists that walk by I am almost embarassed to be associated with the English language at all. Seriously, they are so loud and obnoxious... like they demand everyone to pay attention to them as they walk by. They even have the nerve to become angry when they are in a restraunt ordering in English and the servers do not understand them. 'Do. you. not. understand. i. want. pizza. mar-gar-it-aaaaa' I have trained myself to talk quieter and to do my best not to laugh obnoxiously at all the wrong times or become upeset when i am not understood. I like to think that we are doing a good job blending in. I know a few people have thought we were French... but that probably is caused by that fact that I still keep speaking French to everyone accidently. When i do get the Italian right, i still get it wrong. I say 'Gratzi' when i am trying to say hello. I feel so mixed up... I'm confusing English with French and Italian with French and French with English. Oh boy

3 comments:

Lenore said...

Hi Jacquie
I think I felt the same way travelling. I remember being really quiet and hoping that people would think I was local and not a tourist -it often worked as people would come up and ask me things in a language I knew not! Trying to blend in was such hard work! Playing Italian cards on the train was helpful! One of the girls I travelled with spoke fluent Italian so we'd let her do all the talking and we stand there looking like we knew what she was saying....
I remember loving Venice - obviously I wasn't with your dad! It was so old and romantic and beautiful- we asked a local where to eat so we had amazing food in an out-of-the-way place. We stayed in a great hotel, etc. Florence I hated because it was hot, crowded with Americans, HUGE line-ups at things (we had a cute Italian guy take us in the back way to the museum where the local entered!) and I think we found the food quite boring! I think your dad and I were there during the same year as well as I visited him when he was at Capernwray in England. Two different people- two different experiences!

Enjoy the countryside - Anny has read the book "A Room with a View" so I know she'll love it. Take pictures!!!!

Love Auntie Lenore

BrianK said...

Hey Jacque,
Glad dinner was so yummy. You are hilarious - frumpy, give me a break. If frumpy looks like you, it just became a new trend!!! Your bike tour sounds lovely. Enjoy your time, it is going so quickly. Three weeks from today we will be picking you up in Vancouver. Looking forward to your stories and pictures. Have a great weekend. Mom xoxoxo

LLK said...

Hi Jacquie, Andrea and Nicole ...
Sounds so great. Just makes me want to go right now and explore all the beautiful places. Wish I had someone to plan all this for me, however, we'll see what happens in the next while. Also the hot, sunny weather sounds so inviting - what an experience!
Love you.
Granny