Paris, France
Love it. Friday, or Saturday, I don't know when exactly, I lost my debit card. I agonized about it for ages Sunday morning when I found out I didn't have the card. I cancelled it, had a shower, worried about how many things could have been bought on the internet by then on my card, got dressed, went out to retrace my steps and hope to find it. Getting downstairs, I checked my mailbox. The card was in it.
Hate it. Having cancelled the card Sunday morning, I had to go to the bank today to put in a request for a new one. I get there, the branch is closed. It closes on Mondays.
Love it. France, to everyone's surprise, voted YES for Palestine to join UNESCO today. Now, this alone makes me love living in this country, especially when everyone and his brother thought France would either abstain or vote NO. "Be realistic, demand the impossible." Yes. Sometimes, someone just has to take a chance and do what seems impossible.
Hate it. On the way to the bank, I was walking down one of the poshest avenues in this city, Avenue de Breteuil, when I felt something falling on my right arm. It was a puddle of spit. Someone spat out of the window of a building anyone would label as "chic".
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| The many faces of La Douce France, Marianne |
4 comments:
Ok, just to clear the air for posterity. Is it clearly violative of etiquette and good manners to spit in Paris? Or just to do so from a chic building and it impact a lovely lady walking by underneath? What if you see someone you know on the ground and that is the only way you can get their attention? What if a bee flew in your mouth during a conversation and you were trying to exspell the vile creature? I mean, to spit or not to spit, that is the question.
And concerning the UNESCO vote, the US is predictably witholding its funding of UNESCO. 22% or $80 million USD.
That's all the commentary from me on that. I'm NOT going to be the cause of an international incident!
Well!
I should think it is a violation of basic good manners to spit in Paris -- or anywhere else! even in NC...-- let alone etiquette.
I can think of few things more shocking, more brutal than being spat on.
On the UNESCO bit-- yes, the keyword there is "predictably". So, the reaction from the US is non-news.
Certainly spitting upon another is contrary to several rules. Having been spit upon myself on several occasions, I can relate. I was however in a position to instantly bring such events to the direction attention of the one who had a lapse in judgment and good manners however. And just to be clear, mine were intentional, deliberate, and willful acts. On both parts, I might add. I hope that while your incident was certainly vile, not intentional or capricious in nature.
Oh, in NC and other parts of the south, there have been times when a mouthful of tobacco preempted good manners and decorum. Spitting came of necessity as opposed to choking. From those times came the ever popular 'spit bottle'. A re-cycled soda bottle of the .5 liter variety serves well, with the cap, I might add. Perhaps Jacques on the upper floors should have visited NC. He would have been well prepared and this matter would have never come to the fore.
And Europeans think Americans aren't cultured!
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