When I first told people--people like adults and family members, that is--I was going to part time hostess at Chez Sophie last fall, they all said things like "Perfect!," "You can speak French!," "Of course, our petite francophile!" (Okay, so this is a bit of an exaggeration). I, however, in the past 10 months of working there (holy shit, has it been 10 months?) have spoken very little French. I can pronounce items on the menu better than some, but I never have French conversations. Probably because not that many French people live in Saratoga, or visit Saratoga, and people who don't speak French are still allowed to eat in our restaurant! Odd, I know, because I always make sure to brush up on my Thai before going to the Garden and my Italian before hitting Chianti's. Weird. I guess we are less demanding of our clientele. Anyway...
Tonight a party of four came in, I took them to the table, and the older woman said, "Brrrr.... il fait froid." Woohoo, I thought. I responded in English that I would turn down the AC. The husband was so delighted I could understand French and asked me my name "Comment tu t'appelles?" "Leeeleee" je dit. "Ah! Je t'aime Leeleee!" Yes, they loved me because I could comprehend "Brrrr." The Bulgarian busser would have been totally dumbfounded by what that lady was saying as she rubbed her hands over her bare arms. Completely.
When they left, the husband "bised" me and we exchanged our "au revoirs" and "a bientots." It was all very cute and they were pleasant people, but really, that tiny bit of French knowledge, totally comprehensible by the body language alone, impressed them? Well, gee.
*****
I am listening to "Say Yes" by Elliott Smith right now because I watched Good Will Hunting last night and this song has been stuck in my head all day and sometimes listening to stuck songs unsticks them. If not, oh well; it's pretty.
12 days and beacoup a faire!
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