Cultural Narrative: Nails, Sales, and Failing at French
By: Sam Lee

So, despite what you may think it is actually really difficult to find French people who are willing to talk with you in stumbly French. This week I tried really hard to avoid using English when asking questions and exploring the city, however, time and time again people would switch to English as soon as I would make a mistake.

Attempt number one was at the market on Friday. In Belleville there is a very long, very crowded, very noisy market that is a hoot to explore. The food is cheap and colorful and for the most part tasty. My first interaction was buying Merguez sausages, which are super tasty, and on the whole it was a rather successful in French interaction.. I asked for fifteen on accident, instead of four (because I don’t know how to ask for things in weight). After lots of pointing and gesticulating we negotiated how many I wanted. Then the man helping me told me they were piquante, which as far as I know means spicy. This was fine by me, but the man seemed really concerned that I didn’t know what he meant and went on to find another example of spicy food. Still telling him this was good he checked again, and I began to wonder if maybe it is not spicy and made of some strange local meat that I might not want to eat, like brains. When I got home it was in fact spicy, although not very.

My second interaction in the market was less successful (in terms of staying in French). I wanted some clementines, and not wanting a whole kilo I asked for six. However, I struggled to remember the word for six, which is six (silly me) and held up my fingers to make double sure. The man behind the counter, understood what I meant and counted out the clementines for me, in French. I couldn’t tell if he was mocking me or not. He went on to ask, in English, if I was a tourist. I was flustered by this point and all my French vocabulary disappeared.

Still determined to have an actual conversation in the little French I knew I went to the nail salon. I had been wanting a manicure anyway and thought this could be a good setting to talk. However, as soon as the women painting my nails noticed my inadequate vocabulary she switched to English, and even though I tried to strike up another conversation in French, she stuck to my native tongue. Disheartened I went home, although I was pleased with my nails.

My final attempt this week was while buying lunch. I had ordered all my food in French without a hitch, even keeping cool when I didn’t understand a question. I asked politely for the cook to repeat in French. The man behind me in line struck up a conversation with me, and again I kept my cool and told him I didn’t speak very good French. Before I could continue to ask him to repeat what he said more slowly, he switched to English, asking the same questions about where I was from and what I was doing in Paris. My food was ready before I could try to steer the conversation back to French.

I am perplexed with how to keep my conversations in French. I realize that our time here is coming to a close, but I was vainly hoping to improve my French a little while in Paris. I feel that with the trend of my previous interactions, I’m not going to have much luck. It seems that almost everyone I interact with is perfectly fluent in English, and so there is no need to learn more French. At the same time I feel that if I don’t speak French I will be looked down upon by the locals. It is quite a conundrum, and with such little time left I don’t think I will find a resolution.