MB Meets World

I have been to Paris before, but not since 1989. While I saw some things in previous visits, many things were new to me. Plus, going as part of the Road Scholar tour allowed me to learn more things.

One of the parts I loved was that our French tour guide (Agathe) told us things that felt like inside information about French people and culture. Here are a few; I will litter other items throughout my posts.

1. French people do wear berets, though mainly in the winter months. They are warm!

2. The expression “oh, la, la” (oh, not ooo) is used frequently for all different situations. Adding more “la la la” means more urgency. “Oh, la, la, la, la, la- be careful on that swing” or “oh, la, la, that was a long meeting” or change the tone and “oh, la,la that was a good meal.”

3. The French use language in a way that sometimes requires reading between the lines. It is not quite sarcasm, not quite passive-aggression, not quite double entendre, but akin to all of these. For example, a French person might say, “not bad,” instead of “good,” which can make them seem snobby.

Agathe explained the history of this, which she called “second degree.” Over the centuries, lack of free speech and censorship were problems in France. Kings would prohibit folks from speaking out on topics and they had to figure out ways to speak out anyway. One way was to have political speech hidden in fashion magazines. “The king of Spain, wearing a bow tie and tails, looked splendid at the opera during his long conversation with the king of Belgium, sporting deep grey jacket and black trousers.” The topic might be what the men were wearing, but the second degree was that they were talking. This style of communication became so common and important that nobles actually had training for it growing up! The style persists in daily conversations even though free speech is now part of the culture.