Have you heard of people having an “Aha moment”, when
something finally makes sense to them? Rather than that, I have listed below
some memorable “HUH??!!” moments from my last few months in France, when things
made me pause or struck me as odd or funny or cute or mind-boggling. So here we
go with:
Stuff I Saw That Made
Me Go, “Huh?”
1.
A child riding a two-wheeler with a pacifier in
her mouth. I will admit that this was a VERY young child. I don’t know which
was weirder, the fact that this tiny kid could ride a two-wheeler or the fact
that a child capable of riding a two-wheeler still needed a pacifier.
2.
A man teaching his son to pee against the side
of the Catholic church wall.
3.
A poodle with pony tails, riding in a stroller.
4.
People allowing their dog to take a dump in the
middle of the sidewalk and then just leaving their “gift” there for others to
step over.
5.
Motorists driving on the tram tracks.
6.
A mom and her little daughter sitting near the
canal, feeding the swans, the pigeons and the overgrown muskrats.
7.
A woman ordering her dog to get in the back of
the car, and when he refuses, she proceeds to talk to him, reason with him, hug
him, etc., but never once during the 10 minutes that ensued did she attempt to
put him in the car or exert any force on him. Eventually, he rode up front.
8.
Beggars who appoint themselves to help you find a
parking spot or who open the door for you at the post office, hoping for a
hand-out.
9.
The woman who looked furtively over her shoulder
before she grabbed a bunch of daffodils from the public flower bed and stuffed
them in her purse.
10. The
talent possessed by some people, enabling them to park their car in an
impossibly small space.
11. A
homeless man on a bike with a parrot riding on his shoulder.
12. The
guy who hangs out everyday in front of the tattoo shop. (Words cannot describe
this person. I will take his photo someday.)
13. The
man who strolls by our apartment every Sunday carrying a fancy cane, wearing a
top hat and a tuxedo with tails.
14. The
way the little Jewish boys can play rough-and-tumble games and rarely lose
their kippahs.
15. In
French, jogging is called jogging, but it can also be called “footing”.
16. The
talent of the street performers. Why are they on the street and not in a concert hall?
17. The
old lady wearing a nice dress, sturdy shoes and a giant purse, who rides a scooter
(not the motorized kind but the kind you have to push with your foot).
18. Canned foods like jars of applesauce and salsa that tell me to store them in the refrigerator after opening, and to eat them within 2 or 3 DAYS. What??
19. Doctor
appointments that cost only 23 euros.
20. Homeless guys sitting outside playing chess.
21. The
funny Anglicisms and Americanisms that
the French include in their speech, like SUPER! JACKPOT! Faire du SHOPPING. PARKING.
22. The
fact that all nouns in German are capitalized.
23. Words
that are not capitalized in french which are capitalized in
English. (for example, the months, the days of the week, religions and the names of
languages.)
24. Spicy
food that…well…isn’t.
25. The wine aisle at even the smallest grocery
store in any French city…this is a thing to behold.
