The French like Pretending they're Emily Post.

And by they I mean the Crêpe chefs. This past weekend, I had two strange experiences with my crêpe men. Pretty much thursday through saturday and bits of days during the week, I order a crêpe to mange on. They have two categories-savory or sweet and dozens of flavors and toppings. The least expensive-Sucre (sugar) is typically priced at 2 euro-lucky for me that's usually my go-to, to more expensive at 4 euro-Nutella et Banane. Well, typically I go up to the counter for "à emporter" (to go) and make my order-in polite and carefully constructed French. "Bon soir, je voudrais une sucre beurre s'il vous plai--" "no no no......." they begin to chime in (but really interrupt). I'm starting to show a pattern of needing assistance when I order something as easy as a crêpe. They tell me how I should order (which, I suppose is helpful and considerate, but its just the way they go about it) and I need to repeat after them like I walked up to this stand because I wanted to wait even further for my delicious crêpe.

This guy was really nice. This photo shows the outdoor carry-out creperie look. C'est facile pour tout le monde. 

Emily Post: "Je voudrais..."
Me: "Je voudrais"
E.P. "Je voudrais une crêpe sucre beurre"
Me "Jevoudraisunecrêpesucrebeurre"
E.P. "S'il vous plaît"
Me "S'ilvousplaît"

and then my friend Kendra always whispers in my ear "didn't you say that though?"
and I'm always wondering why they have to tell me to say thank you to them again when I did the first time. Wouldn't my first "thank-you" carry over? And then Kendra says "I heard you say thank-you!" I feel like at these moments I always puff up their feathers or something and then they probably add less sucre to my crêpe. C'est dommage. Ha. I guess it's all about enunciating your words and shoving pleases down their throats. After all, Emily Post eats manners for dinner. She wasn't French though was she? Maybe I'm the offended and sensitive one. It's probably because I didn't like the impromptu manner lesson I was given because after it happened twice, I felt a little embarrassed. It's like telling an artist how to mix her paint.

Anyways through this rant I'll end with saying to savor your english speaking country. You know how to talk amongst one another without feeling foolish. But I think foolishness will always be on the itinerary for Study Abroad experiences, yes?

Just adding this photo because he's making
 the best caramel crepe in the city.