http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1820358,00.html

I got a kick out of reading this article. It says that, after the Chinese and the Indians, the French are deemed some of the worst tourists around. The article also mentions that the French were ranked second to last place in regards to how they fare as tourists in their OWN country. How funny is that?!?!

All of this reminds me of the time that I was in Rome waiting for a table for lunch at a restaurant. It was a beautiful day and thus, all of the patio seats were taken. Contrary to my normal impatient demeanor, I was actually pretty relaxed that day, didn’t have much of an agenda, and decided to stay where I was and wait there for a table instead of wandering off to find a less crowded restaurant. In front of me, a French couple and their grandson were starting to get a bit antsy. Just then, a large table of people asked for their bill, divvied up their money, and then paid. The Frenchies (as I so affectionately like to call my pseudo-brethren) in front of me were relieved that they would soon be seated…until they realized that the people at that table didn’t seem to have any intention of getting up quickly (quelle horreur!!!). The French couple then started making noises and speaking loudly to try to get the table’s attention so that they would realize that others were waiting and leave.

I found this highly amusing. First, I’ve never seen French people in a hurry at a restaurant. Never. Ever. When you’re in France, you sit down…wait…get a drink…wait…order bread…wait…order your meal…wait…wait…wait…eat meal…wait…and you get the picture. Seriously, that’s how it is. So I’m not sure why that family expected things to be different than in France, but apparently they did. Second, I just thought that it was quite the odd moment, since I’m both impatient and American (as we’re not used to waiting for anything – time is money, ya know). But I was cool, calm, and just hanging out. I remember thinking that the 7 months that I had spent living and traveling around Europe thus far had really affected me…and it was a great feeling.

Also, the article goes on to mention that the French are some of the least likely to try to speak another foreign language. God bless them, but they just CAN’T. The students that I had spent time teaching were, overall, really bad. Really really bad. Some had been learning the language for years and could barely string a sentence together. (Of course, there were some really amazingly skilled students, too – don’t misunderstand that).

And by the same token, it was surprising for me to read that Americans were voted #1 in trying to speak another language. I don’t know about that, but maybe we’re coming around on the language thing. Kudos to my fellow Americans. I’m getting teary-eyed, that’s how proud I am.

Having said all of that, to answer the author’s question about whether or not the findings of this survey will make the French want to improve their behavior…well…personally, like with everyone “needing” to learn English to speak to Americans, I think it might be easier for the world to adjust.