One of the things I like about France is that, no matter what you buy, you can usually get it wrapped up as a gift for no extra charge. But sometimes the results are unexpected… Jube just finished up his year as a stagiaire (a student teacher). He was helped along by his tutor and he wanted to give her a gift. Soooo, we went to the English bookstore in Montpellier, "Book in Bar." It’s a great bookshop, even though the books are slightly overpriced. We found the book he wanted (Paradise, by Tony Morrison), and he paid, asking for it to be wrapped. “Oh, bien sur!” said the shopgirl, and proceeded to wrap while I browsed the store. About five minutes later Jube came to get me with a strange look on his face. When we had left the store and walked around the corner, he started laughing. “Look at the gift!” he said. And this is what we saw:
My mother thinks that it is a cultural difference, since the girl who wrapped it was English, not French. I just think that she had no clue about how to wrap a gift!!
In newer news, le Parisien and his new girlfriend are arriving tomorrow. The whole family is excited to meet her, no less because of her lisp. Le Pacha is cutting short his stay in Narbonne to stay just one night under the same roof with her, and belle-mère has already decided on the menu. She chose an “exotic” American recipe: Eggplant Parmesan. I am amazed that she is taking cooking advice from me!
Jube and I also booked a hotel in Nice for Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. We’ll be checking out all of the apartments we can! No worries: more news about the Lisper to come in the very near future.
2 comments:
Did Jube pick the paper to celebrate the Tour de France?? It probably sounds sexist, but the giftlooks like it was wrapped by a man!!
no, the paper was chosen by the shopgirl. She was definitely English and definitely the one who wrapped it, although it's true that men seem to have more problems than women wrapping in general.
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