A pink taxi

A pink taxi

June 20, 2010

A French Woman...

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....Like the ones you don't want to bump into at a bank, a boulangerie, in a car, or topless on the beach! A French woman of that type was sitting on the low wall of the school. She is a teacher and she was crunching an apple.

That piece of wall happens to be my youngest son's favorite play area. It is shaded and fun to climb onto and  jump off from. In the mornings, my daughter and him take turns sitting on my lap there, before the gates open and the Emirati anthem plays.

And so he went to the regular section of the wall and found her there. When I turned my head, they were locking horns. I am acquainted with her, so I addressed her,  as the adult, and gave her the benefit of the doubt as I always do with my crazy kids. It was a particularly hot day and we were all a little distraught.

- "I see you are in full conversation with my naughty child", I smiled understandingly.
She crunched her apple.

- "He said he wants to pass by, but I told him I would really rather not move", she explained.

I laughed to loosen the air. Then, I told him:

- "Do you know this lady is a teacher here? That you shouldn't be climbing the wall?"

He ignored me. As though I hadn't interfered, he continued to say:

- "Je veux passer!" (I want to pass)

I grabbed his little arm and we walked away. By then I  had found my other kids, loosened my grab on him and began walking to the car.

My youngest then freed himself of my grip and ran, all the way back to the wall where the French woman was still enjoying her apple. With his finger he warned her:

- "I am not your friend!"

The teacher lit a cigarette in the parking lot as we waved goodbye from our car.

1 comment:

  1. Hilarious!I could see the little boy with his glasses on,bewildered by the calm reaction of our Prof,who is coldly reacting to his attempt,by lighting a Gitane in a school yard in the heat of Dubai at 40C!
    I like the French,I respect their culture and their discpline;but you have to cohabitate with them to survive 26 summers with them.
    I cherish memories of incidents that I encountered with them all these years!It is the lady that sells me my daily newspapers,who races with me to lock her door in my face if I interfere with her lunch break at 12:29!It is the friendly grocer,who refuses to give me coin change for parking;pointing agressively that he is not a money exchanger!It is the operator of the merry go around who gives me back my change in centimes weighing a Kgm!It is the eager driver who races with you not to cross the zebra line before him,or the nervous lady driver who will use her four hands to manage her gear shift,cigarette,portable and radio!It is your grocer again whom you have been using for many years,buying boxes of fruits and vegetables!He would coldly remark when you try to do away with mushy ones:mais madame ne fait pas le menage(basically means:Madam don't feel at home)!!
    These are few examples of daily encounters with the French that might hurt you to begin with,though you become immune after a couple of years.What is soothing about all this,is they tend to treat each other in a similar fashion.When in France,do what the French do:get on with your life!

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