As I read the line about proving your knowledge to the French, I could not help but hear Tim FitzHigham saying "We think the French are going to want to see this!" (http://themoth.org/radio-hour/bathtub-sailor-seamstress-spy, 5:47, but truly a wonderful story to listen to in its entirety).
Subscribing! I went to France in October, and I wish I'd had this post to help me prepare! (I spoke English the whole time, even though I can read French.). But now I'm about to go to Italy, so I really need the answer to question number three above!
For what it's worth, my field research has indicated that the answer to "how do you impress an Italian pen shop owner" is definitely not "by purchasing a Pelikan Twist and a novelty ballpoint that looks like an egg" but I haven't gotten much further than that.
As I read the line about proving your knowledge to the French, I could not help but hear Tim FitzHigham saying "We think the French are going to want to see this!" (http://themoth.org/radio-hour/bathtub-sailor-seamstress-spy, 5:47, but truly a wonderful story to listen to in its entirety).
Ha! What a delightful use of maritime regulations for passive-aggressive international relations.
Subscribing! I went to France in October, and I wish I'd had this post to help me prepare! (I spoke English the whole time, even though I can read French.). But now I'm about to go to Italy, so I really need the answer to question number three above!
For what it's worth, my field research has indicated that the answer to "how do you impress an Italian pen shop owner" is definitely not "by purchasing a Pelikan Twist and a novelty ballpoint that looks like an egg" but I haven't gotten much further than that.