As you might imagine we had quite a few visitors from the famille americaine. If it was their first visit to Europe, they were about to discover the truth in the adage "When in Rome, do as the Romanians do."* We just said to come on & everything would work out. What good would it have served to cue them in? They needed to be in shape for a lot of walking, climbing up and down stairs. They should be modest in their expectations, as we would all share one bathroom and one W.C**; They must carve out a sleeping space where their affairs were bundled safe, and where no one would trip as they slept during the night. Elders got the beds, younger ones, pallets on the floor. We had no telephone yet, but we were on the list.*** Our one car was the typical "yogurt pot", old, and iffy. It wasn't for carting people around, but mostly for grocery shopping. The plus side was that our postage stamp kitchen turned out three fabulous meals a day complete with wine, cheese, & charcuterie, fresh fruit, pastries, and afternoon tea. Not to be ignored, the conversation was lively after outings. My father, the old southern dentist ever observant declared, "Well, I'll be, all this livin' in 800 sq. feet!" Indeed!
My cousin Claud & his wife Carolyn praised my husband, Jean-Jacques, for his unique style of hospitality. Always generous & easy-going, he loved opening his house to members of my family or his own. For les amèricains, the night before the first outing, he would sit the guests down at our table ronde with maps of the Paris Metro. He explained carefully how the metro worked. He would suggest places of interest and indicate the metro station. Our guests were free to choose what they wanted. Next morning he would accompany them to the Maison Lafitte train station. Together they would all ride into Paris. Once there, he said a perfunctory good-bye with handshakes or cheek kisses, he exited Gare St. Lazare for work, leaving our guests on their own. This was my husbands unique immersion method for learning a foreign language, at least on a primitive level, and a crash course in acculturation. It was pretty successful, hence my cousin's profound admiration.
Probably the most astounding successes were noticed in the older set. Parents, aunts and uncles always dressed up for their Parisian outings. Wasn't this the home of haute couture? One never knew if Coco or Nina might see them and hiss: "Oh, those tasteless amèrcaines." The women would muster up the "Jackie" look and their husbands would wear business suits. Once they knew the word, sortie****, the name of station, end of line name, they navigated the metro like pros. Not knowing the difference between 1st and 2nd class, they travelled first class until they got nabbed by the inspector. He, assuming they were just ignorant amèricains, courteously escorted them to 2nd class & gave no fine. They filled their days visiting historic sights, museums, boutiques, department stores, restaurants and bistros. They became so confident that if one didn't know better, at the very least they could have passed for expatriates. Weren't they just doing as the Roumanians do?
Upon her arrival in France my youngest sister, Regina, was due to sign up for French courses right away. She was just 19, first time away from home, so excited, & ready to adapt. The very next day she would be going to the heart of old Paris to matriculate at L'Institut Catholique. Jean-Jacques (heretofore "J.J.") set it all up for her at the round table. Well, you know the routine....but, when he was about to take his leave she wailed, "You're not leaving me, are you?! I can't do this by myself!" He just kissed her on both cheeks and said, "You have a tongue. Use it." She returned by late afternoon elated & quite proud of herself. She had managed, but even better, she'd met a bunch more young people just like her...more Romanians.
*Famous quote made by the Kingfish on old TV series Amos & Andy
**W.C., pronounced Veh-Ceh for doubleyew(?) Cee - Water Closet taken from English, toilet only in a small closet. Bathrooms and toilets are generally separate.
***In these days it still took forever to get telephone service. One had to be on a waiting list for a long time.
****sortie - (sor-tee) exit, or way out
Probably the most astounding successes were noticed in the older set. Parents, aunts and uncles always dressed up for their Parisian outings. Wasn't this the home of haute couture? One never knew if Coco or Nina might see them and hiss: "Oh, those tasteless amèrcaines." The women would muster up the "Jackie" look and their husbands would wear business suits. Once they knew the word, sortie****, the name of station, end of line name, they navigated the metro like pros. Not knowing the difference between 1st and 2nd class, they travelled first class until they got nabbed by the inspector. He, assuming they were just ignorant amèricains, courteously escorted them to 2nd class & gave no fine. They filled their days visiting historic sights, museums, boutiques, department stores, restaurants and bistros. They became so confident that if one didn't know better, at the very least they could have passed for expatriates. Weren't they just doing as the Roumanians do?
Upon her arrival in France my youngest sister, Regina, was due to sign up for French courses right away. She was just 19, first time away from home, so excited, & ready to adapt. The very next day she would be going to the heart of old Paris to matriculate at L'Institut Catholique. Jean-Jacques (heretofore "J.J.") set it all up for her at the round table. Well, you know the routine....but, when he was about to take his leave she wailed, "You're not leaving me, are you?! I can't do this by myself!" He just kissed her on both cheeks and said, "You have a tongue. Use it." She returned by late afternoon elated & quite proud of herself. She had managed, but even better, she'd met a bunch more young people just like her...more Romanians.
*Famous quote made by the Kingfish on old TV series Amos & Andy
**W.C., pronounced Veh-Ceh for doubleyew(?) Cee - Water Closet taken from English, toilet only in a small closet. Bathrooms and toilets are generally separate.
***In these days it still took forever to get telephone service. One had to be on a waiting list for a long time.
****sortie - (sor-tee) exit, or way out
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