Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Recapping last night in Lille
Not sure what's up with the photos, probably some trick that ofoto runs. Anyway, you can now see my photo album HERE.
Went out for a decent dinner last night in Lille. And let me just say that the French made me feel completely welcomed. I always hear these horror stories about French rudeness/haughtiness but my run-ins with this sort of attitude has been extremely rare in France. People repeatedly asked me where I was from and waited patiently as I tried to speak in French, while they knew english.
That said, after dinner I walked home to my hotel. As I walked I noticed dozens of homeless people sitting on the streets with their dogs. While none of them started with me, and they left me alone when I asked. However, I felt unsafe for one of the first times ever in Europe. Or more to the point, I felt like I would be unsafe if I went back out from the hotel (now after 10PM). Remember, I'm a big bad New Yorker, or at least, I know what to be aware of in my surroundings. This time it struck me that where I was from actually made me less safe, rather than more. Maybe my New York-sense was what saved me from a bad situation. Or maybe I was being a punk.
So I went back to the Hotel and actually saw a great movie, Tadpole - with Sigourney Weaver, John Ritter and some young kid. Also saw 8 Mile dubbed in French. Fun!
¶ 11:15 PM
Went out for a decent dinner last night in Lille. And let me just say that the French made me feel completely welcomed. I always hear these horror stories about French rudeness/haughtiness but my run-ins with this sort of attitude has been extremely rare in France. People repeatedly asked me where I was from and waited patiently as I tried to speak in French, while they knew english.
That said, after dinner I walked home to my hotel. As I walked I noticed dozens of homeless people sitting on the streets with their dogs. While none of them started with me, and they left me alone when I asked. However, I felt unsafe for one of the first times ever in Europe. Or more to the point, I felt like I would be unsafe if I went back out from the hotel (now after 10PM). Remember, I'm a big bad New Yorker, or at least, I know what to be aware of in my surroundings. This time it struck me that where I was from actually made me less safe, rather than more. Maybe my New York-sense was what saved me from a bad situation. Or maybe I was being a punk.
So I went back to the Hotel and actually saw a great movie, Tadpole - with Sigourney Weaver, John Ritter and some young kid. Also saw 8 Mile dubbed in French. Fun!
¶ 11:15 PM
