Summer Blog Post #2

During my stay in Paris this summer we decided to meet up with a friend of my brother who lived in the city. My brother had met her in America during one of her stays in the country as a foreign exchange student. So, after setting up as meeting place and time we set off on the metro to meet Alex.  Once we spotted her we went through quick introductions and then began our stroll along the Champs-Élysées. After doing some window shopping we decided that a Starbucks break was exactly what we needed to power through the rest of the day. Now this is where it gets a bit interesting. My family began placing their drink orders in English of course which was fine as the barista seemed to be quite fluent. When it came time for Alex to place her order she spoke in French to the barista. However, the barista replied and kept speaking to her in English. After repeatedly attempting to speak French to the barista and having him reply in English, Alex finally asked "Do you not speak French?". The barista replied that yes he did speak French and then it dawned on him that Alex was actually a native French speaker, not just some tourist wannabe.

Now this is a prime example of how we code switch according to our appraisal of a situation. The barista realized that we most likely did not speak French and therefore he switched to the common language of English in order to communicate with us in a more efficient manner. This ability to code switch is highly important in today's society. We often find ourselves having to alter our speech in accordance with who we're conversing with. However, as seen in this case we can sometimes make mistakes when making assumptions about people. Overall, I found it interesting how the barista was able to make assumptions in order to be more accommodating in this scenario.  

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Summer Blog Post #1

Let's face it, nobody wants to be in Abu Dhabi during the summer. It's a hot mess and anyone who has been there during that hellish time of year can attest to that. So like a proper UAE resident I fled the heat and headed for a climate more suitable for actual human beings. After a couple flights and a short stop in Rome I found myself in The City of Light, also known as Paris. Despite having been to France multiple times I never seemed to make it to Paris. I had a tendency to stay in the mountains or on the sunny beaches, so this was my first glimpse of the city.

As we began our descent I kept my eyes glued to the landscape that was rapidly passing by. After mistaking three distant radio towers as the Eiffel Tower, I began to grow impatient at the seemingly never ending landing. Finally I felt the wheels meet the ground and breathed a quick sigh of relief. I walked away from the baggage carousel with all of my luggage and I said a quick thank you to the god of airports for keeping my bags safe and then hopped in a cab to head to the hotel.


Now one thing they never tell you in movies or books is that sunset in Paris seems to be running a bit behind. I stepped out of my hotel and had to do a quick double take at the sky and then at my phone. My phone told me it was about 9:30 p.m. but the sky was telling me a completely different story. It was deceivingly bright out and could have been mistaken for 7:30 p.m. back home in Abu Dhabi. As I sat in a restaurant eating  dinner and listening to a French man butcher Nirvana karaoke, I realized that I was beginning to fall in love with this strange city.

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