To whom it may concern,
I read my earlier post and just wanted to clarify: Venice good, field trips bad. So there.
As with any of the European cities I've visited, the way of life is so different. One thing that could not be any more different than in the US is the lack of air conditioning. It's 2010, you have running water and electricity, and I've spotted at least seven iPads since I've been here, so there really is no excuse in my mind. You want to be a world superpower? Let's start there.
At the risk of sounding like a sociopath, I find myself instinctively trying to listen to other people's conversations when I hear English being spoken. While in a bar in Venice, I observed an Italian man/student/probable sex offender, as he attempted to pick up an American girl.
It started with him saying something to her in Italian, then switching to some broken English after realizing she didn't understand his initial one-line pickup. He said "I hear American girls like to party," or something to that nature. Her response was what kept me listening to the exchange.
It was at this point that she pretends not to speak English either. With the hopes of fooling the greasy-haired predator, she actually says "no hablo ingles." Our subject however pulls an ace out of his sleeve by responding "No problema, hablo espanol."
What does our heroine say to this?
"Listen you slimy prick, get the hell away from me before I get a cop."
I love Americans.
From Florence, With Love
Erich
Love this captured dialogue.
ReplyDeleteLove your conversational tone.
Stick with this kind of free-form tone in your writing - sprinkled with your occasional poetic gems and laser-like snark - and you'll be well on your way to Rolling Stone.
But even in other postings on this blog, you occasionally lapse into formal, soggy language.
Be yourself, Erich. That's what readers want.