On the outskirts of of Bayeux, France, Ken and I spent one night at the lovely B & B, Les Chaufourniers. The owners are travelers. Dominique is a talented photographer, and Florence is a wonderful cook. Sometimes she cooks dinner for the guests in addition to the regular breakfast. The night we were there, we booked the dinner. When we came into the dining room we saw right away that we were in trouble. The eight other guests were all French and only one of them spoke any English at all.
I tell the story over at Your Life Is a Trip, and I hope you’ll take a look because it was a priceless experience for us. It is truly a treat to get to interact (as much as limited language skills will allow) with people in another country. But it did bring up an interesting question. What do you say when the people from the other country want to discuss a controversial subject? You can see what I did at Your Life Is a Trip, and argue with my decision if you wish.
(ADDED) Boy, the conversation is heating up over at Your Life Is a Trip. Take a look and join in.
quite a conversation going on over there, indeed. as you know, the difference in language is not the only thing that makes communicating with people in other countries on controversial subjects challenging. an interesting dinner, that, no doubt.
Hi Vera,
Your essay is interesting and thought-provoking. You are far more diplomatic than I. I would have had to bring up the subject of the recent laws in France that forbid school girls to wear headscarves and women to wear the burka (sp?) in public. As an America who deeply believes in the right of everyone to religious freedom, I find these laws difficult to understand.
Libbie
I’m not sure it has anything to do with diplomacy. In the U.S., I would not hesitate to bring up such a discussion. The people at that dinner no doubt approve entirely of the restrictive laws about Muslims. My attitude is that I’m there to learn what they think and why–not to change their minds. Anyway, as a former political operative, I know that there are certain minds you can’t change, so you work on those who are open to discussion.