Payment
I said that there was no free lunch and for me the fee is small. The meal lasts for five or more hours. This is difficult for an Englishwoman who is more comfortable in an armchair than on a dining room chair. My neighbours never seem to sit in an easy chair. Whenever I am invited for aperitifs (it's never drinks without food even if only nibbles) we sit at the table. We may begin at the kitchen table. I am often asked to move to 'the other room' which is furnished with a dining room table.
I have noticed armchairs, but they all appear to be unused. Even the T.V. is wall mounted near the table. I assume it is watched while sitting at the table.
So here 'c'est normal' to sit at table for five hours. When I first moved to Brittany, I went to the village meals to meet local people, to be part of the community and to practice my French. I tried to avoid getting into a ghetto of English people. I found it was too easy to spend all my time speaking English.
Now I find that five hours making small talk is rather too long. The local people have known each other all their lives and they have much to talk about so for them it's easy.
I have discovered that many people who were born here but have worked elsewhere (some in Paris, one I know of in USA) they return to their birthplace.
I will always be an incomer. I am made welcome, I am included and often invited to people's homes, but I don't share a history and it tells or I feel it.
After the meal there is dancing. I love dancing with a passion. But I prefer Breton or Line to Ballroom. Unfortunately, my village is particularly keen on ballroom. I do like ballroom dancing but for me it is necessary to have a good partner with whom I feel comfortable at close proximity. I feel uncomfortable being held body to body by veritable strangers.
A further difficulty for me is that I try to be vegetarian. The only meat I ever buy is free range chicken. When I eat in a restaurant, I choose not to eat meat. The community meals are usually five courses of which three will be meat. When I first arrived, I declared myself vegetarian. What a mistake that was. It caused such a rumpus, and I was finally served with a plate of eggs. You can imagine the comments. So now I just either give the meat away or eat it. The latter option leads to comments like, ' Thought you were vegetarian' or 'so you are not vegetarian then?'
I get tired of having to justify my eating habits. I would like to remember to turn the tables. Why don't I say, 'So you are a carnivore then,' or 'why do you eat meat? Do you eat vegetables?'
So, it's not really a free meal.
There are many ways to pay. Payment is not always in hard cash.
I have noticed armchairs, but they all appear to be unused. Even the T.V. is wall mounted near the table. I assume it is watched while sitting at the table.
So here 'c'est normal' to sit at table for five hours. When I first moved to Brittany, I went to the village meals to meet local people, to be part of the community and to practice my French. I tried to avoid getting into a ghetto of English people. I found it was too easy to spend all my time speaking English.
Now I find that five hours making small talk is rather too long. The local people have known each other all their lives and they have much to talk about so for them it's easy.
I have discovered that many people who were born here but have worked elsewhere (some in Paris, one I know of in USA) they return to their birthplace.
I will always be an incomer. I am made welcome, I am included and often invited to people's homes, but I don't share a history and it tells or I feel it.
After the meal there is dancing. I love dancing with a passion. But I prefer Breton or Line to Ballroom. Unfortunately, my village is particularly keen on ballroom. I do like ballroom dancing but for me it is necessary to have a good partner with whom I feel comfortable at close proximity. I feel uncomfortable being held body to body by veritable strangers.
A further difficulty for me is that I try to be vegetarian. The only meat I ever buy is free range chicken. When I eat in a restaurant, I choose not to eat meat. The community meals are usually five courses of which three will be meat. When I first arrived, I declared myself vegetarian. What a mistake that was. It caused such a rumpus, and I was finally served with a plate of eggs. You can imagine the comments. So now I just either give the meat away or eat it. The latter option leads to comments like, ' Thought you were vegetarian' or 'so you are not vegetarian then?'
I get tired of having to justify my eating habits. I would like to remember to turn the tables. Why don't I say, 'So you are a carnivore then,' or 'why do you eat meat? Do you eat vegetables?'
So, it's not really a free meal.
There are many ways to pay. Payment is not always in hard cash.
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