i'm starting to hate americans.
maybe it's the misanthrope in me (is there one within me?), maybe it's my frenchness, or maybe it's just those americans i've been staying with. very nice people, i might add. and admittedly, spending time over there does make me feel smarter. i had a nice long argument (in which i knew i was right) over whether mark twain was an anti-semite (he's not), with walter, a self-proclaimed archie bunker who'd never even read huck finn. sitting at lunch today, though, i really was reminded why french/europeans really hate americans. my god the way he ate his food, shoveling it all in in scoops before his wife could even finish serving it, really put me off. he makes outrageous comments he can barely back up, also. some of the arguments we have are over things for which i cannot bring evidence because they were before my time (such as who got more crap for the vietnam war, lbj or nixon), but i am so sure i'm right. at the same time, he's very nice to me and thinks me an intelligent person.
meanwhile, his wife rivka/sara (depending on who she's talking to) strikes me as a real live housewife in a sense i'd never been struck by before. growing up where i did, many mothers didn't work, but none were the motherly figures who cooked and cleaned and took all the shit from their husband and kids. she does it all, though. no matter how many times walter says "delicious darling" in his thanking voice, i get the sense that he would have no less from her than such a meal. she told me she doesn't cook new things because everyone will turn their noses and say "what is this". she never really raises opinions during meals, although it's clear to me she's smarter than her husband, and she seems to get no help.
meanwhile, the only son still in the house is kind of a brat. at 14, he still leaves the table feiging illness or fatigue as soon as he finishes his meal. he complains that the food tastes weird often, he whines, and asks his mother for "huggy-buggies". the thing is, they're all such nice people that i can't figure out the family structure. but by the end of the weekend, i wanted to shout "amen" when rivka said "don't become annoying" to her son.
wow i'm a critical bitch. oh well.
marielle and rachel came to visit, and pictures are on webshots. do look!
maybe it's the misanthrope in me (is there one within me?), maybe it's my frenchness, or maybe it's just those americans i've been staying with. very nice people, i might add. and admittedly, spending time over there does make me feel smarter. i had a nice long argument (in which i knew i was right) over whether mark twain was an anti-semite (he's not), with walter, a self-proclaimed archie bunker who'd never even read huck finn. sitting at lunch today, though, i really was reminded why french/europeans really hate americans. my god the way he ate his food, shoveling it all in in scoops before his wife could even finish serving it, really put me off. he makes outrageous comments he can barely back up, also. some of the arguments we have are over things for which i cannot bring evidence because they were before my time (such as who got more crap for the vietnam war, lbj or nixon), but i am so sure i'm right. at the same time, he's very nice to me and thinks me an intelligent person.
meanwhile, his wife rivka/sara (depending on who she's talking to) strikes me as a real live housewife in a sense i'd never been struck by before. growing up where i did, many mothers didn't work, but none were the motherly figures who cooked and cleaned and took all the shit from their husband and kids. she does it all, though. no matter how many times walter says "delicious darling" in his thanking voice, i get the sense that he would have no less from her than such a meal. she told me she doesn't cook new things because everyone will turn their noses and say "what is this". she never really raises opinions during meals, although it's clear to me she's smarter than her husband, and she seems to get no help.
meanwhile, the only son still in the house is kind of a brat. at 14, he still leaves the table feiging illness or fatigue as soon as he finishes his meal. he complains that the food tastes weird often, he whines, and asks his mother for "huggy-buggies". the thing is, they're all such nice people that i can't figure out the family structure. but by the end of the weekend, i wanted to shout "amen" when rivka said "don't become annoying" to her son.
wow i'm a critical bitch. oh well.
marielle and rachel came to visit, and pictures are on webshots. do look!
posted by lisa at 10:34 PM
1 Comments:
hm.
it's very easy to look at other people/familys and see where they are lacking...
indeed, showing thanks and respect to parents (and signif others) isn't the easiest thing and takes work -
it's hard to believe there are kids (even in their 20s!)who yell and curse at parents who have provided very well for them.
shocking.
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