Yesterday while I was drinking a coffee in the marché Jean-Talon area of Montreal, a Vietnamese man in his 50s was looking at me from the table beside me where he was sitting.
From the way that he was looking at me, it seemed that he wanted to say something. So I smiled at him. That’s when he said to me: Excusez-moi, vous parlez français? I told him yes, and I was intrigued by what would happen next.
From his bag, he pulled out a sheet of paper and showed it to me…
It was his French homework from his evening class! He asked me if I could help him with it. It turned out to be a fun conversation.
Hey, if he can ask a stranger for help with French, so can you. Don’t be shy. Say bonjour to the person at the table beside you. 🙂
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Two short bits of overheard conversation while out yesterday:
A man walking past me said to his friend: Tu vas devoir toffer un peu. The informal verb toffer means “to tough it out.” I wonder what his friend needs to tough out?
Later on, as a woman walked past me with her friend, she said: … et moi, comme une conne, j’ai répondu. With the word conne, she had just called herself an idiot in a very unflattering way. (For a man, it would be con.)
I’m not sure what she responded to… a phone call from the collections agency? an email from an ex? an embarrassing question?
Et moi, comme une conne, j’ai répondu could be a good story starter if you needed some writing ideas…
