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A pineapple by any other name tastes just as sweet
For one summer in high school, we volunteered to host a student who was visiting from France. When we picked up François at the airport, he seemed nervous. His English was fine, but I think he was a bit stunned by the idea of suddenly coming to a new country, living with a new family, and trying to fit in. I had taken a few years of French in high school, and while I was okay at the tests and homework, I wasn't sure how much of it was sinking in, and didn't make much of an effort to welcome him in his own language for fear of embarrassing myself (a big deal, when you're in high school). Our first stop after the airport on that hot summer day was our favorite ice cream drive-thru. We read the list of flavors out loud in English for François and watched his confusion and fear grow stronger as the complex list went on and on. "Pineapple?" he said in his heavy accent. "What is pineapple?" We spent the next few minutes trying to describe in basic English, essentially, a spiky yellow fruit with a leafy hat. We made sweet and sour faces. My mother (who incidentally minored in French in college, but must have skipped class on fruit day) mimed a Carmen Miranda dance. No joy. François looked desperate. Suddenly, from the depths of my high school French, I dug out a word I didn't even know existed until that moment. "Ananas!" Like I'd found the key to a treasure map: "Pineapple is ananas!" François smiled, and I could see him beginning to realize that everything would be just fine. Just goes to show what knowing even a few words in a language can do. (Though I seem to remember him ordering the chocolate chip...) - Suzanne (New York, NY) Tags: French, language, newsletter, pineapples
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