She just had to remember — just had to make an effort
to remember the old platitude — that it's not America
we are against…
When talking with Frenchmen (or Europeans) whose interaction I cannot avoid in everyday life, there is one subject that I usually do try to avoid — international politics… Sometimes, though, it pops up in the strangest of fashions…
Not long ago, I took my kitten to the vet closest to my home for a check-up. While discussing pets and cats, I noticed her office boasted the type of huge air conditioner that looks exactly like the type you see in windows in the South. "Elle est américaine?", I asked innocently, pointing to the unit. The vet (who as far as I know is unaware that I carry an American passport, only knowing that I am not French) looked up: "Ah, j'espère que non", she replied — "I hope not".
Then I seemed to lose her as she thought hard for a moment, finally correcting herself: "No, no, that's not what I meant to say…" Then came another couple of seconds of (deep) thought. She looked up. "No, no, it's only Bush I am against." Then she went back to her work…
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