French Connection

In the years that I have been travelling, I am a host of stories and experiences. Some are better than others, some worse than others, and some like mine, which is a rather unique one. When we travel, we interact with the people of other countries, gaining intercultural competence as well as a new experience. It is this gaining of intercultural competence, regardless of whether the incident that brought about it was a good or bad one that ends up leaving a lasting impact of the nation on us.

A couple of years ago, I happened to visit the capital of love, Paris. As much I was taking in the sights and appreciating the beauty of the nation, I was eager to gain intercultural competence hoping to interact with some of locals which would give me a better chance to appreciate the country. Having just arrived from Britain via train, I was looking forward to hospitality and a country that would be able to accommodate an Asian from an English speaking region.

However, my first brush with a Frenchman made me realize the importance of communication in a foreign country and how language is closely linked to the pride of a country. Being the typical tourist I was lost around the Arc de Triomphe, trying to find my way back to my hotel. Having a serious language barrier especially in a country where the signs were all in French I approached two men who were conversing in English assuming that they would be able to solve my problem. However, the moment I started spouting English, their initial friendliness disappeared and it was a look of mild hostility. They started saying something that I could not comprehend, but sounded like some angry remarks and walked away. I later caught on when I told a fellow tourist, lamenting about my sad situation who informed me that the French and English were not exactly the best of friends and that the Frenchmen were very proud of their language. He said that they might be well versed in English language but they would rather converse In their mother tongue, especially to tourists to demonstrate their fierce national pride and identity.

Thus it was then I realized that interaction and communication in countries abroad also depended on the people and whether they take to you and their reacceptance of foreigners. The notion of superiority still existed in certain countries especially national pride as the Frenchmen displayed to me. Being a Singaporean I take pride in my multi cultural identity, the same way they take pride in their French culture and language. As much as I feel I encountered a rare but lasting experience, it is something that I would take in my stride and not deter me from being proud of my multi culturalism especially, my knowledge of English as my first language and Tamil as my mother tongue. How would I expect the French to be accepting of a person coming from the South east Asian region, a region known for its variety of cultures and languages