Making friends

Noailles is one of the areas of town that has a high concentration of Arabs. Their produce market is there, as well as all kinds of stores where you can find stuff from the "bled," or "home country." I love to do my produce shopping there, because (a) it's cheap, (b) I can find way more kinds of produce and of better quality than in the stores, (3) I can practice my arabic, and (d), it's just fun.

About 2.5 years ago, I had a moment in Noailles. Well, today, I had another. I just needed some Cubanelle peppers, (Rachel Ray...always calling for the fancy stuff) and an onion. I popped out of the metro and started wandering through the market. As I spotted the peppers, I also heard the vendors speaking in arabic to the ladies standing next to me. I waited my turn, and when the vendor noticed me, he switched into French.

"Oui, madame?"

In French, "These peppers are sweet, right? Not spicy?"

In English, he responded, "Yes." (I didn't even notice the language switch.)

The ladies began teasing him in arabic about switching from French to English, and so he asked me in French, "Where are you from?"

In arabic, I responded, "I am American."

Oh, the hooting and hollering that commenced because I'd spoken in arabic! All four (the two vendors and the two ladies) all began asking me at once if I spoke arabic. I gave my token line of, "I speak a little bit because I lived in Tunisia for four months." More hooting and hollering, questions shooting from every angle. Turned out the two ladies were from Tunisia, and so because I was speaking their dialect, I was suddenly their new best friend (or toy to show off?). They invited me to their pizzeria and told me to come anytime and ask for them specifically.

My token line is helping me make friends pretty quickly these days. That makes me smile.

So I left Noailles with a smile on my face, two new friends, and my Cubanelle peppers and onion that only cost me 60 cents. It was a good day.