Dogs vs. Ducks

"Croissant Dana!!!" Esther climbed up the stairs holding a freshly baked croissant from the corner bakery.

"Merci Esther!" I love these mornings when I get to eat French baked goods as breakfast. It's funny how a week ago, I would have sworn off bread or such. But I guess for survival reasons, I adapted.

Here is Esther biting the top off a baguette. She always can't wait to taste the crispy crust. She is-what I call- a natural bread lover. Unlike her, I estimate that the cheese, bread, and wine I consumed this one week add up to more than I have had my entire life.

At the kitchen table, I sat with a glass of warm milk mixed with coca powder and the delicious croissant recollecting the memories of my first week in Bordeaux, a city in the southern region of France near the other side of the Atlantic sea. My arrival was timed coincidentally with an unprecedented hurricane. It was a close race, but luckily, I beat it by landing in a couple of hours early. At night, the windows felt like they were about to break while a number of trees outside had fallen and electricity in the country side was cut. After the dramatic welcome Bordeaux had showed me, I was ready to make some changes to the life I was used to as well, in order to truly enjoy my stay here.

First, I have to develop an ear for Frenglish. The day of my arrival, Adeline, Arnauld, and I spent 20 minutes having a conversation only to realize later that we were talking about completely different things.

They said, "be careful of the dog shit on the street. People here have dogs as pets. When they take the dog for a walk, they never clean up after it. Our friend has a dog as a pet."

It sounded like they said ducks instead of dogs, so my response was: "Wow, ducks walk on the street!? o_O Really? That's cool! Is Bordeaux near a river then? But what are you suppose to do with a duck as a pet? I mean hug it? kiss it? It must be weird. No? Oh, I want to take a picture of your friend's duck."

"Oh yes, Bordeaux is near a river. Bordeaux in french actually means the river shore. But I thought a lot of people in U.S. have dogs as pets, non? "

"No, I don't know anyone who have ducks as pets. Maybe on the TV show friends?"

"Yes, on TV, they always show dogs as pets."

"Hmn...ducks as pets? not always."

"Yes, always!"

(both parties were very confused at this point....)

This sketch is dedicated to the mental image that this conversation have conjured.

Therefore, like a duck, I settled in the streets of Bordeaux marching on to my voyage of adventure...

p.s. "Do you want some foie gras to go with that bread?"