French Like Moi Quotes

“It’s all part of the pedagogic reflex, which in France is as common as acid reflux, an involuntary burping up of knowledge. In this part of the world people are still infatuated with knowing things, whereas in the States we have outsourced that pesky task to Google.”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“To the American way of thinking, French education is like one of those pointillist paintings by Seurat—an oddly precise yet bloodless picture composed of a million dots. Americans prefer Monet—those vague and watery images where everything runs together but still gives you the gist of things. Americans want the Big Picture, even if it’s a bit blurry.”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“It's always hard to tell which parts of a foreign language are the engines and axles, and which are the hood ornaments and air fresheners.”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“Time hadn’t eroded his tattered clothes—eyes had. The unrelenting gaze of passersby had worn him down.”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“While American high schools work to let every flower bloom, French students experience education as The Shawshank Redemption.”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“All is order.”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“Starting in first grade they practice sitting straight for long stretches, controlling not just their bodies, but even their minds.”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“Mass protest is such a common form of misbehavior here that Parisians face demonstrations the way a Minnesotan greets blizzards—you grit your teeth and trudge into it.”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“une manif.”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“oignons grelot”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“This is the key: the open-air market is partly about food, but mostly about relationships.”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“duct tape, known locally as scotch américain.”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“The two systems are like joining a metric bolt with an American nut. They look like they ought to fit, but after the first couple of turns, they bind up.”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“today it’s a linchpin of French identity:”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“In this part of the world people are still infatuated with knowing things, whereas in the States we have outsourced that pesky task to Google.”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“(Quaintly enough, people still read in France.)”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“ravalement.”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris

“In a matter of minutes, our table was littered with the corpses of conversation”
― Scott Dominic Carpenter, French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris