Yesterday someone asked me how I was settling in to life back in the United States. I replied that I was fine, and that I liked it here. My interlocutor (gawd, I love using my French vocabulary in English!) said that Kentucky was a nice place to live.
It is.
What's weird is that it's like I never left the States. I really do feel at home here. Kentucky reminds me of Pennsylvania a lot. Was there some 13-year wrinkle in time?
Nah. I've been away. I get little glimpses of my absence here and there, but today it became evident when we were at the farmer's market downtown. Allan got a good chuckle when I asked if I could choose my own fruit. See, in most markets in France, you're not supposed to touch the produce. The vendor handles it all; you are allowed to point at the specific fruits and vegetables you might want, but mostly you just trust the vendor to make the right decision.
So I gave Allan my best Gallic moue, and proceeded to fondle the Georgia peaches.
Oh, I tell my students that and they don't believe me! I saw many tourists being chewed out for touching and squeezing the produce. It was funny because I knew better, so I loved watching the drama. My bad, as the kids would say.
Posted by: Margaret | June 18, 2006 at 00:08
I'm sorry, but that is such a turn-on.
LOL
Posted by: bhd | June 18, 2006 at 00:17
You can't touch the fruit in France? Now that is NEWS! I can understand it I guess. But shopping must take freakin' forever. It's cute though. I like hearing different things about different places. The world is scarily getting to be the same everywhere so anywhere that's different gives me hope. lol
Posted by: Carrie | June 18, 2006 at 01:25
Same thing in Italy...no touch frutta.
Posted by: Karan | June 18, 2006 at 01:51
Oh, in ten more days I'll be in fondle country. Yay!
Posted by: meredith | June 18, 2006 at 06:03
Pas dans les supermarchés, où tu tripotes toi même !
Bon d'accord c'est vraiment dégueulasse, les fruits du supermarché.
PS : j'ai montré ton mail au bahut. On t'embrasse tous. Isabelle devrait écrire si elle n'est pas trop fainéante ;-)
Posted by: Mille Pattes still standing | June 18, 2006 at 08:33
I can touch the fruit in Spain, but I have to put on these stupid giant-sized plastic gloves. They don't like it you handle the fruit and vegetables without the gloves.
I remember the first time I went shopping in Paris those many years ago, and started choosing my own fruit. My first experience of Gallic wrath. Took me a while to figure out what I was doing wrong. lol.
Posted by: owld_skipper | June 18, 2006 at 09:14
You can touch friut before buying them in Poland ;)
Posted by: Eeva | June 18, 2006 at 11:10
life, liberty and the pursuit of fruit fondling... so American!
Posted by: ally bean | June 18, 2006 at 12:25
Well. On this one I have to say that I'm with the French. When you take into account how many common pathogens are spread by people's hands and the fact that we just rinse our produce rather than washing it, the French have the right idea. If somebody with hepatitis and dirty hands has fondled your apple before you bought it, well, guess what? You'll get hepatitis too, or e coli, or the flu.
But I'm a microbiology geek.
Posted by: Thesaurus Rex | June 18, 2006 at 13:10
Sounds like a good idea. We have "grazers" who like to taste and replace.Ewww!
Posted by: Jay | June 18, 2006 at 14:32
I wonder if I'll feel like I never left the States when I get back? It's going to be weird watching American commercials again...
Posted by: mrsmogul | June 18, 2006 at 16:05
i just returned from a seattle farmer's market where i fondled cherries and tomatoes. :)
Posted by: ms. sizzle | June 18, 2006 at 16:18
I'm in agreement with this French idea and ditto Thesaurus Rex for reason. But then again, I'm a bit of a fondler myself and have been known to spend quite a bit of time selecting the perfect apples.
MMmmm Georgia peaches.
Posted by: Cory | June 18, 2006 at 20:45
That whole produce thing always struck me as strange. Now, do you have any idea how that custom came about?
Posted by: Chris | June 19, 2006 at 07:55
No wonder you got all touchy-feely after you were over in France for so long: Absence makes the heart grow fondlers.
So, after you molested the Georgia Peaches, did you find some fruit too? :)
Posted by: Thomas | June 19, 2006 at 09:26
here in Germany in supermarkets you can fondle fruit in supermarkets, but on markets it depends - there's a person behind who watches you & may tells you 'Hands off!' more or less politely - on one hand I need to touch a tomato, a paprica, an avocado before buying it - or how else could you find wether it hasn't foul spots or is still too unripe? - but on many other hands I'd prefer the 'French Way' if I remember those weird scenes at a fruits outlays - old ladys grabbing & pressing fingers deep into half a dozen tomatos, before they may decide to take the only one not finger-crushed - I once watched a repugnant man taking a lot of single peaches to his nose to smell them & really touched them with his lips before laying them back - he bought none of them & I would never have taken one of these after his smell & grab attack - so on third hand I'd like the idea that only me & some trusted persons are allowed to fondle fruit - all others stay some meters away, but I'm content if I just don't see others fondling - that gives me the illusion, I'm still the only & first one on to this virgin of fruit
Posted by: Heimo | June 20, 2006 at 21:14
Wow, you went from France to Kentucky. I just moved to France from Ohio. I miss some stuff about Ohio (and the US in general), but I can't say that I really miss Ohio itself... YET. Anyway, very cool blog you have here (I got here through Francophoney)!
Posted by: Jennifer | January 05, 2007 at 02:36