Day 4.5

The Dutch had taken over the restaurant again. This time they insisted that I join them. They seem to have brought their brewery with them and gave me a couple glasses of Dutch beer.

They all spoke perfect English. I don't just mean grammatically correct English but American English with almost no trace of an accent. When the waiter came around to take our order they would all switch to French, even telling witty jokes and making the waiter laugh.

Have I told you how much I hate the Dutch, and the Scandinavians? (Hi Göran!) Ok. Maybe "hate" is the wrong word. Perhaps, insane jealousy is better. Or, frustration with the North American educational system. How the fuck is it that these people can leave school able to speak three or four languages with enough fluency to tell jokes in another language, but North American kids leave school barely able to speak their native language, much less another? Even in the bilingual belt of eastern Canada, most English speaking kids only know a few French phrases. Why do we accept this? Every kid leaving an American or Canadian school should be fluent in Spanish and French**, at the very least.

If Senegalese street traders, who may make US$2,000/yr if they're lucky, can speak 3 languages conversationally, Wolof, French and English, why can't North Americans?


**Say what you want about the "decline" of French. It is still the only language besides English that is widely spoken throughout the world. French is an official language in places as far flung as Guyane in South America, New Brunswick in Canada, Madagascar, Sénégal, Lebanon, Cambodia and Tahiti.)