(no subject)
I spent a few hours this evening with a couple of my friends, one of whom is blind. It's very interesting to see what things I take so heavily for granted. I mean, we were talking about haircuts, and I said, "I want that guy's hair..." and he said, "what's it look like?" I felt like such an ass.
He's completely bilingual, but he was talking about how even though he was raised french he feels that the french community is very unaccepting of those who are different. He said that he feels much more comfortable speaking english and being around english people because they are so much more understanding and supportive of his blindness, whereas he feels french people are uncomfortable around him because he's different. I never really though of it like that, but it does make some sense. There's a real division and tension between the french and english communities in Montreal. It's interesting to hear about the supposed shortcomings of some of the french community from an actual francophone.
Another time I put my foot in my mouth was when I was talking about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I said, "The best thing about it was the special effects." And he said, "Is the movie good besides that?" Oops.
We took the metro home together afterward but he had to get off a few stops before me, and I had to fight this overwhelming protectiveness as I watched him make his way along the metro platform. But while we were riding, he talked to me about how he can tell when another guy's interested in a girl by the change in their voice. And that made me realize how little I pay attention to changes like that. He quickly reminded me that I probably do pay attention to faces.
It was really cool. He's such a neat guy, and I love having conversations with him because he's just so incredibly smart and to-the-point.
He's completely bilingual, but he was talking about how even though he was raised french he feels that the french community is very unaccepting of those who are different. He said that he feels much more comfortable speaking english and being around english people because they are so much more understanding and supportive of his blindness, whereas he feels french people are uncomfortable around him because he's different. I never really though of it like that, but it does make some sense. There's a real division and tension between the french and english communities in Montreal. It's interesting to hear about the supposed shortcomings of some of the french community from an actual francophone.
Another time I put my foot in my mouth was when I was talking about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I said, "The best thing about it was the special effects." And he said, "Is the movie good besides that?" Oops.
We took the metro home together afterward but he had to get off a few stops before me, and I had to fight this overwhelming protectiveness as I watched him make his way along the metro platform. But while we were riding, he talked to me about how he can tell when another guy's interested in a girl by the change in their voice. And that made me realize how little I pay attention to changes like that. He quickly reminded me that I probably do pay attention to faces.
It was really cool. He's such a neat guy, and I love having conversations with him because he's just so incredibly smart and to-the-point.