Fouad + Fat
On Saturday, Caroline and I went to a birthday party for an American girl named Melissa, who seems to know every English speaker in Prague. The party was at a bookstore/cafe/performance space, and not only did Melissa know all of the musicians, but the incredibly long table that she had reserved for the evening didn't suffice for all of her friends. There was an overflow of party goers onto nearby sofas and into the balcony. Others had to sit on the floor. It was incredible.
After the party, Caroline and I paid a visit to the pizzeria where Fouad works, so that we could each grab a free slice of pizza. I feel kind of slimy about this, but not slimy enough to turn down the free food. Besides, I think there's a lot of sketchy business concerning that pizzeria--like the fact that nearly all the employees are illegal. I hardly think that losing two slices of vegetarian pizza is a matter of concern for them.
After leaving, I girlishly remarked to Caroline that Fouad is "sooo cute" or something equally pathetic, to which she responded that Fouad isn't really cute; he's more handsome.
Later, I relayed this compliment to Fouad, but I should have known that this bit of semantic information might be lost on him.
Earlier this summer, I taught him the word "cute," which, for him, means "like a baby." He understands "handsome" to mean the same thing as "beautiful," but when met with this new situation of being specifically "handsome" and not "cute," he wanted to understand the difference.
So I watched as he Googled (for the record, yes, referring to search as "Googling" still makes me cringe) images of "cute men" and "handsome men"--images that were nearly identical. I should have pulled up a picture of Brad Pitt to personify "handsome" and another of Topher Grace, Tobey Maguire, or other baby-faced actor for "cute," but I frequently use the words interchangeably so I wasn't much help at explaining to him why Caroline thinks he is handsome but not cute.
Back in June, I too learned personally how it feels to be labeled something in another language and the desperate desire to understand the connotations of that word. For me, it was a Czech word that Jirka used to describe me.
When Caroline looked it up in her dictionary later, the translation for this word was "plump." But Jirka swore that it didn't have a negative connotation, which I think the "plump" translation has. My guess is that the Czech word is one of those polite methods for calling someone fat, like "big-boned" or "full figured."
Perhaps Googling (ugh) images of this word would give me a better understanding of what Jirka meant, but I doubt it. I think that to truly understand it, I would need to learn Czech and use it regularly so that I could comprehend the nuisances of the language and of this word.
But, for now, I'll probably just eat another slice of free pizza and delight in my incomprehensible "plumpness."
After the party, Caroline and I paid a visit to the pizzeria where Fouad works, so that we could each grab a free slice of pizza. I feel kind of slimy about this, but not slimy enough to turn down the free food. Besides, I think there's a lot of sketchy business concerning that pizzeria--like the fact that nearly all the employees are illegal. I hardly think that losing two slices of vegetarian pizza is a matter of concern for them.
After leaving, I girlishly remarked to Caroline that Fouad is "sooo cute" or something equally pathetic, to which she responded that Fouad isn't really cute; he's more handsome.
Later, I relayed this compliment to Fouad, but I should have known that this bit of semantic information might be lost on him.
Earlier this summer, I taught him the word "cute," which, for him, means "like a baby." He understands "handsome" to mean the same thing as "beautiful," but when met with this new situation of being specifically "handsome" and not "cute," he wanted to understand the difference.
So I watched as he Googled (for the record, yes, referring to search as "Googling" still makes me cringe) images of "cute men" and "handsome men"--images that were nearly identical. I should have pulled up a picture of Brad Pitt to personify "handsome" and another of Topher Grace, Tobey Maguire, or other baby-faced actor for "cute," but I frequently use the words interchangeably so I wasn't much help at explaining to him why Caroline thinks he is handsome but not cute.
Back in June, I too learned personally how it feels to be labeled something in another language and the desperate desire to understand the connotations of that word. For me, it was a Czech word that Jirka used to describe me.
When Caroline looked it up in her dictionary later, the translation for this word was "plump." But Jirka swore that it didn't have a negative connotation, which I think the "plump" translation has. My guess is that the Czech word is one of those polite methods for calling someone fat, like "big-boned" or "full figured."
Perhaps Googling (ugh) images of this word would give me a better understanding of what Jirka meant, but I doubt it. I think that to truly understand it, I would need to learn Czech and use it regularly so that I could comprehend the nuisances of the language and of this word.
But, for now, I'll probably just eat another slice of free pizza and delight in my incomprehensible "plumpness."