French Invasion

This weekend was very unique. All my roommates were off traveling the globe which left my large apartment empty and quiet. I was excited to have some personal time to Chillax (this is a real word… probably). But as the weekend approached I received several request from couchsurfers wishing to stay the weekend with me. For those of you in the dark, basically couchsurfing is an internet network for travelers. You create a profile based in the city you live. When fellow surfers travel through the city they can ask to stay with you. Conversely when you travel you can ask to stay with locals wherever you are. Sound sketchy…? Relax, there is a system to leave references and vouching, so the rift-raft is screened out and you only interact with people you find acceptable. I am an advocate for this cheap and personal approach to traveling. By the time Friday arrived I had agreed to allow 6 people stay the weekend, filling the void of space from lack of roommates and canceling the quiet sanctuary atmosphere I had planned. In all 5 girls and 1 guy arrived. All French. They were very courteous and polite, bringing me gifts and making crepe dinners. They even made flambé! I was anxiously standing by with the fire extinguisher, no singed eyebrows to report however. One problem did occur. I found myself feeling quite foreign as the household language became French. I took some French in high school, but besides ordering a beer or expressing my love of cheese, it’s useless. I had to declare a strictly NO FRENCH rule. But as the wine bottles emptied, they just could not help themselves and the French returned. It was fine, my French improved a bit. I noticed something else too. I began paying much more attention to body language and speaking patterns. I found I could understand much of the conversations by watching facial expressions. It was really neat. I introduced the French to Beer Pong, which they were helpless at. Besides the language barrier, it was enjoyable to host these lovely people and give them a local feel for Boston. (That’s right; I am claiming to be a local now)
Some other exciting things happen this weekend as well. I changed my shower gel. I upgraded to a very masculine black bottle called PANTHER! There is a warning on the label saying I may become irresistible to the opposite sex. I started using it this morning but have not encountered a demographic to test it on. I will keep you posted. I hope I don’t have to hire a body guard. I also bought a Mac Book. I have not “owned” a computer in years. If nothing else it will make me look important at starbucks. In combination with the PANTHER, I might need a body guard after all.