Monday, March 30, 2009

Ces't ne pas possible!

Only in Mexico:

I am taking my morning constitutional at the magnificent Parque México in the fabulous Colonia Condesa where I was born and raised. I run into my old dance teacher, who still is and looks stupendous. I visit that fabulous fountain with the mini-waterfalls, I say hello to the ducks and the geese in the pond, I even do some tai chi in the shade of this gorgeous art deco park.
As I'm walking home, two women approach me and ask if I speak French. "Badly" I say. Do I read it, they ask and I say yes. So they give me this little magazine, a pamphlet in French about the perils of the internet for the jeunesse. Published by none other than the Watchtower Society. That is, the Jehovas' Witnesses.
It was great reading, and wonderful practice for my (as we say in Mexico) macarronic (puny) French, but can somebody explain to me WTF? Why distribute pamphlets in French randomly at passersby in a park in Mexico?
Such are the surreal mysteries of my country.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:17 AM

    The Jehovas have tried to give me propaganda in English before (I'm an American expat in the DF). My guess is that they're directed by a not-very-organized group that screws up their pamphlet distribution.

    When people try to talk to me in English and I don't feel like talking to them, which is most of the time, sometimes I tell them that I'm from Wales and therefore don't speak English. In this most cosmopolitan of cities, it's always worked.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous7:48 PM

    I've been thru that too, while i was living in Cancun, once 2 Jehovah's witnesses (i think they were Americans) knocked to my door's office, asking me if i speak english (with a perfect spanish accent)... i said yes.. so they started speaking english, and gave me 2 magazines in english o_O...

    Weird uh!?

    SOLO EN MEXICO!

    ReplyDelete