I recently read an article stating that France and Italy ranked top on the European Infidelity poll... Hmmm, I thought to myself... Iiiiiiinteresting... This explains a great deal of my recent experiences with French men. That is not to say there aren't plenty of men in France who remain faithful to their significant others, nor does it mean that men are the only offenders. But there is also a general sense of forgiveness surrounding such acts. Or at the very least, tolerance. The stereotype of French seduction and sensuality make a lot of sense when such statistics come out. And as a current resident of the notorious city for lovers, you can't help but be intoxicated by the food, the wine, and yes, the Frenchmen.
Now, when I do something stupid I feel like I might as well do it publicly so that I can share my idiocy and hilarity with the world. Last week I went on another "language exchange" meeting and met a man who seemed to be sweet, fun, sexy, interesting, and even better... interested in me. Miracle of miracles, I also thought he was single! Our one drink led to a full-on dinner, all of which he paid for. We chatted about my theory that La Défense is actually a spacetown in which I expect aliens to pop out from behind the metallic new-age buildings. I even spent a fair amount of time speaking French, considering my terrible habit of chatting so much that my English ends up tragically dominating. Circa 5 or 6 hours later when the Metro had stopped and we shared a cab, he kissed me... aaaaaaaw... And fine blah blah blah, yada yada yada, I was a relatively good girl... But after subsequent texts confirming my beauty, his interest, and our mutual desire to see each other again... Crickets... Crickets... Crickets... To the point where not only did I never hear from him again, but I noticed that he rather sketchily deleted his account on the language site.
Theory? I am not so narcissistic not to believe that his disappearance may have been for no other reason than a lackluster disinterest in me. However, based on actions AND words, it would seem that some other sort of foul play was at work. Perhaps an unaccounted girlfriend waiting in the wings? Why else would you delete your language account, when the point of the site is to practice... wait for it... languages? I have recently decided that Frenchmen use this site as a platform for unavailable men to date under the guise of education. Oh, don't worry honey, I'm just meeting someone for "language exchange". It's ok if I touch them or kiss them or pay for all of their meals because it's all in the name of self-improvement and study. Tricky little business, my friends, very tricky indeed...
Never fear, however, my adventures in language exchange are not over yet. I am single, I want to learn French, and the world is my culturally unfaithful oyster. Eep! It's possible that I'm just too much of a romantic to end up with a Frenchman. I'm not soooooo naive as to think that people always remain together forever or that things don't change or people don't make mistakes. It's simply the idea that it could possibly become commonplace or blasé that I'm not too keen on. I've met one man in my life so far who has made me feel like I might just have been more special in the exact state of being that I am than anyone else on earth... It was fleeting of course, but that momentary awareness of what I could mean to someone is the example I must hold all else to, making it impossible to accept that, on top of my own self-worth, I could be substituted for anyone else. No judgement on the entirety of France, I'm just not quite convinced that this American girl in Paris will ultimately end up with a native.
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