I’ve been eating really late (like 11:30pm) here and I sometimes like to just step outside and pick up some take out from this Chinese place right downstairs.
A few days ago, the owner of the place was speaking Madarin then I also starting speaking to them in Mandarin. The husband and wife both came to Paris to live when they were around 8 years old, just like me coming to the states. And ever since then, I would sit there and drink some Sing Tao beer and wait until they close the shop until 12am, 12:30am and we just shoot the breeze.
Some funny perspectives from them
- They are sick of Paris and doesn’t think there’s much to see in Europe, I said I can’t imagine that, but I could see that happening if I lived in NY for 15 years.
- They have no inclination to visit the US. “There is no history there, it’s only a 200 year old country, what’s there to see?”
- The have noticed a dramatic drop in U.S. tourists mainly because of the strong Euro
- A lot less Korean, a lot less Japanese.. More mainland Chinese, Spanish, Geman, Russian tourists
- Even to them earning Euros, things in Paris are expensive
- Don’t believe what you read in the papers about the riots in paris last year, it’s all hyped up by the papers
My own perspectives
- I envy them, a simple life managing this food place and just living right upstairs
- They get to be together and see each other every day (good and bad)
- It’s still a pretty good life, interacting with lots of new people. Being in a busy street of Rue Lepic, lots of tourist and pretty much guranteed revenue
- It’s a hard life of course because they work from 11:00am to 12:00am, closing the store often at 1:30am
- I envy them mostly because they are happy, content, respect each other and they are building a good life here.
Will the 3 of us still be friends a year from now? Let me write this down and maybe it’ll come true
林錦亮, 張盈盈, 譚立志 will still remain friends a year from June 27, 2006
Tony
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