A Day in Paris

Monday, May 30, 2005

Birthday Party

My daughter attended a birthday party yesterday for a friend in her class. When it was time to sing 'Joyeux Anniversaire,' the kids all sang loud and clear. When that was over, the older sister of the birthday girl suggested 'Buon Compleanno' -- in Italian, because her mother is Italian. Then the group suggested 'Happy Birthday' and they all proudly sang the song because they had learned it in school. After that, the older sister suggested German because their babysitter spoke German. Finally, a few of the kids wanted to sing the song in Spanish because two families were from Spain. All this from a group of 5-year olds and an 8-year old. Just another reason why I love life in Paris.

-- said Auntie M in Paris
9:13 PM

7 comments

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Comments:

I can see why you love it too - that's wonderful!

# posted by kenju : 10:49 PM

Wow! I would have loved to have been there. The children were all so aware of their lives and who/what is around them! (Too bad you couldn't have recorded it and posted a sound recording here.) Terry in SF

# posted by Anonymous : 10:59 PM

Back again! Thanks for reading my post. I think I will answer your question in another post, perhaps tonight. If I don't, I will email you with the story. Okay?

# posted by kenju : 11:12 PM

That is what is so great about Europe--I wish we had that level of awareness in the US--maybe we are just too big. How long will you be in Paris--so great that your child/ren get the chance to spend part of their lives there. You can even garden on a balcony--try some tomatoes--nothing like home grown tomatoes : )

# posted by Pecos Blue : 3:25 AM

That is so great that they are doing that at five years old! Amazing!

# posted by mommy d : 4:05 AM

A refreshing change from some of the angry ethnocentricism we see in America.

# posted by Amy Alkon : 8:23 AM

Kenju, It was such a cool thing. People in Europe are much more comfortable with multi-languages.
Terry, I should have recorded it! That's a great idea.
Pecos Blue, Well, it's not so necessary in the US because, as you say, it's so big and everyone pretty much speaks English. From Paris, you could drive 5/7/9 hours and you could be in a country speaking German, Dutch, English, Italian, Spainish... it's amazing.
Mommy d, The kids don't even realize how great it is.
Amy, It's hard to appreciate how ethnocentric we are until you travel abroad, I think.

# posted by Auntie M in Paris : 12:38 PM