Eloquence. The French strive for it. But what works in French might not work in English especially when you are not a native speaker. That is what happened In the conversation between me and a prospective landlord.
So, here I am after checking out an apartment in Bois Colombes. We are done with the initial drill which consisted of a guided tour of the premises and also the apartment. Now, I ask the prospective landlord. "What are the things you require from me?". It is an open ended question.
The question doesn't translate well. He is giving me a blank stare. So I ask him, "I meant documents, deposits...". At this point, I stop mid-sentence. The documents refer to the ID, Salary proof and the other quirky papers that depends on the whims of the landlord you are meeting.
I make a connection with him by the mention of documents. This is evident on his face. He says, "The world doesn't...". He is having difficulty to formulate his words into a sentence. He struggles with these three words for one more time. Then he says "The world doesn't come around with documents. The world. Yes".
I am confused now. What does he mean? The world works on documents. I think so. I nod trying to mask the puzzled look on my face. Then it strikes me. What he says is simple. The word "yes" will not come out of my mouth without documents.
So you still remember what I said about the French and eloquence?
yes ,we do :):)
ReplyDelete@Kavita - :) I thought the post was long-winded to lose direction.
ReplyDelete