Tuesday, January 8, 2008
See you again yesterday 
"I'd hope the language might come on its own, the way it comes to babies, but people don't talk to foreigners the way they talk to babies. They don't hypnotize you with bright objects and repeat the same words over and over, handing out little treats when you finally say "potty" or "wawa".
It got to the point where I'd see a baby in the bakery or grocery store and instinctively ball up my fists, jealous over how easy he had it. I wanted to lie in a French crib and start from scratch, learning the language from the ground floor up. I wanted to be like a baby, but instead, I was an adult who talked like one, a spooky man-child demanding more than his fair share of attention."
It got to the point where I'd see a baby in the bakery or grocery store and instinctively ball up my fists, jealous over how easy he had it. I wanted to lie in a French crib and start from scratch, learning the language from the ground floor up. I wanted to be like a baby, but instead, I was an adult who talked like one, a spooky man-child demanding more than his fair share of attention."
- An excerpt from "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Labels: books, confession, language
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