After reading in a tour book that waiters in Paris spit in your food if you don’t know at least a few French phrases, I decided to sit down with my mother and practice the basics of the language together, such as hello, good-bye, please, thank you, etc. Â Â We found a French YouTube video tutorial that taught us the proper protocol when meeting friends in a cafe, even showing us the mandatory French method of kissing of the cheeks.
After we nailed the first lesson, I had an idea for the most gimmicky blog post ever created — what if WE made our own YouTube video teaching French to the other mothers and sons out there visiting Paris together?
The only problem was my mother refused to be in my video.
Neil: Â “C’mon, Mom, it will be fun!”
Neil’s Mom: Â “No. Â If you want to embarrass yourself online, that’s your business.”
Neil: Â “Didn’t you once tell me you always want to be an actress?”
Neil’s Mom: Â “Yes, but in a Hollywood movie with a young Paul Newman. Â Not in some movie you’re shooting with your iPhone.”
That’s cold, right? Â Can you see why I have anxiety issues? Â But just like I did as an only child growing up with a working mother, I found a way to have fun on my own.
By using a lamp as my co-star.
