On Sat, 16 Jul 2011 20:52:17 -0400, George >
wrote:
>
> That "we officially need to speak French" thing is why I will never
> spend $0.05 in Quebec. Montreal isn't a far ride from here. I have been
> to numerous foreign countries and have never been faced with that sort
> of nonsense (the expectation that you should be totally fluent in a
> language just to visit a place) anywhere else especially in a situation
> when you are trying to give someone your money.

We did a car trip up Quebec City a few years ago and stayed at the
Hyatt in old town. We were out driving one day and got lost in spite
of having a map to guide us, so we stopped at a gas station where we
conducted a conversation in *English* with the attendant about how to
get back to where we were headed. Later that day, we stopped at a
shopping center where I bought a coat (I wasn't prepared for such cool
weather). Anyway, the first sales person I dealt with either wasn't
willing to speak English or wasn't comfortable speaking in English -
but she was *not* rude. She brought over a co-worker who completed
the sale in English. I wasn't ignored and being handed off wasn't a
problem for me. I bought my coat and went on my merry way.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.