Harry Potter Speaks French?

The weird thing about France is that they dub everything. I was lucky enough to find a theater which showed Le Prince Sang-Mêlé in V.O. (version originale); Still, it was rather strange to watch the movie with French subtitles.

Going to the movies in France isn’t radically different than going to the movies in the United States. Like the US, you get it’s free seating, which apparently isn’t the case in Britain (Cynthia, pay attention). Oddly enough, they mix the previews and the ads up. You see two previews and then you get an ad for Nissan and then another set of previews. I also noticed that at the bottom of the ads for ice cream and other desserts, they have the same kinds of warnings we have for cigarettes. Thus, in an ad for M&M’s, you’re reminded to engage in physical exercise regularly and to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

As I was watching Harry Potter, I noticed that the some of the names had been changed. This became even more obvious when I tried to discuss the film with some people at work, who had watched the dubbed version of the film. In the French version, Draco Malfoy becomes Drago Malfoy and Tom Marvolo Riddle becomes Tom Elvis Jedusor. I knew the last name, but I just discovered the middle name online., quite amusing I would say. Death Eater is Mangemort, which is a direct translation, but still takes some thinking. Some of the differences are even more dramatic with Snape called Rogue and Hogwarts known as Poudlard.

I don’t think people in France are as crazy as we are about the series. My friends and I only got to the theater about 15 minutes early and we still had good seats. A number of people at my work went to see the movie, but very few of them have read the books. As far as I know, there weren’t any midnight showings or costume parties. Part of the problem is that the books don’t come out at the same time in France as in the English speaking world. They have to wait for the translation and as a result, there’s much less hype.

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One of my goals for my stay here is to sample all the cuisines that Paris has to offer. Of course, I’ve had a fair amount of French food. In fact, they sell crêpes here at stands on the street practically in the same way that they sell hot dogs in the US; however, the vendors do make the crêpes on the spot. They pour the batter out of a special machine that makes it into a circle and you get to watch it cook right before your eyes. You can get whatever toppings you want, either sweet or savory, but it’s hard to resist getting something chocolatey when all the stands have a giant jar of nutella, which is very popular here. Once the crêpe is ready, they fold it up it in the same type of little paper bag you get when you but a chocolate chip cookie in the US.

This Sunday, I decided to try a different type of cuisine. A friend from Vietnam had mentioned going to a Vietnamese restaurant, which she said was pretty authentic. Curious, I asked her to take us along. I got phu, which at 7 euros (10 dollars), is remarkably cheap for dinner in Paris. Believe it or not, the Vietnamese food I’ve eaten in San Francisco is quite similar. These are the desserts we ordered. I’m a fan of fried bananas, but we also got mini rice pan cakes topped with bean curd and a green drink that was apparently a mix of rice and gelatin.


One last addition for Angela and Jenny's benefit. Paris is full of ice cream, but today I saw my first yogurt shop. It was called "my berry"