Jul 18 - NPR - an island of anglophone bliss

I speak French with everybody I know here except Marco. I speak French with all my friends, with all the people at the atelier where I study, with all of Marco's family, with all the shop clerks and metro-ticket vendors and even with the guy that gives free massages on Rue Mouffetard. I speak French with everybody! I do know one English guy and a Canadian but I don't see them that often, and sometimes I even speak French with them.

There are days where I get a real hankerin' to hear the music of my native tongue. While I'm not the always the most rabid patriot, I am a diehard and loyal fan of the English language. I love it's turns of phrase and miss it dearly sometimes.

Where do I go for an English fix?

To National Public Radio, my dears, streaming live over the internet to anglo-hungry expats like me. It's only been a few months that we have high-speed internet at home (for free thanks to TI, where Marco works) and hence "streaming audio" is a recent discovery. But through it I've renewed my love affairs with my old flames, Neal Conan, Ira Flatow and Terry Gross.

Best of all I've discovered a new program that I never listened to back in the US - "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me", the NPR news quiz. This is a damn funny show. Marco likes it too, so we put it on each monday evening during dinner (since we don't own a tv). If you've never listened, you should try. It's at http://www.npr.org/programs/waitwait/, or on your radio at home for US-based folk.

Writing this blog also helps me get out some anglo energy. Does me good...