Foreign Flicks

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So, here's how cool my friends are. Right now I have one friend in Paris doing a Fulbright study (Hi Ash!) and basically living the Parisian life of crossaints tous les jours and another old schoolmate who is taking a year to travel the world - starting in Japan and moving west (Go Jessica!). So I'm incredibly lucky to be following along on their adventures via their blogs - the next best thing to actually body snatching them and taking their fun adventures for my own!

The crazy thing is yesterday they BOTH posted about a seemingly simple experience: going to see a movie. But, of course they were both doing that in a foreign country (lucky dogs)-so naturally, their experiences weren't quite what they expected.

Ashley, in France, was disappointed that the popcorn was not accompanied by our compulsory neon yellow liquid artificial butter and that car ads displaced her favorite previews. Jessica, in India, enjoyed the assigned seating in her 1500-seat theatre - plus the crowd participation!

I love going to the movies in countries I visit - some tourists may think it's a waste of time when there are so many sights to check off the list - but if you're someplace a little longer it's a great break from the hustle and bustle. Plus, as these two bloggers experienced, it's a great way to discover nuances of a foreign culture that you might not otherwise see. In India, I remember the assigned seating (awesome!) as well as one particularly enjoyable snack - boiled corn (not popped!) with a variety of flavors. Of course, being me, I spilled mine all over the steps. I also remember seeing Avatar in a Tokyo theater where everything was super super modern and super super crowded. I got sick from the 3-d glasses and the heat of all the people in one small theatre. Anyways, just thought I'd share the coincidence of these two bloggers writing about the same kind of experience thousands of miles apart - and pass along their fun blogs to you!