Croissant Shock
This weekend, Anna and I went to Jefferson Pointe, a nearby upscale shopping center that feels a tiny bit European. We were hunting for a scarf for my mom's birthday. As we were hunting for stores likely to carry scarves, I spotted a bakery that I recognized from my Houston days--Madeleine's Bakery.
In Houston, La Madeleine was a large French bakery/café with lots of French pastries and breads, and I remember that real French people worked there. This was back when I was first taking French night classes and trying not to be freaked out by the language.
So, I pointed out the bakery to Anna and said that maybe we would find a pain au chocolat there. She was enthusiastic, and we were hopeful. We miss our French pastries.
We entered, I glanced at the menu..brownies, biscotti, croissants...but, sadly, no pain au chocolat. However, on the other side the counter, a tray of just-baked pastries had come out of the oven, and on it there were croissants and our much beloved pain au chocolat--plenty of them.
But now I was in a quandry. How does one say pain au chocolat in English? The translation would be chocolate bread, but that doesn't sound right. And it wasn't on the menu above the counter. So, figuring French bakery people might speak French (silly, I know), I asked, "We would like a pain au chocolat please."
The response was a baffled look, which led to me saying in English what I'm sure I said countless times over these last nineteen years as a foreigner in French, "I would like one of those, please." Accompanied by pointing, of course. I never thought I would have to resort to this in the English language.
Here's where things got dicey. The response was, "Oh, a chocolate croissant."
Well, here is a croissant...
Highly, highly annoying. This would be like going to a restaurant in France and being forced to say that you wanted a hotdog in order to get a hamburger. Or asking for some mustard in order to get ketchup. Same food group family, but completely different food.
I have since researched, and La Madeleine and Madeleine's Bakery are not the same thing. And anytime that we have a hankering for a pain au chocolat in Fort Wayne, we will have to go and ask for a croissant.
Painful, this reverse culture shock thing.
In Houston, La Madeleine was a large French bakery/café with lots of French pastries and breads, and I remember that real French people worked there. This was back when I was first taking French night classes and trying not to be freaked out by the language.
 |
| A lovely pain au chocolat |
We entered, I glanced at the menu..brownies, biscotti, croissants...but, sadly, no pain au chocolat. However, on the other side the counter, a tray of just-baked pastries had come out of the oven, and on it there were croissants and our much beloved pain au chocolat--plenty of them.
But now I was in a quandry. How does one say pain au chocolat in English? The translation would be chocolate bread, but that doesn't sound right. And it wasn't on the menu above the counter. So, figuring French bakery people might speak French (silly, I know), I asked, "We would like a pain au chocolat please."
The response was a baffled look, which led to me saying in English what I'm sure I said countless times over these last nineteen years as a foreigner in French, "I would like one of those, please." Accompanied by pointing, of course. I never thought I would have to resort to this in the English language.
Here's where things got dicey. The response was, "Oh, a chocolate croissant."
Well, here is a croissant...
 |
| croissant |
And here is a pain au chocolat...
 |
| me again |
I think we can all agree that a croissant and a pain au chocolat are not the same thing, non? N'est-ce pas?
In spite of my internal battle, at this point I had little choice if I wanted to actually buy one for Anna. So, in defeat, I said, "Yes, a chocolate croissant."
Highly, highly annoying. This would be like going to a restaurant in France and being forced to say that you wanted a hotdog in order to get a hamburger. Or asking for some mustard in order to get ketchup. Same food group family, but completely different food.
I have since researched, and La Madeleine and Madeleine's Bakery are not the same thing. And anytime that we have a hankering for a pain au chocolat in Fort Wayne, we will have to go and ask for a croissant.
Painful, this reverse culture shock thing.