As a German girl exiled in non-German speaking places I have long gotten used to just smiling and nodding at people quoting TV shows, movies and famous lines by famous dead people. It is thus not unusual for myself to actually start using these phrases myself without being completely clear on the connotation or the source. Then, one day, I often stumble upon the source or true meaning and realize I have been saying profound none sense for years. Why don't my friends ever stop me?
The past few weeks we have been meeting a lot of new people here in the Spore and as the evening progresses we usually pull out the good old India/Nepal stories. Then, as the evening progresses more, fancy usually sums up his feelings about India in a quote that an Indian guy threw at us one fine day as fancy and I were climbing into a rickshaw causing the usual spectacle, loaded heavy with bags, fancy with crutches in his hands due to his post Everst knee situation and me sick and tired of being stared at. The quote is: "Just remember, when it's the worst of times, it's still the best of times". Until now I thought this clever man had made this up, but alas, not so.
He was quoting Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." - am I the only person who did not know that?
6 comments:
heh heh. i had heard the quote, but did not know the source. i suppose that's just as bad!
It could still be an Indian thing, ya know. General outlook on life etc.
Whenever I was in India I'd almost practically hear from every person I bought something from them,
'Same same, but different'.
; )
Oh, same, same, but different is majorly famous in SE Asia too. I am starting to like it...
I happen to know that particular one, but like you, I often am surprised at the source of things. But I think many people don't know, even so-called english "natives".
Hmm... Think it was his bad english. I know the quote (beginnign of a tale of two cities, right?)... But think he was just trying to make me feel better. "even when the worst of times. It's the best of times."
OR...
He misquoted the book.
Post a Comment