French Kissing

So, I've been working at the hostel for over two weeks now and in this time I've smelt loads of fantastic feet (I just love the smell of feet! And shoes, OMG the best invention ever!). I've smelt feet from all over the world; Mexico, Canada, Australia, Brazil, USA, Germany, Spain, England, New Zealand, Korea, Wales, Japan....the list goes on. But do you know which ones are my favourite? The French Ones.

Before you cry out in rage and dismay, let me explain a few things.

I'm an Italian dog of German descent working for an English Boss and an Italian Bear (Maybe he's not really an actual Bear, but he's big, hairy, cuddly and roars at me when I'm naughty so I think he might be one). I know I should hate the French. I've heard all the stories about how rude they are, how they snub speaking English, or if your French is less than perfect they refuse to even acknowledge you, they eat weird and disgusting food, they smell of garlic, they're unhelpful, they're unfriendly, have no sense of humour, blah blah blah.

Well, I disagree. All the French people at our hostel have been amazing. They either speak English fluently or apologise profusely for their lack of understanding. When The Boss digs deep into the bowels of her brain and recoups her most basic of French, they respond with warmth. When the Italian Bear sold some French guy's beds to some Mexican girls, the French actually THANKED him for letting them sleep on the floor! Their food is yummy and they even have cheese that smell like feet! My two favourite things in one, amazing! They always fuss me and kiss me and don't mind a bit when I steal their shoes, and they spend hours chatting to The Boss and The Bear. They're quiet, they don't complain, they always pay on time without having to be asked....The Boss even went so far as to say they might be her favourite breed of guest (but she asked me not to tell any English people she said that).

So is this blatant racism against the French warranted? It's hard to say, mostly because I've never met the French on their own turf. Maybe the people we get here are different because they're travelling and staying at a hostel? Or maybe these are a new generation of French people who have realised the error of their ways? Without having a good sniff of every French person's feet, I couldn't tell you. But what you do realise from working here in the hostel is that you can never judge a person by their nationality alone. Nor can you tell an awful lot just by looking at their clothes, listening to their stories or checking their passports. No, it's much more complicated than that. Something that takes a certain talent to uncover. I believe there exists a phrase 'Never judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes' but in my opinion you don't need to walk the mile, you just need to give those shoes a good sniff, mmmmmm!