An optional event was recently added to our upcoming trip across the pond. I was thrilled about this amazing opportunity to experience the biggest Ferris wheel on the European continent. For days, I bounced about, sharing my good new with my friends to the point of obnoxiousness. "I'm going to ride the biggest Ferris wheel in Paris," I (sort of) boasted, again and again. "It was featured in Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix," I explained, providing a reference point for those lacking cultural sophistication.
As luck would have it, I encountered the trip advisor, Lauren, in the copy room one week-day morning so that I could confirm my participation regarding this new activity. "Oh yes," I said enthusiastically, "I've already told all my friends that I'll be riding the biggest Ferris wheel in Paris." Mindful of the half dozen people crowding the tiny room, Lauren edged closer to me and said in a lowered tone, "Amy, you are aware that the name of the ride is The London Eye?" "Oh yes," I replied, still ecstatically happy and blissfully unaware that everyone else had stopped talking while Lauren carefully addressed the idiot in the room. Conscious of the potential of implosion, she took a deep breath and moved closer, her voice steady, patient but firm. "Amy...The London Eye." Oh.
I spent the remainder of the day straightening out my geographical blunder, explaining that The London Eye wasn't actually located in Paris. Attempting to console me, my friend Geri pointed out that London Bridge was in Arizona. When Sydney showed up in my room later, she immediately burst into laughter, admitting that her French teacher (Lauren) had privately shared my faux pas, apparently calling it "adorable." Uh...no. Not adorable...idiotic. The extent of my ignorance is enough to leave your head spinning.
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