"If You Can Rape It, You Can Wash It"

As a good rule of thumb (thanks 34th STREET), it's best not to make jokes about rape. But, this one is entirely in good fun.

In my 2+ months here, I've gotten to know a lot of French kids. The adventure that is the English language for them can at times be taxing (Danyal, how do you say...) but mostly rewarding. Here's an example of the latter.

The second week of classes, a friend of mine--Guilhem--was cooking pasta. He grated a block of cheese onto his dish and asked "Danyal, is it right to say....I am raping(?) the cheese." Poor kid, apparently in French "rape," or rather rapE (that's an accent of some sort), means grated or shredded. I laid him down easy and explained the meaning of this word in English.

Today, we were sharing a block of cheese and this story came up once more. Something sudden happened, and we found our newly opened block of cheese on my groddy dorm floor. Nabila, another Frenchie, came to the rescue and said "I will wash it!". Obviously, I had my doubts and said you can't wash cheese! Then, there it was:

"If you can rape it, you can wash it."

The cheese was a bit wet, but salvaged. Laughs were had. Calories were gained.

Always,
Danyal