Three French women sit across from me on the subway. They’re in their mid-twenties, dressed in a stylish (if somewhat eccentric) fashion, they’re all chewing gum and speaking animatedly at once. I try to immerse myself in a book, but after a couple of stops I give up: the chatter opposite me is simply too distracting, and shows not signs of letting up. The trio, with their exaggerated expressions, gesticulations and head movements starts to remind me of a flock of birds on a wire, all chattering and squawking away at the same time. For a while I try to follow the gist of their conversation, but soon I have to abandon this as well: they speak too quickly, and from what I can judge, half of what comes out of their mouths is filler and exclamation over some point I’ve failed to grasp.