Books

"Paris to the Moon" by Adam Gopnik

Ali Goldstein

03 Feb 2009

France

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In the months before leaving to study in France, I read travelogues voraciously. Almost all of them terrified me, speaking of French rudeness, struggles with the language, and impossible bureaucracy. Returning home, I happened upon Adam Gopnik's, "Paris to the Moon." I wish that I'd discovered this book before going abroad. A collection of his New Yorker columns about living in Paris for three years with his wife and son, his cross-cultural explorations are honest, interesting, and specific. I read through it in one greedy sitting, even drawing exclamation points in the passages I related to.

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Getting Around

Fellow riders get cozy

Genevieve Clough

18 Mar 2009

France

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In Paris, the metro is name of the game when it comes to getting from one place to another. But unlike on most U.S. forms of public transportation (where passengers seem to contort their bodies in any which way so as not to touch another person), people are comfortable snuggling up. For example, when standing and holding onto a bar for support, don't be surprised when someone else takes ahold of the same bar in a way that your hands are touching. The French have a much smaller bubble of personal space than most Americans. They like being close, even when the train isn't totally packed.

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Festivals & Events

The Festival of Lights in Brittany

Lorraine Boissoneault

01 Dec 2009

France

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Before living in France for a year during high school, I imagined that many of my weekends would be spent at discotheques (dance clubs). Little did I know that in Brittany, a region in the northwest part of the country, there are more traditional ways to party. If you happen to be in the area on a weekend, check out Les Fest Noz (the translation from Breton means "Festival of Lights"). Normally held in small towns at community recreation buildings, you can dance--although you will have to learn the steps--or, if you're more of a wallflower, you can sit back and enjoy the music and a cup of cider. Check a schedule for the dates, times and locations.

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Culture Shock

Expect a lesson in pronunciation

Ali Goldstein

03 Feb 2009

France

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Don't be offended when everyone you encounter wants to give you an impromptu French pronunciation lesson. People in Lille would turn around in line at the grocery store to gape after they heard me say, 'bonjour." My university librarian once took five minutes teaching me how to pronounce the word for renew, even with a line of impatient students snaking behind me. It was hard to get over feeling foreign when my accent always evoked such curiosity, especially since we don't even flinch over accents in the U.S. But to the French, sharing their language is one of the ways they welcome you.

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Must Do

Savor Sundays

Ali Goldstein

03 Feb 2009

France

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The French Sunday ritual was my favorite part of studying in France. I awoke early to the sound of bells ringing at the ancient neighborhood church next door. After church, everyone crowds into the town market, a labyrinthine chaos where you could get everything from rugs to tomatoes to half-price high tops. After the market, you meet up with friends at a cafe, enjoying a cappuccino and watching the crowds push past. Then, you go for a Sunday stroll in the park with every member of your family, even if it's raining. Then you go home and play music and cook an elaborate dinner. Pay attention to local rituals during your time abroad. They are rich with new sights and smells, and help make you feel like you really belong.

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Etiquette

In Paris, two kisses; in Montpellier, three

Lola Pak

23 Jun 2009

France

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In Paris, two kisses -- one on each cheek -- will suffice as a greeting. Any more and you're pushing it, no matter how much the Parisians love public displays of affection. But in the sun-drenched Midi? Add one more! My first time having three kisses planted on my cheeks was right off the train in Montpellier to meet my host mother during a summer abroad. I greeted her with one smooch, two smooches ... and leaned away. Her first words to me? "In Montpellier, it's three." With that, I got an extra kiss of welcoming and never forgot the third kiss.

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Food

Don't ask for a doggie bag

Michelle Saltis

02 Dec 2009

France

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When we went out to eat with my French family to a pizza place, I ordered a small pizza for myself. Later, after I had finished eating what I could, I asked the family, in what would be the direct translation, "Can I save my pizza?" They started laughing at me because they took it as if I was asking to save my pizza because it was in dire need of help. Apparently, the concept of "doggie-bag" doesn't exist in France.

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Packing

When You've Just Got To Pee, And Other Reasons To Carry a Coin Purse

Corielle Heath

20 Jul 2010

France

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Arriving in Paris, I immediately scamper to the nearest exchange counter. I thrust the American cash I carried trans-continentally in a neck-pouch through a slot in bullet-proof glass. The mustached currency man takes my dollars, gives me a wedgie, farts in my general direction, and tosses me a few Euro coins. Offended, I storm off, dumping the coins into the purse I got second-hand from Gulliver after his travels. Besides not pre-ordering my Euros, my biggest mistake was forgetting a coin-purse. Euro coins are deceptive little devils, worth more than we first expect: a one-Euro coin is $1.30. Stretch Euros by keeping coins where you wont need a metal detector to navigate, and use them first when making purchases. (Or paying to pee!)

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Music

Techno, jazz, and everything in-between

Ali Goldstein

03 Feb 2009

France

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Returning to my host family after a weekend traveling in Belgium, I found the door to the house swung wide open and boxes of old vinyl records flooding the lower level. Electronic music shook the walls of the house. Stumbling upstairs, I found my host dad drinking wine and discussing the music with a friend. "Ecoute!" he said, gesturing wildly towards the stereo. Live music in France is a chaotic, community affair. Fans cluster together and dance wildly, smoking their cigarettes as they mosh. I once went to see a jazz-electronic band that performed inexplicably in laboratory jackets. From electronic music pulsing with the beats of France's different immigrant populations to local indie rock, French music helped me learn how to listen.

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Fashion

Shoe-Wear

Francesca R

25 Sep 2009

France

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If you want to easily blend in throughout your time in Paris, pay attention to the types of shoes you're wearing. Tennis shoes are basically non-existent, but if you want comfort, try a pair of converse sneakers. Ballet flats are also really popular. Also, if you want to avoid looking like a tourist, leave the white socks at home (gentlemen too).

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Slang

A crash course in Verlan

Emily Monaco

23 Mar 2009

France

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"Mais c'est reloud! La meuf a annulé la teuf. Je suis trop vénère." Even if you've taken French before, this sentence may be incomprehensible. Don't worry, you haven't forgotten everything: it's in "verlan," a form of French slang which itself is verlan for "envers:" inverted or backwards. The hardest part about verlan for a foreigner is that the words are inverted based upon how they sound, not how they're written. There is no real code for figuring out how to make a verlan word: all you can do is listen and hope to pick up on new vocabulary words. For example, in the above sentence: reloud- lourd (boring, annoying); meuf- femme (girl, woman); teuf- fête (party); vénère- énervé (annoyed).

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Nightlife

Erasmus nights

Francesca R

16 Oct 2009

France

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If you're an international student in Paris, whip out that student ID when you get to the club. Lots of clubs in Paris have Erasmus or International Student nights, during which you don't have to pay the cover charge. It's also a great way to meet other international students in the city.

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Being an American

Prepare to be compared to O.C. characters

Ali Goldstein

03 Feb 2009

France

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"Were you a prom queen?" was the first question my host sister asked me when I spent the semester studying in northern France. All I could do was laugh. I'd expected Anti-Americanism, but I hadn't realized that the stereotypes I'd really be fighting off were those projected by American pop culture. Many of my French friends had only encountered American youth culture through their favorite television programs. When they learned I was American, they expected me to be a mix of Blair from "Gossip Girl" and the lead female characters of the O.C., or "Newport Beach" as it is called in France. "No," I explained to my host sister, thinking of a culturally resonant comparison. "I was more like Rory from 'The Gilmore Girls.'"

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