HELP

You won’t be able to escape racism in France. I mean, there are skinheads roaming the streets with long teeth and big guns just EVERYWHERE. It’s really unbelievable here. You won’t be able to run away from them.

That said, Nantes would be a better choice, if you want a younger and more dynamic town. Besides it’s close to the ocean.

CRC

JADA, I hope you realize crc95 was being sarcastic. There is less racism in France than in the US and I don’t think you’ll have a problem. I have several friends from the Caribbean who regularly travel to France and they have never had a problem.

On the other hand, he gives good advice in his choice of Nantes if you’re looking for the younger set. Orleans is a nice city though and I think you would enjoy either city so you might look at the location and see which city is closest to the things you want to visit.

France is VERY different from London. I love it and hope you have a good year.

Thank you so much SalB. I have sent off my forms so now I just have to wait and see which City I get. Have you been to London before and what would you say are the main differences between France and the UK? Any advice would be good.

I’m probably not a good person to ask about differences. I’ve only been to London for a week and never been outside the city. I’ve visited France many times and been all over the country. I don’t particularly care for large cities and London is very large. Paris is the only city I really like. It’s large but somehow it seems smaller, perhaps because it is so beautiful and the people are so friendly.

Having visited only London, to me the pace of life seemed much more gentle in France. Everyone on London seemed to be in a terrible hurry. London was much noisier than Paris and the British in general seem much louder than the French. I prefer French food although we did find one really nice restaurant in London near our hotel. I loved the gardens in London, but I love the gardens in Paris. Hyde Park is lovely but somehow there seems to be more sense of community in the Tuileries or the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. It appeared to me that people dress more nicely in Paris too, but that is definitely personal taste and I’m sure many would not agree.

London is much more expensive than Paris. The only thing reasonable about our trip to London was the airline ticket. The hotels are more expensive in London; the transportation is more expensive in London; the food is more expensive in London and visiting attractions is more expensive in London.

I don’t want to sound negative about London because we had a lovely hotel right across from Kensington Park and we thoroughly enjoyed that Park, Hyde Park and Holland Park. We walked all over central London and loved every minute of it. We saw the Changing of the Guard and the rehearsal for the Trooping of the Colors, visited the Tower of London and spent hours in various wonderful art galleries. We attended the Mozart "Requiem" at St. Martin in the Fields and it was a terrific performance. We could understand almost everything that was said to us although we were stumped a few times by very odd accents.

I don’t know how to put this, but what was missing was a feeling of romance. London was fun and interesting but if I never return, it’s okay. Every time I leave Paris, I can’t wait until the next trip. It is just a magical mysterious feeling that I get nowhere else. I guess I feel that way about the whole country of France. It’s like another world, a very lovely romantic other world.

I really hope you enjoy your year. Please let us know how everything goes.

Sorry, you wanted advice. Hmmm . . .

Good manners are very important. The pleasantries are very important to the French. Be sure to always say please and thank you.

When you enter a shop, it is polite to greet the person in charge. When you leave, it is polite to say, merci, au revoir. In smaller shops and if you have had any interaction with other customers, it is customary to say goodbye to everyone as you leave. This is a general farewall, not individual.

I assume you speak French so that shouldn’t be a problem. Don’t speak English unless you greet them in French and at least ask if they speak English. In other words, don’t assume everyone will speak English.

I’m assuming you are young and will be interacting with other students and I guess it’s okay to use the familiar tu with them. When you are speaking to teachers, officials and any authority figure or older person, you really should use the formal vous. When in doubt, use the formal.

I can’t remember what happened in London, but in France you need to ask for your check after your meal. If you don’t ask for the check, you could sit there all night. They’re not ignoring you; they just want you to enjoy your meal and your companions as long as you wish to do so. I’ve heard people complain about it, but it’s just their custom and I think it’s a very nice one. You don’t feel rushed if you want to sit and talk after a meal.

There must be a million more things. Hopefully, some of the French on the forum will give you some more suggestions. Have you ever visited France before? What made you decide to spend a year there?

Hiya,
Thank you so much. I visted France a long time ago, like 7 or 8 years ago and I was only there for 3 days in a small town called Pontoise. But I decided to go because from what I could remember it was really nice and my degree course is in French so it would be beneficial. I have to teach French kids English and in doing so I perfect my French so I look forward to that. I’m living in Miami at the moment and it is not a very nice city…so I look forward to moving to somewhere more European and welcoming.