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Earwicker posted:Literally all of these things are true of Britain as well.
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May 20, 2014 16:55
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 10:51 |
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Except that the British generally make better tv than films.
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May 20, 2014 19:09
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Yeah but when we say it we're right 
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May 20, 2014 23:03
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I've lived in Germany on a bunch of different occasions for periods lasting from six months to a year, and spent a year in my mid-20s living in Korea. I speak pretty decent German, and I mention the Korean stint (even though it's non-European) because I spoke gently caress-all Korean when I went there, similar to what you're looking at with France. If I had to boil it down to one major piece of advice it would be this: DO NOT BE A loving HERMIT. I have seen way too many Americans, both in Korea and Europe, completely waste the opportunity to get out and interact with new people, a new culture, and a new way of life in favor of squatting over their laptop and chatting/facebooking with people in the states. Get out and meet local people. Yes you will royally gently caress up the language, just grin and shrug and keep talking and people will generally appreciate the effort. You will also be amazed at how many will want to speak English with you because they want to practice their foreign language skills. Find a local pub and become a regular. As an addendum: eat things that are strange and outside your comfort zone. Again, I've seen too many Americans basically eat the (usually awful) local version of pizza and whatever American fast food chain they can find. If this means you're ordering blind off the menu or just asking a confused looking waitress for "meat" so be it. If you're naturally a bit shy this can also be a wonderful opportunity to get over that a bit. I used to be a fairly anti-social goon before living abroad and having to get used to just diving in and dealing with embarrassment went a loooong way to improving that part of my life.
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May 20, 2014 23:04
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Gonna second that, and also mention that this isn't at all limited to Americans. I had a coworker move to work in Germany from a neighboring country and he was that guy. After a year he only marginally improved his German, didn't make any local friends, and went back every weekend to his lovely hometown, spending 6-8 hours on a train each way. Needless to say, he was quite miserable when we last spoke. You don't have to assimilate completely or anything, but just don't be that guy.
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Jun 1, 2014 11:57
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 10:51 |
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Luckily for foreigners France has a great way to go out and meet people and do things, associations. French people just love to get together and do poo poo. There are associations for all kinds of things, for playing music, learning to dance, even just playing board games. If you've got a hobby there's probably an association for it nearby. Here's a site that would be a decent place to start looking in Bordeaux. http://www.annuaires.sudouest.com/liste_asso.php?dept=33
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Jun 1, 2014 12:14
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