Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
I T STANDS TO REASON that the people most likely to become your
first friends are those with whom you already have some
personal link: contacts from people back home, parents of
other children in the bilingual schools, people you've met at
your English-language church or synagogue, or even those
you've found through the networking groups mentioned in
Chapter 10. Everyone wants to know people from their home
countries, and these people may form the core of your social
life, as you share the same language and culture shock is
minimised. If these people have lived here a long time, they
almost qualify as 'locals', for although they may not be seen as
'Parisians' by the French, they certainly know the ropes and,
in addition to including you in their Parisian lives, they can
help you along. Their social customs, in fact, may well reflect
aspects of both cultures, for newcomers tend to keep their
own while also taking on those of the French. They may, for
example, invite you into their homes for dinner sooner than
the French might, but would still expect you to arrive at least
20 minutes late, which Parisians consider as being on time.
BREAKING DOWN THEIR RESERVE
But you're determined to make some French friends, and
rightly so. So how do you meet Parisians? It isn't at all
impossible to make French friends. It takes time, patience and
effort. It takes being cool and collected, and standing some
disappointments. But it's all worth it at the end. If you comport
Search WWH ::




Custom Search