Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
elevators and commingling garbage. Yet you cannot possibly
all become friends in the French sense.
The French, reasonably, maintain a certain respectful
distance from their neighbours. (Let them show you how.)
You always make a polite acknowledgement of their
presence, when you meet in the hallway, stairwell or elevator,
but a respectful silence beyond that. The coolness allows
both of you your privacy. It is not a 'put down' or rude.
It is polite.
You also provide certain considerations. Hold the door for
anyone coming in behind you (as most people do, even in the
métro
stations in France). Avoid making unnecessary noise
in the public areas of the building, as well as in your own
quarters. In old stone buildings, noise travels. Consider the
effect of your footfall and chair scraping on the neighbours
below. You will be expected to behave in a way that assures
everyone else their comfort and quiet.
Sooner or later, you will begin to make better friends
among your neighbours. No friend is a better and more
loyal one than a French person, but like all good things, they
need time. Even in the countryside, you will i nd people
hesitant to step forward, at i rst. Speak French and be
patient. Remember the French love to be amused and you
are probably a fairly capable person at doing so.
MANAGING AT HOME IN FRANCE
If you are coming to work in France, be sensitive to the
peculiar set of problems of your partner and children. The
person in the family whose job brings them here is lucky.
He has a specii c assignment in his own i eld of endeavour
and a workplace. These bridge some of the deepest troughs
of cultural divide. Unemployed spouses and children must
go about all of their normal activities in totally new ways.
They have many more culture adjustments to make and few
guides for making them.
In most multinational companies, one out of three
employees sent abroad comes home early. Robert Kohls
says studies show four out of i ve early returns because the
spouse, not the employee, couldn't adjust.
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