Travel Reference
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Monsieur, je ne parle pas français)
and stay to help him
track down another person with the information he needs.
If you are very lucky, he might switch to English. Bravo!
You have a second chance to help him out.
Only if you don't have a clue where he wants to go might
you offer to pull out your map. Use a low, conspiratorial
voice and say, “
J'ai un plan”.
Don't actually pull it out, unless
he then expresses clear interest in looking at it. Usually a
map will be rejected immediately. Nobody wants to look
like a tourist in their own town.
Now, we have already stumbled upon several seeming
inconsistencies in the French. A French person, a sophisticated
Parisien
no less, is willing to stop and speak with a total stranger
on the street about his or her ignorance concerning which way
to go, when he or she wouldn't dream of making small talk
when waiting in line at the post ofi ce. This person really wants
to know the way, yet clearly doesn't want to look at a map.
Bringing out a map or a timetable often complicates things in France and
can lead to a very long discussion. So try to keep your answers as simple as
possible, even if they are wrong.
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