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Showing posts from September, 2015

A Survival Guide to France

Way back when (it seems like a lifetime ago) I was teaching French at the university level in the United States. One semester in particular, I had a group of architecture students who had never studied French and who I needed to prepare to go abroad in one semester. I've just found some of the final cultural notes I gave the students before sending them off.   In any case, this advice can be useful for both tourists who are only passing through for a couple of days, to people who are settling in France and need to know the basics of getting around. Keep in mind that France is a very high-context culture. In plain English, this means that much of what you are supposed to do socially is coded, and not explicit (see the first point below for an example). Whether you are just visiting France or moving here, remember the following... BONJOUR, EXCUSEZ-MOI...AU REVOIR : If you ever need to stop someone to ask for information (French people do this a lot), always begin wit