English in Paris, and things I miss from home

Before coming to Paris, many well-traveled people warned me to perfect my French in advance of my trip- as opposed to once in France- because Parisians have a history of being “rude” and/or “impatient” with Americans who don’t “speak the language”. Here is a promising observation: I’ve been in Paris for a few weeks now, and I don’t recall being on the receiving end of any hostility or impatience as a result of my broken French. I suppose, like most things in life, how one is treated is dictated largely by one’s own attitude and self-presentation. However, I’d like to highlight two variables existing outside of the individual English-speaking visitor that I think are contributing to a positive shift in the Parisian attitude toward English-speakers. (And for the sake of honesty, the observations below are not entirely my own, but grew out of two conversations I had recently with a bilingual Parisian mother and an insightful grad student studying abroad in Paris).

The first external variable is the improvement in the French education system with regard to teaching English in its schools. Roughly fifteen years ago, I’ve been told, not many Parisians spoke English. Now with English being taught in schools with more frequency and focus, the Parisian population is saturated with native bi-lingual residents. Not surprisingly, because people are learning English, they want to use their new skills. One of the reasons I think my progress in French here is retarded is because 85% of the time I try to speak in French, and the individual with whom I speaking realizes that I speak English, s/he speaks *exclusively* in English, and then looks at me with a child-like smile, as if s/he were to say, “So, how’d I do??!?! Could you understand me?!?!!?” Their reaction is endearing, and I don’t mind being of assistance to someone trying to learn or master a new language, I am an English tutor after all. I will admit, though, when I’m on the streets being confronted by English hungry Parisians, I find myself being tempted to say, “If you want to learn English, come to America. I specifically came here to learn French, so stop making it impossible for me to find someone with whom I can converse in your native language”.

Thankfully, I have found at least one friend here who insists that I speak in French- and for that, I am enormously grateful.

The second external variable is the increased focus on globalism, multilateralism, and multiculturalism. This point grew out of a conversation with the graduate student I mentioned earlier. Generationally speaking, there has been a large shift in the Western world. (That last sentence might possibly be the broadest, most obtuse statement ever published in the wide world of blogs- whoa. Haha). As globalism becomes more pervasive, young people today are encouraged to look outside of themselves in a big way; not to simply look at one’s own community, but to consider the bigger issues of the day such as “climate change” (formerly known as “global warming” in case you didn’t get the memo), world hunger, genocide, natural disasters at home and abroad, and international relations, etc. As a result, students/ people today find themselves presented with a myriad of new options and opportunities to explore the world for the sake of learning about themselves, about others, gaining different perspectives, and addressing some of the key challenges of our time, challenges that transcend national borders. With this in mind, Parisians are not only less hostile to English-speaking visitors, but are largely welcoming.

Moving along, I also intended to include in this post a mention of the things I miss about home (besides the people). The impetus for this post idea came to me on Sunday, when I was missing yet another Patriot’s game. However, I am thrilled to report that I have discovered an ex-pat group in Paris whose main objective is to organize gatherings at a pub on Sunday evenings to watch whatever NFL games are slated for the day! Awesome. New England fall foliage was the only other thing on my list.  Oh, and Sunday morning political talk shows. 

Finally, here is a picture from Versailles,...


...and two more pictures from the iPhone, so the quality isn't the best.  The friend that I mentioned above who forces me to speak in French, yep, also encouraged me to sample some rather exotic cuisine.  (See picture).  They tasted good, but I couldn't bear to see the eyes, so I dipped the heads of my fishy friends in a sauce before eating them.  Haha.