Hello all, I am wrapping up my first semester of French study in Paris (I started as a full beginner) and if I were to grade myself, it would be a B-! My conversation/listening skills simply haven%26#39;t improved enough... I speak French day-to-day with shopowners, when I see my landlord, EDF to complain about my ridiculous bill (lol), but this amounts to a few minutes a day. I do language exchange which adds another 30-60 minutes/week.
I have known from the get-go that if I am going to really improve my French skills, I need to make French friends! One roadbump is that my friends (and their friends) are all expats and they are not interested in meeting French people; hence I lack a %26quot;partner in crime.%26quot; I am a 31 y.o. woman and friendly, and I never had a problem back home meeting people, even on my own. I used to study at Starbucks every day and would meet at least one interesting person per week even though I had my nose buried in a book. Here, I’m at a loss. Where should I go and how should I go about it? I will likely be alone some if not most of the time I’m out and about. Also, I’m single, so I’m open to dating as well, though this is not the primary objective! :)
Thanks in advance! ~ SoHoll
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How about the Starbucks in Paris for a start?
You could also post your question on the bonjourparis.com web site, where I think you%26#39;ll find information in the Paris forum but also will hear from ex-pats on how they made French friends. Good luck!
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SoHoll,
There was a great thread a few months ago that might give you a few ideas. Enjoyable reading, anyway!
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k48669…
Good luck! :)
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If you sign onto Virtualtourist.com you%26#39;ll find a lot of members who live in Paris. In my experience, VT members are always more than willing to befriend a visitor to their town. It%26#39;s part of the culture of VT.
Good luck!
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take a class... I met people at yoga. I used to go to a writing workshop every Tuesday morning at Les Editeurs. a cafe at Odeon. I was the only non-French and I learned a tremendous amount.
Museums and the city of Paris all have weekly lectures, tours and conferences. Check out Le Figaroscope. (Pere Lachaise looks like a fun one).
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Try a cooking class at Atelier de Fred. Classes are in the evening, they last 3 hours and are by group of 5 people.The other cooking classes are not intimate enough to make friends. Even if you don%26#39;t feel confident in French, Fred will help you as well as the other guests.
www.latelierdefred.com
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Thanks to all for your suggestions and website recommendations, I really, really appreciate it! Phread %26amp; Anneparis, sometimes I forget in my day to day life here that Paris is a city where there is so much to do! Up til now I have been going to museums, cafes, exploring, but not participating in %26quot;activities.%26quot; I love art and museums, and attending lectures would certainly be fun for me. I used to go to cooking classes in the States, and where better to continue than in France? (And I love to eat!)
Cavaletta %26amp; Underhill: many thanks for your website suggestions! It is always nice to find other communities of people who have shared interests, and perhaps I will get to meet some of them here! Underhill~ as to Starbucks in Paris, I think it is the place to go if you are trying to get away from French people, LOL. But actually, French people do go there, but I hear English spoken more often than French!
AnnetteCinCA: thanks for posting the thread! I searched the TA forums for this topic but didn%26#39;t find this one. It was a fun read! And informative, too.
I will be in Paris through the end of the year (or later), I will post later about how it all goes. Many thanks again! ~SoHoll
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You could get a dog, or borrow one. When I walked mine in the same area every day I chatted with tons of people who were also with their dogs, mainly because we were standing around rather than purposefully going someplace. Lots of new vocab. about the dog world, but it was a daily process and took time to make real friends.
One student I ran into several times turned out to be American and his home was a mile away from where I grew up, in Wis.
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A site I have had some success with is the Paris, France site for craigslist.org (http://paris.craigslist.org/) especially the %26quot;Strictly Platonic%26quot; section where I met two very nice people.
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parisienne03~ i almost laughed when i read your post, because in fact, i DO have a dog! she is back in the states, and i%26#39;ve seriously considered bringing her to paris because it is such a dog-friendly city. ultimately i probably will not, as it probably would get too complicated, and more distressingly, i think the airplane ride would scar her for life. the poor thing gets so nervous on a 10 minute car ride, a 10 hour plane ride?? but it%26#39;s nice to know that people here bond over their pets as they do back home!
pixfield~ thanks for your suggestion, too! it%26#39;s always good to know of ways to connect w/ people outside of our regular circles!
cheers all! ~ SoHoll
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sohollygirl, I will be in Paris for the month of October to study French. Have you been to La Caveau de la Huchette? It is a very social jazz/swing dance club. There are many nice Parisians there and I met a man there (Platonic friendship) that I still keep in touch with by email and IM. I suppose sitting at the bar in a pub may not be your style, but that is usually the best way to meet people- you just have to be selective!!!
I will be arranging a get-together in Paris in October which will comprise of locals and tourists and you are more than welcome to come. I would also be interested in meeting you sometime to practice French over coffee. I am in my 30s (upper :) also and female.
My email is waytogo@bellsouth.net
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