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France-GAF |OT| Existentialism, cheese, wine and je ne sais quoi

T

ThoseDeafMutes

Member
So is France like the English speaking world where the locals love tourists and foreign accents? My memories of the French people in Paris (I was 9 at the time) was that they became much more friendly when they found out that we were Australian, rather than English or American.
 
M

Maiar_m

Member
ThoseDeafMutes said:
So is France like the English speaking world where the locals love tourists and foreign accents? My memories of the French people in Paris (I was 9 at the time) was that they became much more friendly when they found out that we were Australian, rather than English or American.
Click to expand...

In my experience it's much less generalized and forgiving than it is in the English-speaking world when you can pop in, mumble "hello, can I has a coca-cola wizout chougar" and have them swoon at you. Here you'll have waiters who just can't deal with you pretending you speak French, people who are offended you can't manage to say "indubitablement" correctly and those who just plain hate you because you're much cooler than we are.

And you've got the rest of us. We love you buddy.
 
B

BaronLundi

Member
ThoseDeafMutes said:
So is France like the English speaking world where the locals love tourists and foreign accents? My memories of the French people in Paris (I was 9 at the time) was that they became much more friendly when they found out that we were Australian, rather than English or American.
Click to expand...

Australians are sure more popular but don't forget your surfing board.
 
A

AlucarD.eq

Member
Subscribed.

Je ne peux pas croire que j'ai oublié comment parler français. (Please don't kill me, I'll improve, also that and my english haha)
 
Z

Zyzyxxz

Member
So I'm American (yes hamburgers, George Bush blah blah) but I took 4 years in high school and now I'm starting to forget a lot. What are the best ways to keep it up? I've been thinking about using the advanced levels of Rosetta Stone.
 
C

crispyben

Member
Vive la France !

Kurtofan said:
There's supposed to be a movie in the making but I have no idea what happened to it.
Click to expand...
A good friend of mine works a lot with Astier, and she also wonders if/when it's gonna happen... But it's definitely not dead yet, the guy is just juggling projects like crazy!

Kenka said:
Why is there a cradle in the PSG logo ? :eek:
Click to expand...
PSG = Paris Saint-Germain

Eiffel Tower = Paris
Cradle = Saint-Germain, birthplace of Louis XIV
 
J

Jb

Member
Zyzyxxz said:
So I'm American (yes hamburgers, George Bush blah blah) but I took 4 years in high school and now I'm starting to forget a lot. What are the best ways to keep it up? I've been thinking about using the advanced levels of Rosetta Stone.
Click to expand...
I'd say reading a couple of articles from lemonde.fr a day or watcing a movie are good ways to get back into it.
 
M

monome

Member
this thread should be about the art of banging american students wandering drunken in the street of Paris on saturday nights.
 
M

Maiar_m

Member
Zyzyxxz said:
So I'm American (yes hamburgers, George Bush blah blah) but I took 4 years in high school and now I'm starting to forget a lot. What are the best ways to keep it up? I've been thinking about using the advanced levels of Rosetta Stone.
Click to expand...

The best way is to come live at my place and cook for me. I swear to god, your French will be so much better.
 
S

Sialeeds

Member
ThoseDeafMutes said:
So is France like the English speaking world where the locals love tourists and foreign accents? My memories of the French people in Paris (I was 9 at the time) was that they became much more friendly when they found out that we were Australian, rather than English or American.
Click to expand...

As you say, you were 9.
 
K

Kafel

Banned
oh we have our very own thread on GAF



I saw a message that made me miss Nantes, I miss the ocean. : (

(I'm in Altkirch now, near Mulhouse bleh)
 
G

Guinness

Neo Member
Prez said:
I want to move to French someday, but where? Toulouse, Nice, Bordeaux? Paris is too expensive and Strasbourg doesn't appeal to me.
Click to expand...
First, I'm from Nice (born & living here for 23 years). So I'll try to be objective but ... eh.

Toulouse is a amazing place for young people. The city is very dynamic and music-friendly but the weather is hot as fuck during summer (like 40°C). People are amazingly kind, have the sexiest accent in France according to a recent poll.

Never been to Bordeaux, but I heard that it's a little ... bourgeois. You have beautiful surfing spots (and beautiful beaches ofc) in the south, in les Landes (Hossegor) and Pays Basque (Biarritz).

Nice ? Oooooh yeah. The best place on Earth if you are old and racist as fuck : former mayor was JM Le Pen's best friend, the current one is Sarkozy's BF.

But seriously, what a great place to live. Weather and food are the best in France, it tends to become a students' city, a new football stadium is on the way (our football team beat Paris St Germain in november), we have a lot of green spaces, a strong local culture ...

And of course, we have the sea ! Take a look :

nice.jpg

VUE_G_N_RALE_NICE.JPG


And bonus track, Cours Saleya in old city, just behind Promenade des Anglais, where you can find bars, restaurants and local producers market

market1.jpg
 
R

Rize_21

Member
Ah this thread!

So yeah,I should put some elements in the music sections.

Chanson/Variété: Claude François, Charles Aznavour, Édith Piaf, Georges Brassens, Brigitte Fontaine, Carla Bruni, Serge Gainsbourg, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alain Bashung, Benjamin Biolay, Renaud (a.k.a. Renaud Séchan), Manu Chao, Lara Fabian,Olivia Ruiz

Classical: Georges Bizet, Claude Debussy, Erik Satie

Folk: Yann Tiersen

Rock: Noir Désir, Johnny Hallyday, Indochine, Eddy Mitchell, Téléphone, Mano Negra, Dick Rivers, Matthieu Chedid a.k.a. -M-, Patrick Rondat,Phoenix

Metal: Gojira, Eths, The CNK, Anorexia Nervosa,Smash Hit Combo,Pleymo

Rap and hip-hop: MC Solaar, NTM, IAM, Orelsan, Booba, La Fouine,Oxmo Puccino,Saian Supa Crew

Pop: Anggun, Mylène Farmer, Vanessa Paradis, Nolwenn Leroy, Alain Souchon, Laurent Voulzy, Najoua Belyzel, Alizée, Michel Polnareff, Pascal Obispo, Philippe Katerine

Electronic: Daft Punk, Justice, Air, Stardust, Bob Sinclar, David Guetta, Jean-Michel Jarre, Mr Oizo, Kavinsky,Madeon

Reggae: Pierpoljak
Click to expand...

I love the french reggae/ska scene,there's so many independent groups.Oh,and I let here the only good thing about my (sadly known)city: http://www.leplan.com/
 
G

G.O.O.

Member
addik said:
Strasbourg is definitely amazing, can't see why it won't appeal to anybody.
Click to expand...
From what I've heard, Strasbourg is fine but the rest of Alsace is xenophobic as hell (they don't like anyone but Alsacians). Don't know how real it is though.

Southwest is good. Nice people, beaches, great cuisine...
 
M

Mistouze

user-friendly man-cashews
G.O.O. said:
From what I've heard, Strasbourg is fine but the rest of Alsace is xenophobic as hell (they don't like anyone but Alsacians). Don't know how real it is though.

Southwest is good. Nice people, beaches, great cuisine...
Click to expand...
Always assumed the south was kinda the same, though more towards PACA than southwest.

Regarding southwest's cuisine... OM NOM NOM NOM ducks!
 
Alx

Alx

Member
Prez said:
I want to move to French someday, but where? Toulouse, Nice, Bordeaux? Paris is too expensive and Strasbourg doesn't appeal to me.
Click to expand...

Be warned that the south of France is... special. Nice weather, sweet life, but it's VERY difficult to fit in. Whatever you do you'll always be a stranger for the locals (even/especially as a French man coming from the north).

A cousin of mine was born in Paris but grew up in the south-west for 10 or 15 years, then later worked for 10 years in Bordeaux. After all that time, her only friends were other "foreigners" like her.
She still loves it there and wants to go back, though.

As another anecdote, my sister's godfather is from the south-east of France. When she came to visit him there, he advised her not to let her car in the front of their alley, because its license plate was from the north.
 
D

Diamond

Member
G.O.O. said:
From what I've heard, Strasbourg is fine but the rest of Alsace is xenophobic as hell (they don't like anyone but Alsacians). Don't know how real it is though.

Southwest is good. Nice people, beaches, great cuisine...
Click to expand...

Even if it's always dangerous to generalize about this, it's true that historically, the Front National (far-right) gets a lot of votes in Alsace : 22% at last Presidential Elections vs 33% UMP (right) and 19% PS (left). I'd say it's not a majority, but I'm biased since I'm from there and know a lot of very nice people.

It's a wonderful region though, beautiful landscapes (watch this video), charming villages (again, watch !). "Great cuisine" (and wine) could be a good reason to go there too ! :)

ThoseDeafMutes said:
Should have let Germany keep it!
Click to expand...

Definitely not, cher monsieur !
 
S

Sialeeds

Member
Prez said:
I want to move to French someday, but where? Toulouse, Nice, Bordeaux? Paris is too expensive and Strasbourg doesn't appeal to me.
Click to expand...

Lille !!!

It's funny, the weather is bad and everybody thinks you are pedophile, illiterate or consanguineous.
 
G

G.O.O.

Member
Mistouze said:
Always assumed the south was kinda the same, though more towards PACA than southwest.
Click to expand...
It's not exactly the same. South has racists, Alsace is more a strong regional identity. The baker can give you bread from the day before if you don't say hello in Alsacian.

ThoseDeafMutes said:
Should have let Germany keep it!
Click to expand...
They suffered a lot because of Germany. Being part of France is the lesser of two evils I guess.

Even if it's always dangerous to generalize about this, it's true that historically, the Front National (far-right) gets a lot of votes in Alsace : 22% at last Presidential Elections vs 33% UMP (right) and 19% PS (left). I'd say it's not a majority, but I'm biased since I'm from there and know a lot of very nice people.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's just what I've been told by someone who lived there for a while (which is why I remain cautious). I never went there myself. However it's true that the political map matches these stories.
 
M

Maiar_m

Member
This is Nantes (pictures are mine, last summer)





So that's the Cathedral, the "passage Pommeraye" (a very nice art deco gallerie in the city center), the ceiling of the opera house and our own elephant. How can you not move to a city that's got its own mechanical elephant?
 
M

Mael

Member
Timurid said:
psg.jpg
Click to expand...

60459.jpg

The best!

Thanks again for making this thread Computer!

The place I know best and hometown :
Bordeaux.jpg

La grande endormie (the great sleeper).
City of Alain Juppé (surprisingly fantastic mayor, no joke).
Was a little bit of a mess if you didn't have a car, it got better now with the Tram
bcb5acaa6862fc2ce1d9d5376110bd84.jpg
.

A lil' small for all intents & purposes.
Between 600 000 and 1 mil people depending on what you're talking about.
Not the greatest place to find a job considering that there's nothing but Bordeaux in the whole region.
aquitaine.gif

But still awesome!
(By the way Bordeaux-Bègle totally pwn'd Toulon this weekend (Rugby)).
Politically the town (and the region) is on the left even though the mayor is from UMP (since Chaban Delmas took power some 60 odd years earlier)
Btw this is Stade Lescure, not chaban-delmas :
chaban_delmas_sport_business.jpg


Next is where I lived for a few years is Lille
lille_grande_place2.jpg
Click to expand...
.
Beautiful place, with great services and all.
Wonderful people, the only downside is the weather (there's a cloud on the whole region that is there all year long, 24/7, 365 days a year...)

And another place I think people should know is :
Annecy :
36-37-lacannecyforclaz.jpg

Small but beautiful place, there's no place where the vista is anything but gorgeous.
And there's the animation festival every year to see.

Alx said:
Be warned that the south of France is... special. Nice weather, sweet life, but it's VERY difficult to fit in. Whatever you do you'll always be a stranger for the locals (even/especially as a French man coming from the north).

A cousin of mine was born in Paris but grew up in the south-west for 10 or 15 years, then later worked for 10 years in Bordeaux. After all that time, her only friends were other "foreigners" like her.
She still loves it there and wants to go back, though.
Click to expand...

I don't think there's any place that take kindly to parisians...
She must have gotten on the bad side of the people she was with because while we do have a reputation of egoism(Bordeaux actually) we're not an unfriendly lot. People from Paris have a very BAD reputation, that can't be stressed enough.
For all I, and pretty much everyone I know, care if you can be understood while speaking and don't shove your origin in everyone's face you should do ok like pretty much everyone everywhere.
We still have insufferable jerks too, like everywhere.

Alx said:
As another anecdote, my sister's godfather is from the south-east of France. When she came to visit him there, he advised her not to let her car in the front of their alley, because its license plate was from the north.
Click to expand...
If your plate is 75 that can be explained...
 
S

Sialeeds

Member
Oh, I lived in Lille. I moved to Paris in september.

Lille is a wonderful city. I stayed 10 years. It's a city where people like to party.
 
M

Mael

Member
Sialeeds said:
Oh, I lived in Lille. I moved to Paris in september.

Lille is a wonderful city. I stayed 10 years. It's a city where people like to party.
Click to expand...

Rue solférino, thirst street if memory serves...
I can't remember the names of the bar though.
 
G

grumpy

Member
My two biggest regrets in life are: not learning french at school and not studying at a French university.
Beautiful country, rich with history and culture, the world capital of food and electronic music, plus really nice, welcoming people (based on my experiences, anyway). What's not to love?!

J'aime la France!
 
Alx

Alx

Member
Mael said:
I don't think there's any place that take kindly to parisians...
She must have gotten on the bad side of the people she was with because while we do have a reputation of egoism(Bordeaux actually) we're not an unfriendly lot. People from Paris have a very BAD reputation, that can't be stressed enough.
Click to expand...

She doesn't consider herself a Parisian (and gets mad at me when I tease her so), she has lived in Mont de Marsan since she was 9 or 10. And she's a popular person in general, but that doesn't mean getting close to people.

Mael said:
If your plate is 75 that can be explained..
Click to expand...

Nope, 02.
But that obsession against Parisians doesn't help. I've been called a Parisian in a derogative manner many times, although I'm from Picardie (but for many people in the south, everybody from up there is a Parisian, apparently).
I remember the "humorist" Titoff getting shout at on television, because he was calling everybody on the set "Parisians", while it turned out that none of them were (the one that was furious about it was Belgian, actually).
 
D

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Even if it's always dangerous to generalize about this, it's true that historically, the Front National (far-right) gets a lot of votes in Alsace : 22% at last Presidential Elections vs 33% UMP (right) and 19% PS (left). I'd say it's not a majority, but I'm biased since I'm from there and know a lot of very nice people.

It's a wonderful region though, beautiful landscapes (watch this video), charming villages (again, watch !). "Great cuisine" (and wine) could be a good reason to go there too ! :)
Click to expand...
I'll be living in Sarreguemines (which is in the Alsace region) come March. A number of people have commented on how unfriendly the area can be, though my first experience there was mostly positive (plenty of nice people around), but I'm still concerned about it.

I'm an American and my wife is French (from Lyon, though) so I'm not sure how things will work out. I'll have to keep tabs on this thread as I'm sure I'll have questions and comments.

Here's hoping for the best!
 
B

Blimblim

The Inside Track
dark10x said:
I'll be living in Sarreguemines (which is in the Alsace region) come March. A number of people have commented on how unfriendly the area can be, though my first experience there was mostly positive (plenty of nice people around), but I'm still concerned about it.
Click to expand...

Nah, you won't have any problem in Sarreguemines. People from the former mining places are always very friendly. It's the people in the country side that can be a bit more difficult, but it's more ignorance than actual hate.
It's Lorraine btw, not Alsace :)

TCRS said:
Your cars are crap though :p
Click to expand...

I would have agreed a few years ago, but Citroen (with the DS line) and the latest Renault (Clio 4) have produced some great cars lately. I really love my DS3.
 
M

Mael

Member
Alx said:
She doesn't consider herself a Parisian (and gets mad at me when I tease her so), she has lived in Mont de Marsan since she was 9 or 10. And she's a popular person in general, but that doesn't mean getting close to people.
Click to expand...

People don't like being told they're Parisians...
She could have been surrounded by jerks, that happens too.
I've got a friend who did part of his studies at Bordeaux III (History) and Bordeaux IV (Law and Economy), well people were friendly and nice at BIII but total jerks and uppity at BIV.
I even heard stories about people from Bx getting cussed out while leaving in Toulouse, I don't think that's the general attitude though.
Really depends were you fall

Alx said:
Nope, 02.
But that obsession against Parisians doesn't help. I've been called a Parisian in a derogative manner many times, although I'm from Picardie (but for many people in the south, everybody from up there is a Parisian, apparently).
I remember the "humorist" Titoff getting shout at on television, because he was calling everybody on the set "Parisians", while it turned out that none of them were (the one that was furious about it was Belgian, actually).
Click to expand...

02? I went in Marseille with a plate of 74 and had no pb at all.
People from the north aren't seen to kindly in the south for god knows what reason (up from Bordeaux-Lyon).
I'd be shocked if people 'round my parts even bat an eye if you say you're from wherever, then again I may come from a more progressive part...
I wouldn't know about the hillybillies we can have
Titoff should be beheaded, like all unfunny humourists.
 
D

DrSlek

Member
Hey! You wonderful French peeps! You better put a third season of Wakfu to air or I wont love you anymore!

I promise that one day I'll actually buy the DVDs of season 1 and 2. Maybe one day after that I'll be able to understand more than a few words without subtitles.
 
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