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Hints and Hindsights: Us vs Them French Anglo cultural differences

Hints for Newcomers – Hindsights for Old-Timers French Anglo cultural differences Us vs Them

by Shari Leslie Segall

You’ve heard of speed-dating. You’ve heard of speed-networking. Welcome to speed-cultural differences! Although many of these French Anglo cultural differences are being obliterated at breakneck speed by globalization (see our earlier post of Hints-Hindsights), and many didn’t exist in the first place (yes, the French really are friendly at heart), below is an extremely incomplete quick-and-dirty list of the at times inaccurate, at times truer-than-true judgments that are at times fiercely hurled, at times gently tossed at each other by Anglos and Francos. EMOTIONS/ATTITUDE – the negative Them: Anglos-especially Americans-are big babies. Even grown women jump up and down and screech and hug when they run into each other on the street. Anglos thank you a million times for the slightest thing. How can ever…

Water in Paris – part 8: Paris flood 2016

"Current" Events: Paris flood 2016 Current events never was a more appropriate term. Here are a few photos from past years juxatposed with photos from the last few days of the Paris flood 2016. We watched daily as the water crept up on the Zouave, the quais, the Pont Mirabeau. The water was very brown, as one French lady said "marronnâtre" and that seemed to sum up the Paris flood 2016. Feel free to send us your own photos, expecially if you have some from outside Paris. submissions@fusac.org Pont Mirabeau's statues that represent navigation on the river are really navigating it right now. Read more about the bridge here. Or maybe just trying to climb to safety. Does anyone know what the pompiers were up to here on Friday afternoon? We couldn't figure it out. How can a piece of a bridge look so big one day and so small the next? The photos give perspective. Read more about what a Zouave is and why this particular statue is famous in Paris …

Interview with Nancy Ing Duclos from Inspirelle

Interview with the founder of Inspirelle : Nancy Ing Duclos first came to France in 1988 to learn French in the hopes of obtaining a foreign post for her budding TV news career. When fate intervened, she quickly dropped out of her immersion classes to learn French the best way—from her new Parisian boyfriend. She then stunned her Canadian family in Toronto by quitting her job as a reporter/producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to move to Paris. Today, Nancy lives in the French capital with her dashing photographer husband and son, and works actively as a freelance news producer for major television networks. She continues to be fascinated by French attitudes and lifestyle, and never to turn down a new challenge, is learning new skills in the digital world with the creation of www.INSPIRELLE.com, an online lifestyle magazine for women living in and traveling to France. When, where and how did you find your first FUSAC? Who hasn’t heard of FUSAC? I…

Water in Paris Part 7: Speak Easy

Water in Paris Part 7: Speak Easy Concluding our series of articles on water in Paris here is a Speak Easy of idiomatic expressions using water. Match the English word or expression with the French. Did you know that there are three volumes of Speak Easy Puzzles in books? They are available at the FUSAC office or via our online store or in the FUSAC Book Room. Great for learning idiomatic expressions in French and English. "La Seine a de la chance Elle n'a pas de souci Elle se la coule douce Le jour comme la nuit." "Chanson de la Seine", Poème de Jacques Prévert 1951 (Se la couler douce = to chill, la dolce vita, to have no worries) This article is the last in a seven part series on Water in Paris. Part 1: La Seine Part 2: Drinking water Part 3: Non-Drinking water Part 4: Crossing the Seine Part 5: Paris Canals Part 6: Tidbits Part 7 : Speak Easy, idomatic expressions using water Part 8: Paris flood 2016

Get Out of Town to the Ile des Impressionnistes

Meandering along the Seine meanders: A walk from St Germain-en-Laye to Chatou Ile des Impresisonnistes, 2½ hour walk one way This walk is lovely at any time of year, and in fact views of the rivers are easier in the winter when the light is soft and you can see through the leafless trees. But the cooler air outside the city in the summer is also a reason to take this short trip west of Paris. You’ll enjoy bird life, impressionist history, passing barges, superb mansions and people to watch. Take the RER A to St Germain-en-Laye. Walk across the terrace past the château of St Germain-en-Laye built in the time of Henri IV (17th century). Exit the park through the Boulingrin gate on the right. Follow rue des Arcades to the left, then left on rue Thiers. Go past the Pavillion Henri IV. At the foot of the stairs take the rampe des Grottes on the right. Cross the street and continue down the steps to place de l’Eglise St Wandrille. Continue down to the bottom then go straight to t…

Water in Paris, part 6: Tidbits

Water in Paris, Part 6: Tidbits Continuing our series of articles on water in Paris here we present a list of odds and ends or tidbits about and around water in Paris. The motto of Paris « Fluctuat nec mergitur » is closely linked to the Seine. It is a Latin phrase which means Tossed by the waves, but never sinks. In French Il est battu par les flots, mais ne sombre pas. The motto dates from antiquity and was used, along with a ship, on the arms of the corporation des Nautes (the water merchants). The first recorded flood of Paris was in 585. The original bateaux-mouches dating from the 19th century were named for Mouche, a section of the city of Lyon where they were built. Bathhouses were first created along the Seine in 1688. The first warm baths were available in 1761 and in 1785 the first swimming area was created along with the first swimming school in the world. The quays of the Seine are a UNESCO World Heritage site from pont de Sully to pont d'Iéna. …

Useful telephone numbers

Useful telephone numbers for France: English speaking, emergency and helpful services. Vocal Spam: Had enough? Make a complaint. Have you ever received an SMS from someone you don't know who invites you to call them back urgently at a number that is costly to call (it might start with 08 or it might be a 4 digit number) or to click a link or respond by SMS to a 5 digit number? You might be alerted that you have a package or that you won something, etc. It is likely to be spam and expensive if you respond. UNlike the spam on your email you can actually report a spam sms. First transfer the message to 33700, they will respond and ask you to then sms the phone number that sent you the sms. Voilà, easy as that to report and if there are enough complaint they spammers will have their phone number cut off! CPAM / Assurance Malade, or “Ameli” which is the French administrative body that manages healthcare has English-speaking service numbers: 36 46 or 08.11.36.3…

Baptiste W. Hamon, entre folk US et chanson française

Baptiste W. Hamon, entre folk US et chanson française Baptiste W. Hamon sort son premier ALBUM intitulé L’INSOUCIANCE, entre songwriting folk US et chanson réaliste française, comme une évidence pour ce passionné d’histoire et de cultures américaines autant que de belles lettres. « J'ai d’abord commencé à écrire des poèmes vers 17 ans, tout en écoutant des vieux disques de Townes Van Zandt et Leonard Cohen. A force d’émotions et de frissons procurés par leurs mots et leurs voix (avec quelques autres comme Bob Dylan, John Prine, ou Guy Clark), j’ai eu envie de m’y mettre aussi et d’essayer d’en faire autant avec mes mots à moi, dans ma langue à moi ». Après avoir commencé par écrire des chansons en anglais sous le nom de Texas in Paris - il a ainsi approché la scène folk scandinave quand il finissait ses études en ingénierie à Trondheim en Norvège - il se met à son retour à écrire dans sa langue maternelle. « C’est après avoir beaucoup écouté Barbara, Serge Reggiani et Ge…

Water in Paris, Part 5: The Paris Canals

Water in Paris Part 5: The Paris Canals The city of Paris is the proprietor of and responsible for a fluvial network of 130km of canals which cross 5 departments (Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis, Seine-et-Marne, Oise and Aisne) and two regions (Île-de-France et Picardie). There are three canals that interconnect: canal de l’Ourcq brings in water from the rivers Ourcq and Marne to feed the canals Saint Martin and Saint Denis. The construction of the Paris canal network was ordered by Napoleon I in 1802 as a way of providing fresh water to Paris which was out-growing its sources. It was also instrumental in transporting goods including food and building materials by boat, with two ports established at the Port de l'Arsenal and the Bassin de la Villette. This was the first time that the same waterway was to be used for navigation and drinking water. It took 23 years to complete the network of canals. Rest assured the canal water is no longer used for drinking water, but it is still m…

Water in Paris, Part 4: Crossing the Seine

Water in Paris, Part 4: Crossing the Seine The first bridges were wooden constructions in the middle ages. They were lined with shops and houses. They were easily destroyed by floods or fire or sometimes deliberately to prevent invasion. Seven bridges were added in the 17th century of which three remain: Pont-neuf, pont Marie and pont Royal. Today the Seine is crossed by 37 bridges in the nearly 13 kilometers that it runs through Paris. For a complete list see Wikipedia, but here’s a few of our personal favorites. The Pont d'Alma, while not overly pretty does have an interesting sculpture. The bridge was originally constructed in 1855 in stone and commemorated the 1854 Franco-English victory over Russia at Alma. The original bridge was thus decorated with four statues that represented the four armies that fought at Alma. There was a Grenadier, a Zouave (north African foot soldier), a Chasseur and an Artilleur. The Zouave became, over time, the unofficial scale by whic…

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