Strangers helped me in France
Dear Savvy Traveler:
I was in France for about 7 weeks last summer. I had heard stories
that the French & especially Parisians hate Americans & generally are
rude to tourists. Trying to find my way from the airport to RER &
then to the Metro was scary. I had survival French & good
pronunciation which worked in my favor. I asked a man on the shuttle
bus if this was the bus to the RER & he was an Englishman living in
Paris. He walked me through the process, showing me how the ticket
machine worked & staying with me till I got off to switch to the
Metro. He also gave me a few metro tickets in case I hadn't bought
the right ticket & gave me his business card so I could call if I
needed any other help. When I got off the RER luggage laden, I asked
a woman in the Metro if I was going the right way. She picked up one
of my bags for me, carried it to the top of a long staircase &
patiently explained to me a few times where I needed to go & what to
look for. Then another man helped me carry one of my suitcases within
another metro station (I did have to ask for his phone number to get
him to leave). I had only been in Paris for about half a day when I
received all this help. None of these people were French though they
all spoke French.
Several days later, I moved from my hotel to a studio apartment. I
could not figure out how to make the key work so I could get back
inside the apartment. Some French children who lived in the same
building got their mother for me. She helped me get the front door
open. I expected her to think I was an idiot for not even knowing how
a key works (it works as a key & a handle simultaneously) but her
attitude toward me was kind when I saw her later at a boulangerie.
One weekend, I traveled to Mont St. Michel. I "composted" my return
ticket instead of my "going" ticket. I explained what I'd done to a
young woman near me & asked her what to do. When the conductor came,
she explained it all to him for me and there was no problem.
The same day, on the way back, I had made some friends (two Mexican
teachers, studying French, also going to Carcassone) and we got on
the train to go back to Toulouse. We could not find a non-smoking 2nd
class compartment so we kept walking forward and finally found a
place with room for 3 where no one was smoking. The man in that
compartment looked surprised when we walked in but kept reading his
newspaper. A while later, I looked up and saw that we were in a 1st
class car though we had 2nd class tickets. I said that when the
conductor came, we'd have to move. A little later, we engaged the man
in conversation and after about 30 minutes, he confessed that he was
the conductor & he would not make us move to another compartment. He
visited with me until we arrived.
I found France to be far less un-welcoming that I had been told. Hope
you find this encouraging & maybe amusing.
Ruth
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