French faut-pas: Café à Emporter (Coffee To-Go)

After descending from the bus one morning, I was confronted by a gentleman who I recognized from work.. As is typical for French small talk-- it started with the customary “ca va, ca va”s. I feared an awkward silence on our walk from the bus stop to work because I didn’t know him and I had never met him before.. But right away- he asked me what I was holding- for this was his true intention... “Qu’est-ce que c’est? Une lampe? Une torche?” Is it a lamp or a flashlight?? He was referring to my large, metal travel mug that I take to work with me every morning.. I smiled and told him it was “pour le café” and that is was “vraiment Americain”… He was so curious about it- asking me where I found it, how much it cost and if he could find one in France!
This wasn’t the first time I have been interrogated about my coffee mug. A woman at work swears that it’s a beer mug and I start drinking early :)
In France- it is obviously not common to carry liters of coffee to and from work and to hoard it in your office and drink it by yourself. Coffee is enjoyed in the company of friends- it is the excuse to take a break from a hard day’s work and get revived. I honestly don’t know how they manage to have one petite cup of coffee during the day! If you have been to the EU, you know that the coffees are so small!
Change is in the air though- just the other day- I spotted a French girl sporting a Starbucks travel mug and I knew that I had started a trend ;)

Ohh Metro- Tu me manquera ! (I will miss you)

The thing that I will miss the most when I return to the US (besides the wonderful people that I met) is the Public Transportation in France.
Here is the breakdown of my commute to work:

Commute by Public Transportation:
CiteU to St-Cyr = avg 1.1h one way= tram to train to bus to work
Weekly Navigo for 5 zones= 33 Euro (50.04$)*
Upfront cost of pass (one time) = 5 Euro (7.58$)*

Pros- With Navigo- you can go anywhere in Paris with the one pass (including all the way out to the airport and all the way to Versailles- which are in the 5th zone).. Essentially- it’s like having a “Fast Pass” and being able to use fast lanes in the metro stations.
It is geared towards commuters though- as you can only purchase weekly/monthly passes at the beginning of the week/month.
You can read/write/snooze/chat on the commute..
Cons- sometimes cannot get a seat during high commute hours (rare), sometimes you do not like (the smell of) the people sitting next to you (also rare ;)

Commute by car:
22km CiteU to St-Cyr = 26 minutes estimated driving time by Google (in a perfect world)
22km= 13.67 miles
Say you drive a car that gets 21 miles/gallon-
13.67/21= .65 gallons x 2 times a day= 1.3 gallons
1.3 gallons x 8.56 $/gallon ($/gallon Paris France Apr 2008**) = 11.13x5 days a week = 55.65$ (6 days= 66.78)
Just going to work (5-6 days a week) not including other rand and weekend excursions (groceries, entertainment, etc.)
(5) 55.65$ = 36.7 Euro*
(6) 66.78$= 44.03 Euro *

Pros- “faster” when there is no traffic (summer)
Cons- more expensive to own, maintain a car (not including tickets or accidents)

*1 Euro= 1.51 USD (10 August 2008, from Citibank N.A.)
**2008 http://www.unsolvedmysteries.com/usm503658.html

Cinéma au Clair du Lune! 6-24 août

I discovered another great thing to do in the city ! I was running in my favorite parc across the street from CiteU, and I saw a banner for “Cinéma au Clair de Lune” presented by the Mairie de Paris (City Services). I thought about “quand j’etais petite” (when I was little), I used to watch movies outdoors at Greely Park, Nashua NH, in the summer with my parents and the Daniels (my other family :)
This event was different than the ones that I had been to in the States that are mostly for children. There were mostly adults- couples, groups and lone elders.. Not a huge crowd, maybe 100ppl watching “Agnes Browne” on a blow up projector screen.. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160509/ ) The introducer said that normally they watch French films, but this was a great film about another state in the European Union, Ireland.
So- It got dark just before 22h (10pm) and I arrived just in time for the introduction. The Forum des Images has put on these productions for the past 8 years in Paris. Each movie is shown outdoors at a different spot in the city (http://clairdelune.forumdesimages.net/.) I was lucky enough to stumble onto this one on the right night! Overall- a great movie, had the crowd laughing and – not crying, but nearly so :) The movie ended at 23h30ish and everyone gave a hearty, appreciative round of applause for the ciné gratuit (free movie).

Rigolo Privé ?? (private joke)

Two of my French friends were joking around the other day and I went out on a limb, constructed a sentence and asked whether it was a private joke, «une rigolo privé » ..
I thought, surely, they must have private jokes- and they would understand me if I said that.. But they just started laughing hysterically..
I guess they understood but thought it sounded like something a Canadian person speaking French would say :) Turns out- they say “private joke” in English.
In the beginning, you are bound to make many mistakes in communication but if they are funny, you’ll be more likely to remember the words or the grammar.
The same thing happened to me at lunch the other day- I asked “Vous avez mangé bien?” which sounds like- “Did you eat properly” (like with good manners :) when really, I meant to ask “Did you eat well?”, (like did you have a good lunch), which is said “Vous avez bien mangé?”.. Simply changing the place of the adverb changes the meaning of the sentence…
Don’t worry- French people normally help you with your pronunciation and grammar :)

MacDo = McDonalds in France

There is always a line at the MacDo on Denfert Rochereau.. and that is not a big tourist area, so it is not just Americans eating there.. Yeh- I’ve been there at least 5-6 times since I’ve been here- and man.. it’s better than in the US. They’ve got a designer menu called “Le M” with sandwiches like “chicken mythic” and “royal deluxe”… and it is not inexpensive: 7.80Euro for a regular sized value meal!!!!!
In order for MacDo to be successful in France, they have to have good food and a nice environment that completely counters the bad wrap that MacDo gets around Europe (France in particular). There is always a security guard in the Denfert location, kickin’ out bums.. The place is always clean.. There’s a flat screen TV, a children’s TV area, and the staple for all European restaurants: an automatic espresso machine. Lots of people order electronically so that they don’t have to wait in line. Americans beware that your credit cards won’t work in these machines because they take a card with a chip, not a magnetic strip :( So you wait in line and pay in cash..
Mostly- I see young people around but the other day I saw a little girl’s b-day party just like in the US!! Lots of people take it to go- and they have really nice packaging, like happy meal boxes for grownups that hold drinks- not just some flimsy bag and you have to hold your own drink ;) You can get the value meals with the regular fountain soda, but they also offer bottled water (sparkling or no gas) and beer :) Instead of frites (=French fries, try explaining that to a French person) you can get potato wedges.. mmm I’m getting hungry.
What I hear from the locals is that it is better than “Quick”, the other fast food restaurant in town.

Les journals gratuits! (Free Newspapers!)

This might just be my favorite thing about France…
Every weekday morning there are free newspapers for commuters outside the metro stations –Stacks and racks of “Direct Matin” or “Metro” sitting out for anyone to grab- Guys handing out “20 Minutes” - People leaving folded up papers on the train seats for the next commuter to pick up and read. Sometimes it’s difficult for commuters to get a certain paper: for me, I have to catch the train from CiteU at 7am, which is just as the “Direct Matin” van pulls up and wayyy before the “20 minutes” guys arrive :( The “Metro” is never available at my stop so I pick it up outside Montparnasse station while I am waiting for the Train to Versailles. Some people are so serious about getting one paper or another that they’ll ask their buddies to pick one up for them- I’ve seen businessmen on the train rationing out a stack of “20 Minutes” that they grabbed!!

Here is my rating of the 3 “journals gratuits” that I know exist in Paris (all are full color papers with lots of great photos for scrapbooking!!):
3. “Metro” has the most articles and is the largest of the 3 papers. However, on a crowded metro, the last thing you want to be holding is a HUGE newspaper.. Also- it is printed with ink that comes off on your hands very easily and it is les gross. Larger, more complex articles that the foreigner/ French level 2 student CANNOT read easily.
2. “Direct Matin” is magazine sized and generally easier to read than “Metro” as it has smaller articles, but it is also printed with the gross ink.
1. The best paper for foreigners in Paris is “20 Minutes”. The articles are very small and very easy to read. It is tabloid size and is printed in a semi-glossy type paper/ink complex that doesn’t come off on your hands :)

Le GRAND Dejuner (The Big Lunch)

We’ve been eating lunch in a “cantine” or cafeteria in the bottom of Montparnasse Tower/ Les Galeries Lafayette that is for employees of the sassy Montparnasse business district.
When you walk in, you grab a tray and walk over to the long table displaying plates of all of the prepared food available for the day. It is a huge cafeteria and it is very crowded- so this helps you avoid walking around to each of the stations and possibly missing something.. Each day there are 4-5 different cuisines..

The Staples:
Always fresh personal-pan pizzas..
Bowls of salad- greens- or orange (shredded carrots are popular)..
Plates of fresh fruit.
Miles of dessert selections.. and everyone gets a dessert. My fave is the tiramisu (reminds me of State College).

While waiting in line for the cashier, you pick up silverware and a glass for water (there are carafes of water at the tables). There are also baskets full of free rolls! but after two, you must pay :) The food is amazingly priced and there are lots of options- but not anyone can eat here. All transactions are done through the meal cards of each employee. This is pretty typical of French cantines- as this is the same process at the one where I work..

I think that the French Dejuner (lunch) is like the American Dinner- except, for me at least, I get a food comma and want to go to sleep after :(