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#2 (permalink) Fri May 16, 2008 11:11 am Paris and Spain |
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I went to see Paris once, but I didn't like it and ran down to southern France. People in my country claim that the Parisians are rude to Americans, but it's worse than that. They tend to be rude to everyone, even to each other.
To explain Paris, I think it's useful to compare it to anywhere in Germany. In any German town, at or near the train station, there is a tourist information center. The people in that center can speak various languages, or at least English. They will very politely help you find a nice hotel in a price range you can afford, they phone the hotel, and then they give you a map with very clear directions for getting to the hotel. They make sure you understand the directions.
In Paris, there is also a tourist information center. Very often, the people in there can speak only French. They will find you a hotel, but may rudely refuse to call to make the reservation. If you ask how to find the hotel, they may give you a map, but they'll merely draw a red circle on it that spans 25 square blocks, and then they'll tell you to ask the people in the mass transit office how to get there. They'll warn you, though, that those people speak only French. (This didn't cause me too many problems, because I understand French, but people who don't would be in a lot of trouble.)
This behavior is indicative of the general behavior of the people of Paris. I got tired of it after two days, and I ran down to soutwestern France, where the people are wonderful and I had a great time!
Some things you should know about Paris:
-- The civilized world closes their museums on Mondays. The French close them on Tuesdays. -- Paris doesn't have enough modeling jobs for all the girls arriving there to be models, so they get other jobs. You see all these girls on the street everywhere, and it gives an eerie, surrealistic feeling that too many of the people in the city are too beautiful. It doesn't seem normal. -- There are all kinds of interesting things happening on the street at all hours of the day, and you don't have to pay anything to see them.
I can't tell you anything about Spain.
And don't take my comments about Paris too seriously, because you might have a terrific time, especially if someone local is showing you around. I tend to travel independently, and so I'm usually not protected from the unpleasant aspects of a place. However, I can tell you that people are very unpleasant in Paris, but in the rest of France, just as in Germany, it's unusual for people to be unpleasant. |
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Jamie (K) I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 5332 Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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#3 (permalink) Fri May 16, 2008 14:43 pm Paris and Spain |
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| Thank you very much for useful advice. |
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Magda21 I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 20 Apr 2008 Posts: 21 Location: Poland
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#4 (permalink) Fri May 16, 2008 14:52 pm Paris and Spain |
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More biased than useful.  |
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Jamie (K) I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 5332 Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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#5 (permalink) Fri May 16, 2008 15:12 pm Paris and Spain |
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Yeah, that's true:) but I might expect it, because I asked you about your opinion, not about a definition from dictionary or something like this  |
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Magda21 I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 20 Apr 2008 Posts: 21 Location: Poland
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#6 (permalink) Fri May 16, 2008 15:59 pm Paris and Spain |
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However, I can tell you that people are very unpleasant in Paris, but in the rest of France, just as in Germany, it's unusual for people to be unpleasant.
??? |
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Molly I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008 Posts: 4017
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#7 (permalink) Fri May 16, 2008 16:49 pm Paris and Spain |
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| Quote: |
| However, I can tell you that people are very unpleasant in Paris, but in the rest of France, just as in Germany, it's unusual for people to be unpleasant. |
And I thought it was just me.
Forgive my ignorance, Jamie, I didn't get what you meant by that sentence.
Is it like, "it's unusual that people are unpleasant"? _________________ Non-native speaker of English
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I intend to live forever - so far, so good. |
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Daemon99 I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 21 Feb 2008 Posts: 684
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#8 (permalink) Fri May 16, 2008 22:50 pm Paris and Spain |
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| Quote: |
Forgive my ignorance, Jamie, I didn't get what you meant by that sentence.
Is it like, "it's unusual that people are unpleasant"? |
I think the short way round is "people are usually pleasant".  |
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Molly I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008 Posts: 4017
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#9 (permalink) Fri May 16, 2008 22:52 pm Paris and Spain |
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| daemon99 wrote: |
| Quote: |
| However, I can tell you that people are very unpleasant in Paris, but in the rest of France, just as in Germany, it's unusual for people to be unpleasant. |
And I thought it was just me.
Forgive my ignorance, Jamie, I didn't get what you meant by that sentence.
Is it like, "it's unusual that people are unpleasant"? |
-(-2) = 2
-(-pleasant) = pleasant |
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Jamie (K) I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 5332 Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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#10 (permalink) Sat May 17, 2008 18:27 pm Paris and Spain |
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People in Paris don't like speak english, they prefer only own language. If you ask they some information, they bring theirs nose back and go away =)) _________________ We are what we repeatedly do. |
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Tilt I'm here quite often ;-)

Joined: 09 Apr 2008 Posts: 120 Location: Russia Saint-Petersburg
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| Who cares? | Marital age |