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how the french converse (as opposed to the loud americans )

I ride the RER and Metro trains to class every day. With the carte orange, I actually have unlimited use of the trains. Instead of reading and minding my own business, I took the liberty to observe the French locals on the train.

1. French people converse softer with each other. It's a little louder than a whisper, but I can never hear them clearly. All the conversation seem very intimate. French people really seemed engaged with each other and will look directly at each other during their conversations. A conversation is never nonchalant but seem significant for every second. They like to take their time and absorb as much information as possible.

2. LOTS of French people have mobile phones. (In French, they would be called "portables.") However, I have never seen a French person chat on his or her mobile phone in the trains despite the prevalence of the mobile phone. Many do text or check their voicemail. So on the other hand, French love to text. I find myself that I'm forced to buy lots of text messages in order to keep up with all my contacts.

3. The young French like their sliders. These sliders which come from Samsung, Nokia, and Sony Ericcson. I see Sony Ericcson phone ads everywhere for their Walkman phones. The young French love their music, so being able to share their music seems incredibly important. On the metro, most of the young French people have music players of some sort and are listening to them to pass the time on the train.

Hopefully I will be meeting some French students this week in a more informal (and engaging) setting. The language barrier is definitely becoming an issue in meeting more people. At least there is a House of Germany on this campus, and they host a bar night every Wednesday. I may go out and try to meet some Germans as I do know German.

posted by Koh @ 7:33 AM