Greenheart Travel

Tag: paris

How to Make the Most Out of Your Time in France

If you’re reading this, and you’re getting ready to travel soon, you’re probably nervous. Scratch that. You’re DEFINITELY nervous. At least I was. But don’t worry, you’re not alone.

You’ll likely come to find out that everyone else traveling with you was anxious as well. Whether it’s because you’re traveling alone for the first time, going to a completely new and unfamiliar country, or being overwhelmed by all the new people you don’t know who you’re going to encounter and interact with while you’re there, don’t worry about it. In fact, here’s my advice: Take a deep breath in, let it out, and just stop stressing NOW. Let it all out. Trust me. Because once you get to France, and once it’s over, you’ll laugh at all the small and unimportant things you were so worried about.

If that voice in the back of your head is still feeding you those doubtful thoughts, here are some tips to keep in your back pocket to help you during your trip abroad.

Talk to Anyone and Everyone

How am I going to make friends with a bunch of random people? What if everyone gets along except me? If you’ve had these thoughts or something similar to them, don’t worry, it’s normal.

In reality, it’s pretty scary to enter into the unknown with a bunch of strangers, and those doubts are just our own minds trying to keep us in a comfortable environment.

However, once you’re finally in France, and you’re surrounded by a bunch of people just as excited and nervous as you are, it will be really easy to get accustomed to everyone and everything. Take advantage of being in a new world, and strike up a conversation with as many people as possible.

Everyone’s always looking for a new friend, so it will be easy to converse with all the other people on your program. But don’t limit yourself to the people around you. Try talking to the guy selling crepes, the street performer doing flips, the nice cashiers at the Galerie Lafayette; most of the time, they’re awfully kind and are eager to talk to someone from a different part of the world than them.

Try New Things

I’m sure some of the first things you might go for while you’re roaming the Paris streets are some crepes and gelatos. But after your first two (or maybe five), try spending your traveling money on something else. (Two kids on my trip got matching Louis Vuitton Bracelets, but you don’t need to go that far.)

Buy a small souvenir or two. Hop on one of the rides or attractions, like the Ferris Wheel (Roue de Paris), or the big-spinny-ride-thingy I don’t know the name of. Try a sandwich from those tiny kebab shops on the tight Paris streets. (Whatever you do, DON’T play the street games. They’re all just very elaborate scams. They’re illegal, too.)

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

If anything makes you feel uncomfortable, you’ll probably really enjoy it. As long as you’re not putting yourself in danger or at risk of anything, get out of your comfort zone. There are so many new things out there, especially in France, that would make for an experience you could never forget, but only if you’re willing enough to try it. Even if it’s as small as trying out new food, go for it.

Have Fun

Most importantly, have fun. Don’t stress too much about learning French, especially the first few days, because that’s when it feels most difficult. Personally, I’d feel dizzy every night from all the French words and phrases scrambling through my mind; the language feels like it’s buzzing through your head, yet you can’t understand anything. But by the first week in, you’ll notice that everything becomes a lot easier to naturally understand and that you were just overreacting at first. So don’t pressure yourself, have fun, and make sure to really enjoy your time in France.

Bonne chance et Bonne Voyage mes amis!

September 9, 2019
Final School Exams and a Weekend in Paris

by Ella Russell, Greenheart Travel High School Student in France

On Thursday, we had a basketball exam in EPS (PE), which means that it is the last class of basketball. Every several weeks, EPS focuses on a different sport. During my first EPS class everyone was doing the gymnastics exam, but from then until this Thursday, we have been practicing basketball.

This exam was the first time I actually got a grade, and it was 11/20. I wasn’t the worst, but still I definitely could have done better. I am pretty sure that the next course is running, done later in the year for the better weather.

There was another protest on Thursday (over the same increased work issue), and there is talk of another one next Thursday. While the protests peter out at around noon, allowing us to go to our afternoon classes, a fair number of the students (mostly boys) use the protest as an excuse to skip the whole day.

The literature teacher called them out on it, saying that if there was a strike next week, she expected everyone to come to her class in the afternoon, unless they were actually planning on participating in the strike. I wonder if they will listen.

Also on Thursday, I performed a violin piece in music class, and gave short explanation of the history of the piece. In French. I was worried about how my piece would go, as I had not had much time to practice. I was the most nervous about my explanation, and if people would understand me, as I often rush during presentations. As it happened, I did not even attempt to glance at the audience. I focused entirely on my paper, reading as clearly as I could. The fact that it was in French actually made me slow down, as it wasn’t as easy to read.

I think I did pretty well. The teacher gave me good feedback, and later, a classmate told me that my presentation was good, and that he could understand it.

This was my last weekend in France so I made it count!

On Saturday evening, I went to a laser tag game with some friends from school and others who I did not know. It was exactly like how it is in the U.S., you run around trying to catch people with the laser guns. Although my team and I were terrible, it was fun!

On Sunday, I went into Paris with my uncle. For those of you reading this who don’t know, my uncle (and his family) lived in Paris until a few years ago, but they are going to be moving back, so my uncle still comes here occasionally to see how their (rented out) apartment is doing.

First we visited some friends of the family for lunch. We had lamb, and I learned that they practiced Lent, and had not eaten meat for the previous forty days and then we walked to Shakespeare and Company, a famous English bookstore, visiting souvenir shops on the way.

I was worried that a lot of the shops would be closed for Easter, but at least for the shops we visited, this wasn’t the case. I bet it had something to do with all the tourism.

April 2, 2016
Last Week of Vacation in Lyon

by Ella Russell, Greenheart Travel high school student in France

Although the week we visited Lyon was also the week that school started up again (the school vacation weeks are shifted depending on which region in France you are in), we still managed to go on several expeditions into the city. During the weekend, we went to the main soccer stadium that just opened this year, we visited Mickael’s (Laotian) family, and we went to a zoo.

The zoo was disappointing because most of the animals were hiding, or inside because of the cold, but we also saw the Guignol puppet show. I later learned that Guignol, the main character of the same name, is famous throughout France, but his creator came from Lyon. Although I couldn’t understand all of the conversations, it was nice to find that I could understand a lot of the humor.

In the beginning, there was a duck who started conversing directly with the audience. He asked if we liked ducks, and when we answered yes, he mentioned that we definitely like to eat them. Was that very funny, or just one of those things you laugh at in the moment when it is delivered well? I can’t decide, but the deep, grumpy sounding voice and fact that I could actually understand what to laugh at made it funnier.

After the zoo, we had barbe a papa, also known as cotton candy. Personally, I think the French name (basically Papa’s beard) is better.

During my second week in Paris, I attempted to add math (my favorite subject) to my schedule, but the logistics were too complicated, and they said it would be too hard for me, but I didn’t believe them, and after this week, I am almost sure that I could have taken the course! Near the beginning of the week, Irwan lent me his math textbook. It was composed of subject material that I did in seventh, eighth and ninth grade, and as Irwan is in the equivalent of ninth grade, the math for my year, the equivalent of 11^th grade, should be right at my level.

On Monday, we went to the cinema to see Deadpool, which was English with French subtitles. From what I understood and which was later confirmed by Irwan, the subtitles did not translate the humor very well, which consisted of a lot of cursing, slang, and obscure references.

On Tuesday, we celebrated Irwan’s birthday at an Italian restaurant, and I saw the Lyon part dieu mall.

Wednesday was the most eventful day. During the morning and the early afternoon, Mourad showed me around Lyon. Mourad is something like a manger of the Lyon tramway, which allows him to have a free pass for all forms of public transportation, along with his family, so since we never went out all at once, I could take a spare pass. It was a good chance to be able to compare the cities of Paris and Lyon. Paris has long white apartment blocks and wide roads, while the roofs of Lyon are red and tiled, and the roads are more varied.

After Lunch, we met up with Irwan, Ines, Nahel (my host brother), and Mickael (my host dad), to go ice skating (le patinoire), where for some reason, there were several English speaking people. I did not do very well, falling three times, but it was fun. I don’t get to do ice skating as often as I would like (considering that I come from Florida). I slowly got better, but we left too soon.

After ice skating, we had a proper cake for Irwan, and then we went out to go to soccer game in Saint-Etienne (Saint-Etienne vs Paris SG). My first soccer game! I know that my brother, a big soccer fan, is very jealous.

On Saturday morning, my host family drove back to Paris. As there wasn’t enough room in the car, I took the train the next day. Mourad, Ines, and I went to the museum of confluences, a bizarre looking building, as you can see.

It also seems to have two meanings. It is near the meeting point of the Rhone and the Saone, the two rivers of Lyon, and every room was about something different, from sand, to the beginning of the universe.

In the evening, we went to a bingo lottery organized by Ines’s school. Unfortunately, we didn’t win anything.

And finally, on Sunday morning, I left in the morning to go to Paris. I had mixed feelings about returning. Lyon was cool, but I was also looking forward to seeing my friends from school, and steadily improving my comprehension of the teachers lectures. It was starting to get a little boring, as there is hardly any homework, except from the occasional long essay (practice for the BAC Blanc) which I was exempt from. Now the BAC Blanc over, I hope that things will be different. But I will miss Lyon. It was a fun vacation.

March 22, 2016
Greetings from Strasbourg, France!

by Nia Karriem, Greenheart Travel Teach in a Homestay participant in France

Greetings from Strasbourg, France! A beautiful city located in the Alsace region, also home of the European Parliament.

I decided I wanted 2016 to be about traveling and rediscovering my passion for languages and cultures. I believe that Teaching English in a Homestay was the perfect way to achieve this goal. So here I am, in Strasbourg participating in this great program.

Although my scheduled language lessons are meant for the three youngest kids, my host parents also like to have mini English lessons during our family meals. I’ve also had the opportunity to brush up on my French skills.

In our free time, my family and I enjoy going to museums, visiting 800 year old castles, having “Tea Time,” and watching movies after dinner (I’ve officially seen ALL of the X-Men movies, even Deadpool!) We even made a trip to Paris, and took a long 10 minute journey to Kehl, Germany.

This blog wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t talk about the FOOD! Oh, how I wish I could post a picture of everything I’ve tried, instead I’ll show you the top four items I’ve had out here!

Pictured from left to right in the photo below is Crème Brûlée Tarte, homemade crepes (say “salut” to my host mom!). Tarte Flambée (an Alsatian dish with crème fraiche, cheese, and caramelized onions. Talk about scrumptious.) Last but not least, Choucroute, a meat lover’s dream of Alsatian sausages, ham, bacon, sauerkraut, and potatoes.

My favorite part of this program has definitely been the blending our two cultures. It’s been great realizing how much we have in common, as well as learning about and embracing each other’s differences. It still baffles me that everyone comes home from school and work, and most businesses close in the middle of the day just to have lunch together as a family. I wouldn’t mind doing that every day in America!

In a nutshell, I am having an amazing time, and I am very happy that I decided to take advantage of this opportunity. I wouldn’t change my experience for anything in the world!

February 16, 2016
Reflections On My Life in France

by Ella Russell, Greenheart Travel high school student in France

Since my last blog, a lot has happened here in France!

First, I met relatives of my host family for the first time. Linda’s brother and his family came over during the weekend before last. I felt a bit awkward interacting with them, and it was probably the same for them too. So in the beginning, while I did make some small talk with the parents, for the most part, I retreated into my books.

Eventually though, I started making Origami (I had brought a pack from the US).Two of my host cousins were interested, and I ended up teaching them how to make Origami cranes, stars, and boxes. Doing this helped to remove a lot of the awkwardness, making it easier to converse.

The next day, with my host uncle, aunt, and their daughter, who was a bit younger than me, I went to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower. We took the elevator up to the summit and slowly made our way down. Despite the cloudiness, the view was great! On the lowest floor, there was an area where the floor was transparent, and an ice skating rink with free skates (which I had not expected). I skated with my host cousin for a while before we drove back.

It was nice to meet host family relations closer to my age. I have a 3 year old (Nahel), and a nine month old (Alycia) for host siblings, and while they are both very cute, it creates a different dynamic from what I expected. I am supposed to speak English with Nahel, who is not very enthusiastic about it, and my host parents are (understandably) very busy with their work and the baby.

I feel that I have settled into life at school. The students are friendly, often practicing their English with me. It is still rather hard to understand what the teachers are saying, but I can generally understand the general idea, and as time goes by, I am understanding more and more.

I have also been enjoying the school lunches, which are a relaxed affair with plenty of choices. You can bring lunch from home, you can reserve a lunch in the cantine (the cooks make just enough in order to not waste food) you can buy food at the cafeteria, or you can leave the school to eat somewhere else. Either way, it is healthy and delicious. In the cantine, people actually eat the fruits and vegetables! I have mostly been eating at the cantine, but I have gone to friends’ houses, and one time, all the way into Paris.

Last Friday, Mickael (my host father), Nahel, and I went to see a play on the Champs-Elysees in Paris! It was a satirical, humorous twist expressed through urban dance about Snow White and several other Fairy Tales meshed together. For example, instead of seven dwarves, there were seven Snow Whites all enamored by one dwarf; in Sleeping Beauty, the prince kept trying to kiss the princess awake, but every time, she would move her head to the side, and for Cinderella, they showed in the forgotten slipper scene, but it was a white sneaker, and there were three sets of princes and Cinderella’s. After the Cinderellas ran away, the princes emerged one by one, crying and moaning hysterically to each other.

Apart from the funny scenes, what caught my attention was the window this performance offered into French culture. For example, there was a running gag about a bear going fishing, bringing food along with him, but forgetting his baguette. Also, during a scene with the three little pigs, they were all smoking together (a past time all too common in France). Less obviously stereotypical though was the way the story was presented. From what I have seen from this play, and some French movies, less emphasis is placed in France on tying stories together into a clear story line; moments are more distinct from each other and at the end, there is less of a resolution. After the performance, we took pictures of the ends of the Champs-Elysees (the Arc de Triomphe, and a Ferris wheel).

February 9, 2016