Living in Paris : Gay Paris!

Gay Paris !

Parisians are highly open to alternative lifestyles and the homosexual community is very much part of the every-day-life here, it is part of the ‘Richesse de Paris’.

There are many famous clubs like the “Queen”, the “Scorp”, and a lot of bars, mostly located in the 4th arrondissement, the Marais, where you can also find the only gay hotel in Paris, the Hôtel Central Marais.
hotelcentralmarais.monsite.wanadoo.fr

There are also several sports clubs like the first gay football club of Paris, the FC Paris Arc En Ciel www.fcparis-arcenciel.com, the Paris Foot Gay parisfootgay.free.fr, or the only gay rugby club in Paris, Les Gaillards http://www.lesgaillards.org/ all these clubs do of course also welcome heterosexuals who would like to share their passion for these sports.

There is even a real estate agency that specialises in short-term rentals for gay couples and singles and actually hands out the “Gay Guide” that helps non-Parisians find their feet in this scene. http://www.gayhouseparis.com/indexeng.html

Plenty of information on places and events can be found on the following web sites:
http://www.parisgaivillage.com/gb/index.html
http://www.paris-gay.com/indexgb.php
http://www.gaypride.fr/

Living in France : 'On' or 'nous'

On va au cinéma ?In spoken French, we often use “On” instead of “Nous”. For instance, we are going to say “On va au cinéma” instead of “Nous allons au cinéma”. It makes things more colloquial.

The young will mainly use “On” when the older generation will use “Vous”. In a professional context, you can use either “Nous” or “On” depending on whom you are talking to: “On” with your colleagues, if you wish to show closeness and “Nous” if you wish to sound more formal and polite.

From Isabelle : Intransit's French Language Tutor
www.french-in-paris.com
06 65 24 64 74

Living in France : Pétanque Ladies and Gentlemen, will you shoot or point ?

On May 3rd 2007, We'll have a pétanque contest organised in Paris at the Invalides.
Summer is here before time and that why we assumed Horn's Club's members would be delighted to put their flips-flops on and take part in this event. With such a weather, one can almost hear the grasshoppers and smell the fragrance of olive trees.

Have you already tried Pétanque ? For those who don't know, it's a very popular game from southern France. Leave Parisian stress behind, the only effort you'll need to make on May 3rd will be to throw the pétanque ball and hold the pastis glass to your lips. For more info, please log on to http://www.horns-club.com/ and register online for the event.

As a result of my « southern mood », I started musing on the web in search for seasonal anecdotes. And I realised that some among you (at least expats) have probably never heard about even the most famous southern France traditions. So here is a couple of webpages I found about provencal traditions and folklore, from the well-known sport, la Pétanque, to regional expressions and vocabulary.

Call it a humble tribute to southern France classics...

http://www.petanqueamerica.com/game.html

http://frenchfood.about.com/cs/horsdoeuvres/a/pastis.htm

http://www.lexilogos.com/provencal_langue_dictionnaires.htm (translation of provencal words into French)


Hopefully, you'll find those links inspiring and we'll have a glimpse of you at the event.

Living in Paris : French Language : Tu or vous…???

You have just arrived in France and you’re wondering how to speak “un peu français” ! In fact, it may be simpler than you think!

One of the first rules to remember is that the French will always welcome you warmly so long as you make the effort to speak a little of the French Language.
One of the first things you will come upon once in France is whether to call someone “tu” (tutoyer) or “vous” (vouvoyer).

It may even give you a real headache sometimes! Here are a few tips…

• If you are talking to a friend, a member of your family or a child, you should use “tu” which is synonymous of closeness, friendship or informality.
  
• However when you wish to express respect, distance or formality, you should use “vous”. For instance, when you speak to someone you don’t know, an older person or to 2 people or more…
  
• Sometimes, it is not easy to make the difference between “tu” and “vous” and if you are not sure which one to choose, I would advise you to go for “vous” as it is better to show someone too much respect than not enough!
  
• If a French person asks you: “On peut se tutoyer ?”, this is a sign that he/she wants to be informal. However be careful: “tu” and “vous” are not interchangeable, so it is very important to know when and why they are to be used. Otherwise, you may insult someone unwillingly by using the wrong “you”!

From Isabelle : Intransit's French Language Tutor
www.french-in-paris.com
06 65 24 64 74

Living in Paris: City of Love?

All over the world, Paris has the reputation to be "the city of love", yet over 50% (50-68% depending on the surveys!) of the people living in Paris are single, this is true particularly for people between 20-35 years but it touches all categories.

It is true that Paris is never as beautiful as when you're in love but being single here is really difficult. How come?

People here can tend to be somewhat suspicious of anyone who approaches them openly. It is true that it in a city such as Paris this happens regularly and just asking someone for the time is no longer always well received.

Understandably ladies in a city may be wary when they don’t react to a harmless approach in the street and that, of course, doesn’t help in the most humble of approaches.

Today's busy lifestyles for those who want everything in a partner (must be good looking, financially sound, intelligent, a good dresser, funny, serious…are there even people like that? ;) do not make the simplest contacts easier outside of the workplace.

Many Parisians therefore turn towards “organised dating”, and after-office events and speed-dating are becoming more and more common and readily accepted among the singles. Every evening and weekend, events such as receptions, tours and visits for singles are organised in Paris and the number of members on the dating web sites increases daily.

This situation is well reflected by the fact that over 800 000 Parisians are subscribed on Europe’s biggest dating site…and that’s just one of many.
http://www.chicandkiss.com
http://www.soireesdannie.com
http://www.netinthecity.com
http://www.parisdating.fr
http://www.cpournous.com
http://www.meetic.fr

You are not alone in being alone

Living in Paris: Elegant Women

Here is a small communtiy site for international women in Paris. Some interesting news, articles and links.

www.pariswoman.com

Living in Paris: How to be a true Parisian

I just found this website www.cestsoparis.com which I thought may tickle some of you.

A little harmless fun in the 'year of merde' style!!