Absolutely Nothing to Worry About
Out of curiosity, I checked one of the travel related message boards today to read the latest comments of Americans who had just returned from Paris. A sampling of their comments:
“It’s almost as if Parisians are trying harder to be nice. Parisians have actually walked up to us when hearing us speak to ask if we were Americans. The first time this happened we were all very nervous. But the Frenchwoman only praised all things American. Another time a quite elderly woman came up to us to say hello. She ended up telling us of her past love affair with an American man. She was quite a character.”“I’ve personally had only great experiences dealing with Parisians lately. One shocker for me was a wonderful conversation with a taxi driver here in Paris. I’ve never had much luck finding friendly cabbies here. The driver asked my friend and me if we were Americans. He then gave a very eloquent speech about how much he loves American things, from the music to the TV show “Friends.” He thought it was a shame that politics would “interfere with the lives of normal citizens of our countries.” We had a lively discussion and he spent time chatting with us even after getting to our destination.”
“Don’t waste your time worrying about hostility when visiting Paris and northern France. I spent weeks reading this board, talking to recent travelers, etc., when I should have spent my time getting excited about the wonderful trip I had planned with my high school students and their parents. The French people were awesome: kind, courteous, helpful, etc.”
“If you are thinking of not traveling to Europe because of what you hear in the press, you would be making a big mistake. We thought about not going and are extremely happy we went and would do it all over again!”
“My boyfriend and I have just returned from eight days in France (five of these were spent in Paris) and I am happy to report that we encountered NO anti-American sentiments. As many people have posted, just go about your business and try to at least say the basics (hello, goodbye, please, thank-you) in French and you’ll be fine. I thought my halting, high-school French would be scorned, but I was wrong—-it was appreciated! (A bonus: since a lot of people have cancelled their trips, it’s easier to see the sights—crowds were very manageable, and non-existent in some places.)”
“The people in Paris were always friendly, kind, and helpful. I used my very little French as often as I could, always with “please” “thank you” (in French, of course) and a smile. We went about our tourist business, and only discussed politics very briefly on the 5th day with our hotel keeper - and even then, a very civil conversation. We had a wonderful time. We are so glad we never seriously considered cancelling our trip. The people we encountered seem quite able to understand that ordinary individuals do not bear responsibility for their government’s official policies (perhaps beyond our choice in the ballot box). So go ahead with your plans, and enjoy your stay. Just be friendly, and try to learn a few polite words in the language of each country you plan to visit -those and a smile will take you far.”
“We just returned from two weeks in France. This was our seventh trip to Europe and our third to France. It was by far the best trip we have taken. In spite of all our friends’ concerns (to a one they all said “be safe”, not “have a good trip”), no one even blinked at us funny. The only demonstration we saw was an anti-war march in Rennes and it was anti-war, not anti-American. In Paris, everyone seemed happy to see us. The only people who brought up the war were fellow Americans we ran into and they just wanted to know if we thought about not going. It was very interesting to see the different perspectives in the newscasts. So take the advice of most of the people in this column: go, have an open mind, relax and have fun. I predict you will have a great time.”
“We just returned from France. We were there during much of the war with Iraq. Everyone was extremely friendly. No rudeness at all, except for an uptight museum worker who was rude to everyone. A few of the French we talked to about the war were definitely NOT anti-American but just had opinions against going to war. One person we talked to said it made her feel very sad to see the anti-French news from America on T.V. (i.e. the Americans throwing out French wine etc.) She said the French really like the Americans and were very hurt by this. I’ve been to France 3 times and I’d have to say they were just as gracious and helpful to us - or more so, during this trip as during the other ones.”
“Just returned from France this afternoon. There’s simply no word to describe the magnificent trip I had. The French were really polite and nice to me; and were very encouraging even though I spoke terrible French. For those planning to cancel your trip to Europe, I would say DON’T and just GO! It’s springtime, beautiful weather and fascinating scenes are waiting to welcome you. It’s the perfect time to go. I’m definitely returning to France sometimes very soon!”
“I returned with my boyfriend from Paris yesterday. We almost cancelled the trip because we feared for our safety. However, we found Parisians to be gracious and kind, and we had a magnificent time. We had been many times previously, and both speak a little French, but had seen so much anti-French sentiment in this country that we felt assured there must be a reciprocative sentiment over there. But at no time was anyone other than very cordial and friendly toward us.”
“Having just returned from 10 days in Paris and the Rhine region of Germany, I urge all those who may be reevaluating vacation plans to just GO!! I was seriously considering postponing our trip until I started reading some of these postings. We felt no anti-American sentiment at all. We also witnessed the protest on 3/30 in Paris but walked around it. If you’re polite and try to speak some of their language, be respectful of their culture and use common sense, you will be fine.”
“My wife, daughter and myself just returned from a week in Paris. There was no sense of anti-Americanism from any of the people we encountered. The people were friendly and more than willing to help three people without any French language skills. We traveled the metro extensively and never even felt a hint of ill will towards us. In fact, our daughter said on the way to the airport, “I hate to say this but I think I like Paris better than London.”“
“My daughter (age 25) and I returned March 31 after 10 days in Paris. We were treated with respect and kindness by everyone: fellow metro travellers, hotel staff, shopkeepers, restaurant staff, and other travellers from other European countries. We spoke softly, minded our manners (greeting a shopkeeper with a ‘Bonjour Madame, Monsieur’ goes a long way), and had a wonderful time.”
As you can see, everyone seems to report wonderful things from Paris. I’ll be posting some more info in the next few days about logistics and sight-seeing.
Posted by Chris on 17 April 2003