Friday, November 2, 2007

Rule #1,352

The idea of moving to Paris was completely thrilling to me. But the reality of being in a new town, and not having any friends, is a bit more challenging. I had pretty much the same situation when I moved to Washington DC six years ago. In Paris there is the additional issue of the language barrier – but luckily, I’m older & wiser, and have the additional allure of a cute (ok maybe it’s not cute…) American accent.

One of my rules (apparently I have a lot of rules) that works well in this situation is “You’d better have a REALLY good reason for declining that invitation!”. For a certain period, say, three or six months, I make myself accept almost any social invitation that comes my way…even if it sounds dreadfully boring. You never know where you’ll meet your next friend (or date), so you just have to put yourself out there.

Of course, my coworkers and friends can exploit this rule ... they could invite me to do just about anything, say, helping them move, and I'd have to accept :) Shhhh...

3 comments:

Starman said...

My American friend in Toulouse tells me that his French friends think his American accent is cute and he shouldn't lose it.

Amanda said...

I hope so! I've also noticed that people are being quite friendly to me once they hear my accent and all of my mistakes speaking French. At least it breaks through that icy Parisian exterior when meeting someone new!

Cassoulet Cafe said...

I, too, have friends in Toulouse who have told me that American accents are cute.