French Trains For Noobs

Most of us from non-train-taking parts of the country are perplexed, at least at first, by the wealth of rail-based transit offerings in Paris and throughout France. Maybe we group them together under the broad heading of "The Train" (or even "The Métro") and try to generalize about them on that basis. However, the generalizations will not be sound or helpful. Herewith, what I've learned about French trains so far. May it serve you well. (And may you correct me if I get things wrong.)

You should know that there are (approximately) 3 types of trains that will take you around and in and out of Paris. They are:

• The Métro: The métro is what New Yorkers would know as the subway or Londoners would know as the Tube. It runs (mostly) underground within Paris, with trains running every few minutes from roughly 6 a.m. to midnight. It is run by the RATP, Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (Paris Public Transit Company, which also runs the buses and tramways within Paris). If you have a transit pass such as a Navigo you can use it on pretty much any métro train, bus, or tramway and also on the funicular that takes you up the Butte de Montmartre to Sacre-Coeur. 
• The RER: The RER is a small train that runs within Paris and out to the Paris suburbs. The letters stand for Réseau Express Régionale, i.e. Regional Express Network. For certain destinations within Paris it is easier to take the RER than the métro. If you go outside the city center to a place like Euro Disney or Charles de Gaulle Airport, you will take the RER. It is run jointly by the RATP and the SNCF, Societé Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (French National Railway Company, which also runs the grands lignes). The RER, like the métro, runs from roughly 6 a.m. to midnight. Your Navigo will take you only so far on the RER, so be careful. If you are going to Charles de Gaulle, for example, you will have to pay extra because it's a longer trip.
• The grands lignes ("major lines"): Run by the SNCF, these are proper trains that will take you from the main train stations in Paris to other cities in France and beyond. For this type of train you have to buy a ticket and, in many cases, get a reserved seat. They leave from one of the seven main stations depending on the direction/region they serve. The hours are more limited because the journeys are longer. The SNCF runs several different types of trains, including the well-known TGV high-speed train. 

If you know the differences among trains you can figure out how to get where you need to go and how to pay for it. The métro and RER are very easy and fast once you learn to use them. The major lines are a great way to see some countryside en route to your destination.

Leaving France to learn French?

Longtime readers (both of you) may remember that Ta-Nehisi Coates of The Atlantic was in Paris last summer at the same time I was. I recently started following Mr. Coates on Twitter (@tanehesicoates) in time to discover that he will be in Vermont this summer studying French at the Middlebury Language School. Middlebury is really serious about immersion.

I am pretty jealous.

Mr. Coates posted this write-up and video about his summer plans. Be sure to watch the video; it's a hoot. So much for my hopes of running into him on the street this summer but what a cool thing to do.

We Talk Pretty

When I read David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day, I laughed until I cried on multiple occasions. Listening to this segment from This American Life is even better: still funny, but also profound. Ultimately he gives a good answer to the question of why we take the risk of entering a foreign culture: the slight strangeness of everything and the need for heightened observation are exciting (albeit occasionally defeating). It is probably preferable to experience gaffes in foreign countries as adventures rather than as humiliations--unless one is David Sedaris and can make such fantastic material out of the humiliations.

Also, frankly, I love the way he transliterates his hardware-store French. "And now I have come to find a table that might work with my iron."
Him Talk Pretty Three Days

Student Orientation: mission accomplished!

Yesterday was the European Council program's student orientation meeting in Milledgeville. Second to the actual departure day for Paris, orientation day is the most exciting on the program calendar. Students get to meet each other, professors meet their classes, everyone learns way too much about packing, changing money, and beating jet lag, and overall, stuff gets real. I have a great group of students this year: a mix of experienced travelers and newbies with a wide variety of majors. Since I am teaching World Literature, we had an interesting discussion about reasons to study World Lit. in a foreign city. This group has some good ideas and I am eager to work with them in Paris.

As co-Site Director I also got to give part of the orientation presentation to the full group. Since pre-trip preparations are a topic near and dear to my heart I talked about what to pack and about what to do with/about money. It's clear that my only shortcoming (ha) is that I do not use a hair straightener. Students with their long, glossy tresses are extremely interested in whether to pack a straightener or buy one. My heartfelt response as a person with maybe 2" of hair is "Just have curly hair!" I do not use a straightener and, when abroad, I do not even use a blow-dryer. But "Why Short Hair is Better" is a topic for an entirely different blog. For the record: everything I've heard suggests that straighteners respond badly (they either don't heat up all the way or they blow out/burn out) when used with a voltage converter. Thus, one would be better off buying one on arrival.

Or you could just have curly hair.

43 days to departure. Is it too soon to start packing?

Paris 2014: The countdown is on!

After today's European Council faculty meeting I can officially say that I have my field trips planned (except for one--still weighing a couple of options) and I already have an exciting treat to look forward to in the first week:

My colleague Dr. Chen, who teaches theatre, has some great excursions planned including this one. She was kind enough to invite other faculty and students to join in. Getting to see a ballet at the Opéra Garnier is amazing enough. Getting to go two years in a row . . . I can hardly believe my luck! 

Student orientation in 28 days. Departure for Paris in 72 days. But who's counting?

By popular demand (i.e., one person asked me)

Last night I was asked if I took lots of pictures in Paris, so I had the opportunity to demand obnoxiously "Have you been reading my blog?" (When did I become this person?)  Because I am a terrible self-promoter, the person did not know I had a blog. So, first: Hey, guess what! I have a blog!

Secondly, here is a link to my Flickr account with more photos from Paris than any sane person would want to see. They are organized by date and location; some are captioned; some are actually pretty good if I do say so myself!  I will add the link to my sidebar as well.

Thanks for checking out my blog and my photos. Promotion for the 2014 Paris program starts in about 3 weeks so . . . À bientôt!

Better content than mine

So it turns out that The Atlantic's senior editor Ta-Nehisi Coates has been in Paris since about the same time I arrived there and has been writing a series of "Dispatches" about his experiences. I was busy being in Paris and missed reading these as they appeared. I'm also tantalized by the prospect of having crossed paths with Mr. Coates at, e.g., Shakespeare & Co. without knowing it, since I would not readily have recognized him.

Mr. Coates and I are as different as chalk and cheese in every possible way. His essays make my blog entries look like kindergarten drawings. But these are reasons that you SHOULD read them.  Here is the most recent "Dispatch," which barely mentions Paris and yet rings totally true to me as a fellow lover of that city.  And here is my favorite; I only hope TNC, as the commentariat calls him, will not mind if I immediately adopt his "no-huddle offense" analogy, which is perfect.