Know Before You Go.
By Adrian Leeds

You'll be a happier traveler if you know a few things about Paris and Le Marais district before you step off onto its soil.

In fact, we recommend that you read this before you embark on any tours, conferences or workshops in Paris. Why? Because we want to fulfill your expectations and we don't want you to have any disapointments. At least, as few as possible.

If you've traveled to France before, then you already know that France is very different than the rest of the world. The language is different, the culture is different, the people are different. It is these differences that make traveling to France, or traveling anywhere for that matter, very exciting. Every moment can be a new adventure when you travel to a foreign place, as long as you're open to exploring the differences.

LET'S START WITH THE LANGUAGE -- FRENCH.

Many French now speak English, at least some, but don't expect them to speak to you in English when French is their native language. Remember, they may not get a lot of practice and feel awkward speaking English. So, it's not that they don't want to -- they just don't feel comfortable. Luckily, you don't need a lot of French to maneuver well, and there are a few key phrases that will endear you to anyone you meet. Start practicing:

ALWAYS say BONJOUR MADAME or BONJOUR MONSIEUR
upon entering ANY establishment -- a restaurant, a cafe, a shop. Say Bonjour to a salesperson before you ask any question. Say Bonjour to the taxi driver and the bus driver. You simply can't say it often enough.

ALWAYS say S'IL VOUS PLAIT
before you ask anything at all! When ordering even a cup of coffee in a cafe, say s'il vous plait, may I have a coffee? Say it before and say it after. You simply can't say it enough.

ALWAYS say MERCI or MERCI BEAUCOUP
every time it is appropriate. When the waiter leaves the coffee on the table, when you've paid for the things you've purchased, when you've checked out of your hotel. You simply can't say it enough.

LEARN to say PARDON or EXCUSEZ-MOI.
Paris is particularly densely populated and walking down the street means tight spaces. The French don't mind those tight spaces, but if two people touch in anyway, you are sure to hear "Pardon" or "Excusez-moi." You'll hear it a million times a day, so be prepared to say it. You simply can't say it enough.

ALWAYS say AU REVOIR
when you leave any establishment -- any café, restaurant, shop. Just get into the habit of saying "Merci, au revoir" every time you step out onto the street. It doesn't matter who exactly you say it to, but they'll hear you and know you have good manners. You simply can't say it enough.

THESE STREETS WERE MADE FOR WALKING.
While the public transportation in Paris is about the best in the world, nothing is more delightful than walking in Paris. Exploring Paris from the street is the best way to get to know the city and take in its beautiful sights. Be prepared to do lots of it, and that means having comfortable shoes ...

FACILITIES JUST AREN'T THE SAME.
Hotel rooms are small. Most of the hotels weren't originally built as hotels. Converted buildings are likely to have very small spaces, so the average hotel room in Paris is quite a bit smaller than the average U.S. hotel room. If you must have space, then be prepared to pay for it, or rent an apartment instead.

Very few buildings in Paris are air conditioned. Summer heat arrives only for about one month a year, so having air conditioning installed in a building or room not originally built to accommodate it is expensive and not worth it. This means many hotels are not air conditioned. Or restaurants. Or shops. The buses and Métro are not air conditioned, either. If you're here in the summer, be prepared to bear the heat specially in august or plan to come another time of year.

PICKPOCKETING, THEFT AND SAFETY.
Pickpockets in Paris are well trained and clever. Most of the pickpocketing is done on the Métro (40%) and in tourist areas of the city. You won't lose your life, but you may lose your wallet or your passport. They target tourists, so look as little like a tourist as possible. This isn't easy since your foreign style of dress and general appearance are give-aways, but there are precautions you can take to avoid pickpockets.

This subject alone could be a book, so I won't go into too much detail -- but dress like a native as much as possible. Don't flaunt your camera, wallet, guide books or maps. That's a start. Then, carry your valuables in different places -- your credit cards separate from your cash, your passport separate from other pieces of identification. That helps. In fact, carry a COPY of your passport and leave the real thing in the hotel safe. Don't carry too much cash -- instead use the multitudes of ATM machines all over town to get a new supply. Fanny packs which you may think are safest of all, are dead ringers and get picked most of all!

ALL OF PARIS IS SAFE.
While there are a few areas of Paris to be avoided late at night, most all of Paris is safe, specially Le Marais that is now one of the most fashionnable and expensive place to live. Women can be alone on the streets here at all hours in complete comfort.

RESPECT THE FRENCH.
Of all the advice one could give a first-time traveler to France, it is to treat its people and the environment with respect. They are hundreds of years ahead of you in civilization and to be respected as the young respect the old for their wisdom and experience. If you realize this and appreciate it, your respect will be evident in all your encounters and I can assure you, make each and every one a pleasurable experience.

The Intricacies of Working and Living in Paris.
By Adrian Leeds

My trusty American Heritage Dictionary says that an "intricacy" is something having many complexly arranged elements, elaborate and even solvable or comprehensible but with painstaking effort. That describes working and living in Paris to a tee.

Thousands of Americans of all ages come here every year in hopes of a job, career, new friends, in short, a new life. Paris is very "séduisant" (seductive) so if they came here on vacation once, or even twice, or many times for that matter, it's easy to get hooked. Beauty, culture, cuisine, language, style, art, literature, history, romance, architecture . . . it's all here for the asking, as long as you're willing to pay the price.

My story is pretty typical, having woven my way through the intracacies Paris over the last five years. I've been through it, over it, around it, under it, on top of it, behind it and in the middle of it. Somehow, I have managed to live to tell the tale.

The story goes like this:

I came here the first time and got hooked. Once every few years quickly turned into coming year after year, always staying in the same hotel in the same neighborhood, dreaming about calling that neighborhood home. Then, with some planning, my family and I sold our house, our cars, packed up our furniture, shipped our belongings to Paris and moved into a furnished apartment less than half the size of our California home with no closet space and just enough money to last one year, or two with some luck.

The first year I took French lessons, went to museums, visited monuments, joined organizations, made new friends, hung out in brasseries drinking espresso and writing in my journal. My money was dwindling.

The second year I looked for work: made calls, read how-to books, sent out resumés, went on interviews, networked. In vain, I discovered that I was too old, too experienced and too damned "American."

Let me be more specific: 1) my cover letters were typewritten on a computer instead of handwritten in fountain pen in French with all the correctly placed margins, 2) my resume (CV - curriculum vitae) listed too many different jobs with too much broadly covered experience, 3) my level of French wasn't quite up to par (not fluent), 4) in interviews my attitude was too intimidating by being optimistic, out-spoken and self-confident, 5) and most importantly, I didn't have a work visa (une carte de séjour salarié).

Let's face it, a French company sure as hell wasn't going to spend 2000 euros and six months of dealing with the administration to get a work visa for a know-it-all American to work among his (I say "his" because there are many more male managers than female in France) French born-and-raised employees. Plus, France is still coping with 9+% unemployment, so we immigrants are way down the list when a Frenchman can fill the same job.

Getting a work visa is a "Catch 22." If you're not married to a French person or don't have any European Union relations, then you can't get a job without working papers and you can't get working papers without a job. It's virtually as simple as that. (I could write an entire volume on this one subject alone.) People do have them so they are not totally impossible to get, but how you get them or how to work without them is the challenge.

Most Americans employed here were sent by their U.S. companies who applied for and secured their visas before they came. That's the best and easiest way. Others came here as students on a student visa which allows working up to 20 hours a week. With luck, the others find jobs where the employer is willing to get the visa for them.

There is also a large number of Americans who manage to work here in Paris for employers located in the States or elsewhere. Writers are among the group - journalists, guidebook authors, novelists, etc. Also, photographers, film and video producers, researchers of all types, etc. - anyone whose work brings them here for a company not based here.

Still, you need a "carte de séjour visiteur" just to stay here legally more than 3 months, and you can't get that unless you apply for it long before you come, fill out all the forms in eight (by hand, no copies allowed) and get the seal of approval from the French government by proving you can support yourself here without working!

The third year in Paris I gave up and stopped looking and started doing. I took a volunteer post at an organization as the public relations director which exposed me to the community and helped me network. I created a list of good-value restaurants (originally just for friends) and then partnered with a Web site developer to electronically publish it. I coordinated a French/English conversation group to improve my French. I headed a committee to develop a Web site for an anglophone organization. There just wasn't anything I didn't have time to do and I didn't earn any money, either, but I learned a lot, met a lot of people and that eventually opened all the doors.

If you are thinking of working and living here and if you were to ask my advice (and even if you didn't, I'd give it anyway), I'd be inclined to break it down into what, who and why you need to know:

• What to know – the language, how to meet people, the culture, the culture, the culture
• Who to know – experts in their fields, people who have been through it, people who make things happen, supportive friends (French and of all nationalities)
• How to know – study, read, network, volunteer, ask questions, ask questions, ask questions

The bottom line is: I came, I saw, I conquered. I'm still alive and well and living in Paris after weaving my way through the intricacies of it all – through it, over it, around it, under it, on top of it, behind it and in the middle of it. You can, too !

SOME USEFUL WEB ADDRESSES TO CONQUER THE INTRACACIES
OF WORKING AND LIVING IN PARIS

American Chamber of Commerce in France
http://www.amchamfrance.org

French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
http://www.diplomatie.fr

Parler Parlor
http://www.parlerparlor.com
French/English Conversation Group