French it UP: Lost in France

Hi everyone! French it UP is back! In the past two weeks, I have been travelling with my friends and I found out that orientating in a big city, like Paris or Lyon can be a difficult task.

Sometimes, our most reliable travel companion - Google Maps might not help! This is when asking a local comes in handy. However, for French beginners, asking for directions in French could be a challenge! This time, let's talk about how to ask for directions in French!

A lot of French beginners are afraid of asking directions, it is often a matter of confidence. If you don't understand him/ her for the first time, ask him/ her again, « Désolé.e, je ne comprends pas! Parlez plus lentement, s'il vous plaît! » or « Désolé.e, je ne comprends pas! Pouvez-vous répéter? » If you do struggle to understand, you can ask him or her explain it in English « Pouvez-vous expliquer en anglais? » Yet, don't be discouraged by that as learning a language takes time and effort!

Vocabulary

Interesting facts

1. In French, two prepositions EN and À are used as prepositions for means of transport. To identity when to use En and when to use À, my French teacher in Alliance Française came up with an explanation, en is used for transport with wheels, such as en bus, en train... while à is used for "transport with legs", such as à pied, à cheval...

2. Apart from the traditional means of transport, in big cities, for example, Lyon and Paris, you will come across electrical scooters (les trottinettes) lying around the cities. They are the brand-new, trendy 'public transport' in France! What you need to do is to download the app, provide your payment details and you are ready to go! Easy breezy! Unfortunately, we don't have these fancy scooters in Toulouse yet... Quel dommage!

3. If you travel by train or plane and you want to save money, definitely try to travel during off-peak periods. The prices can vary a lot and the difference could be as massive as £100 between a day. Therefore planning in advance is key! I probably have to start a whole new blog post taking about how to travel with less money.

That's all for today and hope you find the information helpful! If you have any enquiries, tips or even experience on travelling abroad for studying or good food, please comment below!

Peace x!

Shiuology

#toulouse #askfordirections #FrenchitUP #lostinFrance