Did you know the French have a secret word?

 So wouldn't it be incredible if there was a "secret word" and every time you used it, you immediately benefited from it...  a better price on something that you're buying, a better table in a restaurant... a free upgrade at a hotel... better treatment from a waiter...  perhaps a little more compassion from a police officer... 

this is you after you learn the secret word!

Well France has this magic word...   It's "Bonjour"!  It simply means "good morning" or hello... and it's not the word itself that creates the magic, but the act of saying it!  The French culture and European culture overall is just a tad more formal then our own here in the US, and anytime you encounter someone, they clearly expect you to formally address them with a greeting before you begin to speak to them...  They always do this by saying Bonjour!

So if you walk into their little shop...  are asking directions... are asking the price of something, or whatever... The best (and expected) way of starting out, is to smile and say Bonjour... Here in the US, we're much more casual and we might walk up to a clerk in a store and just say "does this shirt come in yellow?"   But in France, and actually all of Europe, they'll think you're slightly rude if you just start talking to them without formally addressing them first... ps: a smile is half the deal, and the smile comes first!

1. Look them in the eye
2. Smile
3. Say Bonjour (pause, smile again & wait for their reply, ps: don't lose eye contact!)
4.  Then, and only then,  can you order your coffee!
5. Un café s'il vous plaît (a coffee please) 

These small steps of engaging in their culture will help you to have a wonderful vacation, and you won't come home like some Americans saying "The French are so rude."  

So Bonjour is acceptable for Americans to say at any time of the day... They just respect you cause you said it... If it's after a certain hour (usually 6pm),  some might correct you and say "Bonsoir" - good evening... or good night... but believe me, they'll give you what we call The 1% Credit for even trying!

So, what do i mean by The 1% Credit?  It's simple;  99% of Americans don't even try to speak their language, and of course, the French find it slightly disrespectful...  Imagine the opposite; you own a little shop here in the US, and some French guy walks in and just starts speaking to you in French... You can't understand him, and shake your head, and he just raises his voice a little louder and just keeps saying the same thing over & over in French...  after this scenario is repeated three times, you'll start to think he's a little crazy...  get the picture?    Well, welcome to their world...  this is the exact scenario that happens over and over again,  to shop owners, waiters, waitresses, taxi drivers, hotel staff and policemen, etc all day long...

We, as Americans tend to do this all over the world much more so then other cultures do...  You don't have to learn their entire language... You don't have to be fluent, or even close; you just have to make a tiny effort.  It sends an offensive message if you don't even acknowledge 'good day'  or 'thank you' in their language.  It's total and utter anathema to many French people when an American starts a conversation without beginning it with Bonjour...

So this is a another very small example of what we mean when we say: "what makes us different, makes all the difference in the world..." We want you to have the very best vacation experience possible... and our philosophy on how to accomplish this lies in "experiential immersion" - that is, get you as close to the local culture as possible so that you can have truly authentic experiences...  We try to do this thru this BLOG... The idea is:  we go out eight months before you leave for France, and slowly start immersing you into their culture... They're values, beliefs, norms, customs, cuisine, holidays, rituals, social habits, government, laws, family, religion... and of course, language!  As a teeny-tiny company, this is one of the ways we compete in a vast marketplace... We do these things because we know, if we we can get you into "the immersion zone" you will have an outstanding vacation... and when you do, you just might, like many of our alumni guests, join us again for another Tour!

65% of our female guests come home with a beret!

So does this mean having to take a college course to learn another language?  No, not at all...  but maybe spend 90 seconds a day quizzing yourself or your partner on "Word of The Day & Menu item of the Day..."  By your departure date those lists will total around 200 of the most commonly used French words by travelers...  And with that, you'll be able to communicate, have a better understanding of what you see and know what's going on around you...  and be able to create a bit more of a bond with the local Provençal people! 

But 200 words isn't the whole language, right?  Of course not...  This paragraph and the paragraph before it total just 181 words... But imagine if you could read them if it was in French?  You could also spend 5 minutes a day on the free DuoLingo website on the right side bar (5 minutes a day for the next 8 months is 20 hours of study...  20 hours is a lot! We've seen this be incredibly successful with guests on both our Tuscany & Provence Trips!)

The simple solution, if you don't want to spend 3 months in a foreign language immersion course for 2 hours a day, is to learn the Word of the Day list and just "buy a very small inexpensive phrase book..." Then, and this point is important, rough up the phrase book to make it look like you've used it really hard, and carry it in your back pocket...  Then when you need assistance, you simply say: "bonjour madame, pouvez-vous m'aider? (good morning madam, can you help me)   Now, wrinkle your brow and reach for that beat-up phrase book...   After about 10 seconds of you leafing frantically thru the phrasebook,  almost  100% of them will say to you in fairly decent English- "how can i help you?"  And now, at this point,  you can respectfully proceed in English...   And here's the very best part; they'll think the world of you for the mere fact that you've  tried!

join today ~ membership is free!

You're now in the 1%!    They become much more compassionate and helpful... prices get better... they'll even walk you down the street to show you directions...   And you will have done your part to save the image of  the other 99% of Americans who won't even bother to try! 

Lastly, using the Google Translate app on your cell phone is another way of achieving similar results... but it's important to learn how to use the "conversation mode" before you get there... no one will enjoy standing around waiting for you to try to figure it out while they have other things to do...