Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the idea of visiting France, or felt it was something too foreign and too out of reach?
In this episode, I speak with Carol Kieffer and Randy Gaulke, two experienced residents and tourists of France. Carol, author of “Living and Working in France: Thriving through Understanding” and cross-cultural training coach, and Randy, seasoned tourist of the Meuse-Argonne region of France and battlefield tour leader, come on the show to strip away some of the misconceptions and misunderstandings many Americans may have about France and visiting it.
What follows is a nearly hour-long conversation where we discuss traveling through France, proper social etiquette, what to expect from French restaurants, shops, and supermarkets, how to prepare, and how to set yourself up to make the most of your experience. We even bring up squat toilets…really, it’s worth the listen.
Ultimate credit for the realization of this podcast goes to Mrs. Laurie Gaulke, whose connections created the conditions that allowed everyone to come together. Thank you so much!
Links to Carol Kieffer and her book, “Living and Working in France: Thriving through Understanding”
amazon.com/author/carolkieffer
For cross-cultural coaching contact Carol at kiefferculture@gmail.com
Carol is on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/carol-kieffer-trainer/
For Randy Gaulke’s excellent website on the Meuse-Argonne
https://meuse-argonne.com, and his new tour company website, https://kneedeepintohistory.com.
For an overview of Randy’s travel tips: http://meuse-argonne.com/?page_id=278
“La Vie en France” blog entries: http://meuse-argonne.com/?cat=275
Mike and Rob Laplander are also offering WW1 battlefield tours through Lost Battalion Tours.
Contact us with any questions! lostbattaliontours@gmail.com
Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter at @WW1podcast, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.
Hi.
As a Dutch person, I have been in France often. I enjoyed listening to this episode and to hear the experiences of you all. I did recognize a few things, i.e. Dutch people tend to be loud and ‘present’ at times too :-).
Some things I learned over time while being in France:
– In restaurants: Wait to be seated! And tips are mostly not included, so something like +10-15% would be OK
– Driving: my advise is to avoid historic city centers – the streets are narrow, the parking spaces small. parking garages and parking lots are usually good and well indicated (P)
– Navigating: Use GPS based navigation (i.e. waypoints) and then e.g. Google Maps or Wayz to get to where you want to go, especially when in the country (battlefields) – didn’t hear that one, it served me well when I visited Normandy last year
– In general, when you start showing off your limited knowledge of the french language, the French feel comfortable and accelerate their speech to their normal rate, leaving you in total confusion. I learned that lesson the hard way đ
Hope this helps a bit.
Oh, and if you want a laugh about the standing controversy between French and British people, there is a book called ‘A Thousand Years of Annoying The French’, which gives you a great insight in the history of the coexistence of these great nations.
Hi Ruud,
My apologies for the late reply. These are great tips!
Mind if I share them elsewhere?
Best regards,
Mike