ok listen up peeps, Im Going to Europe to Visit my Moms family in France (Yes Im French) and I have no Clue what to do or what to Bring to Europe,where to go, or what to know Please Help me Folks! Im only 15

Bring condoms.

French Girls must be hott, But i don't have none , Damn it

Steal some, they are hot.

Ok, Anybody eles want to help me?

Clothes and toothbrush is a start, unless you want to buy it in france. Passport and tickets. Hello! have you never been outside your house?

I've never been out of the States, Thats All, I already got My passports and other important stuff, Im going bymyself, Im bringing my Learners Permit, (I wonder if i can drive in Europe with my Permit, Lol) Im Going on Contenental, From Kansas City to New York to London to France, My stuff is paid for, 1st Class Baby! I'll buy my Toothbrush and Toothpaste in France.

A Gun.

Ever seen Hostel?

I will start the bidding at $5 for the right to chop up a teenager! Do I hear $10?

Bring a decent internet connection you won't find any in europe!

I hear ya. Ive seen the statistics. I heard Japan is laying down gigabit fiber in homes. :\
Wish we had that here. If the government would stop subsidizing these damn Bell monopolies, we would have it.

Oh god, forget What I've said, france has a good speed, on the opposite, my country doesn't even appear in that study

Simply don't worry too much. You'll find that we are a civilized lot here in Europe
(BTW, I have been in France several times. Expect some of the best food in the world).
You could bring a Mac and sell it to us, poor European sods. We have to pay 40% more than in the US.

I'd recommend an open mind and an appetite for new things..

The food is spectacular, the culture charming, if you just grasp how to slip into it & let it wash over you, as opposed to wearing a 10-gallon hat & waving the stars & stripes wherever you go. (j/k)

Any french you speak will be an advantage, and even if it's just a little bit, trying to speak the language is a politeness that is appreciated, and you'll quickly find the french are far happier to try speaking english after they've heard you try to speak french.

Depending on how long you're staying you'll want to think about a cellphone (either bringing yours or borrowing/whatever one there) and an appropriate charger. if you have one with a decent camera so much the better, as it's far less obtrusive than carrying a separate camera, and you will want to get some pictures.

Above all, have fun.

I'll Bring my Laptop, BUt...I won't Be able to Charge it Because of the Plugin Diffrences And i might get a Prepaid phone from Vondaphone (if they do that) thanks for the info, keep on going

they sell adaptors for that. they can be a little pricey, but its worth it.

check the power adapter on your laptop, a lot of them are global these days.. if it says "input 100-250 volts" or something like that, then all you need is a simple plug cable or adapter, which should be available for very little money.

You must be 18 to drive, and I believe at least 16 to be able to drive under supervision. France is one of the countries where you really should know the language. At least how to greet and say thanks. Especially if you meet older... they might know english and the might most likely not want to speak it. But I guess the basics you know from your family.

Don't forget blankets and glass beads so you can get some native porters to carry your stuff. You will also need to talk loud and shout a lot to make yourself understood; the cunning buggers will pretend not to understand English, then steal your cargo behind your back.

consolation those things do happen everywhere..and not only in "France".... make it clear....

just pay attention everywhere you go

ROTFL

Cut out the French-bashing, folks. I've lived in France and just like anywhere else there are good people and bad people there. On the whole the French are open, generous people who will be friendly and helpful, particularly if you make some effort to speak the language. Even a little - and they don't generally mind if you get the language totally wrong. Most young people speak perfect English - but they'll still like it if you can come up with an introduction in French. Paris is different; like any big city it has a lot of ripoff merchants and they do tend to be less friendly to foreigners. Americans come in for a lot of bad press in France - it might be better to avoid proudly announcing where you're from initially.

France is not a third-world country. You can buy almost anything there that you could get in the US, and you shouldn't have any problems. It will be relatively expensive though.

Forget about driving unless you have a full licence and you are fairly experienced. Driving is very different in most of Europe and you will be caught out by different traffic rules and different driving styles. The French do not drive like lunatics despite what some people say; the French would say much the same about American drivers - it's really just a question of habits and what's accepted as the norm.

French girls are truly like girls anywhere else, though they tend to be more 'romantic' (guys too). But to quote a line from "Trois Couleurs Bleu", they "sweat, fart and cough like any other girl" (my translation) . They tend to have close families, so don't go having casual sex if there's a brother or father nearby. Actually that goes for most places.

Take whatever you'd take on a trip to another State. If the worst comes to the worst and you don't have something you absolutely need, you can always buy it or borrow it there.

A guide of french or english, the plugs conversors..maybe some jewelery (don't know the real name, i mean..like the one that wear soldiers), in where in the case that u go to an hospital, doctors know, your name, and posible data like blood type or alergic reactions.
Condons...well, it's good to carry with u everywhere
A list of useafull phrasses...well remember that go to france is not go to europe...there many diferences between countries.
Don't know the frequencies of the gsm terminals in usa...so maybe u have to buy one here...at last, the sim card.
A good account of money and many desires to have fun

Wow That ALOT of Useful Information Thank you all, Do they have good speed in france? And i Hae having to know to learn about the metric system (im almost a sophmore in Highschool and my bad subject is math, lol) I have a question, Why does the rest of the world use Metric and the Americas use US Imperial?

Cause the english people that go to america in the first times of the history of this country, were english people, that live in europe but not connected by any terrain or ground...so it's that's the reason of that strange way of measure things

If this is not correct, i would be very gratefull to the one that can correct, and with all my respect to english and nort american citizens of this forum ......but those weirds units..

The French would be right when they say that, I have no arguments whatsoever.



We brought it over from the Britain and never got rid of it simply because of the problem of teaching everyone (older generations) about it, and the cost of having to change all the labels and signs. Iit would be quite expensive to change all those mile markers to km (it would probably cost less than a war in Iraq though ). Eventually the US will be forced to change over and follow worldwide standards.

Lol, Im gonna hate the day that happens, for an Example

Me: Dad, The speed limit is 100 km/h and your going 20 mph
Dad: Cause the speed limit is *passes by the Newly converted speed limit sign saying '100'
Dad: oh.....

I'll laugh the day the US Stockmarket Crashes again and the Dollar goes lesser in value and the Euro dominates the Global Market

Yes, you need to know the metric system, and you need a tri or quadband gsm if you have an american gsm-phone.

And as you already are off topic, when US will introduce km/h signage they will do as they do in northern New York state and other places close to canadian border with either both limits and a reminder.

as a sidenote, if anyone talks about mile in europe, get it converted to km, as each country has varying definitions of that word.

Alright Thanks Peeps, Anything eles i should know like Popular PLacese to Go?

If I was going to France, I would bring marmite and brown sauce, because they don't have any there.

But that's more of a british need....


I would take a French power adaptor and a sense of humor.

Also, how long are you staying?
If it's going to be a long time, I would grab a French PAYG sim card (I recommend Orange)
Though only if your phone is GSM or EDGE.

Im staying until July 31 and i only have a Cingular GoPhone -.-' But i figured out on the the phone, i Can change the bandwith and im leaving for France June 6th

Why, do you eat that?

I never even heard of those 2 kinds o.O

From the Marmite hate fan club:

Eat Marmite? You'd rather rip the wings off live chickens. You'd rather be stripped naked in public. You'd rather swallow rat's tails and snail shells... Enough already! We get the picture. And yes, you're in the right place...

oook?? Will my GoPhone work in Europe?

well cingular is GSM so check if it has a SIM card

Mine Came with a SIM Card, its only a Motorola C139

Just use the unit converter in dashboard for english to metric.What part of france?



vodaphone (in the uk, i couldn't understand the french site) have a 30 plan and all they give you is the SIM card.

I really don't know what part, but its the good part of Paris, Im confused about the Cell Phone Providers in Europe

Which One should i Get?

Vondafone
or
Orange

????

lol
(are you British or Aussie by any chance?)

Back to the question. Definitely bring a French dictionary with certain catch phrases. It makes life much easier in France if you're not fluent. The easy thing about French (unlike other languages) is that most people always use the exact same phrases for certain essential things. Don't even start trying to translate literally from English word by word. Nobody will understand you and quickly move on. Especially Parisians have an extremely short patience span.
But hey, France is not the only country in Europe where they speak French and the other 'francophones' are definitely less uptight about their language. (Just needed to get that straight )

What you should leave at home is the widespread belief that the customer is always right, even if he isn't. In France they will quickly let you know when you aren't or sometimes even when they just think you aren't...

Apart from that, you'll encounter lots of things that might seem odd to you but if you're truly culturally interested and open to most things there you can make some true friends for life.

Thanks for the Info Solaar

FreakyMac is coming to Europe??????????

HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP... we're being invaded by the BARBARIANS.......

Orange.

They have the best network coverage and are practically giving away sim cards

I prefer vodafone, but that's just me.
Ohw and come to the Netherlands, the freeport of Europe. No need to learn the language since half of the people here talk in a foreign language anyways. And try if you can get a macbook/pro fro someone in europe can save that person up too 600 dollars. At least I do it when I go to the US.

I double that. Especially Amsterdam is got to be the coolest city on earth.

Hmm Thanks for the info, You never know where i might be, From the UK to France,or somewhere, Who knows, But i'll have fun while im there, I'll get a Orange SIM, (Netherlands = Bicycle Capital of the World)

I'll try and firgure out how to use the damn Euro

I second that too.




Actually things are a lot easier than they used to be. Once you have learned how to use the Euro, things will be the same in most European countries where you are likely to go, except for Britain.

I remember travelling by car from Britain to Italy with seven currencies before the Euro (and being horribly ripped off by British banks in the process, having to pay a commission for each currency)

Guess what, I MADE IT TO EUROPE! But Im in a 2 HOUR delay in the UK, So im stuck here for 2 hours sitting at the gate, typeing onn my laptop ^^ and anything should i Do while im in the UK? and Damn, that sucks being ripped off and paying a commission? Are some british people rude?

Yey, Im in FRANCE!!! Im sitting in the guest room typeing on my Laptop (we got WIRELESS) and its 4:08 AM I know im supposed to be in bed but i am EXCITED, (first nite in a foreign country) so..w00t!

lol the site says 9:09 for me