Thursday, September 22, 2005
Metro- Mariam!
Buy a ticket. Feed it to the machine. Take it out. Go through the doors. Voila! You are at the metro.
The metro is France's underground (for the English) or subway (for the Americans). It is fairly easy to use and follows the same rules as other underground trains of other parts of the world. Why it took me 4 days to actually get the guts to use it is beyond me. Coming from Hong Kong, where everybody literally lives in the underground, I should be confidant of my ability to simply purchase a ticket and ride the vehicle. However, since I am such a wuss, especially because I hate going anywhere by myself, I avoided the metro for as long as I could.
Finally, I had to force myself to go on the train. I had to meet with a director of the University's Paris program and there was no other way of getting there unless I wanted to spend almost 40 euros on a cab ride, which I do not have or I would go to restaurant and actually eat something besides bread.
So, I went online and researched the Metro as much as I could. Then I asked the cleaning lady, Anna, for advice on taking the Metro. Anna is a Romanian woman who has lived in Paris for 10 years. She feels for me because she did not know a single word of French when she came to Paris but she learnt. She is very kind to me and speaks slowly and patiently so that I understand what she says. Although, the frustrating thing is that she tends to yell when she talks to me and I wish she would realize that I am slow at understanding French and not actually deaf.
Anyway, Stephanie also helped me out and since I was all geared up for the Metro, I went forth. As I sat in the train, I, again, slapped my forehead mentally (I have been doing a lot of that lately). Riding the metro is ridiculously simple; even if you do not speak the language, everything is pretty clear-cut. The trick is to not exit. As long as you stay within the 'couloirs' (corridors) of the station you can go anywhere you want and you can get as lost as you want without being penalized for it. I had a great time trying to find my way around. Even though I had to make a 'correspondance' with the RER (train that goes to the suburbs) and had a hell of a time locating the platform at Gare du Nord (a big metro/RER/bus station) it was not all that bad.
With my horrible direction skills and failure to comprehend maps, I figure if I give myself an hour's time ahead of the planned schedule I can make it anywhere, by the Metro, on time.
Buy a ticket. Feed it to the machine. Take it out. Go through the doors. Voila! You are at the metro.
The metro is France's underground (for the English) or subway (for the Americans). It is fairly easy to use and follows the same rules as other underground trains of other parts of the world. Why it took me 4 days to actually get the guts to use it is beyond me. Coming from Hong Kong, where everybody literally lives in the underground, I should be confidant of my ability to simply purchase a ticket and ride the vehicle. However, since I am such a wuss, especially because I hate going anywhere by myself, I avoided the metro for as long as I could.
Finally, I had to force myself to go on the train. I had to meet with a director of the University's Paris program and there was no other way of getting there unless I wanted to spend almost 40 euros on a cab ride, which I do not have or I would go to restaurant and actually eat something besides bread.
So, I went online and researched the Metro as much as I could. Then I asked the cleaning lady, Anna, for advice on taking the Metro. Anna is a Romanian woman who has lived in Paris for 10 years. She feels for me because she did not know a single word of French when she came to Paris but she learnt. She is very kind to me and speaks slowly and patiently so that I understand what she says. Although, the frustrating thing is that she tends to yell when she talks to me and I wish she would realize that I am slow at understanding French and not actually deaf.
Anyway, Stephanie also helped me out and since I was all geared up for the Metro, I went forth. As I sat in the train, I, again, slapped my forehead mentally (I have been doing a lot of that lately). Riding the metro is ridiculously simple; even if you do not speak the language, everything is pretty clear-cut. The trick is to not exit. As long as you stay within the 'couloirs' (corridors) of the station you can go anywhere you want and you can get as lost as you want without being penalized for it. I had a great time trying to find my way around. Even though I had to make a 'correspondance' with the RER (train that goes to the suburbs) and had a hell of a time locating the platform at Gare du Nord (a big metro/RER/bus station) it was not all that bad.
With my horrible direction skills and failure to comprehend maps, I figure if I give myself an hour's time ahead of the planned schedule I can make it anywhere, by the Metro, on time.
# posted by Mare @ 5:45 AM 
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Hey there,
I'm glad you posted today. I missed it when you didn't post yesterday. Congratulations on stepping into the Metro. You know, I feel like I am due some credit, since I have been trying to make you comfortable with traveling by yourself and using public transportation resources as much as possible. Why else would I never pick you up from the train stations? :P
I'm glad you posted today. I missed it when you didn't post yesterday. Congratulations on stepping into the Metro. You know, I feel like I am due some credit, since I have been trying to make you comfortable with traveling by yourself and using public transportation resources as much as possible. Why else would I never pick you up from the train stations? :P
# posted by 
: 8:18 AM
: 8:18 AM
When I grow up I'm going to be so rich that I will hire people to drive me everywhere so that I won't have to deal with the anxiety of public transportation. Lol.
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