Tag: travel

Traveling by train

I didn’t budget train trips in my summer experience. I didn’t think I’d do a lot of traveling as I would not have time, but then, I am too restless to stay in one place. Weekend trips and short getaways became very common.

In France, it is easy to travel as long as you have money. Foreigners can easily rent a car, which is a bit pricey, but provides more flexibility. Then, there are buses (like FlixBus, Europe’s biggest bus operator), and trains. The trains are especially efficient because they are faster than buses (super speedy), have lots of direct routes with shortest connections, and provide wonderful comfort.

The problem is that trains are expensive. Very expensive. A trip in a high-speed train that covers around 300 kilometers costs around 100 Euros. Smaller trains are cheaper, but expect to pay something around 50 Euros for a one-way ticket. There are also short-distance trains, where cost would vary from around 5 to 10 euros.

Working on an empty-ish train

Sometimes train workers go on strike. So be aware of that, too. An expensive ticket does not guarantee that the train will show up. The train workers are efficient and transparent, so they inform about strikes in advance – and you can play your journey in-between train interruptions.

Ukrainian citizens are allowed to travel on some trains for free. This is because of Russian invasion into Ukraine, and the help that the French government is providing to Ukrainian citizens. Not every municipality or a community is aware of that, but it is possible to get free tickets when you know your rights.

I got myself two free train tickets this way. I didn’t care about the destination too much as long as I got to enjoy the view as I went. I figured that as long as I get to see something new, I can go anywhere.

I visited Nantes, Paris, and Strasbourg this way. For some tickets, I decided to pay (I felt awkward getting free tickets) – but I was happy  I saved up some money on the two tickets I got with my passport.

There are lots of train discounts for students in France. If you are younger than 26, you pay only a small fraction of the price, which makes travels much more affordable. For people who plan to stay in France for a very long time, there is an option to purchase a long-term train ticket which allows you to travel on a certain route for less money. Overall, there are many options.

I encourage people to do small or longer trips if they can. There is something about the train, its typical noise and movements that makes the experience so memorable.

Getting ready for France: Thinking of languages

Language is fascinating. It has always excited and interested me. It is not only about different sounds and melodies we make with our words, but also about the way we think and see the world.

When I, as an adult, started learning foreign languages, I realized how many things different native speakers have in common. For example, there are phrases which are very difficult to translate from one language to another. However, sometimes languages which lave little in common share the same phrases and follow the same logic. I experienced this as I was mastering Spanish a few years ago, and I am seeing this now as I am working on my French.

My experience is limited to the languages which originated in Europe. My mother tongue is Ukrainian, and I speak English, Spanish, and, somewhat flawed, French. The languages I speak are quite close geographically, but they are not that similar. They show me how diverse my home region is, and how diverse the world is as humanity managed to produce such different and rich ways of communication.

When I started learning French, I could not help but notice that even though it was a Romance language with a heavy connection to Latin, it still made a lot of sense to me as someone with a Slavic language background. But then, very often, it didn’t make any sense. I understood why the French had different “you-s” when speaking to different people, but I couldn’t understand the logic behind many of their tenses. So, language learning was always a culture learning for me; it made me see how studying foreign words helps you understand the reasoning behind them and fill the gaps that were missing.

France as I remember it. Central Paris. Photo by JOHN TOWNER on Unsplash

I have been to France many times before, but I have always used English to communicate with people. This time, I hope to use my French despite the many mistakes I am certain I will make. The good thing about me as a language learner is that I am never shy to speak the language however wrong I may sound.

I hope to be corrected by the French, and I hope to be able to pick up some of the sounds and phrases from them as well as get insights into their culture, local life, and society not as a mere foreigner, but as someone who is genuinely curious and invested in digging deeper. My previous experience in France – and the fact that I am from Europe – gives me confidence and comfort about my time there. But I am ready to shatter a lot of stereotypes that I may unconsciously have, and I hope to pick up some street conversations and other things that can only be appreciated when interacting with people in the comfort of their native land and language.

I want to take my time in France to learn the language not only via school, but also through going to community events, movie theaters, social gatherings, and other experiences which make you feel like you belong – to the language, and to the culture, too. I am already watching French movies and listening to French podcasts, and they give me a lot of insights into France as its own universe. The movies and podcasts are made for the French, so sometimes, I don’t only lack the vocabulary to understand the words, but also the cultural context. My goal with this summer experience is to see whether I can fill in some of the missing gaps, and whether my cultural knowledge will improve as much as my vocabulary – or even more.

I hope this will be a fun yet challenging experience because I know that languages are not easy. They require our time, love, and care so we can fully appreciate the power of communication that they give us – and the power to open new universes.