Les amis en France

French has a lot of words; words with two meanings, words that mean the same thing, words that you say to your friends but not your teachers, words that you say to your teachers but not your friends. I would assert that there is no more useful/socially enabling word (in this case, phrase) than “Ça roule.” This golden phrase translates as “That works”, (or as I prefer, “Yeah homie, I can roll with that”, since it is an informal expression). When I arrived here in Grenoble, I was smacked with the sobering truth that French people were not going to come find me and befriend me. In the U.S., I already had a tight-knit group of friends assembled. However, they are currently several thousand miles away. Therefore, I had to venture out into the world and put forth an effort to find some people with whom I could practice my French.

It was at this point that the golden phrase came into play. I was waiting in the train station for an outbound train to Valence, when I saw a girl sitting at the train station piano (take notes America) playing “Hit the Road Jack” by Ray Charles. I asked her if I could play with her, and she replied, “Oui, ça roule.” I sat down and she played the base chords while I soloed in the upper registers. Afterwards she told me her name was Tamara, and asked if I could give her English lessons through Skype. (Side note: everybody wants English lessons here, it’s a great way to meet people!) She proposed an exchange of language lessons: English for her and French for me, to which I responded, “Ça roule.”

The purpose of this anecdote is twofold; first, to show that it is essential to go with the flow when in a new environment in order to make friends, and secondly to prove to my extended family that I am, in fact, socially functional on some level. In the U.S. and in anglophone countries, it is so much easier to meet people, since there is no language barrier. You don’t have to make a special effort to meet people because you both speak the same orthographic nightmare of a language (English). Additionally, when you are introduced to a new environment, everyone already has a fairly rigid social circle established. Therefore you must accept every opportunity to wriggle your way into said circle, even if that means saying “Ça roule” in response to literally every suggestion, as though it is the extent of your French vocabulary.

The concept of a social life during a study abroad trip is a bit misleading; you are here for a few months, and then you return home. Often there is little to no chance of returning to your study abroad location, resulting in the termination of those precious few friendships that you eked out of those difficult social situations by saying “Ça roule.” While my experience in France may be fleeting, I know that, if nothing else, making friends with native speakers will benefit my competency in French immensely. By living each day as if I would stay here for several years, as opposed to several months, it is much easier to meet new people. My advice to those having difficulty making friends in another country is to give everything a try. By making yourself available, you show others that you are willing to step out of your comfort zone in order to spend time with them. Excursion to a neighboring city with a classmate? Rock climbing class with other Grenoble residents? Greek dance lessons with a new friend? Ça roule, ça roule, ça roule.

-Peter