I think that I will have a richer more enjoyable experience in France if I learn the language. Certainly speaking French would make me a better conversationalist at the campgrounds. The day I bought my ticket to France, I also interviewed and hired a French teacher (see below), which gives me a total of 4 weeks to learn some French. Fear not, the make books called Teach Yourself French in 24 hours, recommended by my tutor, Cedric. About Cedric.

How does one find a French teacher. I used Craigslist and found it to be a wonderful resource. I searched the DC area for services with the criteria French lessons. There were hundreds of hits. I skimmed through them and got a basic feel for price. I saw some $25 and some $60 and figured that between $35 and $45 is pretty reasonable. I responded to 10 adds by cc'ing the list to one email:

"I saw your add on Criagslist. I am leaving for France on July 13th to watch the Tour de France. I would like to learn as much French before then (especially as it pertains to cycling). Do you think that you can help me? If yes, please let me know your rates."

Honestly, Cedric was the first to reply. But, his rates were good, he sent me links that he thought I'd find helpful, and he could meet fast and frequent. I committed to one, introductory lesson, and he certainly passed the test. I found working with Cedric to be great. I was lucky. If I were unimpressed, I'd have been forced to #2 of the five or six that replied.

Will I speak French before I go to France? We'll see, I can read some French these days and the vocabulary is slowly coming along. I need to learn some verbs.

July 29, 2007 (follow-up)

I did not land in France speaking fluent French. Nor did I meet with Cedric more than four or five times.

In retrospect I think that it is possible to speak decent French, given a month’s complete dedication to learning the language. Considering my schedule for June/July, I am amazed I even made it to four lessons. Nonetheless, I would highly recommend learning as much French as possible before going to France. First, and most importantly, knowing French makes it possible to get necessary information and perform necessary tasks, such as buying a train ticket or finding a hotel. Second, knowing some French makes the experience more enjoyable because you can communicate with people.

When I got to France I knew about four verbs and a handful of nouns relevant to cycling. I also memorized a few phrases (such as "I am making a bicycle tour along the route of the Tour de France"), which I used with just about everyone I met. Honestly, the odds are pretty good that a Frenchman at the Tour de France will take a liking to someone who traveled around the world to ride his bicycle along the route of the Tour while speaking the virtues of France's most honored sporting tradition. Aside from a few descriptive phrases, I found that the most useful words/phrases in my repertoire were "please", "thank-you", and "I am sorry". Maybe Mom was right.

The fact that I could speak a few words seemed to make a huge difference in how patient a French person was with me. I tried not to forget that I was in France and speaking English should not be expected- I apologized for my atrocious French, rather than waiting for apologies for the French not speaking enough English. I observed some Americans acting to the contrary and they were not received as well as I (for good reason). On the whole I was impressed with the French people that I met. I found the people I met to be kind, patient, and helpful each time I asked them obvious questions in severely-butchered French.