Hawaiians living in Paris need help
 

aloha...my inlaws are living in Paris for
18 months and are having a difficult time.
As Hawaiians, born and raised in the land of Aloha...they are in search of either Americans living in Paris or nice Parisians
who are willing to befriend them...they are
awesome, kind wonderful talented people, my mother-in-law is a former miss Hawaii and they are serving a missionary assignment. they are very open minded (they have a gay daughter) and want to experience the best of France, make a few friends.

any suggestions as to American social events or calenders? They do not drink or smoke but otherwise are very modern.

mahalo,
their concerned daughter-in-law
kai

I don't have any idea what all these 'non-smoking, "modern", talented ex-beauty queen' details will get you in the way of info - but I do know you've posted this twice . . . . .

Friends of mine who lived in Paris say the American Church in Paris is a wonderful resource for expats. It's on the Quai d'Orsay is all I know about it.

Aloha

Not sure the link below will help. Are they Mormons?

http://www.acparis.org/

How long have your in-laws been there? While I understand the difficulty in adjusting to a new country, culture, etc., it seems to me that if your in-laws are on a missionary assignment there would be things going on related to their assignment that would help them get better acquainted with their surroundings and feel more at home in Paris. I'm assuming they are missionaries under the direction of a specific church and have a local congregation in Paris to fold into. My aunt and uncle did something similar for 18 months in Vienna and found themselves so busy that before too long they felt very much part of life in Vienna. At the end of their 18-month assignment they fell in love with the people and the city so much that they did not want to leave. Perhaps I'm mistaken this assignment is more open-ended and self-directed? What are their interests? What do they like to do? Finding things to do that normally suit their interests might naturally lead them to friendly associations. If they’re missionaries without specific service assignments it might be good for them to seek out service opportunities. I can’t think of a better way to find camaraderie with those around you than serving them. Otherwise maybe they just need to give it more time. If they’re not French speakers, taking French classes would also be a great idea. I would also hope that in going to Paris for 18 months they hadn't intended on only socializing with Americans. Why go to Paris then?

As with any new city I'd suggest joining some activities or clubs (gardening, cooking, sewing, reading, whatever). Also consulting the local calendar of arts events and going to free concerts in the park and things like that. Taking French classes if they don't speak the language would be an excellent use of their time and a way to meet other non-locals.

While in Paris with Students on a langauge trip we met up with a woman from a city near ours (detroit)who was in Paris doing missionary work. She was lonely and was very home sick. And according to Her, She wasn't having much luck on the converting thing either. That was the beginning of her story to the Students meaning stay strong in Christ and so forth. Because now She was very happy, was loving the fact that she could shop everyday for fresh food to prepare for dinner and that she had made lots of new friends in Paris. And was doing better in the conversion thing.

I could get her address and maybe we could make some arrangements of them emailing one another for possible meeting up. After all, no matter how far Hawaii is from Detroit, They are Americans with a common goal and I'm sure they'll hit it off. People from Detroit are Friendly and Open.

The Missionary asked Us to bring her pumpkin pie mix in the can and peanut butter. I guess PB is hard to find in Paris, and She made Pumpkin pie for some elderly people she made friends with in her apartment building, and they went nuts over it. I got a huge kick out of her story.

janisj, play nice! Sometimes you have to say things twice to get the message across.

The American University in Paris might be a source for information. My parents actually stayed there in the dorm rooms during the summer one year.
You meet other people from all over the world who can be good resources and give advice.

why would someone "mock" divediva's request?

http://www.woac.net/bloom/bloom.shtml
Women's Club of the American Church in Paris and its program to help Americans in Paris

I'm told that WICE (www.wice-paris.org) and the American Women's Group (www.awgparis.org) are good resources.

Now, this isn't meant in any way to be judgmental. I'm sincerely curious, and this is something I wasn't aware of. Who is sending missionaires to Paris when there are so many places in the world where there is a need?

I think if your in-laws become involved in some activities that interest them, they will meet some like-minded people. Paris is a wonderful city, and I hope they will adjust and become happy.

I used to live in Paris and found the following magazine/website really helpful...

FUSAC distributes weekly magazines with American (English-speaking) references. You can pick one up at various spots, but I always got mine at the Columbus Cafe coffee chain.

http://www.fusac.fr/en/

Hope this helps.

mahalo to all your suggestions....

my intent on this post was to help my
inlaws find not only american contacts
but French people open to making aquaintence with wonderful amazing Hawaiians. I know they have been having a very difficult time finding a long term place to rent...they have encountered not so nice Parisians who said they would not rent to americans.
The are Mormon missionaries...there in Paris to assist the young kids who are on their first missions. Yes they have fellow Mormons as contacts but they really want to enjoy the French culture...not just hanging out with Americans.
I only wrote about the non drinking and non smoking because they would not be interested in social clubs where they would encounter such. My motherinlaw is
taking French, enjoying it and trying
her best to converse, hopefully this will be beneficial as well. the details were just to add "color" so as to not make them seem prudish. they are wonderful and I am just trying to help them (they dont even know i made this post.)

aloha
kai

divediva,

It is great that your mother-in-law is learning French. I think she will find that people really appreciate it when someone makes an effort to speak the language.

Sorry to hear about the experience with renting an apartment. This does happen. People are very cautious when renting, because it is VERY hard to evict someone. I have heard all sorts of horror stories.

As far as the social clubs mentioned, I'm sure there are many events that don't include smoking and drinking. Just avoid the wine tastings. :-)

This should be a wonderful experience for them. Sometimes it just takes a little time to adjust to a new experience.

thanks again for the encouragement and information. This is their 3rd week, still adjusting and looking forward to getting a place of their own. I just looked on craigslist for paris apts for rent...this might help them too.
any other rental agencies that might help?

Try www.explorimmo.com and www.pap.fr. They are in French, but explorimmo has pictures (pap does sometimes). Craig's List seems to have more short-term rentals. I'm not sure about this, but there might be something on the bulletin board at the American Church.

Divediva, could your in-laws solicit the help of the ward/branch members in Paris, or their mission president, especially where finding a place to live is concerned? That seems like something those people could help with. I'm sure the lack of housing is not helping them feel happy and adjusted to their new surroundings. Once they get their housing arrangements sorted out (I wish I had specific advice here, but I don't), things will start to fall into place otherwise. It will just take some time. As I said before I also really think finding ways to serve will build relationships quicker than anything--I am sure the ward/branch and/or mission president can help with finding such opportunities. Bravo to them for taking French classes--that will go a long way! I also think reaching out to other faiths, i.e. American Church as suggested, is an excellent way to find a place in a community. Good luck to them!