Post: #1

So I am studying abroad in Paris for 7 1/2 weeks and this first week has just not gone the way I intended. There are 60~ people, but our classes are segregated depending on what we take. I am currently taking a class with only 7 other people and therefore I have hardly met any of the others. In my class I'm really only cool with one girl (who I believe thinks that I am hitting on her), just trying to be social and meet new people here since I know nobody. The other 6 people just aren't that fun, one is a super nerd and she is kind of fat (she's nice, but this is not my personality) and the others are kind of socially inept and really not good looking at all like 4-5ish range.

Then in the other class there are like 50 people who I really have no way of meeting except for this one dude who lives next door to me in my apartment complex. However, I really can't understand if this guy to hang out or not. He will ask me to go get food before we are supposed to go out. Then he leaves and just says he forgot to tell me. This has happened twice now and I am starting to wonder wtf is going on. I'm obviously going to keep trying to chill with this kid and his friends in hopes to meet more of the people from the other group, but damn this shit is annoying. I can't take anymore of this just me exploring or doing other random stuff.

What is your take on the guy and girl?

Post: #2

Im confused is the girl a local or is she another exchange student?

If she is a local then keep building rapor with her and then come the weekend get her number and see if she is going out.

Walk around the school and meet people.

Hit up girls on couchsurfing! Great way to meet ppl and make new friends.

Fuck that dude. Seriously, he "forgot" about you more than once?!? Come on bro.

Bottom line is ur gona have to get off ur ass and approach people and make friends. There is plenty of ppl at ur university. Then you can go out and run street/day game.

Facebook, CouchSurfing.

Get busy!

Post: #3

(06-03-2011 07:53 PM)Dash Global Wrote:  Im confused is the girl a local or is she another exchange student?

If she is a local then keep building rapor with her and then come the weekend get her number and see if she is going out.

Walk around the school and meet people.

Hit up girls on couchsurfing! Great way to meet ppl and make new friends.

Fuck that dude. Seriously, he "forgot" about you more than once?!? Come on bro.

Bottom line is ur gona have to get off ur ass and approach people and make friends. There is plenty of ppl at ur university. Then you can go out and run street/day game.

Facebook, CouchSurfing.

Get busy!

Girl is in the program, she is also from the US. I can't just walk around and meet people, we aren't even at the same school. Our classes are also at different times. As soon as mine end theirs begin. Anyways I just need to meet some people fast before all the bonds are formed.

Post: #4

(06-03-2011 07:36 PM)Horizonz Wrote:  So I am studying abroad in Paris for 7 1/2 weeks and this first week has just not gone the way I intended. There are 60~ people, but our classes are segregated depending on what we take. I am currently taking a class with only 7 other people and therefore I have hardly met any of the others. In my class I'm really only cool with one girl (who I believe thinks that I am hitting on her), just trying to be social and meet new people here since I know nobody. The other 6 people just aren't that fun, one is a super nerd and she is kind of fat (she's nice, but this is not my personality) and the others are kind of socially inept and really not good looking at all like 4-5ish range.

Then in the other class there are like 50 people who I really have no way of meeting except for this one dude who lives next door to me in my apartment complex. However, I really can't understand if this guy to hang out or not. He will ask me to go get food before we are supposed to go out. Then he leaves and just says he forgot to tell me. This has happened twice now and I am starting to wonder wtf is going on. I'm obviously going to keep trying to chill with this kid and his friends in hopes to meet more of the people from the other group, but damn this shit is annoying. I can't take anymore of this just me exploring or doing other random stuff.

What is your take on the guy and girl?

lol this is not what I expected to read when I saw a thread called "Travel/Study Abroad Advice"

When I realized everyone in my Shangahi study abroad program sucked, I hit up facebook and meetup.com and just started meeting random people. I fell in with a clique of locals, Taiwanese, and Chinese-Americans that partied hard and were real cool. It turns out a lot of them had parents that were big swinging dicks in the China real estate development field, and that kicked off my professional network in Shanghai - plus summer internship.

Create yourself social circles outside of the program. Ask people you know from home if they have friends in Paris. Get on meetup.com, linkedin.com, internations.org and start seeeing if there are any cool cats or activities like weekend basketball that you want to do.

I'm sure you will find a cool crew or two that you can hang out with. They will also already be more settled into the city than a bunch of American college students, so you will have an easier way of getting settled fast and building both a social and professional network.

Once you're a month in and you have several different crews outside of the study abroad program, there will inevitably start to be more mixing between the diff segregated groups in your program. At that time, you will be the cool and unique guy who has friends outside of the program and you can invite whoever you want within the program to go hang out with you outside of the program.

Don't go to Paris and only hang out with a bunch of clueless Americans. Strategically build yourself many different crews outside of your study abroad program and use that to your advantage later. The dynamics of the study abroad program are still being figured out, so don't play elementary school playground politics - hit the ground running by forging your own networks outside of the isolated study abroad group. Be the mysterious guy who knows a bunch of Parisians, gets invited to parties that none of the other students know about.

Girls in your study abroad program will start asking questions and want to bang you. I was hooking up with this rich half Shanghainese half Japanese chick who, one day, picked me up from class in her beemer in front of my entire class. After that, a bunch of chicks in the program started to dirty text me. I was also able to selectively choose the cool dudes within the program I wanted to introduce to my new networks.

This empowers you in that you can afford to be pickier with the other American college students, or choose to not hang with them at all if they suck.

Your french will improve if you can find a clique of cool French cats.

A big part of the career hacking strategies I talk about is to build yourself networks. It's not all about cold calling to get jobs. Networks are built organically but you often have to start from scratch.

Look below. Opportunities multiply as they are seized.

Post: #5

One more tip - although it's okay to have one outside clique that is specific to partying, you don't want all of your networks to just be a bunch of drinking buddies you barely know.

As much as possible, try to create the initial bond over shared activities like sports or something. It's a better way to converse, it makes for a more plausible explanation later on about how you met, and it's an immediate way to build rapport and have a reason to meet up again.

If you have a really cool clique that has some dough, go on weekend excursions to Amsterdam and get blazed out of your mind and go clubbing. Go on these trips, take a lot of photos and videos, and meet their friends in the Netherlands/Belgium/Swiss/Italy/Spain. Boom - now you have a tight circle of friends in Paris and have a shared experience with them.

There is a language exchange program on meetup.com somewhere. I remember there being a bunch of old dudes, some cool young cats, and a bunch of hot international chicks.

Post: #6

Couchsurfing is okay. I never really felt couichsurfing, to be honest.

If couchsurfing is a toyota, then internations.org is a lexus. The connectiosn you make through that site will be more powerful and will get you farther.

Post: #7

Forget other tourists. (unless their hot ovcourse, even still they need to be the fall back option)

Focus on meeting LOCALS.

Its Paris, so id imagine alot of young ppl speak plausible english.

Post: #8

Thanks a lot for the links/advice, greatly appreciated.

Post: #9

why waste your time on an american girl when in france? when i studied abroad i used the US girls/male friends as a ways to meet foreign girls while out. just get a wingman or 2 and hit up the clubs.

Post: #10

Yea this is also true. Parisian chicks are hot as hell.

I would definitely live in Paris if I had more dough.

Post: #11

(06-03-2011 08:21 PM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:  Couchsurfing is okay. I never really felt couichsurfing, to be honest.

If couchsurfing is a toyota, then internations.org is a lexus. The connectiosn you make through that site will be more powerful and will get you farther.

I'd never heard of internations before but I just had a look at it seems geared more towards people looking to find work and business contacts in a country rather than just meeting cool locals to hang out and party with which is what couchsurf is basically about. You seem to look at everything from a business / financial prospective but most people aren't travelling for that purpose. Couchsurfing is incredible, it'll give you endless memories and new experiences.

Post: #12

Youngmobileglobal that was some real talk, yeah i agree with you that couchsurfing sucks, most of people on it are very weird.

I also got invited by a friend to join linkedin..do you mind if you tell me what is linkedin all about and what type of people should i expect meet on it?

Post: #13

(06-05-2011 08:19 AM)pitt Wrote:  Youngmobileglobal that was some real talk, yeah i agree with you that couchsurfing sucks, most of people on it are very weird.

I also got invited by a friend to join linkedin..do you mind if you tell me what is linkedin all about and what type of people should i expect meet on it?

Linkedin is like facebook for companies and people with careers.

You can do a lot of career and business related networking on it. I've gotten job interviews from linkedin before.

It is also a really good means of getting recruiters to keep in touch with you. I'm not looking for jobs anymore but I still get asked if I"m looking for analyst positions in China and NY.

I've had some good experiences with couchsurfing, but for the most part I've gotten more value out of other online communities when it comes to building a social network out of scratch.

One thing that couchsurfing is good for, I guess, is that you can join activity groups and forums and meet people that way. Then again, you can do that with pretty much any of the other groups listed earlier as well. Obviously it's great that you can get the free housing. I've done this on one occasion.

I like internations. I've met many interesting people through that site and not only in the context of careers or business.

It is possible to have amazing life experiences and friendships with people on any given website or community you join. Even if a site is geared toward a certain purpose, like internations for careers, the community still consists of people who are interested in meeting other people. You can meet someone through a career/business site and go partying with them. Conversely, you can meet people on rooshvforum, which is mostly geared towards pickup and travel, and do business. I am working on a project with someone from rooshv right now.

Career/Business networking and partying are not mutually exclusive. Often, they go hand in hand. Also not mutually exclusive to biz/career is acquiring incredible life experience and friendships.

Non-Career / Non-Business related things I have done with people I've met on internations:

-Trekking at Tiger Leaping Gorge in Yunnan

-Interview for my blog turned into a fling in Lyon, went to fete de lumiere and had an unforgettable night with my first French girl

-Paul Van Dyk concert, Shanghai

-3 day electronica festival, Beijing

-Watched world cup and partied while I was in Phuket

-Language exchange, Paris

-Language exchange, Seoul

-Language exchange, Beijing

-Language exchange, Shanghai

-Clubbing, barhopping, house parties, aperos, festivals.....goes on and on

I had the added benefit of getting job interviews and expanding my business network while doing all of these things.

Thank you Gringo, for giving me the opportunity to clarify your point that I am business and career focused. I focus on business and career perspectives because that is my area of expertise and the main way I can contribute to this forum. When I have ideas I try to add value by giving suggestions to people.

Post: #14

Quote:most of people on it are very weird.

They are really not based on the hundreds of people I've met from CS. Plenty of perfectly 'normal' people on it.

Post: #15

Yeah, CS people are friendly and open minded for the most part.

Pitt, do you have any funny stories about CS people you've met?

Post: #16

You shouldn't need to rely on your study abroad program to get laid. Approach on your university campus during the day (seriously this is the easiest fucking approach in the world, just look confused and ask for help with directions or translating something), go out 4-5 nights a week minimum, and learn how the game is played in your city. 7 1/2 weeks is more than enough time to adapt to the local culture and be able to pull without having to rely on a prepackaged social circle. Besides, if you make friends with locals you'll learn more French than if you had stayed in your little study abroad student bubble.

Post: #17

Quote:do you have any funny stories about CS people you've met?

It's led to lots of great / hilarious times for me, tons of sex too.

Post: #18

Seriously, do not waste time on the American girls or any that give you the cold shoulder. Some of them can be immature, confused and might be looking for something different. Cut to the chase and remember your objectives (travel, knowledge & pie).

In Melbourne, AU I met this American gal who was doing a semester of study abroad and after several hours in a tour of the Twelve Apostles I got tired of the hard-to-get vibes; I stopped giving her any attention and went after a smoking Japanese babe and a German babe who were both giving me positive vibes. The German chick was studying at Darwin U. doing an MBA. I picked the German chick because she gave me the best vibe for success and her English was good. Took what was guranteed.
Lot of options to get sideline game while studying abroad.