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Memories of Paris

Written on September 28, 2009 – 7:28 am by admin

When I was around 11 (which seems like a lifetime ago in some ways and just yesterday in others) I experienced my very first trip abroad. Back then there were not the modern options of travel from the UK to France such as the channel tunnel and unless you were rich flying was out of the question for a family and so we went by car.

I have always loved traveling by car – even back then – so for me it was quite an adventure. Having driven to Dover (well, my father did anyway lol) we went on a car ferry to Calais and then the adventure started in earnest.

We were on the opposite side of the road of course (the UK drives on the left) so that was very different. Everything seemed so different, which is quite amazing when you think about it as France is only a few miles from the UK, but different it was. Read the rest of this entry »

Categories: Childhood, Travel | Tags: , , , , , | No Responses

An American Ex-Pat in France: The After by Nicole Miller

Written on August 8, 2009 – 9:35 am by Charis

This is a guest post written by one of my favorite bloggers, Nicole Miller.  It is always interesting to read her thoughts and to see what her day-to-day life is like in France.  Thank you for sharing, Nicole. Enjoy!

The After

Living in a second language and a foreign culture is an endless approximation.  A mathematical formula I can’t quite get right, despite years of trying.  I have navigated, negotiated, and narrated my life through the structured flow chart of French, la forme, for the past 11 years.  Le fond, the depth – the guts – all of that remains American.

The good news is, on a daily basis, I fit in.  I am not identified on the street as American and my accent is rarely heard.  The bad (or is it?) news is, I am still foreign here, other.  There are moments, both for them and for me, when it is clear, on the surface at least, that we simply cannot understand each other, despite accurate syntax and appropriate vocabulary. Read the rest of this entry »

Categories: Adulthood, Everything Else, Memories, Travel | Tags: , | No Responses