Normally, Nothing is Lost in Translation
“Every sensible and rigorous theory of language shows that a perfect translation is an impossible dream. In spite of this, people translate.” – Umberto Eco, “Experiences in Translation” Now, they tell us, AI will take over translation from people. Tourists in Paris...
Guest Post: How I Learned to Love French Health Care
Thank you so much, Karen Karbo, for letting me repost this piece from Karbohemia Confidential -- AS May 15 marked the four-year anniversary of our move to France, and one sign of our continuing intégration was my willingness to go under the knife. Americans often cite...
Composting the American Way
Is compost about birth or is it about death? This is just one of the questions I have been pondering as I try to adapt to the American way of compost. In Paris, composting your food waste has recently gotten very easy. You put it in a little brown container, walk to...
Dreaming in Italian
To learn a language, you need to learn the culture of the country. I’ve certainly found that to be true with French and France. But when I decided to learn Italian, it all seemed rather intimidating. Unlike in France, Italian cuisine, dialects, traditions and...
Guest Post: A French Easter Egg Hunt
Thank you, Chris O’Brien, for this lovely tale from French Crossroads. The big news in France this week was that I found eggs with white shells. Living abroad means constantly trying to find the right balance between embracing a new culture and holding tight to the...
Garbage In, Garbage Out
During our years in Paris, I've always downplayed France’s frequent strike and demonstrations, especially when I’m asked whether people should cancel their planned trips. No, I say. That’s still true this time around, even though masses of French people are protesting...
For the Love of Gardens
It's getting warm in Paris, after a winter that seemed grayer and colder than usual (with apologies to those experiencing blizzards, flash floods and the like in the U.S.). I love walking around the parks and seeing preparations for the blooming season. Every time I...
The French Are Not Shy About Retiring
There is a genre of French film that rarely crosses the Atlantic but is very popular here. The theme: the hell of the workplace and the nightmare of layoffs. I count at least 15 movies on that topic in the past few decades, most featuring laid-off employees fighting...
A Piece of Childhood Comes Home
One of the few drawbacks of living in Paris is the feeling of being separated from your roots. I don’t mean family, who can almost always visit or be visited. I mean not being in the place where most of my cultural references were formed. Instead, I live where aging...
Down and Out in the City of Light
A beggar, looked at realistically, is simply a businessman, getting his living, like other businessmen, in the way that comes to hand. He has not, more than most modern people, sold his honour; he has merely made the mistake of choosing a trade at which it is...