the view from Auvers-sur-Oise, death-place of Van GoghHey everybody! My name is Sam, and I am concentrating in children’s literature and bilingualism. I want to be a book editor, but I’m also really interested in translation, phonetics, and bilingualism. I am originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, but I consider New York to be home. This is actually my second semester studying in Paris, so I’ve already settled in to my life here, but I’m looking forward to all kinds of new adventures this semester… Highlights from last year were ice-skating in Champagne (the region not the beverage), discovering a funky South-African bar and befriending the bartender, visiting ancient cave paintings in Bourgogne with a super enthusiastic French archeologist, a snowball fight in Strasbourg, random French people, and officially deciding to call myself fluent. This semester, I am very excited to be starting an internship at Le Seuil, a French publishing house, where I will be working in the foreign rights department. I live with a really awesome French family, with three kids (19, 24, and 26) who all still live at home. I love to hang out and chat with them, and they feed me fabulous home-cooked French meals, which I am pleased to report have never included frogs, snails, or raw hamburger. I just went to the first session of one of my classes at the University of Paris VII and fell in love with my adorable Korean/Greek/French trilingual linguistics teacher, but as most of the French university system just went on strike, it may be a while before classes resume. The “grève”, or strike/protest/general refusal to work, is a cherished and revered part of French heritage. This is my first experience of a university shut-down. They are fairly common, but I believe this one was started by the teachers rather than the students, so it is a bit unusual. I have chosen to read The Flâneur by Edmund White because it sounded like it would have descriptions of cool, new, off-the-beaten-path places to visit in Paris. I am as yet undecided on the second book, but I was wondering if I could substitute From Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik instead of one of the other books on the suggested list… I’m really looking forward to hearing from all of you and reading about your experiences abroad! À bientôt! Bisoux
Location
how's the greve going?
Hi Sam,
Hope the strike is over and things are back to normal. Just wanted to let you know that Gopnik's From Paris to the Moon is fine, and it is actually on the suggested list. Haven't read it myself, though, so I'll be curious to hear about. The White book has gotten good reviews from other students, so hopefully you'll enjoy that one too. Have fun.—Steve