I give you Le Blagueur à Paris, who is — wait for it — an American in Paris. So far, she’s on quite a roll. No cushy professor job or anything but she’s struggling with her French too so we’ve got that going. She’s also quite ahead of me in introducing readers to various things …
Category Archives: Francais
Passing When I Don’t Want To
As an English-speaking white person, I’m often mistaken for a Canadian. This happens to me on the phone as well as in person, and it’s been particularly acute in the last couple weeks (doctors’ appointments plus random calls here and there). As with any other country, there is all sorts of tacit knowledge you have …
Just like Bono Said It Would Be + My First Bilingual Wedding
There we were on Sunday watching the world cup and the tension during the overtime was palpable. Not just because the score was tied, but because we had a wedding to attend. At the end of the first overtime, I set the digital video recorder to capture the rest of the game, even if it …
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Yesterday
was a hot and unpleasant day, to be sure (1), but also a wonderful Montreal summer day in many ways. I wrote a little, I had a French lesson where I got my head around indefinate pronouns, I strummed my acoustic bass guitar for a good hour, I did some self-care around the house, and …
With Apologies to Susan Buck-Morss
Remember in the late 80s and early 90s when everyone was making a big deal about the flaneur? Article after artice that looked for similarities between the shopping mall and Benjamin’s (even then) nostalgic vision of the Paris arcades? I saw this sign today in the underground city, which is a giant, interconnected web of …