The French do not share the Middle American distaste for New York City. The mention of New York in a conversation will instantly call up coos of admiration and envy from those who have visited or those unfortunates who have never yet had the privilege of acquaintance with the Grosse Pomme.
A girl I know just got a coveted internship in New York City for the summer. She is very excited because she's never been to the U.S. and it was her dream to work in New York. She can't afford Manhattan rents and is living way up in Bronxville, and I hope that the commute doesn't put a dent in her enthusiasm. She also smokes and will find out the hard way about that....
Her friends put together a travel kit for her. She was already wearing the stars-and-stripes scarf when this photo was taken (notice the U.K. flag on the bottom. In France, this is often used as an abbreviation for "English," which really annoys me)!
with a few things from home in case she feels homesick:
To wind up the evening she posed in her new U.S. flag scarf, pointing up at McDonald's, beaming.
