Sedulia

LATEST ARTICLES ( 315 )

• Anomalies of French Life: the Cigarette Voice

  Journalists Isaure du Fretay and Jean-Pierre Gaillard. J-P starts talking at about 0:12 It took me a while to figure out why French radio authority figures... Read more

  Posted on 11 May 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT

• Walk Or Die

  

  The days are getting long in Paris. It doesn't get dark till 9:30 or later, and the joggers are out even though we have been having lots of rain after a long dr... Read more

  Posted on 09 May 2012 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Chagrin D'amour

  

  I am going away for the long weekend, and I stopped by a local shop to get a present for my hosts. A mother and her daughter run it, and while I was there the... Read more

  Posted on 04 May 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• The Defender of the République

  

  It wasn't as bad as this. In the last couple of months we have had three dégâts des eaux, and the ceiling, the front hall and the bathroom and several walls... Read more

  Posted on 25 April 2012 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Bus Driver is a Bonjouriste

  

  A white-haired couple got on the bus just in front of me. I was the last one in line, climbed in, and said "Bonjour Monsieur" to the driver, a black man in his... Read more

  Posted on 22 April 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• You Can Tell Which French Presidential Candidate My Neighborhood is Voting for

  

  Can you guess which arrondissement this is? Read more

  Posted on 21 April 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Paris Moving Truck

  

  This is a common sight in Paris. Even though the grand apartments have high ceilings, ornate moldings, gilt-and-marble fireplaces, and huge windows, most of... Read more

  Posted on 19 April 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Les Présidentielles in France

  

  The campaign posters are up near a local polling site. This weekend, on Sunday April 22nd, the French will go to the polls to vote for their candidates. Read more

  Posted on 19 April 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, POLITICS, SELF EXPRESSION, SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• The Usual Chaos: Truck in the Street

  

  Typical Paris scene this morning. A huge double-remorque truck blocks the street, parking in the middle. The men are unloading it up a ramp into an apartment... Read more

  Posted on 13 April 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• The (lack Of) Precision of the French Language

  

  "On dit souvent," said a woman next to me at lunch, "that the French language is the best for diplomacy because it is the most precise language." She smiled at... Read more

  Posted on 12 April 2012 EXPAT, LANGUAGES, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Mohammed and Me

  

  "No lait frais?" I must have made a face. I don't like the boxed UHT milk that most French people still seem to prefer, and I drink fresh milk with my coffee... Read more

  Posted on 05 April 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• The Disappearing Nous

  

  When I was studying French as a child in Louisiana, we learned the regular verbs: j'aime, écoute, mange nous aimons, écoutons, mangeons [we love, listen, eat] t... Read more

  Posted on 03 April 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, LANGUAGES, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Anomalies of French Life: the Carte De Visite

  

  Not that I hang out with apostolic protonotaries -- this was just the best example I could find online of a French carte de visite. You might think that this... Read more

  Posted on 02 April 2012 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• French Grandparents

  

  While I'm sure most grandparents love their grandchildren, French grandparents just seem to see a lot more of them. France is a small country, people don't... Read more

  Posted on 28 March 2012 EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Free Champagne

  

  Juliette, a pretty blond girl I know, was laughing with a group of friends and I eavesdropped. She had served champagne to her friends the night before at her... Read more

  Posted on 27 March 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• The Boulevard Des Allongés

  

  "Yes, we will certainly meet on the boulevard des Allongés, if nowhere else," someone said at lunch. "Where is that?" I asked. I thought I was familiar with... Read more

  Posted on 25 March 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• The Rigid Gardens of Paris

  

  Jardin de Luxembourg, Paris Hurrying to get somewhere yesterday, I took the time to walk through a pretty garden on the way. It is a long skinny one along a... Read more

  Posted on 22 March 2012 EXPAT, GARDENING, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• La Vache Qui Rit Runs for Président De La République

  

  If you're on Facebook, you might like to "Like" La Vache qui rit [Laughing Cow], the Elsie the Cow of France. She's running for President! The site is full of... Read more

  Posted on 21 March 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• Le Divorce at the Butcher Shop

  

  I stopped at the butcher shop on the way home to get something I wouldn't have to cook-- tonight it was lasagna. The woman at the boucherie is always very... Read more

  Posted on 20 March 2012 CULTURE, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION, TRAVEL

• The Dreaded Dégât Des Eaux [water Damage]

  

  The building I live in is more than a hundred years old, like most Parisian buildings. Although it looks elegant from the outside, and even from the inside,... Read more

  Posted on 17 March 2012 SELF EXPRESSION