This is one for the biographers, both current and aspiring…

Today, May 16, is Biographer’s Day. Why May 16? Because that is the anniversary of the day biographer James Boswell met for the first time with author Samuel Johnson to begin composing what is widely considered to be the greatest biography ever written. In fact, it wasn’t until Boswell published his Life of Samuel Johnson in 1791 that the modern biographical genre even came into existence. Prior to Boswell’s 1763 meeting with Johnson in a London bookshop, biographical conventions were quite different, and biographies held little of the popularity they have today. Boswell’s work, with its extensive detail and almost conversational style, served as a major stepping stone in developing modern biographical conventions.

So now, the language world sets aside May 16 to celebrate both James Boswell and all the biographers who have come since. Today is a wonderful day to start reading a biography (perhaps Life of Samuel Johnson?) or, better yet, to start writing one. And if you have a biography, autobiography, or memoir in need of editing, let me know today and I’ll edit the first chapter free!

Happy Biographer’s Day!

Hello fellow lovers of language!

Today begins the month of May, which is, incidentally, Get Caught Reading Month. Now, I know the Get Caught Reading program was designed to encourage K-12 students to read, but I contend that everyone, regardless of age, should make a point to read as much as possible. I admit that my position on this issue is somewhat biased. As a former librarian and current editor, books have long been a central part of my life. Libraries and bookstores are my happy places. Reading has always been my favorite hobby. I carry my Kindle with me everywhere I go. And yet it’s still so easy to get distracted with other activities and not read as much as I would like to, and probably not as much as I should.

Now, if you’re anything like me, you’ve got a list a mile long of books you’d like to read someday when you’ve got the time. Even being as blessed as I am to read as part of my job, I still cannot find enough hours to explore all the literary worlds I’d like to. There are classics I have still not read, ones I’m ashamed to admit I’ve made it this far in life without experiencing (Great Expectations and The Catcher in the Rye come to mind). I have yet to crack open John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars or Helen Oyeyemi’s Boy, Snow, Bird or any other great new book this year (except for those I’ve edited, of course). And every time I choose something else over reading, I’m cheating myself.

Because books teach us how to be human. Or, at least, the ones worth reading do. A book doesn’t have to be great literature to help us learn something about ourselves and our humanity; it just has to communicate its message to its reader. Books serve as our practice for the real world. They model examples of human interaction and show us how different approaches to all manner of scenarios can play out. They inform and even create our shared experience as people living on this planet. Why do we need to read books? Because they give meaning to everything else we do and make us better people in the process.

And if that’s not enough to convince you of the value of reading, here’s a little secret for all you writers out there: Reading is the single best way to become a better writer. Today’s best authors are the ones who have read extensively themselves. The writers of those classics we still read today, hundreds of years after their initial publication, read the works of authors who came before them. Pick up almost any good book and you’ll find at least one allusion to another good book. Perhaps those great authors are onto something. Perhaps we should all read to inspire ourselves, to be better at whatever it is we’re doing.

I hope you’ll join me this month in recommitting yourself to getting caught reading. I promise you won’t be sorry!

In which I take a trip out of Paris to Italy…

Ciao all!

I didn’t know until I spent my week in Italy that “ciao” means both hello and goodbye. I got so confused; I didn’t understand why shopkeepers kept telling me goodbye before I’d said anything to them!

I got home late yesterday night from a fantastic week in Rome and Assisi. It was a welcome break after my midterms last week. I traveled on my own, which meant that, although it was scary trying to figure out how to get places (since I have no sense of direction), I got the chance to meet so many fascinating people from all over the world. I started my journey last Saturday morning, when I flew from Paris to Rome. In the airport, I met another American girl studying abroad (her name was Ginger) who was on her way to Rome to meet some friends for her spring break. After landing in Rome and finding my hostel, I went to the bistro next door for dinner. I ordered grilled sea bass, but I didn’t realize when I ordered that I would be getting an entire fish: scales, head, bones, and all. As it turns out, that’s how fish is served in Europe. Once I figured out how to get the meat out, it was fantastic. But what a shock to look down and see a whole fish on my plate!

The next day (Palm Sunday), I took a tour of the major sites in Rome. It was amazing to see things that pre-date Christ, especially since so many of them are still standing! The tour I took was run by the hostel, so it was geared toward people my age, which made it one of the best tours I’ve ever taken. There were only four of us taking the tour, all study-abroad girls on spring break. I really connected with two of them, a pair of friends who are studying in London. We exchanged contact info and hugs at the end of the tour (which the four of us extended by going inside the Colosseum and visiting the Trevi fountain). I’m hoping to meet up with them when I go back to London in May. We’ll see if it works out.

Monday, I visited the Vatican, the most religious country in the world (yes, the Vatican is its own country!). I saw the part of the museum and the Sistine Chapel. The Chapel ceiling was amazing, and I am glad to have seen it. That afternoon, I took a train to Assisi, arriving late in the evening, so I didn’t go up into the town (which is on a high hill) until Tuesday morning. Oh my goodness! It was so beautiful, and the countless viewpoints in Assisi were breathtaking. I spent most of the day walking around, visiting the many churches and souvenir shops (really, I think there were more in Assisi than in Rome). At the hostel that night, I met some more really nice people, including a former school librarian from Michigan, on his retirement trip. I also spent some time speaking with a man from Belgium who has lived in Assisi for four months and one of the women who works at the hostel. The three of us spoke French, and they both told me that I spoke it well, so I must be making some progress!

Wednesday morning, two of my new friends and I shared a taxi up to the hermitage where St. Francis and some other monks secluded themselves. I was so glad we didn’t try to walk up, especially considering that it took us an hour to walk back down! It was so beautiful and peaceful up in those mountains, and again, the views were incredible. It was a wonderful place to go during Holy Week. Assisi as a whole was a wonderful place to be during Holy Week, because it has so many beautiful churches and general areas to sit and reflect and pray.

Anyway, on Friday (Good Friday), I met three Italian people at dinner. We spoke in a mixture of French, English, and Italian, which was a fun experience for me. I felt very cosmopolitan! After we ate, the four of us went together to see the procession, which takes place every Good Friday at dusk. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, with all the nuns and monks of Assisi walking, interspersed with hooded men carrying crosses for penance (for the whole three hours of the procession). They were followed by the rest of the town’s population and anyone else who felt like joining in. The city was only lit by torchlight, which created a truly amazing atmosphere. It was as though we were back several hundred years ago, with the architecture being the same as it was and no signs of technology for that night.

Yesterday (Easter) was my travel-back-to-Paris day, which involved a whopping 14 hours of travel time. I left the hostel in the morning, then went bus to train station, train to Rome, bus to airport, airplane to Paris, bus to Paris city proper, metro to home. Whew! It was quite a day! I arrived back home late Easter night. It was nice to be the only one in the room after spending a week sleeping with strangers. And it’s good to be home. I realized as the plane was landing yesterday that Paris has become “home” for me. After three months (I left San Diego three months ago today, actually), that was nice to know!

Classes start again tomorrow, and then on Sunday, my grandparents are coming to visit for 10 days! It should be fun!

Until then, Happy Easter (a day late) and have a wonderful week!

In which the sun consents to appear…

Well, I can now officially attest that Paris is completely different in the spring. Last Sunday was the first warm day we’ve had, followed by another one on Monday. The sun was shining, flowers were blooming, I heard birds chirping, and everyone was much happier. Amazing how the weather affects people’s moods! Anyway, while it hasn’t stayed as warm as it was those two days, it has definitely been much nicer weather. I’ve finally been able to shed my winter coat and boots and start moving into (gasp) sweaters and “spring shoes.” That may not seem like such a big deal, but it’s huge for a Californian girl who isn’t used to having winter for more than a week. It’s a joyous occasion indeed to see the sun!

Most of my time since I last wrote has been spent doing schoolwork or going to class. I’ve had more classes than usual (to make up for holidays that we’re going to have in the second half of the semester) and more work than usual, because midterms have started. This past weekend, however, I did manage to squeeze out some time to go to the Louvre and the Musée de la Vie Romantique. At the Louvre, I finally got to see the Mona Lisa (that was my third visit, and I still hadn’t seen it!) and I also got an annual pass to the museum, so I can now go whenever I want! The Musée de la Vie Romantique houses artifacts from the lives of Romantic-era French figures. I was particularly interested in Georges Sand, a 19^th-century French woman who left her husband and moved with her children to Paris. She was a feminist before the feminist movement really started, dressing like a man and going out unescorted with the great male philosophers and artists of the time. The museum visits were a really nice way to break up my studying.

Next week is my spring break (a nice reward for getting through midterms). I’m going to Italy for the week. I’m flying to Rome on Saturday, staying there through Monday, and then taking a train to Assisi where I’ll spend the rest of the week. I take a train back to Rome and fly from Rome back to Paris the following Sunday (Easter). Then I have a day to recover before classes start again, because, in France, Easter Monday is a holiday. I won’t have my computer with me over the break, so I’ll tell you about Italy next time I write!

In which I eat couscous and describe a protest…

I know it’s been a little more than a week since my last e-mail. I’ve gotten so busy! But that, of course, means that I’ve got a lot of wonderful things to tell you about! To start, last Tuesday I attended a school-hosted couscous dinner where, in theory, we American students could make friends with some French students. Unfortunately, however, there was only one French student able to attend. And the funny thing was, she wasn’t actually French! She was a German student who had been studying in Paris for about four years. That didn’t faze any of us, however; we simply befriended her and spoke in French for the duration of the evening. The food was very good, but very different than most found in the US. The table was served a big bowl of couscous, a pot of vegetable stew, and huge platters of meat, from which everyone ate family style. Each person had a bowl, and the idea was to put couscous in the bottom of the bowl, top with veggies, and put the meat off to one side for cutting. The whole meal was excellent. We had baklava for dessert, and a delicious Arabian mint tea. The ambiance only added to the fun of the evening: The restaurant was set up with couches, instead of chairs, and very low tables. They’re really comfortable, and give you the urge to lounge for hours drinking tea (good marketing strategy!). We had a wonderful time (we had the entire downstairs of the restaurant to ourselves) until, as we were sitting around talking after our meal, a mouse popped out of one of the cushions. Fortunately, it was the one male in our group who saw it first and, being the collected guy he is, told the girls to move before we all started screaming. So, we were all safely away from the mouse before we had the urge to jump on chairs and shriek. Needless to say, we left the restaurant after that! But it was still a fun night, mouse and all.

Sunday, I went back to Versailles for my first day as a nanny! It went very well overall, though I did discover that it’s a challenge to nanny for children who don’t speak English. It didn’t matter very much with the ten-month-old, but I really had to focus to understand what the two-year-old was asking for. Excellent practice for me! Excellent practice for her, too, because the parents want me to speak English to the kids, so she had to try to understand what I was saying as well. I think my biggest accomplishment for the day was teaching her how to high-five. It was a long day for me (about 12 hours, nine of them nannying and three of them traveling to and from Versailles) but quite enjoyable, and I’m looking forward to going back this Sunday!

One final thing before I end. You may have heard about the protests going on in Paris right now against the CPE (an action affecting the 26-and-under workforce). The protest is actually a really neat thing, and a very historic event to be experiencing in Paris. The demonstrations are actually taking place all over France, but they’re centered in Paris and Lyon. Parisian universities have been shut down for almost a month now (this happens almost yearly when the students blockade the doors, refusing to let in teachers; however, this closure has lasted an unusually long time), and the Sorbonne is occupied for the first time since 1968. Last Saturday, there was a nation-wide protest involving one and a half million people, several thousand of whom were in Paris. These protests are usually very peaceful (at least until the sun goes down) and very exciting to watch. Prime Minister Villepin was given until 5 p.m. last Monday to withdraw the CPE, or all union workers (this includes transportation and post office workers) would go on strike to show solidarity with the students. Villepin refused, prompting more protests, with still more to follow this coming weekend. Next Tuesday, there will be a massive strike that will likely absolutely paralyze the city. Their planning to strike for just one day to shock the government into action.

What, you might wonder, does this mean for me? Well, actually, I’m not concerned. I’m rather excited. Everything I need next Tuesday is within walking distance, including my classes. Of course, if the strike is as big as expected, that will be a moot point, since none of my teachers will be able to get there to teach! The upshot is that it will be a really cool thing to tell my children about in 20 years (when they read about it in their history books—and judging from what I’m told, it will be in there), that I was in Paris when the CPE protest was going on. Plus, what’s the joy of being in Paris if you don’t get to experience one of their infamous strikes? I’ll keep you all posted on what ends up happening.

Until next time!

Another message from the past and from Paris, in which I learn a valuable lesson about Mexican food:

My, this past week just flew by! Time has really started to go by quickly with classes now in full swing. When I last wrote I was preparing for my school-arranged day trip to Versailles. The trip was absolutely amazing! The sheer size of the palace was awe-inspiring, but the really incredible thing was the ornate attention to detail. Everything was decorated and, even more than that, tied in to a common theme. Our tour took us through the king’s rooms, the hall of mirrors, and the queen’s rooms. Each chamber had its own Roman god theme. Louis XIV was known as the Sun King (le Roi Soleil) because he compared himself to Apollo, the Roman god of the sun. Thus, the throne room was Apollo-themed and place in the center of the king’s other rooms, each with their god or goddess accoutrements. It was truly beautiful, and I can’t wait to go back when it’s warmer to see the Versailles gardens in bloom.

This past week in Paris brought me a particularly happy surprise. Thursday night, the UC Center here had a reception for some French students who will be studying at various UCs next year. It was really neat to get to talk to French students my age, about everything from what it’s like in California to the recent French student protests against the CPE (which, incidentally, took place just outside my door this past Tuesday). I made a particularly strong connection with a girl who’s actually a native of the Caribbean island of Martinique. She came to Paris to study and is hoping to be accepted at UCLA for next year. She’s also really interested in San Diego, so I may have a visitor for a few days when I get back to the States!

Other than those events, my week mainly consisted of school and homework. So I’ll give you the food update to finish off this message (since food happens to be a central part of life here): Friday night at a small café, I had the best escargot I’ve ever tasted. This is the second time I’ve had escargot in France, but this round was much better than the first (and yet, cheaper), and I’m definitely looking forward to going back and having it again! Also, I’ve discovered the one type of food the French don’t do well: Mexican. Since my program cohorts and I are all from California, we’ve been suffering from Mexican food withdrawal. I didn’t even realize how often I ate it until I didn’t have it anymore. Although my cravings weren’t quite as bad as those of some of my friends (I wouldn’t kill for a burrito), I had noticed a distinct lack and a certain craving for guacamole that just wouldn’t go away. Anyway, after our group Versailles trip, we managed to find a Mexican restaurant. We were so excited! We couldn’t wait to finally satisfy our cravings! Our first indication that French Mexican food might be different than California Mexican food was when our waiter was not familiar with the term “carne asada.”

Uh-oh.

In the end, our food could have been very loosely termed Mexican. Very, very loosely. For the most part, it looked like Mexican food. My quesadilla, for example, looked like a quesadilla. It was just that it didn’t taste like a quesadilla. It tasted like a lot of melted French cheese, which wasn’t a bad taste in its own right. It just wasn’t anything like the taste of Mexican cheese. The good news is that this experience pretty much took away everyone’s craving for Mexican food—or if not the actual craving, at least any desire to try to find Mexican food in France! And, in the end, we were all just laughing at the situation. The morals of this story? Californians are spoiled when it comes to Mexican food, and countries are best at making food that originates from the same continent.

And with that lesson, I shall end for now. I hope all of you are doing well, and I will write again soon.