"A few months in, and her French has barely improved, her roommates are gross and rude, and she has to work two jobs under the table to make rent. She's also making the entire United States of America look bad by insisting on making Stove Top stuffing for Thanksgiving. That is our special thing as Americans, and no European mind will ever comprehend that, Belly. You should have just made them gravy because that is at least something they all understand."
"But she is finally wise enough not to let her "wild yearning" for home get in the way of what should be a transformative life experience. This is an aside, but one does not have a "wild yearning" for home. One has a "wild yearning" for sailing across the ocean, or moving to Barcelona, or becoming an astronaut. Yearning for home is just called yearning."
Isabel moves to Paris and encounters recognizable Parisian markers like Serge Gainsbourg's "La Javanaise," Canal Saint-Martin, and a rude girl named Manon. She struggles to adapt: her French barely improves, roommates are rude, and she works two under-the-table jobs to pay rent. Cultural miscues include insisting on Stove Top stuffing for Thanksgiving and difficulty buying a single apple. Her problems are typical early-adulthood issues, yet she resists letting a "wild yearning" for home derail a transformative experience. She decides to stay in Paris for Christmas alone while unwittingly charming friend Benito.
Read at Vulture
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