Letter From Paris

By Harriet Welty-Rochefort

Paris Kiosque - May 1997 - Volume 4, Number 5
Copyright (c) 1997 Harriet Welty-Rochefort - Used with permission.

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So how was your vacation in the States? my American expatriate friends in Paris eagerly asked me upon my return from an annual two-week visit to my family.

Well, it was great! I replied, enthusiastically. The weather was fantastic, I swam every day in the pool, I practically camped out at the Mall where prices are half what they are in France, and in general had a ball!

Everytime I get back from these annual visits, and especially in that hour or so after I get off the plane, come home, and look at my tiny washing machine and dryer and my frigo which is about half the size of an American monster and most certainly does not make ice, I want to head right straight back to where I came from! Since this has been a regular occurrence over the past twenty-five years I have lived in Paris, I recognize it for what it is and know it will go away.

I now know that there are plusses for both places and try to take what is best in both.

In the States, I love: The ease of life (just jumping into your big air-conditioned car and raising the garage door with a garage door opener), casual invitations (this is practically impossible in Paris where you plan dinner invitations a month ahead of time), water fountains, Ben and Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream (you can find it in France at twice the price, which, I might add, keeps the kilos from accumulating), friendly people in the line at Safeway wishing me a good day, outdoor barbecues, and being with my family, an all too rare pleasure.

In France, I love: Real coffee (only one small cup and you're set for the day), dark chocolate (the real thing), meeting my friends for lunch on a cool, rainy April day and ducking into a warm little restaurant where we order delicious food and spend two hours lolling over the meal, the Bois de Boulogne which, in lieu of having a backyard, is my backyard. Ambling. As an American friend from Philadelphia pointed out, in Philadelphia when you walk you're guarded and are just trying to get somewhere - in New York, people look like they're all on their way to a nervous breakdown. In Paris, people walk relaxed. Yet at the same time the street is a large vitrine in which people-watching is a favorite activity. That may explain why Parisians dress for the street in the sense that they don't go outside just any old way. I also enjoy watching the news in France - on American TV, not only do you wonder if a place like France exists other than as a playground for food and wine enthusiasts, but you even start wondering if the rest of the world exists...

To be an American and to really live in Paris and only go to the States to visit is, to say the least, an extraordinary, exciting, and sometimes frustrating - but mostly rewarding - experience. The famous American expatriate writer Gertrude Stein summed it up in a nutshell with the following statement which applies so well to those of us who have chosen Paris for our home: America is my country but Paris is my hometown.

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Harriet Welty-Rochefort, a bona fide Midwesterner from Iowa, visited Paris for the first time while in college. She became so completely enamored of France that she stayed - and has been there ever since. Married to a Frenchman and the mother of two Franco-American boys, Harriet Welty-Rochefort writes on business, lifestyle and travel for major U.S. publications. Her forthcoming book - French Toast - is a lighthearted look at French manners and mores. It is also possible place pre-publication orders for signed limited edition copies. She can be contacted at 101676.467@compuserve.com.