un brunch américan

For me, at this point, homesickness comes in waves. Mostly calm ones.

You may notice I tweet about New York regularly. I do--because I've fallen into a whole new kind of love with the city since moving an ocean away—yet I don’t necessarily long for my life there, at least not my former one. The hardest days, weeks, months never became blog posts, but they happened, and they sucked. It was a tumultuous post-college experience. I really struggled with figuring out what the heck I wanted out of this life (personally and professionally) and how the hell I was going to make it as such.

What made it infinitely bearable enjoyable, though, was the endless number of friends and family I had in such close, comforting proximity. I could text or call or see my favoritest people regularly, and that was so completely wonderful. I needed them then.

I still do, of course; albeit in different ways. Living abroad has forced me to be more sure of myself by necessity. It has also encouraged me to get out there and form new relationships, which although I was once intimidated by, I’ve also lovingly embraced. This experience has given me more space to be and flourish and for that I will always be grateful.

But I do miss home. I miss the warmth and friendliness of American culture. I miss family dinners and endless chats with friends. I miss those who truly know me, and love me unconditionally anyway. I miss pizza dates. And gosh, do I miss boozy brunches...

Then again, pretending to be Parisian is nice, too. I regularly buy bread from the boulangerie and produce from the marché, I wear black quite often, I get excited about new exhibitions, I don't make eye contact with anyone on the metro, but I always wish fellow elevator-riders a bon journée. I'm even adopting slang. And these are only the guidelines I've been easily able to pick up on.

Because, in the end, I am very much New York-born and -raised. (The state, not the city). And so, I've made expat friends here. Besides those I've met through blogging, there are also those from school, and another from serendipity. And when the latter hosts a brunch, I help her serve a spread of juice, coffee, tea, croissants, brioche, sliced fruit, smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, bread, butter, and jam. We even ensured there was champagne to be had. It's good to know I'm not the only one on mimosa-withdrawl ;).

I've said this once before, but home is more than a place, it's a feeling. I'm creating a home for myself in Paris with a flexible disposition, a few amazing confidantes, and a bit of familiarity--most notably peanut butter. Even on rainy days I've been making a concentrated effort to appreciate this time where such things are possible. One day, I hope, Paris will be one home of many.

Weekend plans: happy hour tamales, lunch with my French family, an afternoon at the Château Vaux le Vicomte, Nuit Blanche, Sunday at the races/laundry, and a Macklemore concert. Wishing you a lovely one, too, wherever you may be.

This post was inspired by Rachel's Expat Diaries.

les entrepreneurs

Last year, Forbes clarified one very important definition: "Entrepreneurs, in the purest sense, are those who identify a need—any need—and fill it. It’s a primordial urge, independent of product, service, industry or market." It's that risk and irreplaceable satisfaction that has attracted me to start-ups, time and time again. Yet, despite the French origins of the word (and the fact that I'm currently basking in entrepreneurial spirit at a Parisian start-up), entrepreneurship is hardly as prevelant here as it is in the U.S. Of course, that claim entirely depends on your social circles... and I've spent most of this week in the company of expat bloggers.

Monday night: the Words & Wine event. I arrived to a modern Parisian literary salon (Sylvia's apartment) complete with friendly faces, many bottles of wine, and sweet and savory bites. An hour or so later, Juliette read us an excerpt from "Dancing with Paris" and opened up a candid discussion on her writing process and career. Casual, inspiring conversation flowed freely after.

Wednesday night: the first National Kale Day international event. Kristen of The Kale Project joined forces with Laura and Braden of Verjus for an evening of wine and kale dishes. Lorelei met me there and we caught up over sublime glasses of chablis and pinot noir, in addition to fabulous spiced kale chips. I was thrilled to also chat with Lauren, Melanie, Anna, and Lisa, among others.

I can only speak from my American upbringing, but it makes sense to me that all these talented ladies are pursuing independent ventures abroad. I too was brought up with the encouragement to dream big and think outside the box. I was told it's okay to fail, as long as you take the lesson learned and do better next time. I'm aware that limited American regulations stimulate business (hello, neoliberalism), just as our weak welfare system drives efforts to reject the status quo--though I can't say I entirely agree with either.

Here, on the other hand, "just 15% of French respondents to a recent EU survey on attitudes toward entrepreneurship said they had started or taken over a business, or were planning to do so,"(qz) the lowest among the 27 European countries polled. Nonetheless, I'm not arguing that the French don't take creative chances. Mine are the opinions and observations of a non-expert of economics and culture. Not to mention that, "there is a stark difference between 'there are not enough prominent startups' and 'I do not know the startups,'" as Liam Boogar protested. All I'm saying is: it's pretty cool to live in a city where new ventures have yet to become blasé, and it's even more so to be fostering relationships with the amazing people behind them. Way to go, Paris.

meet pageyourself

After gladly accepting the 6-month internship at PageYourself, I freaked out about the commitment. Now, with only two months left at this special Parisian start-up, I'm sad to have few more than 40 days. A lot of the appeal has to do with my awesome coworkers. Though they're French guys--which took some getting used to because I'm not yet bilingual and have generally worked with women--it's been a rewarding challenge to my comfort zone. I'm learning so much. And so, I'd like to introduce you to the company:

{our "morning coffee with a view" / 15-minute break upon arrival each day}

PageYourself created a platform (the f-Site) to democratize social media and digital marketing with a design creator, app catalogue, and data collector (Fan Base). Basically, it empowers business owners without any skills in design, code, or social networking to thoughtfully communicate their brand online (e.g. get more Facebook likes); an invaluable gift for #smallbiz especially. If you or somehow you know could benefit, please, spread the word. The platform is launching from beta mode at the end of the month! Or, if you'd prefer to brush up on recent articles, be my guest: "How to Use Instagram for Business", "How to Use Pinterest for Business", and "8 Facebook Features You Should Take Advantage of Now" :) thanks for being so friendly! I've gotta get back to work...