Emily in France 🇫🇷 The 'Grandes Vacances' Are Here
August is vacation time, in Paris.
One of the subtle cultural differences one needs to take on board when arriving in France – particularly from the U.S. – is that the French do not generally enjoy talking about their jobs in social settings. To wit: I have several French friends whose jobs I didn't know until the third, fourth, or fifth time I met them. There are even folks I run into on a regular basis whose jobs are still quite vague in my mind.
"Well then what do you talk about?!?" I'm often asked by aghast Americans, accustomed to asking, "So, what do you do?" the moment you learn a new person's name.
The answer? Vacation.
The French are #blessed with 5 weeks of paid holiday (though feeling "blessed" or "grateful" without an indirect object is not something that French people do either...) and most of them take advantage of it to disappear for most of the month of August. Despite these pandemic times, many French people are taking full advantage of their holiday, and the capital, already devoid of tourists, is slowly leaking Parisians as well.
I'll be joining them for some quiet (socially distant) time in the countryside. Looking forward to bringing you along!
What I'm Eating
1. Tomato and samphire toast, cheesy pão de queijo, and celeriac tart at Cantina.
2. The last seasonal apricots and the first seasonal mirabelles.
3. Fried shrimp tacos and frozen margaritas (to go!) from Candelaria.
What I'm Writing
1. A new study seems to show a correlation between consuming fermented vegetables and a reduced risk for mortality from COVID-19. While more research is needed, I don't need another reason to eat more kimchi. More over at Organic Authority.
2. We are what we eat, and if you want to be the best version of yourself, these are the 15 foods experts say you should eat every day, for Eat This, Not That.
3. Conversely (and also for Eat This, Not That), here are the 17 foods that would horrify your doctor.
What I'm Reading
1. The literary world is rife with scandal, particularly when it comes to plagiarism. Here are 12 of the most nefarious, from LitHub.
2. The United States is pretty much the only country where customers are responsible for the wages of employees, and this practice has deeply racist roots. Find out more in Politico.
3. Curzio Malaparte arrived in Paris in 1947, and given his support of Mussolini, his welcome wasn't exactly warm. Dig into the cold shoulder he received from literary minds like Camus in the LA Review of Books.
A bientôt !