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My Favorite Places in France...

One of my favorite things about living in France is discovering the country. I've learned a lot about French culture and history from visiting some of the major cities and regions. But what I find equally interesting is discovering the countryside, tiny villages and hamlets. There are hidden treasures everywhere. This, for me, is one of the best advantages of living in France, discovering the nooks and crannies of the country that you don't necessarily have the time to see on a 10-day European tour. There are several things that I get out of these discoveries. Exploring the countryside and villages allows me, in a way, to reconnect to my love of everything French. Whether its climbing the stairs of an old dungeon to gaze upon a lookout, reading a plaque and discovering an archaic word I've never seen before, soaking in the silence of a 12th century church, or tasting a local specialty (sometimes even the smallest villages have their own food specialty), I redisc

Why the French Don't Get Fat

If you were intrigued by this title and are looking for the answer to this question, I'm sorry to disappoint. There is no magical French anti-fat gene. The French do, in fact, "get fat".  I chose this title because it's a common stereotype we hear of the French, things like "they eat all that cheese and fatty food, and yet have lower levels of cardiovascular disease". People tend to attribute this to drinking wine, or the Mediterranean diet based on olive oil.   Let's look at the facts. An OECD study published in 2014 showed that France has a rising rate of obesity, whereas countries like the US have levelled off. [1]   But other statistics show clearly that the US is still far ahead of France in terms of the obesity rate. Depending on your source, the US has approximately twice the percentage of obese adults as in France (anywhere from 24-26 % for the US, and 12-18% for France) [2] . So yes, the French do get fat, but seemingly not as fat as Ameri

Paris, the Center of the Universe

When I returned home to the US this Christmas, I got a lot of questions about what happened in Paris, and how people are coping.  Since the tragic events in Paris on November 13, I've visited the city twice.   To be quite honest, things seem to have really gone back to normal. There is still heightened security in places, but in the end people needed to resume their daily lives.             So in the spirit of honoring this great city, I'd like to talk in this post about the very important place that Paris holds in France. Paris is an unusual city. Not only because of its rich history, art, and beauty, but because Paris is the capital of everything in France.   Unlike neighboring countries like Germany and Italy where different cities tend to have distinct functions, France is entirely and completely Paris-centric. Paris is the country's financial, cultural, educational, and political center. This is also a clear sign of France's extreme centralization. Below are s