Quotes from Julie Barlow

in North America, giving your name and talking about your personal life is something you do in public and it doesn't mean anything. In France, name exchanges amount to something of a commitment.

Armand was just dumbfounded by the almost universal habit in U.S. academic circles of signing exchanges with "Best." "Who is best?" he asked us. "Why are they best?")

We're guessing the bonjour ritual is expanding because it underlines equality—a principle the French value much more than either liberty or fraternity.

The French don't value education. They exalt it.

By bringing our daughters to France, we were actually sending them to a boot camp where children learn not just to speak, but to speak a lot, and well.

The last thing a French person will tell a stranger is that she loves her job. It just sounds naïve. At best, if she actually does love her work, she'll tell a close friend, because liking work is a private, almost intimate sentiment in France. It's definitely not something you advertise to the world.