I just wanted to speak a foreign language. It could have been any language at long as it was Latin based. It was impossible until I was living with French people who didn’t speak English. The academic approach doesn’t work for me. And then, yes there was a fantasy about France, having to do with art and literature. When I finally left after almost forty years the fantasy was gone but it was replaced by an attachment to French wine, food, old architecture, landscapes and people. I know I’ll never have real roots here in Mexico or anywhere else to equal my French roots.

Not having done that academic route, I learn from your pieces on French history. I can imagine that the readership for such writing is small on Medium, but I encourage you to keep going.