Recipe nº3: Make Mine Français

One nice bottle of French wine. Don't spend less than 5 euros or more than 15. 

Best if consumed with cheese and accompanied by friends, witty conversation.

I've been thinking a lot about : La France vs. Les États-Unis. It's the big battle that dominates my life. Fortunately, it is possible to have both; but which to call home? Especially since there's no word for "home" in French? And will France ever really be chez moi?

My friend Elizabeth and I decided to tackle this question in a practical way last year, when she was living in la belle France and I was visiting, trying to decide whether or not I wanted to take her place a few months later; but a more serious quandary lingered behind our ruminations: to live or not to live in France/the U.S.?

Here is the fruit of our efforts to define the pros of each country, accomplished with the help of a bottle of Château du Petit Boyer (an excellent vineyard, close to my heart), a baguette and several French cheeses (of which we finished all):

Let me decipher: items that are starred are considered uber-important, very hard/impossible to live without. For France, you will see we have starred the markets, restaurants, and environmental conscientiousness. I now feel I would add stars to the whole "speaking French" thing, and perhaps "less stress" as well. As for the ol' stars and stripes, we've got it going on in terms of...being the place where the people closest to us can be found. Apparently that's the only thing we found worthy of star designation. I must say, several items found on the right side of the page seem lackluster in comparison to the left; I mean, we have "Trader Joe's" vs. "universal health care". Hm.

I'd like to elaborate on these lists over the rest of my séjour in France, focusing particularly on what I like about being here. All in all, though, les U.S. me manquent toujours, but is it just my family and friends, or is there something more? I invite those of you who have spent time...elsewhere, to share your thoughts; where do you want to live, and why? What are the things you can't live without? Have you found any aspect of a country that is a deal-breaker, that you absolutely cannot stand? Je vous écoute.

To be continued, with my own list of things that beckon me to stay in France, de manière définitive...