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Tamsin Jardinier's avatar

Loved reading this, your spontaneity, your courage to up and go for love, such openness and joy! I do fully understand the grieving too, my second year was my hardest, but now ten years in France and I feel like a Frenchie... I can’t wait to read on, merci!

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Karen Bussen's avatar

Thank you! I love your writing too, and it's so good to feel a kinship with other women who have navigated this transition with substance and style. I've just started my second year and there are lots of changes ahead, but I love France and my new life so much, I know it will be a wonderful adventure, even when it's tough.

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Erica Cantley's avatar

Karen this is FANTASTIC!!! Like everything you do it is stylish and gorgeous and AMAZING!!! These pictures are stunning--you radiate such joy and light! And Ilove how you launched with a big bang and all these wonderful articles from these months past. BRAVISSIMA, mon amie! So very happy for you to discover--and share--l'art de flaneur! The little pen and the font/logo are PARFAIT, absolutement!!

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Karen Bussen's avatar

Merci ma biche xoxo, tu dois y revenir !

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Lori Fenske's avatar

You are a wonderful writer! The image of you on a beautiful Parisian bridge sobbing while eating Mickey D’s—a term that brings me back to my college days in Ohio—is both heartbreaking and hilarious. Brava! Glad to have found your YouTube and substack.

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Karen Bussen's avatar

Thank you so much for writing and I’m so happy you’re here. You made my day!

I guess The Golden Arches have nicknames everywhere — I laughed the first time I heard a French person say « MacDo » (sounds like MAC-doh) 😂 greetings from Paris 🌷

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Lisa St. Lou's avatar

Love that I found you/this! We just moved to Paris for a year and have definitely experienced the joys and pains of "growing". Looking forward to keeping up with your adventures. Allez! xx

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Karen Bussen's avatar

Bienvenue et merci pour ce commentaire très gentil ! I hope you're having fun despite the growing pains ha. As I've said before, I can occasionally be found standing outside a McDo sipping a diet coke from a paper cup and quietly sobbing behind oversized sunglasses. But the blue moments pass and life is wonderful! That being said, in January I have to start preparing to renew my carte de séjour, the process for which is always cause for crying (or at least cursing hee hee) Bonne continuation !

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Jennifer Tobias's avatar

I ran into my French realtor in a McDonald's (she is a transplanted American) and we both burst out laughing! She calls McDo "the American Embassy." It used to be every American Express office had that nickname, but now it's the Golden Arches.

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Karen Bussen's avatar

Hahaha classic, I love it! my (French) husband calls Starbucks the American Welcome Center!!

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Lina's avatar

I just found your blog, and I love it! Your storys are so wholesome :)

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