In preparation for the final exam, let’s review: our nuclear family took flight to France for a sabbatical that was meant to last ten months – September to June, the same length as one year of public schooling. The school calendar shaped a lot of our plans: French students get four two-week holidays, spread out…
At 22, I moved away from my hometown for the first time. I’d been accepted to the National Theatre School in Montreal; it was far from my first achievement, but it felt like a breakthrough, as if the “National” in the school’s name applied directly to me, now and forever. I envisioned career trajectories that…
X’s first two weeks of maternelle, or French kindergarten, were as good as could be expected. In the mornings, he would trot into the room cheerfully enough and start fiddling with some toy or project, and he’d be happy in the afternoons, chattering and eager to show us whatever he’d drawn that day. He even…
