"When good Americans die, they go to Paris." - Oscar Wilde

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

David Sedaris Saved My Life

I'm stressed because I have nine pages left in When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. I brought it over so I'd have something to read on the plane, but the book became a necessity when I was homesick during my first week.

Sedaris is comedic, and it was nice to laugh and read something in English. In addition, I've concluded that he's the gay, male version of me. He's lived abroad in so many different cities (Paris, Tokyo, Normandy) and reading his stories gives me a hilarious outlook on life outside the U.S. As lonely as it can be, it's definitely an incredible experience with many opportunities for screw-ups and good times.

For example, when Sedaris decided to quit smoking, he changed his environment and moved to Tokyo for three months (wtf). He talks about the language barrier and how he wanted to cry after his first Japanese language exam. While French is hard, at least we use the same alphabet. And the food here is dank. Of course I feel displaced at times, but I'm still in the Western Hemisphere.

I'm not sure what else to say here. On the way home I had this great blog prepared for the wonderful Mr. Sedaris and now it's all gone to hell. I can't stay awake.

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