THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 24, Number 42 Thursday, October 23, 2008 Paris in the Spring…Last Spring That Is by Charles McKelvy A Purposeful Posting to Paris with Wisconsin’s tem works.” Megan Maureen Wright While Meg Wright is waiting for the right word “Buffy Contre les Vampires,” pour vous? from France on her credits, let us take a fuel-free Well, if you had been with my niece, Megan trip with her across the Atlantic as she recounts her Maureen Wright, for the fabulous French adven- University of Wisconsin- ture by beginning with a Madison’s Paris, Spring quote from the immortal 2008 program, you would chanteuse Edith Piaf: “Je have sat with her and her ne regrette rien.” hosts, Patrice and Bea- Meaning that Meg trice Heran, and watched doesn’t regret a single poorly translated reruns nanosecond she spent in of what we commonly re- France and beyond this fer to as “Buffy the Vam- past spring. pire Slayer.” But why spring? A fourth-year French Well, Paris might, as and Communications Meg experienced, be cool Arts major with a cer- and rainy in the spring- tifi cate in Business, my time but, as she says: “I amazing niece Meg took chose to go in the spring off on February 18 for her because the idea of en- studies in Paris through joying a football season an American-based pro- and fall in Madison while gram center called Ac- avoiding the winter was cent, with side trips to just too good to pass up.” Italy, Germany, Ireland While she could have and the UK. And, after studied in the universi- her triumphant return ty’s programs in Mont- on June 19, she declared: pellier, Aix-en-Provence, “The time I spent with my or Grenoble, Meg picked host family is defi nitely Paris “mostly because I one of the aspects of my was drawn to a studying time abroad that I think in a larger city.” about most often.” And, yes, yours truly And since I got Meg to was truly drawn to the Meg Wright (2nd from right) and her thinking about what she University of Wisconsin classmates in Paris. idea of taking his globe- would like to share with trotting mother to see The Beacher about her adventures in Europe, she her granddaughter Meg in Paris in the springtime, considered my question about how many credits but we were still recovering from our epic journey to she received a good one, because, as she said: “I still Russia last October, so we had to go in the form of don’t know yet – that’s how quickly the French sys- Paris Continued on Page 2 THE Page 2 October 23, 2008 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 In Case Of Emergency, Dial e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] email: Classifieds - [email protected] http://www.thebeacher.com/ PRINTED WITH Published and Printed by TM Trademark of American Soybean Association THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden 911 Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is also Subscription Rates delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. 1 year $38 6 months $21 3 months $13 1 month $6.50 Paris Continued from Page 1 I tell you, my niece is one amazing young woman, emails, and, yes, even snail mail. Meg, in fact, was and you headhunters and HR people will want to the envy of her fellow students, because she was the take a number when she completes her studies in only one who would have letters waiting for her ev- Madison. ery week at the Accent offi ce in Paris. Meanwhile, why don’t we let Megan Maureen And when Meg the water nymph found that the Wright write of her own experience, beginning with: swimming option was not going to work for her in “My biggest challenges came regularly in my fi rst Paris, she laced up her running shoes and went few weeks of being abroad, and slowly tapered off for fast-paced foot tours of the City of Light at fi rst as I settled in. light. “I tipped the 50-year-old Haitian cabdriver who took me from the airport to my program center 10 euro, which was way too much by Parisian stan- dards, and possibly gave him the wrong idea, seeing as he gave me his phone number and told me to call him some time after dropping me off.” Meg admits that she was “constantly lost – get- ting on the Metro and going in the wrong direction, and stumbling over my French with my host family. As Madame Heran was describing what would be The Paris set out each morning for breakfast, I blanked on the Marathon word ‘miel’ (honey), and ended up receiving a sev- passed through Meg’s eral-minute lecture about how it’s made and what neighborhood. its uses are. “And when she told me to please be careful with my keys, I happily replied: ‘Jamais’, or ‘never’, thinking that she had told me not to lose them.” Luckily for Meg, her host family was “incredibly patient, having hosted several American students before.” She said she and Patrice and Beatrice Heran and two of their three daughters had “din- ner together four nights each week, at 7:30 on the dot. And after dinner, we watched the evening news and whatever was on TV.” Unfortunately that too often turned out to be the aforementioned poorly translated reruns of “Buffy Contre les Vampires” or “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” But, as Meg says, “In fairness to my host parents, they usually argued for something besides Buffy, but those host sisters were really all about it.” A Paris Nonetheless, Meg says her time with her “host landmark -- Sacre Coeur family is defi nitely one of the aspects of my time Church. abroad that I think about most often. And I think it really helped immerse me in the Parisian lifestyle and worldview.” And while her sisters Sara and An- nie were visiting, the Herans invited them to dinner and had Meg serve as translator. “Beatrice insisted that I translate a message to my sisters that they should pass on to our mom, ‘Elle mange tous!’ (she ate everything).” THE October 23, 2008 Page 3 The Wright sisters unwind in Chicago after Sara (left) and Annie (middle) went to see Meg (right) in Paris where she was studying French as part of a University of Wisconsin program. The Wright sisters also toured London but did not have time to see the Queen. Meg Wright and Marty Drumm back together again after Meg’s And Meg certainly sampled everything put in adventure in France. Marty went to see her while she front of her, including an entire chicken. But she was there and they toured Ireland together. admits that liver was her least favorite entrée. Meg says she loved all of her travels on weekends and during school breaks, but she most enjoyed ex- periencing Paris itself. “More than anything,” she says, “I feel incredibly lucky to have had the op- portunity to study abroad. Not only is my French noticeably better (just ask her Aunt Natalie who mastered the language of Voltaire at the Alliance Francaise), but I have a better idea of what I might want to do after college as far as pursuing a career with international opportunities.” And now that Meg is back full-swing into the fall semester at Madison with an 18-hour course load, she is dreaming of Paris in the springtime when there was a “calmness to daily life that would allow you to really slow down and just enjoy what you’re A military parade in London. doing.” Meg, you CAN put a little piece of Paris in your She especially enjoyed being with her sisters daily life by repeating this simple French phrase Sara and Annie in London and Paris, and her trav- that we have mounted over our kitchen sink: “Tou- els with her friend Marty Drumm to commune with jours en vacances.” their ancestors in Ireland. Oh, and let us not forget Oui, you can always be on vacation if you have lived in Paris in the springtime. The Cliffs of Moher on the west coast of Ireland. the “gute reise” Meg and fi ve of her classmates took to Munich to discover the true meaning of good-old German “gemutlichkeit.” Postcard from Paris. THE Page 4 October 23, 2008 Boo at the Zoo in Washington Park Afraid that you don’t have plans for Halloween this year? Put the kids on the back of your broom- stick and come on down to Washington Park Zoo on Sat., Oct. 25th for the annual Boo at the Zoo. Great decorations, family fun, photo opportunities and trick-or-treating make Boo at the Zoo a family favorite. Boo at the Zoo starts at 5 p.m. and ends at 8 p.m. CST. All proceeds benefi t the Washington Park Zoo. The bewitching hours will offer children trick-or- treating in a safe environment where they can pick up their favorite treat at the numerous candy sta- tions scattered throughout the Zoo. And don’t forget about costumes! Zookeepers and Society members will also be dressed for the occasion, so expect to see all of your Halloween favorites.