Paris Is Romance, And That's It!
March 5th, 2023 / µ
All images ©Haute Stock
Teaching English in Paris
The above erroneous perception is why I changed a text describing the conditions for young foreign professionals teaching English in Parisian language schools in the '00s to a romance I now loathe.
In the '00s, the French state desperately needed to kick their linguistically behind nation into the 21st century. Hence, the jobs in the Parisian language schools were plenty, and they would hire just about anyone, including me.
On a dare, I made a bet that I could get a teaching job in a Parisian language school more or less just by showing up, having a university degree, and being able to spell my name. I won the bet. I got the job, and I got a story.
When I left the school again, I teamed up with a partner and began writing. The story was a good idea. It would show the relative poverty and the conditions for foreign teachers in Parisian language schools, which consisted of primarily young western women.
“They say the satisfaction of teaching makes up for the lousy pay.”
We Want Romance!
When I set out to write this story, I wanted to tell the truth. But when editors hear Paris, they want romance.
My writing partner decided to leave the project. But I wrote and rewrote following every piece of advice and tweaked it until I could no longer recognize my story.
Cut your losses and count your blessings
I was never one to complain about my losses. So instead of chucking a script that I have reworked and rewritten for years, turning it into an irrelevant romantic story I don't care about, I have decided to get back to business as well as see the glass half-full:
I worked with some great editors on this project and learned a lot.
I built a structure I can use again.
I did upgrade the novel during my horrid ordeal in Paris in the fall of 2019
I have decided to take what I have learned and rewrite the text again, take it back, and tell my story about real life, friendship, and human misery.
Real life without filters may not be Instagrammable, but that doesn't make it any less worthy, perhaps even the opposite.
Thanks for reading! I hope you found it valuable and worth your time! Until next time, remember to get your facts straight and that whatever good times you have will never come back as bad times,
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