The trip sharpened a desire that I had long been nurturing to live in a French-speaking country. Fra

As the author / compiler of Black Paris Profiles , I debated whether I should include my story in this book. Then someone said to me, How can you NOT include your story? It is one of the most unusual of those in Paris African-American community today. I had to agree that this is true, so I am presenting it below.
I first came to Paris in 1989. I was with four of my dearest friends, sorors from the undergraduate chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority at the University of Pennsylvania, and we came here as part of a three-city jaunt to London, Paris, and Amsterdam.
The trip sharpened a desire that I had long been nurturing to live in a French-speaking country. France was my first choice and Paris was my city of choice, but I would have been willing to move just about anywhere boutique hotels in amsterdam that French was the language of the land. As a veterinary pathologist, I had lots of options, and I explored all that were available to me at the time. In October 1991, I spent my entire vacation visiting companies in France and Switzerland where I had arranged informational interviews, boutique hotels in amsterdam hoping to convince management that I was interested in long-term employment not just a year abroad. At the end of my trip, I phoned a colleague from Charles de Gaulle airport to thank him for his hospitality and for arranging the visit to his company. Miraculously, he told me that someone boutique hotels in amsterdam had resigned that very day and that his department wanted me to come back for an interview. The company that he worked for, Rhône-Poulenc Rorer, hired me and I moved to Paris the following June.
Tom Reeves, a Francophile in his own right and the man whom I was dating at the time, followed me to Paris in September. We eventually married here and have called Paris home for over twenty years. Weathering the bureaucracy that surrounded getting working papers for him early on, we applied for French boutique hotels in amsterdam citizenship as soon as we were eligible. We both have dual nationality now and can t imagine living anywhere else!
I worked for Rhône-Poulenc boutique hotels in amsterdam Rorer as a veterinary pathologist for six years and became board certified in toxicology during my time there. I was then was recruited to work for L Oréal, where I stayed for three years. As a L Oréal employee, I took advantage of an incredibly generous French provision that allows professionals to take a sabbatical to create a business. You are allowed to launch your business and see how it goes for a year. At the end of that year, you have three options: extend your sabbatical boutique hotels in amsterdam for a second year, sever your relationship with your employer, or come back to work for the company at your old position boutique hotels in amsterdam (or a similar one) at the same pay. If you extend your sabbatical, boutique hotels in amsterdam you can come back to the company at your old salary after the second year if things don t work out for your business the way you hoped.
I launched a consultancy boutique hotels in amsterdam in preclinical safety assessment under these terms and still operate it today. As a result of the severe economic downturn in 2008-2009, I created a side activity that entailed training my toxicology and pathology colleagues in time management. This has grown into a coaching/mentoring activity called Getting over Overwhelm that focuses on solopreneurs who struggle with productivity issues related to how they manage their use of time.
Tom was not able to find work in his field (cost control analysis), despite the fact that he had an MBA and years of experience. He decided to pursue the entrepreneurial track and eventually boutique hotels in amsterdam conceived of the idea of creating Discover Paris!, boutique hotels in amsterdam a travel-planning service. We launched this business boutique hotels in amsterdam together in 1999.
Discover Paris! was born from Tom s and my mutual boutique hotels in amsterdam passion for the city of Paris. boutique hotels in amsterdam Before the business was even a twinkle in his eye, we had spent years walking the streets, exploring neighborhoods that are well off the tourist track, boutique hotels in amsterdam and profiting from all the fabulous foods and wines available boutique hotels in amsterdam at markets boutique hotels in amsterdam and in boutiques and restaurants. We marveled at the architecture and the precision with which the French keep their gardens. Not initially aficionados of art, we learned to appreciate classical, modern, and contemporary art forms. Perhaps most importantly, we learned boutique hotels in amsterdam how multicultural Paris is as a city.
History was one of my least favorite subjects in school, and because of this, I had very little knowledge of African-American boutique hotels in amsterdam history in Paris when I moved here. I was formally introduced to the subject when I met Julia Browne, boutique hotels in amsterdam founder of Walking the Spirit tours. Julia was a member of SISTERS*, a non-profit association of black women founded boutique hotels in amsterdam in 1994. She proposed two walking tours that featured African-American boutique hotels in amsterdam history in Paris and I was amazed by the information that she presented. I began to do my own reading on the subject and became completely enthralled.
Tom s and my original vision for Discover Paris! was to create personalized, boutique hotels in amsterdam written itineraries for clients that allowed them to see Paris reflected in their specific interests. For example, one of our early clients requested a two-day walking tour that would give an overview of the bridges of Paris and allow her and her partner to view Art Nouveau architecture. In the same spirit, it seemed only natural that we should offer written itineraries boutique hotels in amsterdam that focused on the African-American experience in Paris, so I created our first Afro-centric itineraries. I published abbreviated versions of these tours in the book entitled boutique hotels in amsterdam Paris Reflections: Walks through African-American Paris (co-author: Christiann Anderson). I also issued two of our walking tours in downloadable (PDF) format for budget-conscious clients who wanted to learn about African-American history in Paris.
Over the years, we received increasing boutique hotels in amsterdam numbers of requests for guided tours on African-American history in Paris. boutique hotels in amsterdam As I learned boutique hotels in amsterdam more about the black presence in the city, I expanded the scope of the information that I presented on the walks to include details of the entire African Diaspora boutique hotels in amsterdam experience. As Tom and I learned more about art, we understood better the incredible influence that Africa has had on European artists and began working with a nationally-certified guide to develop museum visits around this theme. In response to a client survey, I decided to christen our Afro-centric tours and activities with the name Entrée to Black Paris.
To promote Discover Paris!, Tom and I began writing professionally. My works have been published in Paris Reflections (mentioned above), France: A Love Story (edited by Camille Cusumano), newspapers such as the International Herald Tribune boutique hotels in amsterdam and the San Francisco Chronicle, boutique hotels in amsterdam and many magazines and web publications. I write the Discover Paris! blog called Entrée to Black Paris and the blog for the French non-profit association Les Amis de Beauford Delaney boutique hotels in amsterdam , of which I am president. I edit the Discover Paris! blog entitled Paris Insights and the Paris Insights monthly newsletter (both written by Tom). In 2008, we published a collection of Paris Insights newsletters in a book entitled Paris Insights An Anthology .
The twenty years that I have lived in Paris have been immensely rewarding. I look forward to continuing to share my knowledge about Paris and the stories of people of African descent who have come here.
My goal in creating this blog is to increase awareness of Paris black heritage among all people particularly those who already know and love Paris, and are seeking new avenues of exploration to enrich their cultural appreciation of the city.