Dangers of Email

Below is a series of fictional emails written by a PIP student to her friends back home. As you’ll see, her desire to keep on top of everything going on back home prevents her from having an authentic French experience. As outrageous as her behaviour seems, there are some students who come on the Paris Internship Program and act exactly as she does. Don’t let yourself become one of them!

Dear Everybody,

Hi!!! I’m in Paris, can you believe it? I’m emailing you from the BU Center.   They have ten computers, all hooked up to the internet! This will make it so easy for us to stay in touch!  I’m so excited about this semester. I can’t wait to go up the Eiffel tower, spend afternoons in cafés, and meet French people. And become fluent, of course!  Gotta go! Write me soon!

Hi Jen,

What’s up? I’m having a great time. All the people on the program are really nice. Did I mention that the BU Center is open till 10 pm Monday thru Thursday and open on Saturdays too? It makes it so easy to email all my friends. I have a list of 10 different people to email every day! It’s crazy, but I have to stay in touch, or else they’ll forget me! On Saturday, I was here all day doing email, and on Saturday night a whole bunch of us went out to the British pubs. We met lots of cool people from England and Ireland. We were out till 5 am, and then I slept all day Sunday. Hope everything is good with you!

Dear Brian,

Hi! Sorry I didn’t write back right away, I’ve been really busy. I just waited a half hour to get on a computer to do my work. Since everyone is always on the internet and writing email, it’s hard to find one free! I try to run up to the computers during the 10-minute break during class, but with 35 people and 10 computers you have to run fast to be one of the lucky few.  But now that I have one I’m going to make the most of it, and write to everyone that wrote to me, plus scan photos to send you, and download the ones you sent me. Plus I have to read the news from home, listen to my favourite radio station, and hopefully I’ll chat on IM with my friends from BU! Then I’m going to hang out at the dorm with my new American friends.  I’m having fun, but my French hasn’t improved much. I’m not sure why that is.  Love, Me

Dear Mom,

I miss you so much! But I have a cell phone, so you and all my friends from home can call me whenever you want.   I haven’t met too many French people yet. You would think it would be easy, living here in Paris. I guess it’s because I’m always in the BU Center- I get so much email, it takes forever to write back to everyone. Almost every weekend I‘m travelling to a European capital (London, Amsterdam) with my friends from the program. Well, hopefully I’ll meet more Frenchies during my internship. Well, gotta go- there’s a sale on at the Gap, and after that I’m going to the Hard Rock Café.