Nicole Rowe

Moving from France to the United States does not usually produce the dramatic culture shock promised by expatriate memoirs. The two countries know each other too well for that. France and America have spent nearly 250 years as allies, admirers, competitors and occasional irritants, borrowing one another’s ideas while remaining quietly convinced that certain things are simply done better at home. The real surprises arrive differently. At the supermarket. Over dinner. In an office. On a road...

There is something almost irresistible about the word treasure. It promises gold, rarity, discovery; the intoxicating possibility that somewhere beneath centuries of dust, history has been waiting for us to find it. At San Francisco’s de Young museum, Treasures of the Pharaohs certainly delivers that spectacle. On view from August 1, 2026, through January 31, 2027, the exhibition brings together 130 objects spanning some 3,000 years of ancient Egyptian civilization, from monumental sculpture...

Moving abroad is often imagined as an exercise in adaptation; learning a new language, navigating unfamiliar customs, and discovering different ways of living. Yet cultural exchange is rarely one-sided. While French expatriates often bring with them a deep appreciation for gastronomy, history, and the art of conversation, many gradually adopt aspects of everyday American life that they had never expected to enjoy. These changes are rarely dramatic. They emerge quietly, shaped not by ideology...