Hometown
If you ask an American “what” they are (historically, nationally, by ancestry), they will usually say something like “part Irish, part Scotch, part English, German, Swedish…maybe a little drop of French.” They’re aware of what nationality their ancestors were, and they are equally clear about what nationality they are, despite the mixes in their ancestry. They’re American. And if they have one, they have only one passport. And as a powerful nation and a very big one, they usually only speak one language, and really don’t need more. More and more, everyone speaks English around the world, socially and in business. I have a wonderfully efficient assistant, who worked for me for several years in Paris when I came here, and she doesn’t speak a word of French. She had no problem doing everything she needed, only speaking English, even in France.
In Europe, and for Europeans, the ancestral lines are much closer, and so are the frontiers of each country. I once drove from Colorado to New York, and was stunned that mile after mile after thousands of miles, you heard the same music on the radio, it was the same country (no frontiers to cross), and everyone spoke the same language. In the same amount of time in Europe, we’d have driven through ten countries, and crossed all of Europe. We forget just how big America is (the U.S.)!!!
In Europe, when people come from ancestors of different nationalities, it is in the present, not the past. And if you have one parent of a certain nationality, you have the right to the passport of their country. (or the different passports and nationalities of both parents, in many cases).And since the countries are close, and people of different nationalities marry and have children, people in Europe play the ‘passport game’ and have many, and multi nationalities. Countries are often small in Europe and very close together. In a matter of hours, you can pass several frontiers, with a different language in each case. Last Saturday, I almost went to a wonderful and very famous antique fair in Holland (Maastricht), where they speak Dutch. It would have taken me 3 hours to drive there from Paris, and I could have gone for the day, but stayed home to work in the end. My friends in Belgium (where hey speak Flemish and French) often take the train for an hour and come to Paris for lunch. In the summer, we pass from France to Monaco to Italy. It’s all very close here. And often, instead of just knowing that your ancestors were Irish, Scotch and Swedish, in Europe, people actually hold those passports, and speak many languages because you deal with different countries every day, often in business. Although most of them speak English now.
My own background is typical of that mix. My mother was Portuguese, my father was German, both born there, and even today I have access to both those passports, although I have only American nationality. (My maternal grandfather was a diplomat, and my mother spoke five languages fluently, and my father spoke eight, including some really hard ones, like Japanese, Russian, and Greek. He had an ear for languages). My French nephews speak five. I only speak four languages now (having lost two others over the years from lack of use). You need that in Europe, or it’s useful. You just don’t need that in the States (although it has helped some people in business to learn Chinese, but it’s usually not because of their ancestry, but more because of their professional interests). With a Portuguese mother and German father, I was born in the States, but spent much of my youth in France, spoke French with my parents, grew up in Paris and New York, and only went to French schools until college, and have strong ties and history with France. The only adult family I have left is French. And I renounced French nationality at l8, for practical reasons, not sentimental ones, and I have one passport: American, but I have access to four nationalities if I want them. All of that is very common in Europe, but would be most unusual in the States. Many of my friends in Europe hold multiple passports, as do their children. It’s very common in Europe.
So with that very varied background, and an American passport (which I am very proud of), I still have much history and sentimental ties to France. It’s where I essentially grew up, the language I grew up with, the country of the schools I went to, my first marriage, my first romances, the first boy I ever kissed, all were French. Instead of Elvis, I grew up with Johnny Hallyday and Charles Aznavour, Jacques Brel and Gilbert Becaud and Sylvie Vartan. (I just bought some of their old CD’s yesterday, and talk about a walk down memory lane!!! As I sang their songs to the CD’s, I felt l5 again!!! And I still remembered all the words!!!). It’s wonderful to preserve our cultures and history, to share them with our children, along with our traditions. There is something really heartwarming about preserving our history, and acknowledging that it is part of us.
For more than half my adult life now, I have lived in the States. I went to college there. I was also married there, my children are emphatically American (and make fun of me if I pronounce anything too ‘French’). I write my books in English….but I still write poetry for private purposes in French. It’s nice to have access to both worlds. In Europe people are still a little closer to their history, and its part of every day.
And even though I live in America, and am American (and proud of it of course), when I come back to Paris, it is still home to me, I have childhood memories here, the ‘best’ toy store in Paris is still the one I went to as a little girl, the night club/disco I went to at l6 is still one of the most popular today, generations of people have gone to the same restaurants I do, and the cafe where people sang ‘dirty’ songs when I was young is still popular among students now. There is a lot of history here, and I have my own history in Paris, a house where I lived in my teens, people I went to school with. It makes me nostalgic when I come here, and it’s hard to erase those memories, and why would we want to? In fact, I have history in both places, speak both languages equally, and whatever my passport says, my heart has a deep attachment to both cultures. And why not?? It only adds more texture and depth to your life, and enriches me and my children. More and more, Americans whose families immigrated to the States generations ago, are coming back to Europe to find their roots, meet distant relatives, and visit the places their ancestors came from. For me, having grown up in Europe and European culture, it is just that much closer. Someone said to me recently that Paris still feels like home to me. Yes, it does….but so does San Francisco. But Paris will always speak to my heart, I will always remember the things I loved here and find them easily. Things don’t change much in Paris, which I love. It’s always still there when I go back, and instantly feels like home again.
I am always thrilled when I come back to Paris, there is no more beautiful sight than the Eiffel Tower lit up at night, or the Arc de Triomphe, or wandering through the beautiful gardens and parks, which for me are laced with memories of tender moments of my youth. The heart remembers what we thought we had forgotten. But it’s always there, just as it is for you, if you go back to your hometown, if you live somewhere different than where you grew up.
And I am always sad to leave Paris when I do, and a piece of my heart always stays there. It’s a hard city to leave, and an easy one to love.
In thinking about it, I was reminded of a line from the movie “Sabrina” with Audrey Hepburn, I think it was a quote from Gertrude Stein. She says that “America will always be my country, but Paris will always be my hometown.” I think that says what I feel. I will be leaving Paris tomorrow, to go back to my children in the States, and I will be happy to see them, and happy to be there…..but a part of my heart will always be here, in Paris. It’s wonderful having two cultures and two countries to love, and two great ones!!
Love, Danielle
Leave a Comment
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.
Interesting blog. I am always fascinated by people and their backgrounds because I have always felt a bit different to everyone else, due to the fact that I was born in Jamaica but grew up in England. Like you I am also an only child, which I find interesting as I rarely meet people who have no siblings. Although I am Jamaican by birth, I left Jamaica when I was five. I have an English accent and a British passport. All the people I knew or went to school with were either English or if they came from a different background they were born in the UK.
Jamaica will always be a very special place for me, It’s an incredibly beautiful island and I love the food, the sights, sounds and smells -the culture and particularly the vibrant reggae music. It’s also a country that is very well known so no matter where I go in the world if I say i’m Jamaican, people will often say…’Oh like…Bob Marley’ who is a global icon. I rarely go back there and I don’t care much for the crime and violence over there so I tend not to want to visit, but when I do I always have a great time and feel extremely sad whenever I have to leave. The funny thing is I feel like a foreigner when im there.
Back in the UK I feel very much at home, I live in London and it’s one of the most multicultural cities in the world, people from virtually every nation and background either lives or visits here. I am proud to be Jamaican born but I am also proud to be British. I have lived here nearly all my life, so I feel it’s only fair for me to identify myself as Jamaican and British, i’m a bit of both.
I am slightly amazed of the fact that you are part Portugese because for some reason i’ve always seen you as a French Lady….Lol. Everything about you seems French. I have read many of your books and there are so many of them in which you mention France whether it be a person from a French background or Paris as a location. You do mention London quite often too.
I guess I also have two cultures and two countries to love. Happy Easter x
Love this. its so easy to fall in love with a different country and states. i have many different places that are my home and really surprised me. like south dokota. it so majestic and beautiful there. new york is home away from home. i left there about four weeks ago in one of the worst snow storms in nyc’s history, but i still loved it and didnt want to leave. to me, it seems like every state has something that they give me, culturally. but nyc, south dokota and italy are my hometowns, just because i feel more of a free spirit when im there. and all three of them balance out my past. south dokota with its urban country feel, nyc because its huge, fast paced and where my dreams are made of. and italy because of my italian heritage (that i only discovered In 2007) but this is a nice and different subject to talk about. i love love love italian music, but irene grandi “lasciala andare” is my favorite. well, back to writing danielle. check your inbox.
hello to you. i am a very avid fan of yours for so many years. i read everyone of your books.i wanted to thank you for your writing and these books. i was here looking mat our blog and the rest of the site. when i seenh your thoughts on erma bombeck,i laughed right out loud,she was also one of my fans, i have all her books as well. when i was looking at your favorite art work, the typewriter and the marbles,made me stop and think, what? i have a old typewriter here like that too,and i keep a jar of marbles in my room ,they catch the light and the colors as well. i live in good old maryland,baltimore to be exact, its a place thats about all. its like new york,really. they do not trees,just buildings,stores,etc. i am now listening to my inner child,m to try to fulfill a dreamj,wish,a passion that i pushed down and away many years ago, i amj trying to write a book.who knows,lol. i just wanted top say hello, and thank you,for you. i wish you continued sucess, happiness, good health.
hope you never stop writing till you really wish to or have to. the new book,big girl, is about me,very close too. thank you for addressing this .
i remain
ruthie smith
What wonderful gifts–many languages and many homes!!!
[…] this past week, Danielle Steel wrote an absolutely beautiful post on how she feels about her hometown. At the end of it she quotes a line from the movie Sabrina, which I had to share […]
Dear Danielle,
You have a mix of two great nationalities in your blood, we all know about German engineering and the Portuguese heritage is that of a small country which braved the seas in the middle ages and competed with the likes of England and Spain in the power game. Truly wonderful to see how America is made up of so many diverse people and so inspiring that you all share the common love and pride of being US citizens. I hope South Africans of all races can learn to do the same
Hello Danielle,
My name is Robyn Cooper. I did have the Privilege of speaking to you 15 years ago.
I was adopted, I remember you telling me that I should get back to you when I found my Father. Which i did in 2007.
My mother was German 🇩🇪 Jewish & they had to Escape the war, she fled to England with her friend.
My Father was Spanish living in the Canary Islands, he went to London to do his PHD & became a professor of Physics & Bio Chemistry.
This is where they met as she was Studying Nursing. After 6 years of going out together she became pregnant & he said he could not marry her so she went to Australia & had me.
When she arrived in Australia with Rheumatic Fever & I was born at 7 months. I was put into an Orphanage then adopted out to a family in Bunbury Western Australia. I had Osteoarthritis a year later. My parents were amazing & I had a few operations & healed quickly.
At the age of 30 the longing to find my real parents eat away at me.
By then I was a nurse, & wanted to find them both purely for the genetics as I had 2 Daughters by then.
I found my mother at the age of 38. But had to have a huge operation
I could write a book about this. Everyone says I should.
I remember you were interested but said that the best thing would be to find my father first.
This story sercium navigates the Globe.
Starting off in Vienna the Canary Islands Germany Montreal & beyond.
I would love ❤️ to hear back from you if you have time.
My Mobile is 0427788553.
I’m now coming into New York for 3 days.
Then flying back to Australia.
Cheers
Robyn xx
Hello Danielle,
My name is Robyn Cooper. I did have the Privilege of speaking to you 15 years ago.
I was adopted, I remember you telling me that I should get back to you when I found my Father. Which i did in 2007.
My mother was German 🇩🇪 Jewish & they had to Escape the war, she fled to England with her friend.
My Father was Spanish living in the Canary Islands, he went to London to do his PHD & became a professor of Physics & Bio Chemistry.
This is where they met as she was Studying Nursing. After 6 years of going out together she became pregnant & he said he could not marry her so she went to Australia & had me.
When she arrived in Australia with Rheumatic Fever & I was born at 7 months. I was put into an Orphanage then adopted out to a family in Bunbury Western Australia. I had Osteoarthritis a year later. My parents were amazing & I had a few operations & healed quickly.
At the age of 30 the longing to find my real parents eat away at me.
By then I was a nurse, & wanted to find them both purely for the genetics as I had 2 Daughters by then.
I found my mother at the age of 38. But had to have a huge operation
I could write a book about this. Everyone says I should.
I remember you were interested but said that the best thing would be to find my father first.
This story sercium navigates the Globe.
Starting off in Vienna the Canary Islands Germany Montreal & beyond.
I would love ❤️ to hear back from you if you have time.
My Mobile is
I’m now coming into New York for 3 days.
Then flying back to Australia.
Cheers
Robyn xx
No idea if you ever read these but I have a few questions:
1. The internet says your mum is from Massecheusets (cannot spell, not american) but you’re saying she was actually born in Portugal. Which is true and actually what was she like as a mother? It’s very, very rare for a Portuguese mother to abandon a child but it seems as if your mother vanished when you were young. What happened, where did she go? Was she maternal towards you or distant? Was she friendly? Was she angry?
2. What was your dad like as a father? How did he behave towards you? Was he angry/violent?
3. Why did you date a criminal? Did you consider that it might be a poor role model for your children? What appealed to you? That you wouldn’t have to deal with him day to day?
4. Did you see any similar traits between your son nick and his biological father? How much help did Nick get with his bipolar?
5. What was it like for a female author back then vs today? Were there any areas in which you had to stand up for yourself and where positive changes were made that female authors today may take for granted/don’t know was down to you?
Have a good day. Thanks.