I fell in love with England because it was quaint (古雅)—all those little houses, looking terribly old-fashioned but nice, like dolls’ houses. I loved the countryside and the pubs, and I loved London. I’ve slightly changed my mind after seventeen years because I think it’s an ugly town now.
Things have changed. For everybody, England meant gentlemen, fair play, and good manners. The fair play is going, unfortunately, and so are the gentlemanly attitudes and good manners—people shut doors heavily in your face and politeness is disappearing.
I regret that there are so few comfortable meeting places. You’re forced to live indoors. In Paris I go out much more, to restaurants and nightclubs. To meet friends here it usually has to be in a pub, and it can be difficult to go there alone as a woman. The cafes are not terribly nice.
As a woman, I feel unsafe here. I spend a bomb on taxis because I will not take public transport after 10 p. m. I used to use it, but now I’m afraid.
The idea of family seems to be more or less non-existent in England. My family is well united and that’s typically French. In Middlesex I had a neighbour who is 82 now. His family only lived two miles away, but I took him to France for Christmas once because he was always alone.

我那时爱上了英国，是因为它古雅——所有那些小房子，看上去虽然很老式，但却很漂亮，就像玩具娃娃的房子。我爱英国的乡村和酒馆，也爱伦敦。可17年之后，我的看法有点变了，因为我认为现在的伦敦是个丑陋的城市。
时过境迁。对每个人来说，以前的伦敦是绅士的象征、是公道的象征、是优雅风度的象征。令人遗憾的是，公道正在渐渐失去，绅士态度和优雅风度也正在失去——人们当着你的面重重地将门摔上。礼貌教养正在消失。
现在，舒适的会客地点也是少之又少，我为此感到遗憾。人们被迫呆在室内。在巴黎，我外出的时候要多得多，去餐馆，去夜总会。而在这儿要见朋友，人常常得去酒馆。可一个女人孤身一人去那儿真是勉为其难。咖啡包又不是什么太好的地方。
作为女人，我在这儿没有安全感。我把大把的钱都花在出租车上了，因为晚上10点以后我是不会乘坐公交车的。我以前常坐公交车，可是现在却害怕坐。
在英国，家庭观念似乎一定程度上已不复存在。我的家庭是典型法国式的，很和睦。在米德尔塞克斯，我有一个邻居，现年82岁。他的子女住在两英里远的地方，可我曾经将他带到法国去度圣诞，因为他总是那么孤苦伶仃。