Compared with Mr. Blinken, however, Mr. Kerry — who learned French at a Swiss boarding school and spent summers at his grandparents’ home in coastal Brittany — was a tourist gawking at the Eiffel Tower. Mr. Blinken quickly picked up French and integrated into the culture while still finding ways to embrace his American roots: When the first McDonald’s opened in Paris, he raced there with friends and became a regular customer. He also fell in love with American rock music, playing guitar in a band that performed at his high school graduation. In an interview with The New York Times in June, during his first visit to France as secretary of state, Mr. Blinken called his time in Paris “a life-changing experience” that allowed him “to be able to see my own country from a different perspective. And that was a very powerful thing.”Mr. Blinken left France in 1980 to attend Harvard University and Columbia Law School, then returned for two years to work at a law firm in Paris.

Source: New York Times October 03, 2021 19:37 UTC