Well, 2013 is drawing to a close, and je parle américain has had another great year. The blog has now had over 100,000 views (102,413 to be precise), of which over half (51,541) were in 2013. Not bad, huh? The blog’s busiest week ever was the one ending October 6, with 2,270 views, and almost half of those views came on October 1, the blog’s busiest day ever. With 894 views, that was over 5 times my daily average. It seems that most of that traffic was fueled by the entire population of the United Kingdom researching — of all things — the religieuse pastry! I have no idea why that was the case, but I’m certainly not complaining.
October 1 was also a busy day for the blog because that’s when I shared with you the culmination of a very arduous, very circuitous administrative odyssey. From protesting for equality in the streets of Paris in January to popping the cork in September to celebrate the French government’s recognition of our marriage, 2013 was an enormous year for us on a personal level.
Like 2012, it seems that I owe a lot of je parle américain‘s success in 2013 to my mainstays: Jean Reno and Grey Goose vodka. I’m pleased that those older posts certainly have staying power, but the history nerd in me feels vindicated that the third most popular search term bringing surfers to the blog in 2013 was “the estates general 1789.” If only my franecotes, my genealogical posts, or my highly-dramatized play about the Marquis de Lafayette and South Carolina’s Huger family could get that much traffic, this nerd would be really happy!
Of course, some odd and entertaining search strings always pop up over the course of a year. Here are a few of my favorites from 2013 …
“if you can’t buy camembert in the usa how did i just buy it”
“why could i not find coke in paris in 2000?”
“my dogs ate expensive truffle powder”
“i fracture my foot can i walk in the wooden shoe”
“alligator wrestling south carolina”
… and last, but not least …
“luckiest immigrant”
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Come to think of it, that last one is pretty much spot on. It has been a really good year for this lucky immigrant. So, thank you, dear readers, for your loyal readership in 2013. You’ve made this year a great one for je parle américain.
Have a safe and festive New Year’s Eve …
… and I’ll see you in 2014!
To see the full end-of-year report, click here.
Oh … and if you haven’t already done it, get on the je parle américain bandwagon! Use the form at the bottom of this page to join the 133 folks who’ve already subscribed to the blog (up 80% from 74 last year), join the 365 folks who “like” the blog on Facebook (up 75% from 209 last year), and join the blog’s 211 followers on Twitter (up 95% from 108 last year)!
© 2013 Samuel Michael Bell, all rights reserved
je parle américain 
Congratulations to you! I am so happy you – and the blog – had a good 2013. So many people (including this French Girl) will always refer to it as *une année pourrie!* 🙂 Bonne année, Michael, the lucky immigrant. I hope 2014 treats you even better. A l’année prochaine! Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
2013 was definitely not the best for many, including some of my friends. I count myself lucky! Here’s hoping 2014 is a better year for us all … Bon réveillon, bonne année, et à l’année prochaine !