It's the early 1960s, and Pip, a quirky, dreamy child, enjoys roaming the English countryside near her home in Crowborough, Sussex. She climbs trees, dreams up adventures, and longs to travel like her sailor dad and Piaf-singing, Europe-loving mum.Helping out at nearby Pinetree Farm on the edge of the Ashdown Forest, she looks after and rides ponies (frequently falling off in "typical Pip" fashion) and befriends the fascinating international students who visit each summer. That's when she decides to become European, seizing every opportunity to experience French culture-whether posing as a French exchange student to access a welcome reception (unsuccessful, despite the blue socks), visiting Paris with her mum, or singing French pop songs on her guitar.A language program at nearby West Kent College gives Pip the opportunity to travel during vacations. She stays with a French family in Normandy and works internships in Paris and Switzerland. Not everything goes according to plan-partly due to her often limited funds and occasional lapses of judgment. In the mid-1970s Pip switches focus to Spain, immersing herself in the tumultuous post-Franco transition to democracy. Studying at Málaga University, she lives with students and activists in a beach cottage, travels the Andalusian countryside, and has a close call during a spontaneous Spring break trip to Morocco.Typical Pip is a light-hearted, humorous, yet thoughtful memoir of a language student's first twenty-four years. It's a love story to England, France, and Spain and a testament to the astonishing kindness of others. It's also a quest for connection and belonging that takes shape as Pip's journey progresses, culminating in a place to call home that surprises this young European but somehow feels just right.
