About Me — Rebekah Arana

Still figuring out what I want to be when I grow up

A photo of me on vacation in the French Alps last summer (Photo by my daughter Carmen)

A photo of me on vacation in the French Alps last summer (Photo by my daughter Carmen)

I’m Rebekah, a Midwestern transplant living in Paris. I’m a reformed mathematician who tried to make a go of it in data science before realizing that I disliked it too much to want to do it 50 hours a week.

For now, I tutor English and math. I also ride the metro and walk a lot. I’m what the French call a professeure à domicile, which means I travel to students’ homes rather than them coming to mine. As a bonus, I get to pet their animals.

I live with

• Andy, my husband, is a philosopher and a Francophile. He has a knack for taking unflattering photos of me. His nomadic tendencies have led to several moves, and the kids and I have gone along for the ride.
• My daughter, Carmen (2000), is a university student and a wannabe pure mathematician. That will probably make her grandfather very happy. She’s a lover of origami, Taylor Swift, and referring to all forms of physical contact as “hugs.”
• My son, Teddy (2003), is voluntarily putting himself through the torture of the French prépa system. He’ll either emerge with mad math and physics skills or as a broken shadow of his former self.