I don't remember how you owe me rent from a Paris stay, but I'll take that debt :P I may even collect it on a visit to Lyon...

As to your niece, all I can say is this. A remarkable thing with trans folks seems to be how sad the eyes are in pre-transition photographs vs. how bright they appear post-transition. The eyes have it. Then, family is often the hardest group of people to deal with. Unfortunately family relationships are laden with a lot of expectations family members have of you, and often they can't let go of some of those expectations. And finally, even if she's all the way across the world, you can still be supportive just by staying in touch, which in the age of the internet is easier than ever. Of course expressions of genuine love and support also help, as does showing appreciation for the fact your relative is choosing to live more authentically than hitherto.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman