New Year’s Resolutions for French Expatriates

New Year’s Resolutions for French Expatriates

1.
In the coming year I promise to do something for myself each and every
day. Whether it is getting some exercise, calling my family at home,
getting a facial or a massage, I will do it because the better I feel
the more likely my day will go well.

2.
I will remember that my stay here is not infinite and will try to
cherish every day I have in France. I will try to have a good attitude,
be approachable, and most of all smile because it is really difficult
for anyone to be rude to me when I am smiling at them.

3.
I promise to try to learn French. I will ignore the fact I am not
“good” at languages, have a bad accent, or the fact that no one seems
to understand a word that comes out of my mouth, and forge on. 3a) I
will speak to at least one French person a day, whether it be the
butcher, baker, or taxi car driver I will attempt to speak French. I
will go to my French lessons as scheduled and do my best.

4.
I will forgive France for my “bad French days” (daze). When people
can’t understand a thing that comes out of my mouth, when I couldn’t
get home because of another blasted transportation strike, when I
ordered “beer” and I got “butter”, when I had to stand in line and/or
traffic for three freaking hours just to get where I was going, I will
chalk it up to experience and be content to know I will have some
entertaining “war stories” to tell when I get home.

5.
I promise do a social activity, French or American, that will get me
out of the house at least once a week. Of course, this requires being
in the company of more than one person.

6.
If kids are involved in the expat experience, I promise to lead the way
by being “Chef” (Madame Chef?) of French Adaptation & Integration”.
I will be a good example to my child(ren) in the proactive way I adapt
to French life. If my children are young, I will be firm in insisting
they go to school even though it is “no fun”. I will enlist the aid of
everyone at my children’s school to ensure a smooth transition to
school. If my children are older, I will insist nobody gets to complain
for six months while the family weathers the transition. I will eat one
meal with my family, and insist that everyone speak French.

7.
I promise to see as much of Europe as humanly possible. As an old
friend of mine (Karen Fawcett) said to me, “You may only be here once
and an opportunity like this may not come along again for a long time,
so take advantage of being an expat!” Don’t worry about language. I
swear France is the only European country that has a “thing” about not
speaking English. So pack up and go have a blast in a foreign country.
(Hint: In Amsterdam, Netherlands, coffee is served in mugs, not
thimbles, like in France.

8.
I promise not to let my friends and relations monopolize all my spare
time by coming to stay at my house while in France. At my earliest
convenience I will find some clean reasonable hotels to recommend and
promise to be a tour guide only as much as I want to, not as much as
they demand.

9. I promise to
regularly do something for my American spirit. There are plenty of
Americans in France, whether it be joining a social club, church, or
mother’s group, I will do something to remind myself I am an American.

10.
I promise to be thankful every day that I’ve survived in France. I will
remember it is the experience of a lifetime and after all, I will get
used to it. Not only will I get used to it, I will in all likelihood
learn to love it and want to come back to France regularly.

Wherever you are this New Year, I hope you will have the best year ever. We’ll meet you here again next week.

Until then, Bonne Année!

Cat

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Dear Cat,

I
am a professional alcohol and drug counselor working in the USA. I
would like to know how to find information about who to contact about
working in this field either for a short or long-term position in
Paris. I know there are several hospitals and clinics with Alcoholism
units located in Paris. I also am curious as to what options are
available for expats and tourists who need to be admitted for this
disease. It seems I only see relocation and job sites that are mainly
business or computer only. Any info on who to contact regarding health
care employment could be a starting point.

Thank you,

MS Bobbe Hendricks

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Ms. Hendricks,

Thank
you for your correspondence. I am a bit vague on the details, so I
don’t really know in which direction to tell you to go. My first
question would be, do you speak French? Do you speak any other
languages fluently besides French?

Assuming
you speak French, there is a national Alcoholism Committee under the
Ministry of Health. I would assume that is a good place to start: It is
called A.N.P.A. (Association Nationale de Prevention de l’Alcoolisme). While researching this story I found several other sites dealing with drug and alcohol abuse for French nationals.

If you are an Anglophone, I would first try FUSAC
and the American Church in Paris, which has a counseling center that
deals with all kinds of problems, from marriage counseling to drug and
alcohol abuse positions. I’m 99% sure that positions through the church
are volunteer or low pay positions, and that they do not sponsor people
coming from the States. However, they may be able to point you in the
right direction for paying counselor-type career opportunities.

Please
drop me a line and let me know how your search is doing. If you require
more information, please email me at your convenience.

Best,

Cat

[email protected] asks,

Tell
me more about getting your cell phone to work in France. You mentioned
buying the card for the phones, which I have done and used from a
public phone. Was your cell phone from home? Tell me more about that as
that would be very useful. Also, the apartment you rented sounded
great. What was the name of the company that you rented that through?
Do they have apartments in Paris or in other places in France? How
about a website of theirs?

Thanks.

And [email protected] asks,

I
want to have more info on the cell phone you mentioned in your article.
Did you take your U.S. phone to France and buy a card or did you
purchase a phone in Paris? If you used your American phone, did you
have to do anything special in order for it to operate in Europe?

Thank you,

Suellen

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Dear Suellen and Mr (Ms?) Bussiere,

My
husband John was just talking to me about this very subject! He said
that he thought an article on French cell phones would be an excellent
topic for a future column! Of course, my reply is, he’d have to write
the column for me because I’m on an expert at talking on the cell
phone, not the ins and outs of buying a phone in France. However, by
popular demand (from both of you, tee-hee), for my readers I will do
anything: this intrepid reporter will interview my husband on French
cell phones and I promise that next week’s column will be dedicated to
everything French “cell phones”. Sorry to keep you hanging another
week, I will try my best to make it worth the wait.

Regarding the apartment I rented in Saint Germain-en-Laye, the company is called “Suite Locations” and I found them through the “Vacation Rentals By Owner”
website. Their listing number is #4394. The owners, Mr. & Mrs.
Jonak, have four apartments all centrally located in Saint
Germain-en-Laye, but do not own properties in Paris. If you give them a
ring, please tell them Catherine Wong gave you the referral.

Thanks!

Best,

Cat

*****