I took a year hiatus to focus on teaching my English language courses. However, this pandemic has made me rethink what it means to be an expat. I am thankful to be living in France for many reasons. The food, the culture, their beautiful language and capital city… and their solidarity on healthcare. I am anxiously awaiting May 11th, le fameux deconfinement, like so many of us expats here in France.
I am a member of many expat groups in France and in Paris. It has been a scary time for so many of us. We are learning on the fly how to navigate French unemployment and the healthcare system, reading up on contractual employee laws, the fine print of our internship contracts, making sure we are following the government’s recommendations and orders on social distancing. Many of us had no choice but to leave the country and go back stateside. Many of us are out of work. Many of us are out of school. Many of us have loads of free time and a lack of income.
I have also seen that we are reaching out to each other. These expat forums have become the place to go for much needed laughs, support, airing of grievances, memes, and information. In my personal opinion, les grèves de 2019 was just a practice run for these forums! It was a warm-up of moral support. I will never forget this “updated” psuedo Plan métro de Paris shared this past December by a member that got an honest to god laugh out of me. (Hint, these are the only two automatic metro lines in Paris, so they’re the only ones that still worked.)
I am thankful for and proud of my fellow expats. What we are all living through at this very moment has made me think about all of you brave beings out there. It takes a lot of grit to live in a foreign country in a second language. And now the times we live in demand even more.
Simply contact me. I would love to get in touch and help you in your language learning and help build your French connection. It’s always good to keep the old friends, and make some new ones.
In the worst of times toward the best of times,
Ashley