Moving to Paris
Jun 14th, 2005 | 06:01 AM
#1
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Moving to Paris
Hooray! I got a job at a multinational agency in Paris, so my new husband and I are picking up and moving. We wanted to live abroad for a few years where we could start off working in English but have to "live" in a foreign language and become fluent in that language over time at work. We've both lived abroad before, but not in environments where we had to immerse ourselves in another language. And we wanted to embark on this adventure before we're needed closer to home (our parents aren't getting any younger). And it's Paris! Sorry to blither on about this, but we're so thrilled about this opportunity, it's hard to believe that it's real. Hopefully, after a few months, I'll be able to start answering a few questions about Paris for Fodorites.
Jun 14th, 2005 | 06:10 AM
#3
Joined: Sep 2003
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Congratulations! How exciting that must be.
Dive into the language -- take a class, do whatever you can to learn French while you're there. I have a family member who lives in Paris (he works for Michelin) and his wife isn't learning a THING in French...I keep thinking how sad that is! I have lived abroad before, and it does take time, but it's so worth it when within a year from your arrival, you're able to have a normal conversation with people and realize you're thinking and speaking in their language.
Again...congrats and have fun!
Jules
Dive into the language -- take a class, do whatever you can to learn French while you're there. I have a family member who lives in Paris (he works for Michelin) and his wife isn't learning a THING in French...I keep thinking how sad that is! I have lived abroad before, and it does take time, but it's so worth it when within a year from your arrival, you're able to have a normal conversation with people and realize you're thinking and speaking in their language.
Again...congrats and have fun!
Jules
Jun 14th, 2005 | 06:42 AM
#7
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Thanks for your good wishes, everyone.
Jules: Luckily, I already speak some French (I did some immersion courses in France a few years ago during a break between jobs, and I've kept it to a "high intermediate" level because it has been useful for my existing internationally-oriented job). And my husband has rusty low intermediate French from when he worked for the Canadian Forces. We both found it somewhat reassuring to discover that we could "get by" in tourist French during our recent honeymoon in Morocco. But of course, "getting by" is a long way from workplace fluency, and that's our goal. Well, that and becoming experts on French wine and gastronomy
Jules: Luckily, I already speak some French (I did some immersion courses in France a few years ago during a break between jobs, and I've kept it to a "high intermediate" level because it has been useful for my existing internationally-oriented job). And my husband has rusty low intermediate French from when he worked for the Canadian Forces. We both found it somewhat reassuring to discover that we could "get by" in tourist French during our recent honeymoon in Morocco. But of course, "getting by" is a long way from workplace fluency, and that's our goal. Well, that and becoming experts on French wine and gastronomy
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