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in Becoming Expats· Future Expats

Our French Mantra—But We Live In France

Luxembourg Gardens- October 2019

November 6th marked the five-month anniversary of our arrival in France, AND I still pinch myself daily. Sometimes it’s from the indescribable joy that we are living our dream in France, and other times it’s from the hellish nightmare that we are living our dream in France, which brings me to The Mantra.

The mantra began upon our arrival in Paris. I was thrilled to spend a couple of days in the romantic city on the Seine before heading south. We usually travel with just a couple of bags, but with our belongings coming by sea, I chose to pack additional suitcases…like eight, and they were heavy. VERY HEAVY. Once the taxi dropped us off at our hotel, I knew we were in trouble, and the look on the bellman’s face confirmed it.

Our time in Paris was terrific; however, I was preoccupied and for a good reason. Eight of them. Under my breath, I regularly repeated, ‘but we live in France‘, which became my mantra. And let me tell you that mantra can be said with a variety of expressions and emotions.

Anniversary in Paris

Paris to Montpellier to Béziers to Pézenas-Whew!

Okay, the next morning, when the taxi dropped us off at Gare de Lyon to board the TGV to Montpellier, my folly became REAL. It was a long walk to the platform, and our children (the eight bags) were not cooperating. One of the largest bags refused to roll forward, while another had fallen on its side. Two had gone ‘rogue’ and run into people: where was the French joie de vivre? Ray was not amused. When we finally arrived at our carriage, ‘the children’ needed to be loaded aboard, but with passengers pushing and shoving, it became difficult. It was ugly. TRULY UGLY. At that point, I questioned my decision to travel with eight bags. Hell, I questioned my decision to move to France.

Once the bags were loaded and we were seated with a lovely glass of wine, I forgot about the bags for a few hours. Ray didn’t. He started mumbling, and I told him to say the mantra…which he did, in a rather unpleasant way.

First stop- Montpellier

Let me begin by saying I love Montpellier and think they have an excellent train station, especially when the elevators are in working order. Thank God the elevators were having a good day when we arrived. It took several trips, but we were able to pile the bags in, out, and then drag them across the street to our hotel. You know you look frightening when the lovely front desk manager tries to hide her laughter (she is the model of decorum). Imagine this…hot, sweaty, glasses hanging off our noses, and Ray breathing like Darth Vader. The term ugly Americans came to mind.

All aboard to Béziers

Ray slept like a baby, Thank God, while Moi laid awake thinking about our next day arrival in Béziers. After checking out of our hotel, and rolling the ‘kids’ over to the train station, we found the platform and boarded the train. Easy peasy. Twenty minutes later, we arrived in Béziers, where the nightmare began in earnest.

The platform we arrived at, was just that—a platform with stairs…many stairs to reach the other side. Upon descending to the bottom of the stairway, I knew we had to weave around and then climb up another long set of stairs, which would lead to the station building. From there, we could quickly grab a taxi to Pezenas.

The Stairs From Hell

So, Ray had forgotten about the stairs. As we started to drag the “You brought too much stuff, Barbara, they sell things in France,” bags down the stairs, I reminded Ray of our mantra. Under his breath while gritting his teeth, and bracing himself to keep from tumbling with a rogue bag, he began to repeat, “But. We. Live. In. France“. I was going to acknowledge it but decided against it. Twenty-five minutes later, voila, we made it to the door of the train station. Now to drag the bags across the street to the taxi stand.

When I pointed out that the mantra provided a nice rhythm for dragging bags, Ray looked me in the eye and said, “BUT WE LIVE IN FRANCE,” all the while huffing and puffing (I thought I could see the hint of a smile, but I think it was a muscle spasm). The taxi driver just smiled when he saw the bags and asked, “Are you Americans?” Ouch.

Fast Forward

So much has happened since our arrival in Pezenas five months ago, and the mantra has come in handy.
Our belongings cleared customs on-time (six weeks) but were held hostage by the moving company. After numerous phone calls, emails, and finally additional, cold hard cash, our goods were delivered. BUT WE LIVE IN @#@*&%# FRANCE.

Moving Day

We are now legal residents of France. There were some “hiccups” in the process, but we live in France, and it was worth every tear (mine) and all of the frustration with the level of paperwork. And more paperwork. And more paperwork. In French.

A Five Minute Walk

 

Perfect day for a walk

There’s a handful of ex-pats from all over the world, in and around Pézenas. The town is lively, the people friendly, and we’ve made some good friends. Let me say, Google Translate conversation is pure genius and is used regularly.

So, what’s next? I see a post about life in a 17th-century building in my future. Pure quirkiness, but we live in France.

Seriously, I am so grateful for the opportunity to try France on for size. Visiting a country even for a length of time is remarkably different from living there, day in day out.

A French friend shared, “You know you have made a successful transition to French life once you have navigated the bureaucracy, and lived to tell the tale.” I couldn’t agree more.

Thank you for visiting and reading my very lengthy post. If you’re ever in the area, look us up.
XXOO

Filed Under: Becoming Expats, Future Expats Tagged With: French citizens, moving to France

Previous Post: « A Long-Stay Visa With a French Twist
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Janet Magina aka Housepeepers says

    2019-11-22 at 2:16 pm

    How I wish I was in the area to come for a visit, but alas non. Life is an adventure and it sounds like you are living it to its fullest

    Reply
    • Barb Harmon says

      2019-11-23 at 10:22 am

      Hi Janet,

      Thank you for taking the time to read my longgg post, and commenting.
      You never know, you may end up in the area sometime. You’d love the brocantes, they’re full of fantastic goodies.
      XXOO

      Reply
  2. Terry says

    2019-11-22 at 2:20 pm

    I so enjoyed this one and I am so very happy you are enjoying your dream…after all, “you are living in France”! ❤

    Reply
    • Barb Harmon says

      2019-11-23 at 10:19 am

      Hi Terry,

      Thank you, my friend. I still can’t believe we live here! We are living proof that dreams can come true…with a lot of work, paperwork that is.
      XX))

      Reply
  3. Maarja Paris says

    2019-11-22 at 8:28 pm

    Bonjour Barb! I loved reading this because it sounds almost exactly like our move to Provence two years ago! I look forward to a meet up one of these days! Pezenas is such a lovely town…we recently saw a show on TV about it too. I like your mantra…covers quite a lot! Cheers! Maarja

    Reply
    • Barb Harmon says

      2019-11-23 at 10:16 am

      Hi Maarja,

      Yes, it sounds like we share much!
      While we love our flat, we realize additional room is needed so eventually…another move. I’m still trying to wrap my head around that!
      It would be lovely to meet up!
      Until then, XXOO

      Reply
  4. Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder says

    2019-11-23 at 2:55 am

    Dearest Barb,
    Oh Lord, toting luggage in medieval areas of Europe is a crime! A crime on yourself I mean…
    You really had to tote a lot and are lucky that nothing got snatched away as you cannot possible guard all eight ‘kids’ at once!
    The bureaucracy and the paperwork (no easy readable language either!) is an obstacle and yes, I know that feeling from our move to Italy… Living out of four suitcases that we’d loaded into Dad’s car (how did he ever get persuaded by me for lending us his car for a couple of days?!) and then lived out of them for ONLY 2 months… Strike at the harbour and more problems with paperwork etc. But we made it to Italy and were living and working there!
    Long after, you can laugh about some hilarious moments that you somehow managed to live through…
    One needs a good dose of humor, that’s for sure and I love your Mantra here! Even though Ray had a hard time adopting it fully.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

    Reply
    • Barb Harmon says

      2019-11-23 at 10:12 am

      Hi Mariette,
      Thank you for stopping by, my friend! You definitely can relate to our bag woes. Dear Lord, what was I thinking, but several bags held irreplaceable pics!
      It really became ugly when we were able to get into our flat. It’s on the second floor (third floor in the US) with massive stairs and cobblestones. Ray was not a happy camper. LOL.
      Thank goodness, all is well now.
      XX

      “Hi” to Pieter

      Reply
      • Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder says

        2019-11-23 at 3:22 pm

        Reply
        • Barb Harmon says

          2019-11-24 at 5:45 pm

          Hi Mariette,

          I can’t see the emoji, but you know I love it!
          XXOO

          Reply
          • Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder says

            2019-11-24 at 5:49 pm

            That is weird… two hearts!

          • Barb Harmon says

            2019-11-25 at 2:38 pm

            WordPress…lol!

  5. Dianna says

    2019-11-23 at 3:16 am

    Bravo you live in France and now you can tell the tale or should I say l’histore

    Reply
    • Barb Harmon says

      2019-11-23 at 10:06 am

      Hi Dianna,

      Thank you for visiting! I still can’t believe we actually live here. NOW, we need to get you and hubby to France. Our Carte Vitales were approved so we have French healthcare. Amazing.
      XX

      Reply
  6. James Mercurio says

    2022-04-10 at 9:29 am

    We SO relate to this post! While our move to France was less eventful, dealing with the bureaucracy if living day-to-day in France is an ongoing challenge. We’re just lucky to have met some lovely people like you and Ray, with whom we can commiserate and share une bouteille de vin from time to time. À bientôt nos voisins!

    -Jim and Hugh

    Reply
    • Barb Harmon says

      2022-04-10 at 3:50 pm

      Hola guys!
      Just when you believe it can’t get worse, renewal time rears its UGLY head. Dear Lord, we will get through…again.
      But I do believe in backup plans, so to speak.

      I’m so glad we are friends, you guys are the best. See you soon.

      XX

      P.S But.We.All.Live.In.France. Olé! Te veo pronto.

      Reply

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