Friday, October 3, 2008
Good Days
Yesterday was a really good day. I got alot accomplished and i did it by myself. I had to go to Assedic (unemployment) by myself and i was scared/stressed. I yelled at hubby the day before because i wanted him to go with me and he couldn't. After the appointment was over, i called my husband and apologized because going alone gave me a big confidence boost - i realized that i could navigate french administration alone if necessary. When i told my husband he said "see, you're the only one who thinks you can't do it - my family thinks you have a good level of french and i know that you can do it you just need confidence in yourself."
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9 comments:
Good for you. Sometimes feeling the fear and doing it anyway builds the self confidence muscle. Congratulation of your French administration success!!
Stephanie, chérie!
Last night I drafted a comment for you concerning checking on the ANPE and the possibility of being paid a monthly stipend to attend French courses now that you are in France.
I have read about this possibility in more than one blog but could not put my finger on it and my laptop crashed before I could publish my comment.
So, I wrote to "A Malaysian in France" who has a lovely blog and asked her to check on you. Check on her to. She has a post about the ANPE, a social service organization that helps the unemployed find work but I think that the language class/stipend comes out of the same organization.
By the way, some people were bitching about the ANPE, but that's not the immediate point of my comment. It's the French language courses and the opportunity to have a stipend for attending. I know it exists, I just don't know the exact details.
Anyway... Congratulations on getting out and about and accomplishing things on your own in order to build your confidence and your morale. Yippee!!!
"In some areas the Centre Culturel provides free French lessons to foreigners. If you’re officially registered as unemployed and have a residence permit, you can obtain free lessons ( perfectionnement de la langue française) from the ANPE, although complete beginners don’t qualify (contact your local ANPE office for information)."
Now the stipend, I'm positive I read that someone was getting $650 euros per month.
You are not a total beginner so you would be eligible.
Hi,
This is Bee Ean from "A Malaysian in France". I got the message from la framericaine so I hope I can give you some helpful information about the French classes.
Yes, my friend did a long distance French course with AFPA, she got paid 650 euros per month for 3 months and I think she continued for another 3 months. To qualify for this course, you need to be already registered with ANPE, so it is good that you have already done so. Check out with your local AFPA (an organisation provides adult education). The stipend will depends on the city (some has the budget and some don't). Check out with your local AFPA for more info.
As for myself, I did the free French course at Culture et Liberté http://www.culture-et-liberte.asso.fr/format/format.htm and everyone got paid RM1,50 per hour. If you have worked before in US, you can show your last pay check and they will pay you higher rate. However, they have stopped doing this when I left on 2006 as they were running out of budget. So check out with the nearest Culture et Liberté center for the latest information.
Please remember you are not alone in this "battle". My husband only goes with me to those administrative centre when it is required (Prefecture for signature). I was left running around on my own, but this gives me opportunity to deal with the locals and gains confidence.
"...and everyone got paid RM1,50 per hour."
Sorry, I meant 1,50 euros.
Hi
I'm glad to hear that you are getting on so well. I can only hope that my experience will be as successful. My wife and I are planning our move to the south of France for Sept 1 09' and are looking for help from someone who has been through such a move. She is from Toulouse and I am Texas native transplanted in San Diego for almost 20 years so I'm the one who really needs the help. We have already considered that we will need to take medical and financial records but we are hoping that someone has a checklists or spreadsheet for some of the not so obvious things we should consider before we depart. English is my first language and I have good conversational Spanish but no French. We have ordered Rosetta Stone and I'll start with that. We are beginning to research the move and just discovered the expat site today, I'm certain that I will have more questions.
Hope you can assist,
Simion
Thanks everyone for your encouragement! See today's post for an update...
*Simion: I wish that there was a 'checklist' for moving to france and getting settled in, but each situation is different! Did you get married in the US or in France? Are you looking for work when you get to france? You can go to my flickr page and send me an email if you want to discuss specifics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24585968@N03/
Stephanie,
While it is true that there is not a "one-size fits all" for moving to France, Simion's situation is quite advantageous compared to someone coming on a boat from Cameroon or China.
There are actually many, many preparatory things that can be done and many of us have already done them and more. Thus, I would like to suggest that he check out:
Halfway to France
Je Ne Regrette Rien
Our Juicy Life
A Malaysian in France
Jonnifer in France, among others
Those people have email addresses embedded in their blogs and lots of helpful info.
The very first thing to ask is whether or not his wife is registered with the French Consulate in Houston (it has a satellite office in Dallas/Ft. Worth twice a month and the specifics are on the French Consulate in USA website); then did they register their marriage with the French Consulate and get un Livret de Famille. They should also apply for his French citizenship while still living in Texas, if he wants to be a dual- citizen because they have been married more than 3 years. Is his wife a naturalized American citizen? Very important if they plan to be out of the US more than ONE year. They will take your green card if you leave for ONE year or more and do not return.
Blah... Blah... Blahg.
Amitiés,
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