Tag: moving to france with teenager

Our French Life, Our School Life

Our Brexit Babies

ournormandylife
Master Normandy back in October 2019

Okay maybe not so much our babies anymore – actually nearly fully grown adults but as many a parent will tell you, they will always be our babies. What I want to talk about is the impact on our young Britons living in France post Brexit. Given that my own children have been here a wet week, by some stalwart standards, many have lived here a very long time and plenty of which were born here. Or certainly moved at a young age. In any event, they are all treated the same – British Nationals living in France.

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Our French Life, Our School Life

Lycée – It’s All A Bit Weird!

ournormandylife

It really is. In fact everything that surrounds lycée is a bit panto-ish. The school bus, the enabling a lifelong generation of smokers and a kind of bizarre university approach but it’s not university in any way, shape or form. It doesn’t really know what it is and I’ll be darned if I know what it’s all about that’s for sure!

Sorry but for an outsider, from a very different schooling system, I still think lycée is a bit strange. Now, I’ve written about the structure of lycée here so if you don’t know how it’s structured, then please do take a look.

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Our French Life

How To Find A French Friend

ournormandylife

Possibly my least favourite Beatles track. Sorry!

Oh do shut up! I hear you say. Are you really doing album fillers now? No. And yes, on the face of it, you would think this was bloody easy to do given that you live in France. How hard is it to find a French friend? Well, strap in and I shall tell you.

You’re in France right? You speak a bit of French or have the illusion you can speak right? Well, it would follow that you will make French ‘friends’ at a drop of a hat. Erm not quite. This is my take on it, as ever, and I’m sure there are lots of twenty-somethings/students in major French cities making French friends left, right and centre. But, alas, unfortunately I am not in that bracket. Mental note to previous self in a different life – move to a foreign country when you’re young, free and single!

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Our French Life

Top 5 Tips On How To Argue French Style

ournormandylife

 

war games

Okay as we’ve established I am not fluent in French. I’m getting there. I try really hard. Like really hard. Everyday. This photo clip from Modern Family really sums it up when Gloria screams at Jay how it feels “to have people laugh in my face because I’m struggling to find the words.” Here it’s a more screwed up face and a physical recoiling of the body simultaneously. Oh gawd. That face. The French face of “I haven’t a fucking clue what you are saying to me and in no way am I going to disguise my facial features to this fact.”

gloria
Modern Family and Gloria giving it some

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Our French Life, our relocation life

What Happens To Friendships When You Move To France?

ournormandylife

Quotefancy-1795623-3840x2160.jpg

And not just the ones you left behind but the new ones you will invariably encounter in your new life (not in the sun – I live in Normandy) here in France.

By the way, you decided to move to another country not your friends or family. They were probably perfectly happy with the status quo and perhaps bear this in mind when the dynamics of your friendships change. One of my favourite quotes is “the only thing that is certain in life is change”. This is very true but it also rings true that most do not like change one bit. Nope. Not at all. Continue reading “What Happens To Friendships When You Move To France?” →

Our French Life, Our School Life

Boarding At Lycee – Brexit Style!

ournormandylife

five go to brexit

So Master Normandy has started his Lycée journey. Ekk! The rentrée is well and truly underway. We are now into our 4th week (yes really!) of the kids being back at school. It was all change in the family dynamics front as Master Normandy had graduated to Lycée.

For those that don’t know how the school system works here in France – I wrote this blog post a while back. In a nutshell, our adolescents or (ados) as the French say move up to lycée at age 15 (or 17 if you have redoubled twice like Master Normandy’s friend!) for three years.

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Our French Life, Our School Life

What’s The Deal With The Brevet?

ournormandylife

brevet

 

In keeping with my What’s The Deal With Lycee and using 1980s American Teen speak, I thought this might be a handy heads up (stop with the 80s Teen talk!) for any of those  trying to make sense of the French schooling system. Continue reading “What’s The Deal With The Brevet?” →

Our French Life, our relocation life

British Bunker Supplies In France

wallace

No, I haven’t gone all Domesday Prepper on ya all! I like to accommodate blog requests and recently someone asked about the various differences with baking and other supplies here in France.  Firstly, before I start on my essential supplies in my British bunker – I should point out that France is a first world country and you can pretty much get anything you want out here. If you can’t, you’ll find someone who knows where you can, a supermarket will have a foreign/Brit section, a nifty website that will deliver or an English shop within your area. There are two near here that I know of  – one in the Manche and one in the Mayenne – across the border into the Pays De Loire. Continue reading “British Bunker Supplies In France” →

Our French Life, Our School Life

What’s The Deal With Lycee?

scooters

This may not be high on your list of priories if you move to France with children. I am in the minority in that we moved, when our children were that much older, 13, 11 and 7. I know lots of people who either gave birth to their children here or moved when they were a lot smaller. Either in a UK primary or pre-school. So no one, if truth be told is, thinking about lycée when they come to France.  Hell, they’re just thinking about the first year, maybe two. If we like it we’ll stay. If we don’t we’ll worry about it later. You’re too busy wondering if you’re making the biggest mistake of your life. Or if you’re going to ruin your kids lives and will the world implode at the same time. Gawd, no one is thinking about what happens when your child is 15 and needs to move on in the education system. Continue reading “What’s The Deal With Lycee?” →

Our French Life

10 Ways To Tell If You Are An Amateur In France.

feve

Okay, I have written about this before here. And yet, here I am again?! Just when I thought I was rocking this whole living in France thang, recently I came across situations that made me realise that I am still an amateur in France. What do you think? Recognise any? Feel free to add your own in the comments section. In no particular order of amateurishness… Continue reading “10 Ways To Tell If You Are An Amateur In France.” →